The Methuen Drama Dictionary of the Theatre

Author: Jonathan Law
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 140814591X
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 833

Book Description
The Methuen Drama Dictionary of the Theatre is an essential reference tool and companion for anyone interested in the theatre and theatre-going. Containing over 2500 entries it covers the international spectrum of theatre with particular emphasis on the UK and USA. With biographical information on playwrights, actors and directors, entries on theatres and theatre companies, explanation of technical terms and theatrical genres, and synopses of major plays, this is an authoritative, trustworthy and comprehensive compendium. Included are: synopses of 500 major plays biographical entries on hundreds of playwrights, actors, directors and producers definitions of nearly 200 genres and movements entries on over 100 key characters from plays information about more than 250 theatres and companies Unlike similar products, The Methuen Drama Dictionary of the Theatre avoids a dry, technical approach with its sprinkling of anecdotal asides and fascinating trivia, such as how Michael Gambon gave his name to a corner of a racing track following an incident on BBC's Top Gear programme, and under 'advice to actors' the sage words of Alec Guinness: 'First wipe your nose and check your flies', and the equally wise guidance from the master of his art, Noël Coward: 'Just know your lines and don't bump into the furniture.' As a companion to everything from the main stage to the fringes of theatrical fact and folklore, this will prove an irresistible book to all fans of the theatre.

The Methuen Drama Dictionary of the Theatre

Author: Jonathan Law
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 140813148X
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 560

The Methuen Drama Guide to Contemporary American Playwrights

Author: Christopher Innes
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1408134802
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 480

Book Description
Unrivalled in its coverage of recent work and writers, The Methuen Drama Guide to Contemporary American Playwrights surveys and analyses the breadth, vitality and development of theatrical work to emerge from America over the last fifty years. This authoritative guide leads you through the work of 25 major contemporary American playwrights, discussing more than 140 plays in detail. Written by a team of 25 eminent international scholars, each chapter provides: · a biographical introduction to the playwright's work; · a survey and concise analysis of the writer's most important plays; · a discussion of their style, dramaturgical concerns and critical reception; · a bibliography of published plays and a select list of critical works. Among the many Tony, Obie and Pulitzer prize-winning playwrights included are Sam Shepard, Tony Kushner, Suzan-Lori Parks, August Wilson, Paula Vogel and Neil LaBute. The abundance of work analysed enables fresh, illuminating conclusions to be drawn about the development of contemporary American playwriting.

The Drama Dictionary

Author: Terry Hodgson
Publisher: New Amsterdam Books
ISBN: 1461721571
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 433

Book Description
This comprehensive reference work is designed to be a single source to which readers may turn for guidance on dramatic theory and practice. It therefore concentrates on critical and technical concepts and terms rather than on theatre history or biography. The book contains some 1300 entries varying in length from a few words to several hundred. The terms included relate to the forms of drama (e.g. epic, mime, farce, comedy of manners, tragi-comedy, etc.); to different kinds of stage (thrust, picture-frame, arena, etc.); to technical stage terms (tabs, proscenium arch, sightlines, etc.); to acting terms, including colloquialisms (fluff, corpse-as well as duologue, soliloquy, cross below, upstage, etc.) They also include the critical terms of important theoreticians (e.g. superobjective, magic 'if', throughline, alienation, montage) and the obvious foreign terms (hamartia, peripeteia, etc.). Dramatic movements and styles are described (naturalism, expressionism, neo-classical, Jacobean, etc.), together with terms relating to costume (e.g. buskins), character types (of, say, the Commedia dell'Arte) and dramatic structure (climax, curtain, pace and tempo, episode, chorus, etc.). The entries are fully cross-referenced, and are supported by ample suggestions for further reading and a selection of line drawings illustrating key points in the text.

The Methuen Drama Guide to Contemporary British Playwrights

Author: Martin Middeke
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1408159678
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 546

Book Description
The Methuen Drama Guide to Contemporary British Playwrights is an authoritative guide to the work of twenty-five playwrights who have risen to prominence since the 1980s. Written by an international team of scholars, it will be invaluable to anyone interested in, studying or teaching contemporary drama. Among the many playwrights whose work is examined are Sarah Daniels, Terry Johnson, Martin Crimp, Sarah Kane, Anthony Neilson, Mark Ravenhill, Simon Stephens, Debbie Tucker Green, Tanika Gupta and Richard Bean. Each essay features: A biographical sketch and introduction to the playwright A discussion of their most important plays An analysis of their stylistic and thematic traits, the critical reception and their place in the discourses of British theatre A bibliography of texts and critical material

The Methuen Drama Guide to Contemporary American Playwrights

Author: Martin Middeke
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781472517418
Category : American drama
Languages : en
Pages : 479

Book Description
This is an authoritative single-volume guide to the work of 25 American playwrights from the 1960s to the present written by a team of 25 eminent scholars from the USA, Canada, Britain, Germany, and Ireland. It is the perfect companion for students of American literature and drama.

Stage-Play and Screen-Play

Author: Michael Ingham
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 131755521X
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 239

Book Description
Dialogue between film and theatre studies is frequently hampered by the lack of a shared vocabulary. Stage-Play and Screen-Play sets out to remedy this, mapping out an intermedial space in which both film and theatre might be examined. Each chapter’s evaluation of the processes and products of stage-to-screen and screen-to-stage transfer is grounded in relevant, applied contexts. Michael Ingham draws upon the growing field of adaptation studies to present case studies ranging from Martin McDonagh’s The Cripple of Inishmaan and RSC Live’s simulcast of Richard II to F.W. Murnau’s silent Tartüff, Peter Bogdanovich’s film adaptation of Michael Frayn’s Noises Off, and Akiro Kurosawa’s Ran, highlighting the multiple interfaces between media. Offering a fresh insight into the ways in which film and theatre communicate dramatic performances, this volume is a must-read for students and scholars of stage and screen.

English Theatrical Anecdotes, 1660-1800

Author: Heather Ladd
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
ISBN: 1644532603
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 299

Book Description
English Theatrical Anecdotes, 1660-1800 explores the theatrical anecdote's role in the construction of stage fame in England's emergent celebrity culture during the long eighteenth century, as well as the challenges of employing anecdotes in theatre scholarship today. Chapters in this book discuss anecdotes about actors, actresses, musicians, and other theatre people.

Enron

Author: Lucy Prebble
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472511409
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 176

Book Description
The only difference between me and the people judging me is they weren't smart enough to do what we did. One of the most infamous scandals in financial history becomes a theatrical epic. At once a case study and an allegory, the play charts the notorious rise and fall of Enron and its founding partners Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling, who became 'the most vilified figure from the financial scandal of the century.' This Student Edition features expert and helpful annotation, including a scene-by-scene summary, a detailed commentary on the dramatic, social and political context, and on the themes, characters, language and structure of the play, as well as a list of suggested reading and questions for further study and a review of performance history. Mixing classical tragedy with savage comedy, Enron follows a group of flawed men and women in a narrative of greed and loss which reviews the tumultuous 1990s and casts a new light on the financial turmoil in which the world finds itself in 2009. The play was Lucy Prebble's first work for the stage since her debut work The Sugar Syndrome, winner of the George Devine and Critic's Circle Awards for Most Promising New Playwright. Produced by Headlong, Enron premiered at Chichester's Minerva Theatre on 11 July 2009 and opened at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in September, before transferring to London's West End and to Broadway in 2010.

Playwriting

Author: Fraser Grace
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472524381
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 353

Book Description
Full of inspiration and practical advice, Playwriting: A Writers' & Artists' Companion is a comprehensive companion to writing for the stage. PART 1 includes reflections on the art and the craft of playwriting, guidance on writing for a full range of genres and spaces and a brief history of playwriting itself. PART 2 contains inspiring advice and reflections from leading playwrights:April De Angelis, Bryony Lavery, David Greig, Christina Reid, Dennis Kelly, Frank McGuinness, Lynn Nottage, Howard Brenton, Roy Williams, Tanika Gupta, Timberlake Wertenbaker, Polly Stenham, Tom Stoppard, Jack Thorne, Steve Waters, E.V. Crowe, David Henry Hwang, Lin Coghlan, Zinnie Harris and Anne Washburn. PART 3 offers practical exercises and advice on planning and conducting research, working out plots and characters, mastering authentic but accessible dialogue, navigating the industry and the rehearsal and production process.