Synopses & Reviews
Focusing on the collaborative and creative processes that go into productions, Stephanie Arnold introduces students to the theatre through the plays themselves and people who write them, create them, and act in them. A rich context is provided for each play with a discussion of the playwrights other works, sources for the play, timelines that provide historical and cultural background, and a section on a particular production of the play to give students a sense of experiencing the theatre industry at close hand. The Creative Spirit includes complete scripts of five plays: August Wilson's Joe Turner's Come and Gone, Wakako Yamauchi's And the Soul Shall Dance, Tony Kushner's Angels in America, Milcha Sanchez Scott's Dog Lady, and Sam Shepard's Buried Child.
Synopsis
This introductory text places the students at the center of theatrical creation and provides coverage of the broad range of contemporary theatre. The Creative Spirit includes complete scripts of five plays: August Wilson's Joe Turner's Come and Gone, Wakako Yamauchi's And the Soul Shall Dance, Tony Kushner's Angels in America, Milcha Sanchez Scott's Dog Lady, and Sam Shepard's Buried Child. The text emphasizes the collaborative and creative processes that go into productions, and includes interviews with theatre artists.
Synopsis
Focusing on the collaborative and creative processes that go into productions, Stephanie Arnold introduces students to the theatre through the plays themselves and people who write them, create them, and act in them. A rich context is provided for each play with a discussion of the playwright’s other works, sources for the play, timelines that provide historical and cultural background, and a section on a particular production of the play to give students a sense of experiencing the theatre industry at close hand. The Creative Spirit includes complete scripts of five plays: August Wilson's Joe Turner's Come and Gone, Wakako Yamauchi's And the Soul Shall Dance, Tony Kushner's Angels in America, Milcha Sanchez Scott's Dog Lady, and Sam Shepard's Buried Child.
Table of Contents
PART ONE: THE NATURE OF THEATREChapter 1. The Impulse to PerformPersonal PerformanceCommunity PerformanceRitual Performance Among the HopiPerformance as Community ObligationProfessional Performance: Four StoriesBill Irwin: Physical HumorAnna Deavere Smith: The Power of WordsNeil Marcus: Storyteller and DancerFrances McDormand: Creation of CharacterSummaryTopics for Discussion and WritingSuggestions for Further ReadingChapter 2. Theatre and SocietyThe Power of The TheatreTheatre and Religious FestivalsThe Greek Theatre: Athens, Fifth Century B.C.EThe Medieval Mystery CycleThe Professional TheatreThe Elizabethan TheatreThe Beijing Opera of ChinaTheatre as a Mirror of SocietyTheatre and Social ChangeWaiting for Godot in SarajevoSummaryTopics for Discussion and WritingSuggestions for Further Reading
PART TWO: THE NATURE OF PERFORMANCE: THE THEATRE PRACTITIONERSChapter 3. The Playwrights VisionLooking at Joe Turners Come and Gone by August WilsonExploring the Text of Joe Turners Come and GonePlot and Characters: A Meeting of Two WorldsHistorical and Cultural Contexts of the PlayThe Playwrights SourcesThe Complete Text of Joe Turners Come and GoneProducing Joe Turners Come and GoneThe Construction of Meaning Through CollaborationThe Oregon Shakespeare FestivalThe Actorsat WorkStaging the JubaExpanding the Stage Image: The Work of the DesignersConclusion: History and Meaning in Joe Turners Come and GoneSummary Topics for Writing and DiscussionSuggestions for Further ReadingChapter 4. The Art of the ActorThe Presence of the ActorThe Actors CraftThe Work of the ActorCompeting for Roles: The AuditionPreparing for the RoleThe Rehearsal ProcessApproaches to ActingThe Internal ApproachThe External ApproachActing Cordelia in King LearGestural ActingThe PerformanceTheatre and FilmBecoming an ActorSummaryTopics for Discussion and WritingSuggestions for Further ReadingChapter 5. The DirectorThe History of the DirectorThe Director and the Development of RealismThe Director and the Determination of StyleThe Visionary Director Jerzy GrotowskiPing ChongApproaches to DirectingThe Director at WorkChoosing the PlayThe Directors Initial Response to the PlayCreating MetaphorsWorking with the ActorsCastingNontraditional CastingThe Work EnvironmentImprovisationStaging the PlayFocusSpatial Composition and Character DevelopmentRhythm and PacingPreparing the Play for PerformanceThe Directors TrainingSummaryTopics for Discussion and WritingSuggestions for Further ReadingChapter 6. The DesignersStagecraft and the TheatreThe Theatrical SpaceThe Proscenium TheatreThrust, Arena, and Black Box StagesThe Implications of Theatre Architecture for DesignersThree-Dimensional SpaceMeetings and InteractionsThe History of Scene DesignScene Design TodayCostume DesignStylistic UnityThe Psychology of CharacterThe Costume Designer and the ActorLighting DesignThe History of Light in the TheatreThe Lighting Designers MaterialsConceptualizing with LightThe Light Plot and the Light CuesVisibilityFocusMood and AtmosphereThe Rhythm of LightThe Growing Prominence of Sound DesignThe Integration of Sound into the Production ProcessThe Sound Designers MaterialsEnvironmental Sound and Sound ReinforcementSummaryTopics for Discussion and WritingSuggestions for Further ReadingChapter 7. The Musical Theatre: Composers, Lyricists and ChoreographersOrigins of Musical Theatre in AmericaThe Broadway TheatreOklahoma!West Side StoryMy Fair LadyCabaretThe Musicals of Stephen SondheimA Chorus LineNew Directions for the Musical TheatreSavion Glover and Bring in da Noise Bring in da FunkJonathan Larson and RentJulie Taymor and The Lion KingSusan Stroman and ContactSummaryTopics for Discussion and WritingSuggestions for Further Reading
PART THREE: THE NATURE OF STYLE: REALISM AND THEATRICALISMChapter 8. Understanding Style: RealismIntroduction to RealismRealistic Elements in Joe Turners Come and GoneRealism in FilmOrigins of RealismThe Social Background of RealismEuropean RealismHenrik IbsenAugust StrindbergAnton ChekhovAmerican RealismLillian HellmanPoetic Realism: Arthur Miller and Tennessee WilliamsKonstantin Stanislavsky and Realstic ActingSummaryTopics for Discussion and WritingSuggestions for Further ReadingChapter 9. Expressing a World View Through RealismLooking at And the Soul Shall Dance by Wakako YamauchiExploring the Text of And the Soul Shall DancePlot and CharactersPersonal, Cultural, and Historical Contexts of the PlayEvoking a World Through DetailThe Complete Text of And the Soul Shall DanceProducing And the Soul Shall DanceIntroduction to East West PlayersLocation and Physical SpaceStaging the PlayThe Directors PrologueThe Influence of Asian TheatreStaging a Period Play: The Work of the Director and the ActorsBuilding Character RelationshipsContrasting Productions: East West Players and Northwest Asian American TheatreScene Design and the Physical SpaceInterpreting Family RelationshipsSexuality and GenderSummaryTopics for Discussion and WritingSuggestions for Further ReadingChapter 10. Understanding Style: Theatricalism Exposing the Mechanics of the TheatreExpressionismGerman ExpressionismAmerican ExpressionismEpic Theatre: Bertolt BrechtBrechts Concept of AlienationBrechts Approach to ActingTheatre of the AbsurdA Revolution in Movement: Martha GrahamTotal Theatre: Robert WilsonA New Meeting of East and West: Shen WeiFrom Opera to Modern DanceChoreographer and DesignerSummaryTopics for Discussion and WritingSuggestions for Further ReadingChapter 11. Expressing a Worldview Through TheatricalismLooking at Angels in America: Millennium Approaches by Tony KushnerExploring the Text of Angels in America: Millennium ApproachesPlot and CharactersA World in Spiritual CollapseInfluences on Kushner as Playwright: Bertolt Brecht and Caryl ChurchillThe Historical Framework of Angels in AmericaThe Complete Text of Angels in America: Millennium ApproachesProducing Angels in AmericaThe Eureka Theatre and the PlaywrightThe Role of the DramaturgThe Developmental ProcessExpanding Opportunities for the Development of New PlaysSummaryTopics for Discussion and WritingSuggestions for Further Reading
PART FOUR: THE NATURE OF DRAMA: STRUCTURE AND GENREChapter 12. The Elements of Drama and Dramatic StructureFundamental Elements of StructureCharacterPlotLanguageMusicSpectacleThe Organization of the Drama in Space and TimeThe Duration of the PerformanceBuilding the Drama: the Internal RhythmConflict, Rising Tension, and ResolutionSummaryTopics for Discussion and WritingSuggestions for Further ReadingChapter 13. GenreIntroduction to GenreTragedy and ComedyOrigins in Greek DramaAristotle on Tragedy and ComedyTragedy: Catharsis and AwarenessPlot Summaries of Selected TragediesCommon Themes of TragedyCan Tragedy Exist Today?MelodramaTragicomedyFarceWriting About the TheatreThe DramaturgThe CriticTwo Reviews of MedeaSummaryTopics for Discussion and WritingSuggestions for Further ReadingChapter 14. Choosing a Genre: ComedyLooking at Dog Lady by Milcha Sanchez-ScottExploring the Text of Dog LadyPlot and CharactersThe Playwrights Sources: An Intersection of CulturesCharacteristics of the PlayBlended LanguageMagical Realism Reinterpreting Catholic Imagery: The Virgin of GuadalupeA Latina IdentityThe Complete Text of Dog LadyProducing Dog LadyINTARSet Design and Ming Cho LeePop Art and Forced PerspectiveBreaking the IllusionStaging and ActingSight GagsVocal StyleUsing Comedy to Shift the World ViewSummaryTopics for Discussion and WritingSuggestions for Further ReadingChapter 15. The ProjectLooking at Buried Child by Sam ShepardPreparing a ProductionBuried Child and Alternative Play ChoicesIntroduction to Sam ShepardAlternative Play ChoicesWorking on the ProjectSequence of WorkTopics for Group Discussion (Group Meeting #1)Group Decisions (Group Meeting #2)Project AssignmentsThe DirectorCharacter AnalysisScene DesignCostume DesignMusicProgram NotePosterConclusionThe Complete Text of Buried ChildNotesAppendix: Guided Writing AssignmentsGlossaryCredits Index