The World of Theatre Tradition and Innovation

, by Felner, Mira; Orenstein, Claudia

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ISBN: 9780205360635 | 0205360637
Cover: Paperback
Copyright: 7/19/2005

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Summary

The World of Theatre: Tradition and Innovation is the first introduction to theatre text to fully focus on diversity and globalism, integrating coverage of multicultural, international, and experimental theatre throughout. This text sets itself apart from the competition in asserting that theatre is a multifaceted and evolving form that must be studied in all of its variety in order to be fully understood. It reflects the changing and increasingly diverse student population as no other text does. Book jacket.

Features at a Glance

Preface

xvii

Part One. Navigating the World of Theatre

(46)

Theatre: A Global Experience

(20)

Theatrical Conventions and Culture

(4)

The Evolution of Conventions

(2)

Universals of the Theatre

(1)

Theatre Is Live

(1)

Theatre Is Ephemeral

(1)

Theatre Is Collaborative

(1)

Theatre Is a Synthesis of Many Arts

(1)

Tradition and Innovation

(5)

Postmodernism

(1)

Globalization

(1)

Multiculturalism

(1)

Interculturalism

(1)

Photo Essay Multiculturalism

(6)

Postcolonialism

(2)

Performance Studies

(2)

Theatre in Changing Times

(1)

Why Theatre Today?

(1)

Key Ideas

(2)

The Audience: Partners in Performance

(24)

The Audience and the Actor: The Invisible Bond

(1)

The Audience Is a Community

(1)

Audience Members Construct Meaning as Individuals

(2)

Personal Identity and the Construction of Meaning

(2)

Audience Members Choose Focus

(1)

Conventions of Audience Response

(1)

Audience Conventions in Western Theatre History

(4)

The Once-Active Audience

(3)

The Rise of the Passive Audience

(1)

Rebelling against Realism's Passive Audience

(1)

Political Theatre: Moving the Audience to Action

(7)

Agit-Prop: Activating the Audience

(1)

Bertolt Brecht: Challenging the Audience

(1)

Augusto Boal: Involving the Audience

(1)

The Living Theatre: Confronting the Audience

(3)

Engaging the Audience Today

(1)

From Provocation to Mainstream: The Evolution of a Convention

(1)

Meeting Theatre's Challenges

(2)

Key Ideas

(2)

Part Two. Encountering Traditions

(130)

Understanding Plays

(32)

Storytelling and Cultural Tradition

(1)

The Playwright Shapes the Story

(2)

Dramatic Structure

(13)

Climactic Structure

(2)

The Well-Made Play

(2)

Episodic Structure

(3)

Circular Structure

(1)

Serial Structure

(1)

Structural Variation: Playing with Time

(3)

Dramatic Characters

(5)

Character and Culture

(1)

Archetypal Characters

(1)

Psychological Characters

(1)

Stock Characters

(1)

Characters with a Dominant Trait

(1)

Depersonalized Characters

(1)

Deconstructed Characters

(1)

Dramatic Language

(4)

Advancing the Plot

(1)

Expressing Character

(1)

Provoking and Embodying Action

(1)

Compressing Emotion

(1)

Setting Mood, Tone, and Style

(2)

The Failure of Language

(1)

Form and Innovation

(3)

Reading the Play

(1)

Key Ideas

(3)

The European Written Tradition and Its Genres

(28)

Tragedy

(9)

Tragedy in Ancient Greece and Rome

(4)

Neoclassical Tragedy

(1)

Elizabethan and Jacobean Tragedy

(2)

Bourgeois and Romantic Drama

(1)

Modern Tragedy

(2)

Comedy

(8)

What Makes Us Laugh: The Tools of Comedy

(1)

Comic Forms

(6)

Tragicomedy

104

(4)

Modern Tragicomedy

105

(3)

Melodrama

108

(3)

Genre Today

111

(1)

Key Ideas

111

(2)

Performance Traditions: Legacy and Renewal

113

(36)

Indian Sanskrit Theatre

115

(3)

The Theory of Rasa

116

(1)

Performance Conventions

116

(1)

Sanskrit Plays

117

(1)

Kutiyattam and Kathakali

117

(1)

Mime and the Commedia dell' Arte Tradition

118

(4)

The Mime Tradition in Antiquity

118

(1)

The Birth of Commedia dell'Arte

119

(1)

The Commedia Form

119

(2)

The Evolution of Commedia

121

(1)

Japanese Traditions

122

(10)

The Noh Theatre

122

(5)

Kyogen

127

(2)

Kabuki

129

(3)

Chinese Opera

132

(4)

Makeup and Costume

133

(1)

Movement and Music

134

(1)

The Twentieth Century and Beyond

134

(2)

Carnival Tradition

136

(4)

Carnival's European Origins

136

(1)

African Influence in Colonial Latin America and the Caribbean

136

(1)

Carnival as Political Street Theatre

137

(1)

Carnival Adapts and Evolves

138

(2)

Puppet Traditions around the Globe

140

(6)

Puppets and Ritual

141

(2)

Puppets and the Popular Voice

143

(1)

Puppets and Written Texts

144

(1)

Puppetry in the Twentieth Century and Today

145

(1)

Traditions Evolve

146

(1)

Key Ideas

146

(3)

Alternative Paths to Performance

149

(30)

Other Authors, Other Texts, Other Forms

150

(1)

Creating through Improvisation

150

(2)

The Performance Ensemble and Collaborative Creation

152

(4)

1960s Experimental Collaboration

153

(1)

Contemporary Collaborative Work

153

(3)

Mime and Movement Theatre

156

(2)

Modern Mime

157

(1)

The Variety Entertainer

158

(3)

Clowns and Fools

158

(1)

Variety Entertainment and the Avant-Garde

159

(2)

The Storyteller

161

(3)

Telling the Community's Story

161

(1)

Telling Personal Stories

162

(2)

The Journalist and Social Historian: Documentary Theatre

164

(3)

Solo Social Documentarians

164

(1)

Docudramas

165

(1)

Reenactments or Living Histories

166

(1)

Music and Dance Theatre

167

(2)

The American Musical

169

(5)

Composers, Lyricists, and Choreographers as Authors

170

(1)

Multiculturalism and the American Musical

170

(1)

Dance in Musical Theatre

171

(1)

The American Musical Abroad

172

(2)

The Designer and the Theatre of Images

174

(2)

Sound and Image Theatre

176

(1)

The Diversity of Theatrical Forms

176

(1)

Key Ideas

177

(2)

Part Three. Shaping the Performance

179

(88)

The Actor: Theatre's Living Presence

181

(34)

The Thrill of Simulation

182

(1)

To Act Is Human

182

(1)

The Universal Qualities of Acting in the Theatre

183

(2)

What Does an Actor Do?

185

(1)

Presentational versus Representational Acting

185

(1)

The Actor's Dual Consciousness

186

(1)

Acting Reflects Culture

186

(2)

The Holy or Profane Actor

186

(2)

Convention and Believable Acting

188

(1)

Acting Conventions in the European Tradition

188

(1)

The Development of Actor Training

189

(13)

Constantin Stanislavski and the Science of Psychology

192

(3)

Explorations in Physical Training

195

(3)

Freeing the Actor's Energy

198

(4)

The Acting Profession Today

202

(1)

Stage and Film Acting

203

(1)

Acting in Performance Traditions

203

(5)

Traditional Asian Acting Styles and Training

204

(1)

Kathakali: A Case Study of Asian Training

205

(3)

The Puppeteer as Actor

208

(1)

Freedom within Constraint; Constraint within Freedom

208

(4)

Key Ideas

212

(3)

The Director: The Invisible Presence

215

(26)

Directors Mold the Theatrical Experience

216

(1)

Establishing and Manipulating Stage Convention

216

(1)

Directors Play a Double Role

217

(1)

Directing, a Recent Art

217

(3)

Before Directors, Who Ran the Show?

217

(1)

Rise of the Modern Director

218

(2)

The Director's Process: A Multiplicity of Approaches

220

(1)

The Director as Interpreter of a Dramatic Text

220

(10)

Choosing the Text

221

(1)

Establishing the Directorial Vision

221

(3)

Conceiving the Play for the Stage

224

(1)

High-Concept Directing

224

(2)

Shaping the Visual World

226

(2)

Working with Actors

228

(1)

Integrating the Elements of Production

229

(1)

The Director as Acting Guru

230

(2)

The Director as Auteur

232

(6)

Alternative Beginnings

233

(5)

The Director's Personal Qualities

238

(1)

Key Ideas

239

(2)

Theatre Spaces and Environments: The Silent Character

241

(26)

Space Creates Meaning

242

(3)

Space and Theatrical Convention

242

(1)

Space and Performance Evolve Together

243

(1)

The Boundaries of Theatre Spaces

243

(2)

Cultural Meanings of Theatre Spaces

245

(6)

Theatre Spaces and the Social Order

245

(2)

Theatre Space Reflects Technological Change

247

(1)

Theatre Architecture as Symbolic Design

248

(3)

Theatre Spaces and Environments

251

(1)

Traditional Theatre Spaces

252

(6)

Proscenium Stage

252

(2)

Theatre-in-the-Round or the Arena Stage

254

(2)

Thrust Stage

256

(2)

Flexible and Found Spaces

258

(6)

Street Theatre

258

(1)

Multifocus Staging

259

(2)

Environmental Staging

261

(1)

Site-Specific Staging

261

(1)

Black Box Theatres

262

(2)

The Actor in Space

264

(1)

Key Ideas

264

(3)

Part Four. Art and Technology: Design for the Theatre

267

(120)

Approaches to Design

269

(22)

Design in Performance Traditions

270

(6)

Costume, Makeup, and Masks

270

(5)

Set

275

(1)

Photo Essay Clowns

276

(6)

Light

278

(2)

Sound

280

(1)

Master Artisans

281

(1)

Western Design before the Interpretive Model

282

(1)

Realistic Design

283

(1)

Photo Essay Illusions of Reality

284

(1)

Abstract Design

285

(1)

Photo Essay Modernism in Design

286

(3)

Contemporary Design: Collaboration and Evolution

289

(1)

Key Ideas

289

(2)

Setting the Stage

291

(26)

Goals of Set Design

292

(1)

Photo Essay Designing the Character's World

293

(3)

The Set Designer's Process: Collaboration, Discussion, Evolution

296

(8)

Principles of Composition

304

(2)

Focus

304

(1)

Balance

305

(1)

Proportion

305

(1)

Rhythm

305

(1)

Unity

306

(1)

The Visual Elements of Set Design

306

(2)

Line

306

(1)

Mass

307

(1)

Texture

307

(1)

Color

307

(1)

The Set Designer's Materials

308

(6)

The Architectural or Natural Space

308

(2)

Flats, Platforms, Drapes, Drops, and Scrims

310

(1)

Furniture and Properties

311

(3)

Technology

314

(1)

Other Materials

314

(1)

Key Ideas

314

(3)

Dressing the Character

317

(22)

Costuming and the Actor

318

(1)

Goals of Costume Design

318

(4)

The Costume Designer's Process

322

(4)

Principles of Composition

326

(1)

Visual Elements of Costume Design

327

(6)

Line

327

(1)

Texture

327

(1)

Color

328

(5)

The Costume Designer's Materials

333

(4)

Fabric

333

(1)

Ornament

333

(1)

Accessories

333

(1)

Hairstyles and Wigs

333

(1)

Makeup

333

(3)

Masks

336

(1)

Key Ideas

337

(2)

Lighting and Sound Design

339

(24)

Stage Lighting

340

(2)

Technological Advances and Design Innovations

340

(2)

Goals of Stage Lighting

342

(2)

The Lighting Designer's Process

344

(4)

The Visual Elements of Light

348

(2)

Intensity

349

(1)

Distribution

349

(1)

Color

349

(1)

Movement

350

(1)

Composing with Light

350

(1)

Conceiving a Design: Control and Flexibility

351

(1)

The Lighting Designer's Tools

352

(1)

Sound Design

352

(1)

Sound Practices in the Past

353

(1)

Goals of Sound Design

353

(3)

The Sound Designer's Process

356

(4)

The Sound Designer's Tools

360

(1)

Key Ideas

361

(2)

Technology and Theatrical Innovation

363

(24)

What Is Technology?

366

(1)

The Impact of Technology

366

(1)

Technology and Culture

367

(6)

Ancient Greece

367

(1)

Ancient Rome

368

(1)

The Middle Ages

369

(1)

The Renaissance

369

(1)

The Nineteenth Century

370

(1)

Rejecting Technology

371

(2)

Competition with Other Media

373

(1)

New Technologies in the Theatre Today

374

(9)

Technology Behind the Scenes

374

(2)

Technology Center Stage

376

(3)

Performing in Cyberspace

379

(3)

Techno-Theatre Aesthetic

382

(1)

Concerns about Theatre and Technology

383

(2)

Key Ideas

385

(2)

Part Five. Understanding Today's Theatre

387

(45)

The Critical Response

389

(20)

Criticism and Culture

390

(1)

Professional Criticism and Cultural Theory

391

(1)

The Critic as Cultural Insider

391

(1)

The Many Faces of the Critic

391

(5)

The Critic as Interpreter

392

(1)

The Critic as Artistic Muse

392

(3)

The Critic as Visionary

395

(1)

The Artist as Critic

395

(1)

The Dramaturg

396

(3)

The Reviewer

399

(2)

Experiencing Theatre as a Critic

401

(4)

Selecting an Event

401

(1)

Reading Listings and Reviews

401

(1)

Getting Tickets

402

(1)

Preparing for the Theatre

403

(1)

Attending the Show

404

(1)

Taking Notes

405

(1)

Writing a Review

405

(1)

Having a Point of View

405

(1)

Backing Up Your Ideas

406

(1)

Good Writing

406

(1)

Key Ideas

406

(3)

Making Theatre Happen

409

(23)

Where Theatre Happens

410

(8)

State-Subsidized Theatres

410

(2)

International Theatre Festivals

412

(3)

Colleges and Universities

415

(1)

Summer Theatres and Shakespeare Festivals

415

(1)

Community Theatres

416

(2)

Commercial and Not-for-Profit Theatre in the United States

418

(2)

Commercial Theatre

418

(1)

Professional Not-for-Profit Companies

419

(1)

Common Interest Theatres

419

(1)

Producing Theatre

420

(2)

The Commercial Producer

420

(1)

The Not-for-Profit Producer

421

(1)

The Alternative Theatre Producer

421

(1)

Behind the Scenes: The Unsung Heroes of the Theatre

422

(8)

The Stage Manager

422

(4)

The Production Manager

426

(1)

The Technical Director

426

(2)

The Master Electrician

428

(1)

The Sound Engineer

428

(1)

The Costume Shop Manager

428

(1)

The Props Manager

429

(1)

The Running Crews

429

(1)

The House Manager

430

(1)

Methods of Collaboration

430

(1)

Closing the Show

431

(1)

Key Ideas

431

(1)

Glossary

432

(8)

Bibliography

440

(7)

Index

447

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The World of Theatre Tradition and Innovation

Summary

Table of Contents

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