Bruce McConachie is Chair of Theatre Arts at the University of Pittsburgh, where he also directs and performs. He has published widely in American theatre history, theatre historiography, and performance and cognitive studies. Some of his major books include: Interpreting the Theatrical Past (with Thomas Postlewait, University of Iowa Press, 1989), Melodramatic Formations: American Theatre and Society, 1820-1870 (University of Iowa Press 1992); American Theater in the Culture of the Cold War (University of Iowa Press, 2003); Performance and Cognition (with F. Elizabeth Hart, Routledge 2006); and Engaging Audiences: A Cognitive Approach to Spectating in the Theatre (Palgrave Macmillan 2008). Professor McConachie is also a former President of the American Society for Theatre Research.
Theatre Histories: An Introduction books pdf file
Carol Fisher Sorgenfrei is Distinguished Professor of Theater and Performance Studies at U.C.L.A. She is a scholar, translator, playwright, and director focusing on Japanese, intercultural, and fusion theatre. She is the author of Unspeakable Acts: the Avant-Garde Theatre of Terayama Shuji and Postwar Japan (University of Hawaii Press 2005), as well as many articles in journals such as TDR, Theatre Journal, and Asian Theatre Journal, essays in books, play translations, and encyclopedia entries. Her fifteen original plays include the award-winning Medea: A No Cycle Based on the Greek Myth and the kabuki-flamenco Blood Wine, Blood Wedding. With Israeli director Zvika Serper, she created the internationally acclaimed Japanese-Israeli fusion play The Dybbuk: Between Two Worlds. She is currently a Research Fellow in the Institute for Theatre Studies at Berlin's Free University.
This resource includes all of the elements I am interested in for my introduction to theatre course, How Theatre Works. It examines the major areas of theatre artistry and work, ideas behind the human need to perform and participate, foundational and transformational thinking about theatre, and histories of the performing arts of communities from around the world. It provides a strong foundation of information for students new to the ideas, art, and practices of theatre.
The opening section, titled "Mapping Reality: An Introduction to Theatre", is a wide-ranging discourse on the nature of performance that is full of unexpected connections between ideas, but doesn't provide the initial introduction to theatre that I would want for my undergrads. Most of the other chapters follow a logical progression.
This was written by several writers. They are stylistically and scholastically inconsistent. One thing they all have in common is that each section comes across as rushed and that the writers were more concerned with putting in their own areas of special interest instead of putting together a solid introduction to theatre.
Theatrical Worlds covers the necessary material that can be found in comparable introduction to theatre textbooks. Having used a variety of texts before in Intro courses, Theatrical Worlds addresses key terms and ideas, provides appropriate...read more
Theatrical Worlds covers the necessary material that can be found in comparable introduction to theatre textbooks. Having used a variety of texts before in Intro courses, Theatrical Worlds addresses key terms and ideas, provides appropriate historical context, and cites major names and their contributions. There are of course areas that could be given more time or attention, and an oversight here or there one might wish were included, but there was nothing left out that is substantial. There were also plenty of terms in bold in each chapter to give the student reader an easy grasp of the main ideas to draw out from each chapter to aid their knowledge.
Overall, Theatrical World does a nice job of balancing major ideas in theatre and also highlighting some interesting side topics that supplement these main ideas. It does skew more to European/Western history, but it does still fairly addresses practices in other parts of the world in one chapter and is inclusive in ways comparable to other major intro to theatre textbooks. Most of the information seems to give a fair look at the material at hand. In the beta- version I read, there were a couple minor errors that may be perhaps due to the formatting (a year with a letter in it, a typo here or there), but nothing appeared overtly biased or inaccurate.
As each chapter is authored by someone different, there is some variety in the prose and the framework of the ideas. For an undergrad, I would say some chapters are more accessible and easy to read than others. A couple chapters now and then presume knowledge about theatre, and a few times in a chapter the analysis would get too deep on certain historical moments or terms. I did not find this an overarching issue with the textbook, however. I also think having different authored chapters can provide another perspective to reading, allowing students to see how people talk about these ideas uniquely. That being said, it was noticeable compared to other textbooks where one might not notice a difference in voice or style of writing.
The organization is very similar to other online and print copy textbooks. It covers some theoretical ideas of theatre in the first chapter, then jumps into production, covering topics through individual chapters on acting, directing, set design, costume design, and lighting design. The special topics sections has four chapters: genre, Shakespeare, the American musical and world theatre. The flow of the book makes sense as you get a good idea of some larger ideas in theatre, delve into practice, and conclude with specific and broader application. I do wish the Shakespeare chapter focused more generally on playwrights (play construction is dealt with in an earlier chapter), as certain instructors would wish to address a more broad idea of important playwrights in theatre more closer to their own interests or current practices.
For an introduction textbook, it feels appropriately inclusive of practices in other countries. It addresses some issues of diversity in theatre like race, gender, and sexuality. It could still include more, and some using it might wish that it in fact did. I would say it still addresses these ideas and does not dismiss or ignore them, even if it primarily focuses on more basic ideas in theatre. Overall, many examples of theatre in the first chapter and in following chapters include important theatre groups and artists from other countries and outside of white/European history, so I found it to culturally aware and inclusive.
Theatrical Worlds offers a comprehensive option for those who want to avoid the costs of textbooks that can be prohibitive for many students. The content and format of the textbook is comparable to several other moderate/expensive textbooks currently used online and in print. The book utilizes a fair amount of images to aid in its information and has bold terms in each chapter that are helpful for students and instructors. It is pretty easy to read for an undergraduate level and gives a good foundation of history and ideas that an instructor can base many lectures/discussions/quizzes/tests from. The book covers a wide amount of topics relevant in theatre, including main ideas in practice, design, acting, and directing. It also addresses theoretical ideas that theatre scholars continue to debate, a broad understanding of theatre practices in other parts of the world, and interesting interviews with professionals in the field. The later chapters on genre, musical theatre, world theatre, and Shakespeare are also engaging to see how the basics can be applied to more in-depth applications in theatre. Any issues with the book are more one of preference and less of a critique of the book itself, and I would recommend this book for many who want the foundation of a textbook for their intro course without worrying that the price will deter students from using it.
Much of the content is relevant, particularly if using this text in an introductory and non-major focused course. However, the book is in need of updating within several sections, including musical theatre and world theatre. The design sections also need updating to reflect changes in technology and practice. While it is impossible to expect all textbooks to be addressing the newest developments, I think this text is in need of updating at this time.
The book has a strong (albeit lengthy) introduction, including the types of theatre and staging practices, as well as solid chapters on (some) aspects of design, world theatre, and the origins of musical theatre. While it does not have a glossary...read more
The book has a strong (albeit lengthy) introduction, including the types of theatre and staging practices, as well as solid chapters on (some) aspects of design, world theatre, and the origins of musical theatre. While it does not have a glossary or index, it is searchable, which is a plus. The different aspects of theatrical practice are strongest in the design and directing chapters. The acting chapter contains little aside from Stanislavski (whose "system" is covered well), there are no chapters on playwriting or dramaturgy, and no full chapter on script analysis (although the basics of the climactic plot structure are covered in the introduction).
The musical theatre chapter is the most behind, as it is missing several groundbreaking productions from the past few years, but that can be supplemented - and it's a problem in many theatre classes that great art keeps being produced that textbooks struggle to keep up with. The focus on immersive theatre in the staging portion is helpful, but is missing some of the more up-to-date productions, which would need to be supplemented as well. Generally, the book contains much that can be used for some time, with some supplementary materials on the part of the instructor.
The Special Topics section feels a bit odd in its assigned divisions, and the spaces and types of theatre would have been better if they had come earlier in the book. Otherwise, the book is set up in a logical fashion, comparable to other introductory textbooks. 2ff7e9595c
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