Performing Arts : Theater

This text chronicles the development of dramatic writing and performance in South Africa from when the country came into official existence to the advent of post-apartheid. It discusses well-known figures and famous phenomena, and lesser known contributors that have enriched their theatre. more...

Price: $44.95

Moss Hart once said that you never really learn how to write a play; you only learn how to write this play. Crafted with that adage in mind, The Dramatic Writer’s Companion is designed to help writers explore their own ideas in order to develop the script in front of them. No ordinary guide to plotting, this handbook starts with the principle that character is key. “The character is not something added to the scene or to the story,” writes author Will Dunne. “Rather, the character is the scene. The character is the story.” Having spent decades working with dramatists to refine and expand their existing plays and screenplays, Dunne effortlessly blends condensed dramatic theory with specific action steps—over sixty workshop-tested exercises that can be adapted to virtually any individual writing process and dramatic script. Dunne’s in-depth method is both instinctual and intellectual, allowing writers to discover new actions for their characters and new directions for their stories. Dunne’s own experience is a crucial element of this guide. His plays have been selected by the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center for three U.S. National Playwrights Conferences and have earned numerous honors, including a Charles MacArthur Fellowship, four Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Awards, and two Drama-Logue Playwriting Awards. Thousands of individuals have already benefited from his workshops, and The Dramatic Writer’s Companion promises to bring his remarkable creative method to an even wider audience. more...

Price: $19.00

The Early Stuart Masque studies the complex impact of movements, costumes, words, scenes, music, and special effects in English illusionistic theatre of the Renaissance. It will be a valuable resource for all who are interested in English drama, dance, and music of the early modern period, including scholars and students within English literature, as well as modern artists, directors, and producers. - ;The Early Stuart Masque: Dance, Costume, and Music studies the complex impact of movements, costumes, words, scenes, music, and special effects in English illusionistic theatre of the Renaissance. Drawing on a massive amount of documentary evidence relating to English productions as well as spectacle in France, Italy, Germany, and the Ottoman Empire, the book elucidates professional ballet, theatre management, and dramatic performance at the early Stuart court. Individual. studies take a fresh look at works by Ben Jonson, Samuel Daniel, Thomas Carew, John Milton, William Davenant, and others, showing how court poets collaborated with tailors, designers, technicians, choreographers, and aristocratic as well as professional performers to create a dazzling event. Based on extensive. archival research on the households of Queen Anne and Queen Henrietta Maria, special chapters highlight the artistic and financial control of Stuart queens over their masques and pastorals. Many plates and figures from German, Austrian, French, and English archives illustrate accessibly-written introductions to costume conventions, early dance styles, male and female performers, the dramatic symbolism of colours, and stage design in performance. With splendid costumes and choreographies,. masques once appealed to the five senses. A tribute to their colourful brilliance, this book seeks to recover a lost dimension of performance culture in early modern England. - ;Ravelhofer breaks new ground in exploring how masques actually worked...This is a valuable study full of new information culled fro more...

Price: $55.00

A biography equal to the outsized personality of one of Broadway’s best-loved stars. From her breakout rendition of George Gershwin’s “I Got Rhythm” in 1930 to her triumphant performance as Gypsy’s Mama Rose in 1959, Ethel Merman defined Broadway stardom for two generations of music lovers. Merman’s singing voice—brassy, penetrating, and undeniably American—has transcended genre and era to become a cultural icon. As an entertainer she burned with unstoppable energy. Offstage she was the original diva, a woman who knew what she wanted and brooked no interference. Her spats and frequently off-color zingers have become part of theater lore. In this entertaining and authoritative biography, Brian Kellow traces Merman’s life from her childhood in Queens, New York, through her three decades at the peak of Broadway celebrity. In an era dominated by outsized personalities and egos, none was more vibrant and powerful than Merman’s, yet beneath the tough-dame image was an enormously vulnerable and often lonely woman. Kellow’s book, which includes recollections from more than 120 of Merman’s friends, colleagues, and family members, stands as the definitive biography and an affectionate portrait of an unforgettable star. Fans of Broadway history and of the great Ethel Merman will find Kellow’s biography an irresistible read. more...

Price: $16.00

Attending to the dialogue between the comic events in plays by female writers of the 18th century and the plays' more predictable comic endings illuminates the philosophical, political and legal arguements about women and marrige that fascinated the playwrights and the theatre-going public. more...

Price: $79.95