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Preface | |
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The Nature of Theatre | |
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The Impulse to Perform | |
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Personal Performance | |
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Community Performance | |
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Ritual Performance among the Hopi | |
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Kachina Performances | |
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The Hopi Performer | |
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Performance as Community Obligation | |
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Professional Performance: Four Stories | |
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Bill Irwin: Physical Humor | |
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Anna Deavere Smith: The Power of Words | |
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Neil Marcus: Storyteller and Dancer | |
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Frances McDormand: Creation of Character | |
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Why They Perform | |
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Summary | |
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Topics for Discussion and Writing | |
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Suggestions for Further Reading | |
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Theatre and Society | |
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The Power of the Theatre | |
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Society and Aesthetic Expression | |
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The Collective and Public Nature of Theatre | |
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Theatre as a Social Force | |
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Theatre and Religious Festivals | |
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The Greek Theatre: Athens, Fifth Century B.C.E. | |
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The Origin of Greek Theatre in the Worship of Dionysus | |
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Medea | |
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Staging Conventions | |
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The Medieval Mystery Cycle | |
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Staging and Production: A Community Endeavor | |
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Aesthetic Expression: A Shared, Sacred Language | |
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The Role of the Mystery Cycles in Medieval Society | |
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The Professional Theatre | |
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The Elizabethan Theatre | |
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The Theatre in Society | |
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The Nature of Elizabethan Drama | |
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William Shakespeare | |
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Elizabethan Staging | |
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Acting in Elizabethan Dramas | |
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The Beijing Opera of China | |
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A Formal Society | |
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Playwrights and Plays | |
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A Language of Gesture | |
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Acting and Staging | |
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The Beijing Opera and the Communist Revolution | |
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Theatre as a Mirror of Society | |
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Theatre and Social Change | |
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The Sustaining Power of the Theatre: Waiting for Godot in Sarajevo | |
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Summary | |
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Topics for Discussion and Writing | |
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Suggestions for Further Reading | |
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The Nature of Performance: The Theatre Practitioners | |
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The Playwright's Vision | |
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Looking at Joe Turner's Come and Gone | |
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Exploring the Text of Joe Turner's Come and Gone | |
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Plot and Characters: A Meeting of Two Worlds | |
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Historical and Cultural Contexts of the Play | |
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Theatre as History | |
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The Aftermath of Slavery: Peonage and Sharecropping | |
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Migration to the North | |
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The Metaphor of the Road | |
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The Oral Tradition | |
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The Playwright's Sources | |
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Bessie Smith and Romare Bearden | |
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Mill Hand's Lunch Bucket | |
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Folk Sources and W. C. Handy | |
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The Complete Text of Joe Turner's Come and Gone | |
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Producing Joe Turner's Come and Gone | |
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The Construction of Meaning Through Collaboration | |
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The Oregon Shakespeare Festival | |
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The Actors at Work | |
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Understanding the Play | |
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The Rehearsal Process | |
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Physical Characterization | |
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Staging the Juba | |
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Drumming and Dancing | |
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Text and Verbal Improvisation | |
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The Meaning of the Juba | |
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Expanding the Stage Image: The Work of the Designers | |
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The Set Design | |
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The Costume Design | |
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The Lighting Design | |
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Conclusion: History and Meaning in Joe Turner's Come and Gone | |
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The Quest for Self | |
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Family and Inheritance: The Way from the Past to the Future | |
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Summary | |
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Topics for Discussion and Writing | |
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Suggestions for Further Reading | |
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The Art of the Actor | |
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The Presence of the Actor | |
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The Actor's Craft | |
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The Work of the Actor | |
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Competing for Roles: The Audition | |
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Preparing for the Role | |
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The Rehearsal Process | |
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Approaches to Acting | |
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The Internal Approach | |
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The External Approach | |
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Acting Cordelia in King Lear | |
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Gestural Acting | |
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The Performance | |
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Theatre and Film | |
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Becoming an Actor | |
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Summary | |
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Topics for Discussion and Writing | |
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Suggestions for Further Reading | |
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The Director | |
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The History of the Director | |
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The Director and the Development of Realism | |
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The Director and the Determination of Style | |
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The Visionary Director: Jerzy Grotowski | |
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Ping Chong | |
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Approaches to Directing | |
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The Director at Work | |
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Choosing the Play | |
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The Director's Initial Response to the Play | |
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Creating Metaphors | |
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Working With the Actors | |
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Casting | |
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Nontraditional Casting | |
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The Work Environment | |
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Improvisation | |
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Staging the Play | |
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Focus | |
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Spatial Composition and Character Development | |
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Rhythm and Pacing | |
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Preparing the Play for Performance | |
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The Director's Training | |
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Summary | |
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Topics for Discussion and Writing | |
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Suggestions for Further Reading | |
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The Designers | |
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StageCraft and the Theatre | |
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The Theatrical Space | |
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The Proscenium Theatre | |
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Thrust, Arena, and Black Box Stages | |
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The Implications of Theatre Architecture for Designers | |
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Three-Dimensional Space | |
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Meetings and Interactions | |
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The History of Scene Design | |
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Scene Design Today | |
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Designing The Grapes of Wrath | |
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Costume Design | |
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Stylistic Unity | |
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The Psychology of Character | |
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The Costume Designer and the Actor | |
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Lighting Design | |
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The History of Light in the Theatre | |
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The Lighting Designer's Materials | |
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Conceptualizing with Light | |
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The Light Plot and Light Cues | |
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Visibility | |
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Focus | |
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Mood and Atmosphere | |
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The Rhythm of Light | |
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The Growing Prominence of Sound Design | |
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The Integration of Sound into the Production Process | |
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The Sound Designer's Materials | |
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Environmental Sound and Sound Reinforcement | |
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Summary | |
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Topics for Discussion and Writing | |
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Suggestions for Further Reading | |
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The Musical Theatre | |
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Origins of Musical Theatre in America | |
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The Broadway Theatre | |
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Oklahoma! | |
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West Side Story | |
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My Fair Lady | |
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Cabaret | |
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Stephen Sondheim | |
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A Chorus Line | |
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New Directions for the Musical Theatre | |
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Savion Glover and Bring in da Noise, Bring in da Funk | |
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Jonathan Larson and Rent | |
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Julie Taymor and The Lion King | |
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Susan Stroman and Contact | |
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Summary | |
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Topics for Discussion and Writing | |
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Suggestions for Further Reading | |
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The Nature of Style: Realism and Theatricalism | |
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Understanding Style: Realism | |
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Introduction to Realism | |
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"Realistic Elements in Joe Turner's Come and Gone | |
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Realism in Film | |
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Origins of Realism | |
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The Social Background of Realism | |
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European Realism | |
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Henrik Ibsen | |
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August Strindberg | |
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Anton Chekhov | |
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American Realism | |
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Lillian Hellman | |
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Poetic Realism: Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams | |
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Konstantin Stanislavsky and Realistic Acting | |
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Summary | |
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Topics for Discussion and Writing | |
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Suggestions for Further Reading | |
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Expressing a Worldview Through Realism | |
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Looking at And the Soul Shall Dance | |
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Exploring the Text of and the Soul Shall Dance | |
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Plot and Characters | |
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Personal, Cultural, and Historical Contexts of the Play | |
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The Play as Memory | |
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Personal History | |
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Prejudice, Discrimination, and Internment | |
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The Play as Social Document | |
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Evoking a World Through Detail | |
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The Complete Text of and the Soul Shall Dance | |
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Producing and the Soul Shall Dance | |
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Introduction to East West Players | |
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History of East West Players | |
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Location and Physical Space | |
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Staging the Play | |
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The Director's Prologue | |
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The Influence of Asian Theatre | |
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Staging a Period Play: The Work of the Director and the Actors | |
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Building Character Relationships | |
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Contrasting Productions: East West Players and Northwest Asian American Theatre | |
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Scene Design and the Physical Space | |
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Interpreting Family Relationships | |
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Sexuality and Gender | |
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Summary | |
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Topics for Discussion and Writing | |
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Suggestions for Further Reading | |
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Understanding Style: Theatricalism | |
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Exposing the Mechanics of the Theatre | |
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Expressionism | |
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German Expressionism | |
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American Expressionism: Eugene O'Neill | |
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Epic Theatre: Bertolt Brecht | |
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Brecht's Concept of Alienation | |
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Brecht's Approach to Acting | |
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Theatre of the Absurd | |
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A Revolution in Movement: Martha Graham | |
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A New Dance Vocabulary | |
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Costume and Set as Partners in Dance | |
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Total Theatre: Robert Wilson | |
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Wilson's Experience | |
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The Interior Landscape | |
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A New Meeting of East and West; Shen Wei | |
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From Opera to Modern Dance | |
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Choreographer and Designer | |
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Summary | |
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Topics for Discussion and Writing | |
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Suggestions for Further Reading | |
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Expressing a Worldview through Theatricalism | |
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Looking at Angels in America: Millennium Approaches | |
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Exploring the Text of Angels in America: Millennium Approaches | |
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Plot and Characters: A World in Spiritual Collapse | |
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The Role of Roy Cohn | |
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The Shifting Point of View | |
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Influences on Kushner as Playwright: Bertolt Brecht and Caryl Churchill | |
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The Historical Framework of Angels in America | |
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The Character Roy Cohn as a Historical Figure | |
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Roy Cohn and the Plot of Angels in America | |
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Roy Cohn and Ethel Rosenberg | |
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The Complete Text of Angels in America: Millennium Approaches | |
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Producing Angels in America | |
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The Eureka Theatre and the Playwright | |
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The Role of the Dramaturg | |
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The Developmental Process | |
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Expanding Opportunities for the Development of New Plays | |
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Summary | |
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Topics for Discussion and Writing | |
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Suggestions for Further Reading | |
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The Nature of Drama: Structure and Genre | |
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The Elements of Drama and Dramatic Structure | |
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Fundamental Elements of Structure | |
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Character | |
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Plot | |
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Language | |
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Music | |
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Spectacle | |
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The Organization of the Drama in Space and Time | |
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The Duration of the Performance | |
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Building the Drama: The Internal Rhythm | |
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Conflict, Rising Tension, and Resolution | |
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Summary | |
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Topics for Discussion and Writing | |
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Suggestions for Further Reading | |
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Genre | |
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Introduction to Genre | |
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Tragedy and Comedy | |
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Origins in Greek Drama | |
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Aristotle on Tragedy and Comedy | |
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Tragedy: Catharsis and Awareness | |
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Plot Summaries of Selected Tragedies | |
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Common Themes of Tragedy | |
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Can Tragedy Exist Today? | |
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Melodrama | |
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Tragicomedy | |
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Farce | |
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Writing About the Theatre | |
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The Dramaturg | |
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The Critic | |
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Two Reviews of Medea | |
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Summary | |
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Topics for Discussion and Writing | |
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Suggestions for Further Reading | |
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Choosing a Genre: Comedy | |
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Looking at Dog Lady | |
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Exploring the Text of Dog Lady | |
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Plot and Characters | |
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The Playwright's Sources: An Intersection of Cultures | |
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Characteristics of the Play | |
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Blended Language | |
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Magical Realism | |
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Reinterpreting Catholic Imagery: The Virgin of Guadalupe | |
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A Latina Identity | |
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The Complete Text of Dog Lady | |
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Producing Dog Lady | |
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Intar | |
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Set Design and Ming Cho Lee | |
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Pop Art and Forced Perspective | |
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Breaking the Illusion | |
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Staging and Acting | |
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Sight Gags | |
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Vocal Style | |
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Using Comedy to Shift the Worldview | |
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Summary | |
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Topics for Discussion and Writing | |
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Suggestions for Further Reading | |
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The Project | |
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Looking at Buried Child | |
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Preparing a Production | |
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Buried Child and Alternative Play Choices | |
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Introduction to Sam Shepard | |
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Alternative Plays | |
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Working on the Project | |
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Sequence of Work | |
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Topics for Group Discussion (Group Meeting 1) | |
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Group Decisions (Group Meeting 2) | |
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Project Assignments | |
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The Director | |
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Character Analysis | |
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Scene Design | |
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Costume Design | |
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Music | |
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Program Note | |
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Poster | |
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Conclusion | |
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The Complete Text of Buried Child | |
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Suggestion for Further Reading | |
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Guided Writing Assignments | |
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Notes | |
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Glossary | |
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Credits | |
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Index | |