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Women’s Voices on American Stages in the Early Twenty-First Century
by Leslie Atkins DurhamWomen have claimed a spot at the center of American theatre, and the characters they craft, the stories they tell, the questions they pose, and the ideas they materialize have the potential to shape the cultural imagination of a large group of theatre-goers as a complex new era unfolds. Sarah Ruhl is the early twenty-first century's most widely produced and frequently honored American female playwright. While critics have heretofore emphasized the whimsical elements of her dramaturgy, this study highlights her feminist engagement with current social and ethical concerns. Ruhl's popular, feminist plays are best appreciated when they are read in concert with the work of her contemporaries - Lisa Loomer, Diana Son, Joan Didion, Jenny Schwartz, Young Jean Lee, Kate Fodor, Yasmina Reza, Bathsheba Doran, Lynn Nottage, and Kia Corthron - whose writing also wrestles with the vexing issues facing Americans in the new century.
The Wonder Bread Summer: A Novel
by Jessica Anya Blau“Picaresque, properly funny, unpredictable and altogether irrepressible.” —Nick Hornby, The BelieverJessica Anya Blau, author of The Summer of Naked Swim Parties and Mary Jane, delivers a darkly hilarious, heartbreaking coming-of-age novel with The Wonder Bread Summer.In The Wonder Bread Summer, loosely based on Alice in Wonderland, 20-year-old Allie Dodgson has adventures that rival those Alice had down the rabbit hole. Or those of Weeds’ Nancy Botwin.Allison is working at a dress shop to help pay for college. The dress shop turns out to be a front for drug dealers. And Allison ends up on the run—with a Wonder Bread bag full of cocaine.With a hit man after her, Allison wants the help of her parents. But there’s a problem: Her mom took off when Allison was eight; her dad moves so often Allison that doesn’t even have his phone number….Set in 1980s California, The Wonder Bread Summer is a wickedly funny and fresh caper that’s sure to please fans of Christopher Moore, Carl Hiaasen, and Marcy Dermansky.
Wonder in Shakespeare
by Adam Max CohenIn the first part of this book, Adam Max Cohen embraces the many meanings of wonder in order to challenge the generic divides between comedy, tragedy, history, and romance and suggests that Shakespeare's primary goal in crafting each of his playworlds was the evocation of one or more varieties of wonder.
Wonder of Wonders: A Cultural History of Fiddler on the Roof
by Alisa SolomonA sparkling and eye-opening history of the Broadway musical that changed the worldIn the half-century since its premiere, Fiddler on the Roof has had an astonishing global impact. Beloved by audiences the world over, performed from rural high schools to grand state theaters, Fiddler is a supremely potent cultural landmark.In a history as captivating as its subject, award-winning drama critic Alisa Solomon traces how and why the story of Tevye the milkman, the creation of the great Yiddish writer Sholem-Aleichem, was reborn as blockbuster entertainment and a cultural touchstone, not only for Jews and not only in America. It is a story of the theater, following Tevye from his humble appearance on the New York Yiddish stage, through his adoption by leftist dramatists as a symbol of oppression, to his Broadway debut in one of the last big book musicals, and his ultimate destination—a major Hollywood picture.Solomon reveals how the show spoke to the deepest conflicts and desires of its time: the fraying of tradition, generational tension, the loss of roots. Audiences everywhere found in Fiddler immediate resonance and a usable past, whether in Warsaw, where it unlocked the taboo subject of Jewish history, or in Tokyo, where the producer asked how Americans could understand a story that is "so Japanese."Rich, entertaining, and original, Wonder of Wonders reveals the surprising and enduring legacy of a show about tradition that itself became a tradition.Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles.
Wonderful Days
by Nadia Hleb Antonio Morcillo LopezA play about the political transition in Catalonia. A play about memory. A play about our recent silenced stories and those unforgettable violent and difficult times. This play follows a group of friends who live in a small town, a place like any other. They observe and participate in historical changes while their own lives are disrupted. These friends secretly perform theater in a cold ramshackle garage, while the former regime change transforms the political, social and emotional realities of their lives. This play is based on the novel "Dies Meravellosos" by Jordi Coca.
Wondrous Brutal Fictions: Eight Buddhist Tales from the Early Japanese Puppet Theater
by R. Keller KimbroughWondrous Brutal Fictions presents eight seminal works from the seventeenth-century Japanese sekkyo and ko-joruri puppet theaters, many translated into English for the first time. Both poignant and disturbing, they range from stories of cruelty and brutality to tales of love, charity, and outstanding filial devotion, representing the best of early Edo-period literary and performance traditions and acting as important precursors to the Bunraku and Kabuki styles of theater.As works of Buddhist fiction, these texts relate the histories and miracles of particular buddhas, bodhisattvas, and local deities. Many of their protagonists are cultural icons, recognizable through their representation in later works of Japanese drama, fiction, and film. The collection includes such sekkyo "sermon-ballad" classics as Sansho Dayu, Karukaya, and Oguri, as well as the "old joruri" plays Goo-no-hime and Amida's Riven Breast. R. Keller Kimbrough provides a critical introduction to these vibrant performance genres, emphasizing the role of seventeenth-century publishing in their spread. He also details six major sekkyo chanters and their playbooks, filling a crucial scholarly gap in early Edo-period theater. More than fifty reproductions of mostly seventeenth-century woodblock illustrations offer rich, visual foundations for the critical introduction and translated tales. Ideal for students and scholars of medieval and early modern Japanese literature, theater, and Buddhism, this collection provides an unprecedented encounter with popular Buddhist drama and its far-reaching impact on literature and culture.
Wooden Os
by Vin NardizziWooden Os is a study of the presence of trees and wood in the drama of Shakespeare and his contemporaries - in plays set within forests, in character dialogue, and in props and theatre constructions. Vin Nardizzi connects these themes to the dependence, and surprising ecological impact, of London's commercial theatre industry on England's woodlands, the primary resource required to build all structures in early modern England.Wooden Os situates the theatre within an environmental history that witnessed a perceived scarcity of wood and timber that drove up prices, as well as statute law prohibiting the devastation of English woodlands and urgent calls for the remedying of a resource shortage that was feared would result in eco-political collapse. By considering works including Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay, the revised Spanish Tragedy, and The Tempest, Nardizzi demonstrates how the "trees" within them were used in imaginative ways to mediate England's resource crisis.
The Woods, Lakeboat, Edmond: Three Plays
by David MametThree plays from the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award–winning author of Glengarry Glen Ross and American Buffalo. The Woods is a modern dramatic parable about, as Mamet put it, &“why men and women have a hard time trying to get along with each other.&” The story features a young man and woman spending a night in his family&’s cabin where they experience passion, then disillusionment, but are in the end reconciled by mutual need. In Lakeboat, an Ivy League college student takes a summer job as a cook aboard a Great Lakes cargo ship where the crewmembers—men of all ages—share their wild fantasies about sex, gambling, and violence. Mamet also wrote the screenplay to the 2000 film starring Peter Falk and Denis Leary. In Edmond, a white-collar New York City man is set morally adrift after a visit to a fortune-teller. He soon leaves an unfulfilling marriage to find sex, adventure, companionship, and, ultimately, the meaning of his existence. Mamet also wrote the screenplay for the 2005 film starring William H. Macy. &“[A] beautifully conceived love story.&” —Chicago Daily News on The Woods &“[Mamet&’s] language has never been so precise, pure, and affecting.&” —Richard Eder of The New York Times on The Woods &“Richly overheard talk and loopy, funny construction.&” —Michael Feingold in The Village Voice on Lakeboat &“A riveting theatrical experience that illuminates the heart of darkness.&” —Jack Kroll of Newsweek on Edmond
The Woodsman
by Steven FechterDrama / 4m, 3f / Walter is a quiet man who must lead a quiet life. As a convicted sex offender fresh out of state prison, he sees no choice. He works in a warehouse. He lives alone. He sees a therapist named Rosen. His only visitor is his brother-in-law Carlos. He also gets visits from a demon in the form of a beautiful Girl. Often brooding by his window, Walter watches children as they head for school. One day Nikki, a tough-talking woman from work, drops by. She doesn't waste time making the first move. Next morning Walter confesses his dark past. But Nikki doesn't run away. Things are looking up – until Walter follows a twelve-year-old girl named Robin into a city park. Nothing happens, but Walter is scared. Then police Sgt. Lucas pays Walter a visit applying some rough intimidation. Walter disappears. A panicky Nikki asks Rosen to help her find him. Walter is back at the park, waiting. When Robin arrives Walter is gently seductive. But the seduction is aborted when Robin reveals a shocking secret. Forced to confront his past, Walter finds the compassion to help and not hurt. In doing so, he grabs a chance for redemption. The Woodsman was made into the critically acclaimed 2004 film starring Kevin Bacon. ”The Woodsman is an interesting, valuable and insightful play...” – The Stage
Woody Allen: A Casebook
by Kimball KingFirst Published in 2001. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
Words for the Theatre: Four Essays on the Dramatic Text (Focus on Dramaturgy)
by David ColeIn Words for the Theatre, playwright David Cole pursues a course of dramaturgical self-questioning on the part of a playwright, centred on the act of playwriting. The book’s four essays each offer a dramaturgical perspective on a different aspect of the playwright’s practice: How does the playwright juggle the transcriptive and prescriptive aspects of their activity? Does the ultimate performance of a playtext in fact represent something to which all writing aspires? Does the playwright’s process of withdrawing to create their text echo a similar process in the theatre more widely? Finally, how can the playwright counter theatre’s pervasive leaning towards the ‘mistake’ of realism? Suited to playwrights, teachers, and higher-level students, this volume of essays offers reflections on the questions that confront every playwright, from an author well-versed in supplying words for the theatre.
Words, Space, and the Audience
by Michael Y. BennettIn this unique study, Michael Y. Bennett re-reads four influential modern plays alongside their contemporary debates between rationalism and empiricism to show how these monumental achievements were thoroughly a product of their time, but also universal in their epistemological quest to understand the world through a rational and/or empirical model. Bennett contends that these plays directly engage in their contemporary epistemological debates rather than through the lens of a specific philosophy. Besides producing new, insightful readings of heavily-studied plays, the interdisciplinary (historical, philosophical, dramatic, theatrical, and literary) frame Bennett constructs allows him to investigate one of the most fundamental questions of the theatre - how does meaning get made? Bennett suggests that the key to unlocking theatrical meaning is exploring the tension between empirical and rational modes of understanding. The book concludes with an interview with performance artist Coco Fusco.
Working Backstage: A Cultural History and Ethnography of Technical Theater Labor
by Christin EssinWorking Backstage illuminates the work of New York City’s theater technicians, shining a light on the essential contributions of unionized stagehands, carpenters, electricians, sound engineers, properties artisans, wardrobe crews, makeup artists, and child guardians. Too-often dismissed or misunderstood as mere functionaries, these technicians are deeply engaged in creative problem-solving and perform collaborative, intricate choreographed work that parallels the performances of actors, singers, and dancers onstage. Although their contributions have fueled the Broadway machine, their contributions have been left out of most theater histories. Theater historian Christin Essin offers clear and evocative descriptions of this invaluable labor, based on her archival research and interviews with more than 100 backstage technicians, members of the New York locals of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees. A former theater technician herself, Essin provides readers with an insider’s view of the Broadway stage, from the suspended lighting bridge of electricians operating followspots for A Chorus Line; the automation deck where carpenters move the massive scenic towers for Newsies; the makeup process in the dressing room for The Lion King; the offstage wings of Matilda the Musical, where guardians guide child actors to entrances and exits. Working Backstage makes an significant contribution to theater studies and also to labor studies, exploring the politics of the unions that serve backstage professionals, protecting their rights and insuring safe working conditions. Illuminating the history of this typically hidden workforce, the book provides uncommon insights into the business of Broadway and its backstage working relationships among cast and crew members.
A Working Costume Designer's Guide to Color
by Jeanette deJongA Working Costume Designer's Guide to Color provides readers with the skills and knowledge to create coherent color schemes for costumes. Drawing on decades of experience in the costume shop, the author guides readers through every step of the process, from finding inspiration for a color scheme and successfully working with the design team to understanding how lighting design can affect costume color choices. Filled with step-by-step illustrations of how to add colors to a set of renderings and color-block samples to illustrate color theory, terminology, and usage of colors, the book covers a wide range of topics, including: How to add colors to a set of renderings to clarify characters and character relationships. How color interacts with surface pattern and fabric textures. Color theory and terminology. How to combine colors to make a coherent color scheme using different methods, including using dominant, supporting, and accent colors. How to flatter actors while staying within an overall color scheme. Color meanings in different cultures and for different time periods. How to manage costume changes to preserve or extend a color scheme. A valuable resource for students of costume design courses and professional costume designers, A Working Costume Designer's Guide to Color provides readers with the tools to create harmonious color schemes that will enhance the look of a production as whole.
A Working Costume Designer’s Guide to Fit
by Jeanette deJongA Working Costume Designer’s Guide to Fit explores the concept of fit in theatrical costumes – what it is, how to assess it, and how to achieve it. Being able to assess whether a costume fits or not is a learned skill, which takes practice as well as information about what the fit standards are for different types of garments. Filled with detailed step-by-step illustrations, this book provides all the knowledge readers will need in order to achieve the perfect fit for their costumes, including: How costumes can support actors onstage when they fit correctly. How to take measurements and how to assess them. How to conduct a fitting and what materials are needed. How to resolve a number of issues that may arise during a fitting. How to fit a mockup test garment in preparation for building a costume from scratch. How to adjust a garment or mockup to fit better. Chapters 8-14 also explore different categories of garments and discuss how to check them against the wearer’s measurements before trying them on, what the standards of fit are for each category, and how to fit an existing garment. This is an essential guide for students of Costume Design courses and professional costume designers of any experience level.
Working on a Song: The Lyrics of HADESTOWN
by Anaïs MitchellAnaïs Mitchell named to TIME's List of the 100 Most Influential People in the World of 2020An illuminating book of lyrics and stories from Hadestown—the winner of eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical—from its author, songwriter Anaïs Mitchell with a foreword by Steve Earle On Broadway, this fresh take on the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice has become a modern classic. Heralded as &“The best new musical of the season,&” by The Wall Street Journal, and &“Sumptuous. Gorgeous. As good as it gets,&” by The New York Times, the show was a breakout hit, with its poignant social commentary, and spellbinding music and lyrics. In this book, Anaïs Mitchell takes readers inside her more than decade&’s-long process of building the musical from the ground up—detailing her inspiration, breaking down the lyrics, and opening up the process of creation that gave birth to Hadestown. Fans and newcomers alike will love this deeply thoughtful, revealing look at how the songs from &“the underground&” evolved, and became the songs we sing again and again.
Working on the Railroad: An Adaptation of a Traditional Song
by Brooke Harris Vincent ViglaNIMAC-sourced textbook
Working Subjects in Early Modern English Drama (Studies In Performance And Early Modern Drama Ser.)
by Natasha KordaWorking Subjects in Early Modern English Drama investigates the ways in which work became a subject of inquiry on the early modern stage and the processes by which the drama began to forge new connections between labor and subjectivity in the period. The essays assembled here address fascinating and hitherto unexplored questions raised by the subject of labor as it was taken up in the drama of the period: How were laboring bodies and the goods they produced, marketed and consumed represented onstage through speech, action, gesture, costumes and properties? How did plays participate in shaping the identities that situated laboring subjects within the social hierarchy? In what ways did the drama engage with contemporary discourses (social, political, economic, religious, etc.) that defined the cultural meanings of work? How did players and playwrights define their own status with respect to the shifting boundaries between high status/low status, legitimate/illegitimate, profitable/unprofitable, skilled/unskilled, formal/informal, male/female, free/bound, paid/unpaid forms of work? Merchants, usurers, clothworkers, cooks, confectioners, shopkeepers, shoemakers, sheepshearers, shipbuilders, sailors, perfumers, players, magicians, servants and slaves are among the many workers examined in this collection. Offering compelling new readings of both canonical and lesser-known plays in a broad range of genres (including history plays, comedies, tragedies, tragi-comedies, travel plays and civic pageants), this collection considers how early modern drama actively participated in a burgeoning, proto-capitalist economy by staging England's newly diverse workforce and exploring the subject of work itself.
Working with Children in Contemporary Performance: Ethics, Agency and Affect
by Sarah AustinThis book outlines how an innovative ‘rights-based’ model of contemporary performance practice can be used when working with children and young people.This model, framed by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), challenges the idea of children as vulnerable and in need of protection, argues for the recognition of the child’s voice, and champions the creativity of children in performance. Sarah Austin draws on rich research and practitioner experience to analyse Youth Arts pedagogies, inclusive theatre practice, models of participation, the symbolic potential of the child in performance, and the work of contemporary theatre practitioners making work with children for adult audiences. The combined practical and written research reflected in this book offers a new, nuanced understanding of children as cultural agents, raising the prospect of a creative process that foregrounds deeper considerations of the strengths and capacities of children.This book would primarily appeal to scholars of theatre and performance studies, specifically those working in the field of applied theatre and theatre for children and young people. Additionally, the practice-based elements of the book are likely to appeal to theatre professionals working in youth arts or theatre for young audiences or associated fields.
The Works of Aphra Behn: The Plays, 1678-1682 (The Pickering Masters)
by Janet ToddAphra Behn (1640-1689) was one of the most successful dramatists of the Restoration theatre and a popular poet. This is the final volume in a set of seven which comprises a complete edition of all her works.
The Works of Aphra Behn: The Plays, 1678-1682 (The Pickering Masters)
by Janet ToddAphra Behn (1640-1689) was one of the most successful dramatists of the Restoration theatre and a popular poet. This is the sixth volume in a set of seven which comprises a complete edition of all her works.
The Works of Aphra Behn: The Plays, 1678-1682 (The Pickering Masters)
by Janet ToddAphra Behn (1640-1689) was one of the most successful dramatists of the Restoration theatre and a popular poet. This is the fifth volume in a set of seven which comprises a complete edition of all her works.
The Works of John Dryden: De Arte Graphica and Shorter Works, Volume XX
by John Dryden A. E. Wallace MaurerPresents six pieces written during Dryden's final decade. Two are translations, three introduce translations made by others, and the sixth introduces an original work by one of Dryden's friends.
The Works of John Dryden: All for Love, Oedipus, Troilus and Cressida, Volume XIII
by John Dryden Maximillian E. NovakVolume XIII contains three of Dryden's Plays, along with accompanying scholarly apparatus: All for Love, Oedipus, and Troilus and Cressida.
The Works of John Dryden: Wild Gallant, Rival Ladies, The Indian Queen, Volume VIII
by John Dryden John Harrington Smith Dougald MacmillanVolume VIII contains three of Dryden's Plays, along with accompanying scholarly apparatus: Wild Gallant, Rival Ladies, and Indian Queen.