Preface | p. xxi |
The Nature of Theatre | p. 1 |
The Impulse to Perform | p. 3 |
Personal Performance | p. 5 |
Community Performance | p. 5 |
Ritual Performance among the Hopi | p. 8 |
Kachina Performances | p. 8 |
The Hopi Performer | p. 8 |
Performance as Community Obligation | p. 10 |
Professional Performance: Four Stories | p. 10 |
Bill Irwin: Physical Humor | p. 10 |
Anna Deavere Smith: The Power of Words | p. 12 |
Neil Marcus: Storyteller and Dancer | p. 13 |
Frances McDormand: Creation of Character | p. 15 |
Why They Perform | p. 17 |
Summary | p. 20 |
Topics for Discussion and Writing | p. 20 |
Suggestions for Further Reading | p. 20 |
Theatre and Society | p. 23 |
The Power of the Theatre | p. 24 |
Society and Aesthetic Expression | p. 25 |
The Collective and Public Nature of Theatre | p. 26 |
Theatre as a Social Force | p. 26 |
Theatre and Religious Festivals | p. 27 |
The Greek Theatre: Athens, Fifth Century B.C.E. | p. 28 |
The Origin of Greek Theatre in the Worship of Dionysus | p. 28 |
Medea | p. 30 |
Staging Conventions | p. 31 |
The Medieval Mystery Cycle | p. 35 |
Staging and Production: A Community Endeavor | p. 36 |
Aesthetic Expression: A Shared, Sacred Language | p. 36 |
The Role of the Mystery Cycles in Medieval Society | p. 37 |
The Professional Theatre | p. 38 |
The Elizabethan Theatre | p. 39 |
The Theatre in Society | p. 39 |
The Nature of Elizabethan Drama | p. 40 |
William Shakespeare | p. 41 |
Elizabethan Staging | p. 43 |
Acting in Elizabethan Dramas | p. 45 |
The Beijing Opera of China | p. 45 |
A Formal Society | p. 46 |
Playwrights and Plays | p. 46 |
A Language of Gesture | p. 47 |
Acting and Staging | p. 48 |
The Beijing Opera and the Communist Revolution | p. 50 |
Theatre as a Mirror of Society | p. 51 |
Theatre and Social Change | p. 52 |
The Sustaining Power of the Theatre: Waiting for Godot in Sarajevo | p. 55 |
Summary | p. 57 |
Topics for Discussion and Writing | p. 58 |
Suggestions for Further Reading | p. 58 |
The Nature of Performance: The Theatre Practitioners | p. 61 |
The Playwright's Vision | p. 63 |
Looking at Joe Turner's Come and Gone | |
Exploring the Text of Joe Turner's Come and Gone | p. 66 |
Plot and Characters: A Meeting of Two Worlds | p. 67 |
Historical and Cultural Contexts of the Play | p. 68 |
Theatre as History | p. 69 |
The Aftermath of Slavery: Peonage and Sharecropping | p. 69 |
Migration to the North | p. 69 |
The Metaphor of the Road | p. 70 |
The Oral Tradition | p. 71 |
The Playwright's Sources | p. 71 |
Bessie Smith and Romare Bearden | p. 71 |
Mill Hand's Lunch Bucket | p. 73 |
Folk Sources and W. C. Handy | p. 73 |
The Complete Text of Joe Turner's Come and Gone | p. 76 |
Producing Joe Turner's Come and Gone | p. 115 |
The Construction of Meaning Through Collaboration | p. 115 |
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival | p. 115 |
The Actors at Work | p. 116 |
Understanding the Play | p. 116 |
The Rehearsal Process | p. 117 |
Physical Characterization | p. 119 |
Staging the Juba | p. 120 |
Drumming and Dancing | p. 120 |
Text and Verbal Improvisation | p. 121 |
The Meaning of the Juba | p. 122 |
Expanding the Stage Image: The Work of the Designers | p. 123 |
The Set Design | p. 124 |
The Costume Design | p. 125 |
The Lighting Design | p. 126 |
Conclusion: History and Meaning in Joe Turner's Come and Gone | p. 127 |
The Quest for Self | p. 127 |
Family and Inheritance: The Way from the Past to the Future | p. 128 |
Summary | p. 129 |
Topics for Discussion and Writing | p. 129 |
Suggestions for Further Reading | p. 130 |
The Art of the Actor | p. 133 |
The Presence of the Actor | p. 134 |
The Actor's Craft | p. 136 |
The Work of the Actor | p. 138 |
Competing for Roles: The Audition | p. 138 |
Preparing for the Role | p. 140 |
The Rehearsal Process | p. 141 |
Approaches to Acting | p. 146 |
The Internal Approach | p. 146 |
The External Approach | p. 147 |
Acting Cordelia in King Lear | p. 148 |
Gestural Acting | p. 150 |
The Performance | p. 153 |
Theatre and Film | p. 154 |
Becoming an Actor | p. 155 |
Summary | p. 156 |
Topics for Discussion and Writing | p. 157 |
Suggestions for Further Reading | p. 157 |
The Director | p. 159 |
The History of the Director | p. 160 |
The Director and the Development of Realism | p. 160 |
The Director and the Determination of Style | p. 163 |
The Visionary Director: Jerzy Grotowski | p. 164 |
Ping Chong | p. 166 |
Approaches to Directing | p. 170 |
The Director at Work | p. 171 |
Choosing the Play | p. 171 |
The Director's Initial Response to the Play | p. 173 |
Creating Metaphors | p. 173 |
Working With the Actors | p. 175 |
Casting | p. 175 |
Nontraditional Casting | p. 176 |
The Work Environment | p. 176 |
Improvisation | p. 177 |
Staging the Play | p. 178 |
Focus | p. 178 |
Spatial Composition and Character Development | p. 180 |
Rhythm and Pacing | p. 180 |
Preparing the Play for Performance | p. 181 |
The Director's Training | p. 182 |
Summary | p. 183 |
Topics for Discussion and Writing | p. 184 |
Suggestions for Further Reading | p. 184 |
The Designers | p. 187 |
StageCraft and the Theatre | p. 189 |
The Theatrical Space | p. 190 |
The Proscenium Theatre | p. 191 |
Thrust, Arena, and Black Box Stages | p. 191 |
The Implications of Theatre Architecture for Designers | p. 191 |
Three-Dimensional Space | p. 194 |
Meetings and Interactions | p. 195 |
The History of Scene Design | p. 198 |
Scene Design Today | p. 200 |
Designing The Grapes of Wrath | p. 200 |
Costume Design | p. 203 |
Stylistic Unity | p. 204 |
The Psychology of Character | p. 205 |
The Costume Designer and the Actor | p. 207 |
Lighting Design | p. 208 |
The History of Light in the Theatre | p. 209 |
The Lighting Designer's Materials | p. 209 |
Conceptualizing with Light | p. 210 |
The Light Plot and Light Cues | p. 211 |
Visibility | p. 211 |
Focus | p. 212 |
Mood and Atmosphere | p. 212 |
The Rhythm of Light | p. 212 |
The Growing Prominence of Sound Design | p. 213 |
The Integration of Sound into the Production Process | p. 213 |
The Sound Designer's Materials | p. 213 |
Environmental Sound and Sound Reinforcement | p. 215 |
Summary | p. 215 |
Topics for Discussion and Writing | p. 216 |
Suggestions for Further Reading | p. 217 |
The Musical Theatre | p. 219 |
Origins of Musical Theatre in America | p. 220 |
The Broadway Theatre | p. 221 |
Oklahoma! | p. 221 |
West Side Story | p. 223 |
My Fair Lady | p. 224 |
Cabaret | p. 226 |
Stephen Sondheim | p. 228 |
A Chorus Line | p. 230 |
New Directions for the Musical Theatre | p. 232 |
Savion Glover and Bring in da Noise, Bring in da Funk | p. 232 |
Jonathan Larson and Rent | p. 234 |
Julie Taymor and The Lion King | p. 235 |
Susan Stroman and Contact | p. 238 |
Summary | p. 240 |
Topics for Discussion and Writing | p. 241 |
Suggestions for Further Reading | p. 241 |
The Nature of Style: Realism and Theatricalism | p. 243 |
Understanding Style: Realism | p. 245 |
Introduction to Realism | p. 246 |
"Realistic Elements in Joe Turner's Come and Gone | p. 246 |
Realism in Film | p. 247 |
Origins of Realism | p. 248 |
The Social Background of Realism | p. 249 |
European Realism | p. 250 |
Henrik Ibsen | p. 250 |
August Strindberg | p. 251 |
Anton Chekhov | p. 251 |
American Realism | p. 253 |
Lillian Hellman | p. 253 |
Poetic Realism: Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams | p. 254 |
Konstantin Stanislavsky and Realistic Acting | p. 256 |
Summary | p. 257 |
Topics for Discussion and Writing | p. 260 |
Suggestions for Further Reading | p. 261 |
Expressing a Worldview Through Realism | p. 263 |
Looking at And the Soul Shall Dance | |
Exploring the Text of and the Soul Shall Dance | p. 264 |
Plot and Characters | p. 265 |
Personal, Cultural, and Historical Contexts of the Play | p. 265 |
The Play as Memory | p. 265 |
Personal History | p. 268 |
Prejudice, Discrimination, and Internment | p. 268 |
The Play as Social Document | p. 269 |
Evoking a World Through Detail | p. 270 |
The Complete Text of and the Soul Shall Dance | p. 272 |
Producing and the Soul Shall Dance | p. 303 |
Introduction to East West Players | p. 303 |
History of East West Players | p. 303 |
Location and Physical Space | p. 303 |
Staging the Play | p. 305 |
The Director's Prologue | p. 305 |
The Influence of Asian Theatre | p. 306 |
Staging a Period Play: The Work of the Director and the Actors | p. 306 |
Building Character Relationships | p. 310 |
Contrasting Productions: East West Players and Northwest Asian American Theatre | p. 313 |
Scene Design and the Physical Space | p. 313 |
Interpreting Family Relationships | p. 313 |
Sexuality and Gender | p. 315 |
Summary | p. 316 |
Topics for Discussion and Writing | p. 317 |
Suggestions for Further Reading | p. 317 |
Understanding Style: Theatricalism | p. 319 |
Exposing the Mechanics of the Theatre | p. 321 |
Expressionism | p. 321 |
German Expressionism | p. 322 |
American Expressionism: Eugene O'Neill | p. 323 |
Epic Theatre: Bertolt Brecht | p. 325 |
Brecht's Concept of Alienation | p. 326 |
Brecht's Approach to Acting | p. 327 |
Theatre of the Absurd | p. 328 |
A Revolution in Movement: Martha Graham | p. 329 |
A New Dance Vocabulary | p. 329 |
Costume and Set as Partners in Dance | p. 331 |
Total Theatre: Robert Wilson | p. 331 |
Wilson's Experience | p. 332 |
The Interior Landscape | p. 332 |
A New Meeting of East and West; Shen Wei | p. 333 |
From Opera to Modern Dance | p. 333 |
Choreographer and Designer | p. 335 |
Summary | p. 336 |
Topics for Discussion and Writing | p. 336 |
Suggestions for Further Reading | p. 337 |
Expressing a Worldview through Theatricalism | p. 339 |
Looking at Angels in America: Millennium Approaches | |
Exploring the Text of Angels in America: Millennium Approaches | p. 341 |
Plot and Characters: A World in Spiritual Collapse | p. 341 |
The Role of Roy Cohn | p. 342 |
The Shifting Point of View | p. 342 |
Influences on Kushner as Playwright: Bertolt Brecht and Caryl Churchill | p. 342 |
The Historical Framework of Angels in America | p. 344 |
The Character Roy Cohn as a Historical Figure | p. 345 |
Roy Cohn and the Plot of Angels in America | p. 347 |
Roy Cohn and Ethel Rosenberg | p. 348 |
The Complete Text of Angels in America: Millennium Approaches | p. 350 |
Producing Angels in America | p. 398 |
The Eureka Theatre and the Playwright | p. 398 |
The Role of the Dramaturg | p. 398 |
The Developmental Process | p. 400 |
Expanding Opportunities for the Development of New Plays | p. 404 |
Summary | p. 405 |
Topics for Discussion and Writing | p. 405 |
Suggestions for Further Reading | p. 406 |
The Nature of Drama: Structure and Genre | p. 407 |
The Elements of Drama and Dramatic Structure | p. 409 |
Fundamental Elements of Structure | p. 410 |
Character | p. 410 |
Plot | p. 411 |
Language | p. 412 |
Music | p. 417 |
Spectacle | p. 417 |
The Organization of the Drama in Space and Time | p. 419 |
The Duration of the Performance | p. 419 |
Building the Drama: The Internal Rhythm | p. 420 |
Conflict, Rising Tension, and Resolution | p. 420 |
Summary | p. 422 |
Topics for Discussion and Writing | p. 423 |
Suggestions for Further Reading | p. 423 |
Genre | p. 425 |
Introduction to Genre | p. 426 |
Tragedy and Comedy | p. 427 |
Origins in Greek Drama | p. 428 |
Aristotle on Tragedy and Comedy | p. 428 |
Tragedy: Catharsis and Awareness | p. 429 |
Plot Summaries of Selected Tragedies | p. 429 |
Common Themes of Tragedy | p. 431 |
Can Tragedy Exist Today? | p. 432 |
Melodrama | p. 434 |
Tragicomedy | p. 436 |
Farce | p. 439 |
Writing About the Theatre | p. 440 |
The Dramaturg | p. 441 |
The Critic | p. 443 |
Two Reviews of Medea | p. 445 |
Summary | p. 450 |
Topics for Discussion and Writing | p. 450 |
Suggestions for Further Reading | p. 451 |
Choosing a Genre: Comedy | p. 453 |
Looking at Dog Lady | |
Exploring the Text of Dog Lady | p. 454 |
Plot and Characters | p. 454 |
The Playwright's Sources: An Intersection of Cultures | p. 455 |
Characteristics of the Play | p. 456 |
Blended Language | p. 456 |
Magical Realism | p. 457 |
Reinterpreting Catholic Imagery: The Virgin of Guadalupe | p. 458 |
A Latina Identity | p. 460 |
The Complete Text of Dog Lady | p. 461 |
Producing Dog Lady | p. 473 |
Intar | p. 473 |
Set Design and Ming Cho Lee | p. 473 |
Pop Art and Forced Perspective | p. 473 |
Breaking the Illusion | p. 474 |
Staging and Acting | p. 474 |
Sight Gags | p. 476 |
Vocal Style | p. 477 |
Using Comedy to Shift the Worldview | p. 478 |
Summary | p. 479 |
Topics for Discussion and Writing | p. 480 |
Suggestions for Further Reading | p. 480 |
The Project | p. 483 |
Looking at Buried Child | |
Preparing a Production | p. 484 |
Buried Child and Alternative Play Choices | p. 484 |
Introduction to Sam Shepard | p. 485 |
Alternative Plays | p. 487 |
Working on the Project | p. 487 |
Sequence of Work | p. 487 |
Topics for Group Discussion (Group Meeting 1) | p. 488 |
Group Decisions (Group Meeting 2) | p. 488 |
Project Assignments | p. 488 |
The Director | p. 488 |
Character Analysis | p. 489 |
Scene Design | p. 489 |
Costume Design | p. 490 |
Music | p. 491 |
Program Note | p. 492 |
Poster | p. 492 |
Conclusion | p. 492 |
The Complete Text of Buried Child | p. 493 |
Suggestion for Further Reading | p. 532 |
Guided Writing Assignments | p. 533 |
Notes | p. 539 |
Glossary | p. 545 |
Credits | p. 551 |
Index | p. 555 |
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