The Devil Inside
"At a time when criticsare expected to be publicists, and anything famous is 'classic' or 'iconic, 'Carlos Acevedo has managed to hold the line. The Devil Inside is asharp, hard-nosed aesthetic and cultural investigation into what everybody wasthrowing up about fifty years ago. It succeeds as criticism, history, andsocial analysis."-Charles Taylor, film critic at Esquire, and authorof Opening Wednesday at a Theater or Drive-In Near You: The Shadow Cinema ofthe American '70sIn 1973, The Exorcistleft moviegoers gripping their rosary beads, vomiting in their popcorn buckets, and fainting in the sticky aisles. Cynically marketed as a cursed productionbased on a "true story," The Exorcist quickly became one of the mostcontroversial films ever released. With its groundbreaking special effects, relentless pace, and terrifying finale, the film revolutionized the horrorgenre and paved the way for future blockbusters.In The Devil Inside, Carlos Acevedo goes beyond the myths to examine the national uproar TheExorcist caused, as well as the dark, real-world effects it had on ajittery audience. Until now, books about The Exorcist have largelyperpetuated its legends while overlooking its cultural background. The DevilInside places the film in its cinematic and social context--as a product ofthe New Hollywood, when maverick directors hijacked the film industry, and aspart of the supernatural trends of the times, when the occult permeated music, books, and movies. From the originalpossession case that inspired the novel to the troubled production to theconflicts on the set to the uptick in demands for actual exorcisms, TheDevil Inside sheds new light on a shocking phenomenon that has remained apop-culture touchstone for fifty years.
The Production Manager's Toolkit
The Production Manager's Toolkit Second Edition offers an up-to-date, comprehensive introduction to a theatrical and special event production career for new and aspiring professionals, given by expert voices in the field.The book discusses management techniques, communication skills, and relationship building tactics to become effective and successful production managers. With a focus on management theory, top production managers provide insights into budgeting, scheduling, meetings, hiring, maintaining safety, and more. Through interviews and case studies, production management techniques are explored throughout various entertainment genres including theatre, dance, opera, music, and special events. The second edition includes all new case studies, new chapters, and updated content throughout, showcasing a continued progressive approach to the job and the field.Filled with references, tools, templates, and checklists, The Production Manager's Toolkit is an invaluable resource for students of Production Management, Events Management, and Stage Management courses, as well as new and aspiring professionals.The book includes access to a companion website featuring downloadable paperwork and links to other useful resources such as unions, venues, and vendors. (www.routledge.com/cw/gillett)
Performance in Popular Culture
Performance in Popular Culture reveals the intricate relationship between performance and popular culture by exploring how theatrical conventions and dramaturgical tropes have informed the way the social is constructed for popular consumption.Staged as a series of case studies, this book considers the diverse ways the social is imagined and produced in live and mediated performances, in images and texts, in interactive experiences and in cultural institutions. By looking at performance in popular culture, the world we live in becomes more visible, open to investigation and (perhaps) to change. Performance in Popular Culture engages a wide range of disciplines and theoretical frameworks: performance, theatre and cultural studies; comparative literature and media studies; gender and sexuality, critical race and post-colonial theories. Designed for accessibility at an undergraduate level, the case studies make use of visual materials, moving images and texts that are readily available to lecturers and students, to scholars and to the general public.
Screening Ulster
This book presents extensive research into the cinematic representation of the British-identifying Protestant, unionist and loyalist community in Northern Ireland and is the first time such comprehensive analysis has been produced. Gallagher's research traces the history of the community's representation in cinema from the emergence of depictions of both nationalist and unionist communities in social-realist dramas in 1980s British and Irish cinema to today, through periods such as those focused on violent paramilitaries in the 1990s and irreverent comedy after the Northern Ireland peace process. The book addresses the perception that the Irish nationalist community has been depicted more frequently and favourably than unionism in films about the period of conflict known as "The Troubles". Often argued to be the result of an Irish nationalist bias within Hollywood, Gallagher argues that there are other inherent and systemic reasons for this cinematic deficit.
Stephen King's Thinner
Attorney Billy Halleck seriously enjoys living his life of upper-class excess. He's got it all; an expensive home in Connecticut, a loving family... and fifty extra pounds that his doctor repeatedly warns will be the death of him. Then, in a moment of carelessness, Halleck commits vehicular manslaughter when he strikes a jaywalking old woman crossing the street. But Halleck has some powerful local connections, and gets off with a slap on the wrist...much to the fury of the woman's mysterious and ancient father, who exacts revenge with a single uttered word... Thinner. Now a terrified Halleck finds the weight once so difficult to shed dropping effortlessly-and rapidly-day by day. Soon there will be nothing left of Billy Halleck...unless he can somehow locate the source of his living nightmare and reverse what's happened to him before he wastes away... ​​​​​​​Two terrifying versions of the original screenplay adapted by horror legend Tom Holland (Fright Night/Child's Play) and horror author legend Michael McDowell, based on the novel by Stephen King (as Richard Bachman).
Scrounge
Carol is disabled. She must apply to the Department for Work & Pensions for welfare. Abby applies for a well paying job assessing Personal Independence Payment claimants on behalf of the DWP. A stage play based on real conversations between disabled people and assessors, doctors, and the public, as well as whistleblowers who have called out the "grave and systematic violations" (UN, 2016) of disabled peoples' rights in the UK.Shortlisted for the Snoo Wilson Award (2018). Winner of the Norfolk Arts New Writing Award (2022)."The outcome of MP's heartlessness on real people." - Norwich Eye"It is impossible not to be moved." - Iceni Post"Astute and harrowing: one of the most affecting and eloquent pieces of political theatre." - Norwich Radical"Marie is a person who makes theatre to make change." - Concrete
Touch And Go
When the miners threaten to go on strike, Gerald Barlow, the colliery master in Touch and Go, behaves in accordance with form and is disdainful and unwavering. It's not their narrative; it's his. Gerald has modernized the pit and dehumidified the employees since his father before him was too lenient with the guys, and he has nothing but contempt for their efforts to exert authority. They make an effort each day. They lack the intellect to run contemporary business, hence they could never do it. They are not intelligent living forms. The owners might not have much, but Labour does not. They are merely mechanical cubes that can do one or two moves before being finished. They are as ignorant of life as a lawnmower. The villain is unmistakably the Labour representative, Job Arthur Freer, who cosies up to Gerald in secret and joyfully accepts a pocketful of pricey cigars before turning on his master after receiving a pounding from him. The third and final act will inevitably have a final confrontation. When it did, nothing noteworthy happened, and the play abruptly ended as if there had been a curfew on the theatre and the time had run out. Oliver, a friend of Gerald's, did give a rambling speech about Capital and Labour battling over the same stick, but it was essentially meaningless.
The Coiner's Wife - A play in five acts
Synopsis: From a remote weaver's cottage in the bleak Yorkshire moors, a gang of counterfeiters (the 'Cragg Vale Coiners') launch a nefarious scheme that threatens to unsettle the currency of 18th century England. Bound in marriage to their leader, known locally as 'King' David, Grace Hartley is torn between the forces of love, duty and conscience, whilst at the same time struggling with motherhood and the need to keep hunger at bay. After the counterfeiters' initial success, opposing forces gather, led by William Dighton, Supervisor of Excises, who sets in motion a series of events that have momentous consequences. This play is based on a true story that has gripped the inhabitants of the Upper Calder Valley for centuries, but has so far received little prominence elsewhere. The Calder Valley is known to many as the setting for the hit television series Happy Valley. A unique feature of this play is that it presents the historic and tumultuous events of this episode in history from a woman's point of view. Very little is known about the real Grace Hartley or the other women in this story. In the male-dominated world of the late eighteenth century, documentation focuses almost exclusively on the role played by men. Part of the purpose of this play is to redress this imbalance. Casting: 10 M, 6 F with opportunities for doubling. 'A gripping story of love, betrayal and survival.' 'Based on true events.'
Language and Metadrama in Major Barbara and Pygmalion
This book focuses on two important topics in Shaw's Major Barbara and Pygmalion that have received little attention from critics: language and metadrama. If we look beyond the social, political, and economic issues that Shaw explored in these two plays, we discover that the stories of the two "Shavian sisters"-- Barbara Undershaft and Eliza Doolittle--are deeply concerned with performance and what Jacques Derrida calls "the problem of language." Nearly every character in Major Barbara produces, directs, or acts in at least one miniature play. In Pygmalion, Henry Higgins is Eliza's acting coach and phonetics teacher, as well as the star of an impromptu, open-air phonetics show. The language content in these two plays is just as intriguing. Did Eliza Doolittle have to learn Standard English to become a complete human being? Should we worry about the bad grammar we hear at Barbara Undershaft's Salvation Army shelter? Is English losing its precision and purity?Meanwhile, in the background, Shaw keeps reminding us that language and theatre are always present in our everyday lives--sometimes serving as stabilizing forces, and sometimes working to undo them.
Text & Presentation, 2021
This volume is the seventeenth in a series dedicated to presenting the latest findings in the fields of comparative drama and performance. Featuring eleven essays from the 2021 Comparative Drama Conference in Orlando, it includes new research on contemporary plays by Anne Washburn, Will Arbery, Matthew Lopez, Anna Deveare Smith and Qui Nguyen. Chapters also present new research for classic plays such as Measure for Measure and Cyrano, arguments for teaching science through drama, changing approaches for training actors, and using the insights of neuroscience to lure audiences back to live theatre. This year's volume also features a new interview with playwright Anne Washburn and seven book reviews centered on drama and theatre studies.
The Five Secrets of James Bond
To unravel the mysteries of his majesty's faithful secret agent, Alyosha Wald Lasowski uses the best techniques of current decoding. From gender studies to postcolonial thought, from popular culture to geopolitics, the author lays bare the mysteries encodedin the twenty-five Bond films. Lasowski even goes so far as to invent the "philoscopic approach," which lays bare what seems invisible on the screen.From Doctor No in 1962 to No Time to Die in 2021, The Five Secrets of James Bond brings an unusual approach that shows the most famous secret agent in a different light.
Rethinking Theatre
Sean Holmes's career in the theatre spans over 20 years, directing productions at the RSC, Donmar Warehouse, Old Vic, Royal Court, Filter Theatre and the Oxford Stage Company. He took over as Artistic Director of the Lyric Hammersmith, London, in 2009 where he has overseen the renovation of the building and has introduced a whole new audience to the venue through ventures like Secret Theatre - one of the most ambitious theatrical experiments that has happened; premiering radical new work, such as Simon Stephens's controversial Three Kingdoms; and launching groundbreaking revivals such as Edward Bond's Saved, Sarah Kane's Blasted and Mark Ravenhill's Shopping and F***ing. In this collection of essays, Sean Holmes considers where theatre is at today through the lens of his own experience and career. He explores the process of creating theatre and his own approaches to directing; the experience of being in the rehearsal room; the power of the dramatic gesture; the role of dramaturgy; the process of casting; the importance of moving away from literalism; how you can reinvent expectations in what you do; and what theatre does, what traditions influence it, and why we do it. Remarkably fresh and insightful, these essays are an invaluable way to learn about contemporary theatre and to find out what it is like to be at the centre of the creation of theatre from one of the foremost theatre makers of today.
Conversations After Sex and Trade
Multiple award-winning Mark O'Halloran is one of Ireland's most celebrated writers. Two play spanning 12 years of work come together in one published edition to coincide with the New York premiere in January 2023. CONVERSATIONS AFTER SEX You remind me of someone though. I mean you're not like him. Not physically like him. Nowhere near. But there's something there. Your voice or how you hold yourself. Your hands. In a series of unexpected and unguarded conversations after anonymous sexual encounters, a woman discovered men with the same deep need to communicate and connect in the lonely, atomised city. 'A portrayal of grief that is unforgettable in its rawness' - The Guardian TRADE "This is just this. It isn't real. It's money." In a guesthouse in Dublin's north inner city, a vulnerable and confused young rent-boy sits with a middle-aged client. It's not the first time they've met but today the older man has blood on his shirt. A lot has happened since they last met. 'It closes around your heart like a fist' - The Irish Times
X'Ntigone
Sometimes a person needs to create an act that destroys the world because the world is broken. The virus has ravaged Thebes. Millions are dead and the economy has tanked. Vaccinations have been administered and the Festival of Liberty is imminent. Things are finally about to change. The countdown is on but leader Creon and his quarantined niece, the self-identifying X'ntigone, have unfinished business before the celebrations can commence. What happens when old-world order meets a radical new world vision? In this thrilling meditation on Sophocles' timeless Greek tragedy, political expediency meets the voice of a generation who want to tear down the power structures that have ill-served a crumbling state. Darren Murphy's X'ntigone is a fresh and vital discourse for our times, when even truth has been sacrificed at the altar of political gain and avarice.
Creating Space for Shakespeare
Applied Shakespeare is attracting growing interest from practitioners and academics alike, all keen to understand the ways in which performing his works can offer opportunities for reflection, transformation, dialogue regarding social justice, and challenging of perceived limitations. This book adds a new dimension to the field by taking an interdisciplinary approach to topics which have traditionally been studied individually, examining the communication opportunities Shakespeare's work can offer for a range of marginalized people. It draws on a diverse range of projects from across the globe, many of which the author has facilitated or been directly involved with, including those with incarcerated people, people with mental health issues, learning disabilities and who have experienced homelessness. As this book evidences, Shakespeare can be used to alter the spatial constraints of people who feel imprisoned, whether literally or metaphorically, enabling them to speak and to be heard in ways which may previously have been elusive or unattainable. The book examines the use of trauma-informed principles to explore the ways in which consistency, longevity, trust and collaboration enable the development of resilience, positive autonomy and communication skills. It explores this phenomenon of creating space for people to find their own way of expressing themselves in a way that mainstream society can understand, whilst also challenging society to 'see better' and to hear better. This is not a process of social homogenisation but of encouraging positive interactions and removing the stigma of marginalization.
Cinema and the Environment in Eastern Europe
The annexation of Eastern Europe to the Soviet sphere after World War II dramatically reshaped popular understandings of the natural environment. With an eco-critical approach, Cinema and the Environment in Eastern Europe breaks new ground in documenting how filmmakers increasingly saw cinema as a tool to critique the social and environmental damage of large-scale projects from socialist regimes and newly forming capitalist presences. New and established scholars with backgrounds across Europe, the United States, and Australia come together to reflect on how the cultural sphere has, and can still, play a role in redefining our relationship to nature.
Careful the Spell You Cast
Stephen Sondheim is one of the best-known and most-loved musical theatre composers, but also one of the most misunderstood, often being labelled as 'distant' or 'cynical'. Careful the Spell You Cast instead argues that Sondheim firmly belongs to the Broadway aspirational tradition, in that many of his characters are defined by their dreams: to abandon one's dream (as Ben does in Follies, Frank does in Merrily We Roll Along, and Addison does in Road Show) is to lose one's soul. Rather than take the established view of Sondheim as a cynic, this book contends that throughout Sondheim's work, letting go of one's illusions is a process that his characters need to go through, that they must cast off illusions and false dreams, without becoming cynical and destroying their genuine dreams in the process. In turn this view aligns Sondheim's work as being aspirational and a logical continuation from the work of his mentor, Oscar Hammerstein II. Following the trajectory of Sondheim's career, Careful the Spell You Cast shows how Sondheim has dramatized this process throughout his writing life alongside different collaborators. From his work as a lyricist with the musicals Gypsy and West Side Story through to his later collaborations with Hal Prince (Company, Follies) and James Lapine (Into the Woods, Sunday in the Park with George), this book reframes the established view through lyrical and structural analysis in relation to the characters within each of these celebrated works of musical theatre, arguing that Sondheim is, in the popular sense of the word, a romantic within the tradition of the Broadway musical.
Urban Landscapes and National Visions in Post-Millennial South Korean Cinema
This book explores South Korean cinema's inimitable relationship with the urban landscape and identifies the ways in which Seoul is utilised as a celluloid canvas, national artefact and, above all else, a distinctive cultural backdrop. Using five different approaches to urban space, from five distinctive and contrasting theoretical perspectives, Urban Landscapes in Post-Millennial South Korean Cinema investigates and seeks to understand why the cinematic representation, identity and presence of Seoul have been central to the preservation and recognition of the South Korean film industry as an independent, autonomous and nationally unique institution.
Screening Social Justice
In Screening Social Justice, award-winning anthropologist Sherry B. Ortner presents an ethnographic study of Brave New Films, a nonprofit film production company that makes documentaries intended to mobilize progressive grassroots activism. Ortner positions the work of the company within a tradition of activist documentary filmmaking and within the larger field of "alternative media" that is committed to challenging the mainstream media and telling the truth about the world today. The company's films cover a range of social justice issues, with particular focus on the hidden workings of capitalism, racism, and right-wing extremism. Beyond the films themselves, Brave New Films is also famous for its creative distribution strategies. All of the films are available for free on YouTube. Central to the intention of promoting political activism, the films circulate through networks of other activist and social justice organizations and are shown almost entirely in live screenings in which the power of the film is amplified. Ortner takes the reader inside both the production process and the screenings to show how a film can be made and used to mobilize action for a better world.
The Comedy Bible Workbook
This workbook is a must-have for the owners of Judy Carter's "The New Comedy Bible." It provides a proven method for creating, capturing, and honing pro comedy material. Think of it as a "how-to" manual for building a comedy career, joke by joke.It provides 5 sections for readers to workshop their material: Section 1: 48 Exercises to Turn Problems into PunchlinesSection 2: Jokes in Progress by Topic (Place to write & workshop material in progress)Section 3: My Act: Polished Jokes by Topic (Final resting place of your comedy gems)Section 4: Set Lists (Place to store the running order of your act based on time & theme)Section 5: Morning Writings (30 writing prompts to create material)
Resilience for Actors
Life as an actor is full of setbacks. Discover proven psychology techniques to avoid damaging your mental health and sinking into despair. Building a successful acting career requires resilience. Whether going to auditions, applying to drama school, or battling unemployment, you must be able to bounce back from setbacks and keep going. Resilient actors benefit from the "familiarity effect: " the more industry professionals see you, the more they like you, and the more opportunities you get. But how do you keep going despite repeated setbacks? How do you shake off the painful feelings that arise and get back in the game with a healthy mindset? Encountering a setback changes your brain chemistry, which depletes your energy and affects your state of mind. Repeated setbacks can have a cumulative effect, making it harder to bounce back and take on new challenges. Fortunately, psychologists have studied these negative effects and developed a range of powerful techniques to avoid falling down this slippery slope. Resilience for Actors distills these psychological insights specifically for actors using clear and jargon-free language. Whether you got knocked back after delivering an amazing audition, or recently got fired from an acting job, this book provides you with the tools to bounce back and go after the next opportunity with optimism and enthusiasm. Read this book and discover: How to deal with rejection in a positive wayHow to recover from disappointmentHow to stop the vicious cycle of despairMindset hacks to turn failure into successPractical tools you can use straight awayShort enough to read in an afternoon, yet jam-packed with practical advice, Resilience for Actors will help you overcome any setback and find your inner strength. Alexa Ispas holds a PhD in psychology from the University of Edinburgh. The books in her Psychology for Actors Series provide actors with proven psychology techniques to thrive and build a successful career.
Keith Richards
In 1992, Victor Bockris's celebrated biography was the first to recognise Richards's pivotal role in the legend of the Rolling Stones. Now that book on rock's most incredible survivor has been expanded.Here are the true facts behind Richards' battles with his demons: the women, the drugs and the love-hate-relationship with Jagger. His struggle with heroin and his status as the rock star most likely to die in the 1970s. His scarcely believable rebirth as a family man in the 1980s. Illuminated with revealing quotes and thoughtful insights into the man behind the band that goes on forever.
Yul Brynner
Yul Brynner's star image was built on cosmopolitan flair, shifting tales of origin, baldness, as well as film roles as foreign rulers, freedom fighters, army officials, gunslingers and secret agents of ever-shifting ethnicities. Whether Cossacks, marauding pirate captains or cross-dressing torch singers, Brynner's characters were invariably stand-outs.This book explores his exotic and masculine star image and its transformations from lavish Orientalist Hollywood spectacles of the 1950s to 1960s European co-productions, 1970s action films and scifi. Extensively researched, it covers the actor's entire film catalogue, his rumoured yet unrealised projects, television work and stage appearances, as well as their international media reception. Thematically organised, the book inquires after racial casting politics, the construction of sex symbols, Brynner's humanitarian work and the recurring poses and gestures that characterised his performance style.
A Collection of One Act Plays
Henry has written a number of plays. This collection includes his one act plays. Three of these plays were written in collaboration with Dan Nolan. A number of the plays are in rehearsal format which means they are performed with scripts as if they were a first rehearsal. The plays span from comic mayhem to murder.
Playwriting
This book is ideal for anyone keen to understand how contemporary plays and playwrights work, particularly those wanting to write for the stage themselves. Drawing heavily on contemporary practice, it considers moments from a range of plays, with a focus on those from the National Theatre's repertoire. The book embraces a range of different dramaturgical structures and styles popular today; plays by a diverse selection of writers; and the current openness of dramatic form. A book of tools, rather than rules, this guide provides suggestions and provocations, exercises and tricks, examples and discussions. An ideal text for playwrights to hone their craft.
American Rivals of James Bond
This is a critical history of spy fiction, film and television in the United States, with a particular focus on the American fictional spies that rivaled (and were often influenced by) Ian Fleming's James Bond. James Fenimore Cooper's Harvey Birch, based on a real-life counterpart, appeared in his novel The Spy in 1821. While Harvey Birch's British rivals dominated spy fiction from the late 1800s until the mid-1930s, American spy fiction came of age shortly thereafter. The spy boom in novels and films during the 1960s, spearheaded by Bond, heavily influenced the espionage genre in the United States for years to come, including series like The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Matt Helm. The author demonstrates that, while American authors currently dominate the international spy fiction market, James Bond has cast a very long shadow, for a very long time.
Not of the Living Dead
A killer monkey. Suburban witchcraft. Motorcycle jousting. A cockroach invasion. Despite this enticing list of other subjects, George A. Romero is best known for the genre-defining 1968 film Night of the Living Dead and subsequent zombie films. The non-zombie films in his decades-long career have gotten varied degrees of critical examination but they remain underexamined compared to the Dead flicks. This book focuses on Romero's "other" work, highlighting lesser-known films such as There's Always Vanilla (1971) and Bruiser (2000), as well as more popular films such as Martin (1977) and The Crazies (1973). It examines how his body of work participates in social critique by delving into issues such as capitalism's pitfalls and excesses, domestic and racial power imbalances, and our patriarchal culture's expectations of masculinity, femininity, and sexuality.
Crowdfunding and Independence in Film and Music
This book explores how independent film and music artists and labels use crowdfunding and where this use places crowdfunding in the contemporary system of cultural production. It complements an analysis of independence in film and music with the topic of crowdfunding as a firmly established form of financing cultural activity.
Monologues from Shakespeare’s First Folio for Younger Men
Monologues from Shakespeare's First Folio for Younger Men: The Tragedies , Curated from the Applause three-volume series, Once More unto the Speech, Dear Friends, edited by Neil Freeman, these monologue from Shakespeare's works are given new life and purpose for today's readers and actors alike.
Monologues from Shakespeare’s First Folio for Any Gender
Monologues from Shakespeare's First Folio for Any Gender: The Histories , Curated from the Applause three-volume series, Once More unto the Speech, Dear Friends, edited by Neil Freeman, these monologue from Shakespeare's works are given new life and purpose for today's readers and actors alike.
Monologues from Shakespeare’s First Folio for Older Men
Monologues from Shakespeare's First Folio for Older Men: The Tragedies , Curated from the Applause three-volume series, Once More unto the Speech, Dear Friends, edited by Neil Freeman, these monologue from Shakespeare's works are given new life and purpose for today's readers and actors alike.
Stages of Theater
Stages of Theater: The Dramatic Criticism of Stanley Kauffmann, 1951-2006 is a collection of 100 pieces of dramatic criticism by the late Stanley Kauffmann (1916-2013). Kauffmann's creative life spanned seven decades: starting in 1951 and continuing until 2013, he was a drama (and film) critic for the New Republic, the New York Times, and Saturday Review. He was also an actor, stage manager, playwright, novelist, professor, and editor. Along with John Simon, Robert Brustein, and Richard Gilman, Kauffmann was one of the most potent, influential critics included in the New York school of twentieth-century American theater criticism.With style and erudition Kauffmann discusses plays and productions from the following countries in Stages of Theater: England, the United States, France, Spain, Russia, Ireland, Germany, Sweden, Greece, South Africa, Norway, and Spain. Among the many works discussed are Phaedra, by Jean Racine; The Caucasian Chalk Circle, by Bertolt Brecht; The Dance of Death, by August Strindberg; All's Well That Ends Well, by William Shakespeare; The Three Sisters, by Anton Chekhov; Old Times, by Harold Pinter; The Master Builder, by Henrik Ibsen; The Misanthrope, by Moli癡re; The Bacchae, by Euripides; and Strange Interlude, by Eugene O'Neill.Also included in Stages of Theater are essays and articles on the following subjects: theater versus film; the idea of repertory; recorded drama; Shakespeare and the cinema; Broadway and Off-Broadway; the genre of comedy; and bio-criticism concerning such figures as Edmund Kean, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Bernard Shaw. Once again, the precision, wit, and wisdom of Kauffmann's writing chime in Stages of Theater, as he reveals his sense of cultural mission-and love of all the arts-by applying to theater and drama the same high standards he applied during his long career to fiction, poetry, music, and film.
Mirrors
MIRRORS by Azure D. Osborne-Lee. A rich, poetic, spine-tingling play about Black women, queerness, the madness and sadness of the American South and everyday hauntings. When 17 year-old Alma Jean finds her mother dead, she must pack up her life and move in with her mother's ex-lover, a woman she doesn't know. Her new guardian, Bird Wilson, is the town pariah and unused to sharing her home. Will mourning the death of a shared loved one bring Alma Jean and Bird together or push them further apart? This book is a NoPassport Press edition.
The Tragedy at Cambria
The Tragedy at Cambria, a three-act play written in rhyming iambic pentameter, tells a story of love, deception, and power. In the medieval kingdom of Cambria, aging King John faces a grave decision. His forebearers created extremely strict laws regarding unwed pregnancy, and now a sixteen-year-old girl, Plain Jane, is guilty of being with child. Either Jane or the baby must die. At Queen Beatrice's urging, King John assigns their teenage son and only heir, their beloved Prince Scott, to determine Jane's fate as a test of his maturity, but what should be a simple task becomes complicated when the compassionate prince attempts various schemes to try to save both mother and child. As his plans go awry, the prince sinks into deep despair, and his odds for ascending the throne wane. But Jane isn't the only Cambrian who's been breaking morality laws. As infidelities are revealed that directly affect his family, King John must reconcile his knowledge with his position of power in order to save the future of his kingdom.Behold a land where ancient statutes rule, Where laws that once served well have since waxed cruel, Where lovers are confined to marriage bed, And babies got by those who are unwedAre oftentimes forsaken-or born dead. What good can come from such a place as this?Where citizens can see what is amissBut turn their heads pretending all is well?A child, a bastard child, I do foretell- But not before our king knows royal hell. Soothsayer
Gastronogeek Anime Cookbook
40 recipes dedicated to anime and inspired by the greatest works of recent years, from Naruto to Attack on Titan, from chef and pop-culture expert, Thibaud Villanova, author of The Unofficial Zelda Cookbook and The Unofficial Ghibli Cookbook. Dive into an incredible gourmet universe of anime, from the great classics of the 80s to newcomers on the small screen. Re-discover the most essential and popular works of the moment in this collection in the most gourmet way possible, from the One Piece Sanji and Tajiro Curry to the Your Name Dream Souffle Pancakes! Teeming with cult references, this gourmet tribute will immerse you in astonishing anime universes: - Fruits Basket- Demon Slayer- Attack on Titan- Naruto- One Piece- JoJo's Bizarre Adventure- Hunter x Hunter- My Hero Academia- Cowboy Bebop- Fairy Tail- Fullmetal Alchemist- Your Name
Fairy Tales of Appalachia
While taking a graduate course in Appalachian literature at the University of Tennessee, Stacy Sivinski was surprised to discover that much of the folklore she had heard while growing up in Schuyler, Virginia, was rarely represented in popular published collections. In particular, they lacked the strong female heroines she had come to know, and most anthologies were full of Jack Tales--stories that focus on the adventures of the character from "Jack and the Beanstalk." Feminist critics have long discussed the gender inequalities and stereotypes that fairy tales often promote. With Fairy Tales of Appalachia, Sivinski asks whether such conclusions are inevitable and invites a fresh analysis of these regional tales with a contemporary sense of wonder. These tales, carefully and thoughtfully transcribed by Sivinski, have been passed down through Appalachia's oral histories over decades and even centuries. This wonderful selection was mainly drawn from the Archives of Appalachia at East Tennessee State University and special collections at Berea College. Drawing on the work of other regional archivists and folklorists, Sivinski grapples with issues of gender balance in Appalachian storytelling. The problem, Sivinski posits, does not rest with the fairy tale genre itself but in the canonization process, in which women's contributions have been diminished as oral traditions become transcribed. Appalachian women have historically demonstrated resilience, wit, and adaptability, and it is time that more collections of regional folklore reorient themselves to make this fact more apparent. Stories are living, breathing narratives, meant not just to be read but to be read aloud. This timely selection of unique stories, along with beautiful, evocative illustrations, makes Fairy Tales of Appalachia an intriguing addition to the much-contested "fairy tale canon."
A Working Costume Designer's Guide to Fit
A Working Costume Designer's Guide to Fit explores the concept of fit in theatrical costumes - what it is, how to assess it, and how to achieve it. Being able to assess whether a costume fits or not is a learned skill, which takes practice as well as information about what the fit standards are for different types of garments. Filled with detailed step-by-step illustrations, this book provides all the knowledge readers will need in order to achieve the perfect fit for their costumes, including: How costumes can support actors onstage when they fit correctly How to take measurements and how to assess them How to conduct a fitting and what materials are needed How to resolve a number of issues that may arise during a fitting How to fit a mockup test garment in preparation for building a costume from scratch How to adjust a garment or mockup to fit better Chapters 8-14 also explore different categories of garments and discuss how to check them against the wearer's measurements before trying them on, what the standards of fit are for each category, and how to fit an existing garment. This is an essential guide for students of Costume Design courses and professional costume designers of any experience level.
Find Your Voice
Everyone longs to be heard, but what does it take to cultivate your voice, hook your audience, and share your passion? Uncover your communication superpower and how to overcome your Kryptonite. Discover four secret forces every message needs. Then, get ready to impact your world as you find your voice.
The BoxWhatBox Book
What if an actor possessed the expressive tools to work across cultures? Actor, director, and playwright Michael Devine (Playing Outside the Lines: Collected Plays I) has spent years bridging cultures in both performance and training. Through an exploration of the core principles of power, control, and joy, BoxWhatBox frees the artist from habits that inhibit their development and their ability to create, and which confine them within the box of their own cultures and lived experience. With case studies, photographs, and engaging games, exercises, and 矇tudes, BoxWhatBox is the practical handbook for any actor who desires to inspire.
Mediatized Dramaturgy
This study explores the ways in which playtexts have evolved in relation to the sociocultural and cognitive conditions of a mediatized age, and how they, in form and content, respond to this environment and open up new critical possibilities in text and performance. The study combines theatre and media theory through the innovative concept of 'mediatized dramaturgy' and offers conceptual reflections on the ways in which a playtext negotiates the new reality of contemporary culture. The book scrutinizes the form of playtexts and works through the exchange between text and performance by exploring contemporary works such as Simon Stephens's Pornography, Caryl Churchill's Love and Information, and David Greig's The Yes/No Plays, and their selected productions. Offering a pioneering intervention that expands discussions about the mediatization of theatre, and new playwriting, Mediatized Dramaturgyproposes areas for discussion that appeal to researchers, audiences and practitioners with an interest in the sub-field of media and performance, and British and North American drama and theatre. Media technologies and their socio-cultural repercussions have increasingly influenced theatre, particularly since the ubiquitous prevalence of digital technologies from the 1990s onwards. Consequently, new modes such as digital and intermedial theatre have come to populate and transform the theatre practice and scholarship. In this changing theatrical landscape, what has happened to plays in the historically text-oriented British theatre? How has playtext changed in an age of theatre marked by mediatization and its possibilities?
Gays on Broadway
A fascinating look at the gay and lesbian influence on the American stage by an internationally-recognized authority on the topic From the genteel female impersonators of the 1910s to the raucous drag queens of La Cage Aux Folles, from the men of The Normal Heart to the women of Fun Home, and from Eva Le Gallienne and Tallulah Bankhead to Tennessee Williams and Nathan Lane, Gays On Broadway deftly chronicles the plays and people that brought gay culture to Broadway. Writing with his customary verve and wit, author Ethan Mordden follows the steady liberation of gay themes on the American stage. The story begins in the early twentieth century, when gay characters were virtually banned from productions. The 1920s saw a flurry of plays closed on moral grounds as well as the Wales Padlock Act, which forbade representation of "sex degeneracy". While authorities made consistent attempts to shutter the movement, the public remained curious, and after a few decades of war making, a truce broke out when The Boys In the Band became a national smash hit. From this point on, gay theatre proved simply too popular to abolish. With this change, theatre was graced with a host of unforgettable characters - from thrill killers to historical figures to drag performers, as well as professional gays (such as the defiantly effeminate window dresser in Kiss of the Spider Woman), closeted gays, and those run-of-the-mill citizens who don't reside entirely within the colorful nonconformist identity (such as the two male lovers in the dinner-theatre comedy Norman, Is That You?). Spoken plays and musicals, playwrights, directors, and actors all played their part in popularizing the gay movement through art. Gays on Broadway is an essential chronological review of the long journey to bring the culture of gay men and women onto the American stage.
Directing Your Heart Out
A ground-floor guide to the practice and philosophy of directing that is open to all, including newcomers to the field. Through a series of concise and engaging essays, Directing Your Heart Out will inspire the next generation of theatre directors by encouraging them to approach the craft through instinct, compassion and the uninhibited expression of their own voice and vision. Each of the book's essays deals with a core principle of directing, such as strategies for directing text; facilitating productive discussion in rehearsals; absorbing criticism; and maintaining a positive work environment. Taken together, they serve as an effective introduction to the fundamentals of directing, or as provocative supplementary readings alongside traditional directing textbooks. En route, it references: > more than 20 directors and choreographers> major contemporary ensembles such as The Wooster Group, SITI Company and Back to Back Theatre> key terminology, such as objective, action, obstacle, realism and absurdism > over 12 plays, including a close-reading of a scene from The Seagull Encouraging an approach to directing that is grounded in self-empowerment and set out accessibly, this book opens up directing to the first-time director or student from a range of backgrounds, as well as the seasoned professional, who will benefit from the many revisionary, fresh perspectives.
Latinx Actor Training
Latinx Actor Training presents essays and pioneering research from leading Latinx practitioners and scholars in the United States to examine the history and future of Latino/a/x actor training practices and approaches.　
American Dramatists in the 21st Century
In American Dramatists in the 21st Century: Opening Doors, Christopher Bigsby examines the careers of seven award-winning playwrights: David Adjmi, Julia Cho, Jackie Sibblies Drury, Will Eno, Martyna Majok, Dominique Morisseau and Anna Ziegler. In addition to covering all their plays, including several as yet unpublished, he notes their critical reception while drawing on their own commentary on their approach to writing and the business of developing a career. The writers studied come from a diverse range of racial, religious and immigrant backgrounds. Five of the seven are women. Together, they open doors on a changing theatre and a changing America, as ever concerned with identity, both personal and national. This is the third in a series of books which, together, have explored the work of twenty-four American playwrights who have emerged in the current century.
Three Plays by Squint & How They Were Made
How do playwrights write collaboratively? What role can improvisation play in unlocking a story? When does research spark the imagination and when does it get in the way? Long Story Short is a collection of plays and a toolkit for writers, devisers, dramaturgs and theatre-makers. Inspired by Squint's collaborative practice and drawing on the company's renowned education programme, Long Story Short lifts the lid on the company's methodology. It provides a range of tools and techniques for any aspiring artist who is looking to form a company, write a play, devise from scratch - or all three. Squint's plays are published here for the first time; Long Story Short (2014) - a whirling dissection of journalism in the digital age; Molly(2015) - a reality television-style journey into the warped mind of a sociopath; and The Incredible True Story Of The Johnstown Flood (2023) - a transatlantic exploration of class, exploitation and the act of storytelling. Alongside the plays is The Squint Toolkit; 30 exercises from the company's theatre-making process. These exercises are presented in a user-friendly way covering topics such as, writing subtext, devising from music, carrying out research and generating story through improvisation. Plays, commentary and practice come together in a book that sheds light on the peaks and pitfalls involved in growing a company and developing an artistic ethos across over ten years.
The Musical Theatre Composer as Dramatist
Dramaturgy is at the heart of any musical theatre score, proving that song and music combined can collectively act as drama. The Musical Theatre Composer as Dramatist: A Handbook for Collaboration offers techniques for approaching a musical with the drama at the centre of the music. Written by a working composer of British musical theatre, this original and highly practical book is intended for composers, students of musical theatre and performing arts and their collaborators. Through detailed case studies, conceptual frameworks and frank analysis, this book encourages the collaboration between the languages of music and drama. It offers a shared language for talking about music in the creation of musical theatre, as well as practical exercises for both composers and their collaborators and ways of analysing existing musical theatre scores for those who are versed in musical terminology, and those who are not. Speaking directly to the contemporary artist, working examples are drawn from a wide range of musicals throughout Part One, before a full case study analysis of Everybody's Talking About Jamie brings all the ideas together in Part Two. Part Three offers a range of practical exercises for anyone creating new musicals, particularly composers and their collaborators.
The Clowning Workbook
Using the techniques and insights of clowning, this book draws on original workshops and research to provide practical clowning exercises to develop wider acting practice in innovative ways. The book offers guidance and explanation to key concepts in clowning, including the dynamics of the clown-audience relationship; the relationship between script, text and improvisation; and movement and voice, offering fresh and inspiring angles from which to view actor training. The Clowning Workbook for Actors and Performers is part of the acclaimed Theatre Arts Workbooks series and features its characteristic blend of student-focused exercises with pedagogical tips for teachers.
The Incredibly Strange Features of Ray Dennis Steckler
American filmmaker Ray Dennis Steckler may forever be remembered for his cult classic The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies!!? but his career path is even more fascinating than his strange signature film. Between 1962 and 1986, Steckler wrote, directed, edited and occasionally acted in nine more underground feature films. After his live oddities roadshows helped propel the director to even greater cult infamy, Steckler turned his camera towards the adult film world. Between 1970 and 1984, Steckler directed no fewer than three dozen of these explicit genre pieces. This book covers Steckler's nearly 50 movies, including several lost, incomplete or experimental films. Each entry includes a full list of cast and crew credits, along with a plot synopsis, plenty of images and behind-the-scenes anecdotes. Transcriptions of the author's interviews with Steckler's ex-wife Carolyn Brandt, his daughter Laura H. Steckler, actor Ron Jason and stuntman and actor Gary Kent are included along with an homage chapter and an overview of the director's collectable memorabilia.
