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The Totally Unscientific Study of the Search for Human Happiness
by Paula Poundstone“A remarkable journey. I laughed. I cried. I got another cat.” —Lily Tomlin “Paula Poundstone is the funniest human being I have ever known.” —Peter Sagal, host of Wait Wait . . . Don’t Tell Me! and author of The Book of Vice “Is there a secret to happiness?” asks comedian Paula Poundstone. "I don’t know how or why anyone would keep it a secret. It seems rather cruel, really . . . Where could it be? Is it deceptively simple? Does it melt at a certain temperature? Can you buy it? Must you suffer for it before or after?” In her wildly and wisely observed book, the comedy legend takes on that most inalienable of rights—the pursuit of happiness. Offering herself up as a human guinea pig in a series of thoroughly unscientific experiments, Poundstone tries out a different get-happy hypothesis in each chapter of her data-driven search. She gets in shape with taekwondo. She drives fast behind the wheel of a Lamborghini. She communes with nature while camping with her daughter, and commits to getting her house organized (twice!). Swing dancing? Meditation? Volunteering? Does any of it bring her happiness? You may be laughing too hard to care. The Totally Unscientific Study of the Search for Human Happiness is both a story of jumping into new experiences with both feet and a surprisingly poignant tale of a single working mother of three children (not to mention dozens of cats, a dog, a bearded dragon lizard, a lop-eared bunny, and one ant left from her ant farm) who is just trying to keep smiling while living a busy life. The queen of the skepticism-fueled rant, Paula Poundstone stands alone in her talent for bursting bubbles and slaying sacred cows. Like George Carlin, Steve Martin, and David Sedaris, she is a master of her craft, and her comedic brilliance is served up in abundance in this book. As author and humorist Roy Blount Jr. notes, “Paula Poundstone deserves to be happy. Nobody deserves to be this funny.”
Touch and the Masquerades of Nigeria (Mask - A Release Of Acting Resources Ser. #Vol. 4)
by David Griffiths D. GriffithsFirst published in 1997. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.
A Touch of the Madness: How to Be More Innovative in Work and Life . . . by Being a Little Crazy
by Lawrence KasanoffLegendary movie producer Larry Kasanoff knows firsthand that massive success requires taking big risks—it paid off for him with blockbusters Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Dirty Dancing, and other feature films. Now, he&’s sharing behind-the-scenes stories and hard-won wisdom to help creatives thrive in any industry.Larry will be the first to tell you that excelling in any creative field requires taking big risks. It means embracing your crazy side: the most unique, boldest, and bravest part of you, and your greatest asset when it comes to creating something truly original. In A Touch of the Madness, Larry uses firsthand memories from working on some of Hollywood&’s biggest blockbusters, including Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Platoon, True Lies, Dirty Dancing, and the Mortal Kombat film series, to show you the three principles that form the foundation of a thriving career in any industry: Create a great idea that will excite your audienceAsk as many times (and as many people) as it takes to get a &“yes&”Play while you work—don&’t forget to have funCompanies and organizations tend to be comfortable with the tried and true. But customers are attracted to what&’s new, different, and better. To be innovative, you have to be a little crazy. A Touch of the Madness will help you embrace your wildest creative impulses and live your dreams—without anyone holding you back.
Touched by Evil
by Michele KnightMichele's childhood was a nightmare. Her mother was a gifted psychic but highly unstable, unable to control the dark forces her powers unleashed or to look after Michele. When she was six her beloved father died and the last shreds of normality were gone forever. From then on Michele was at the mercy of sexual predators and her mother's violent lovers. Evil surrounded her... But Michele wasn't alone. The presence of her twin sister Lucy was constantly at her side, comforting and inspiring her. Lucy had died when the twin girls were babies. But her spirit stayed behind to watch over her little sister. Time and again, when Michele reached her darkest hour, Lucy reached out with a deep sense of love and gently guided her to safety. This is the heartbreaking, but ultimately inspirational story of a little girl, who was beaten, raped, neglected and despised, but rescued from despair by her faith in the power of love.
Touched by Evil: The True Story of the Psychic Powers That Saved Me From A Life of Abuse
by Michele KnightMichele's childhood was a nightmare. Her mother was a gifted psychic but highly unstable, unable to control the dark forces her powers unleashed or to look after Michele. When she was six her beloved father died and the last shreds of normality were gone forever. From then on Michele was at the mercy of sexual predators and her mother's violent lovers. Evil surrounded her... But Michele wasn't alone. The presence of her twin sister Lucy was constantly at her side, comforting and inspiring her. Lucy had died when the twin girls were babies. But her spirit stayed behind to watch over her little sister. Time and again, when Michele reached her darkest hour, Lucy reached out with a deep sense of love and gently guided her to safety. This is the heartbreaking, but ultimately inspirational story of a little girl, who was beaten, raped, neglected and despised, but rescued from despair by her faith in the power of love.
Tough: My Journey to True Power
by Terry CrewsFrom Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Terry Crews, the deeply personal story of his lifelong obsession with strength—and how, after looking for it in all the wrong places, he finally found itTerry Crews spent decades cultivating his bodybuilder physique and bravado. On the outside, he seemed invincible: he escaped his abusive father, went pro in the NFL, and broke into the glamorous world of Hollywood. But his fixation with appearing outwardly tough eventually turned into an exhausting performance in which repressing his emotions let them get the better of him—leading him into addiction and threatening the most important relationships in his life. Now Crews is sharing the raw, never-before-told story of his quest to find the true meaning of toughness. In Tough, he examines arenas of life where he desperately sought control—masculinity, shame, sex, experiences with racism, and relationships—and recounts the setbacks and victories he faced while uprooting deeply ingrained toxic masculinity and finally confronting his insecurities, painful memories, and limiting beliefs. The result is not only the gripping story of a man's struggle against himself and how he finally got his mind right, but a bold indictment of the cultural norms and taboos that ask men to be outwardly tough while leaving them inwardly weak. With Tough, Crews's journey of transformation offers a model for anyone who considers themselves a &“tough guy&” but feels unfulfilled; anyone struggling with procrastination or self-sabotage; and anyone ready to achieve true, lasting self-mastery.
Tough Ain't Enough: New Perspectives on the Films of Clint Eastwood
by Professor Lester D. Friedman Professor David Desser Stephen Prince Jonathan Kirshner Diane Carson David Sterritt Murray Pomerance Lucy Bolton Alexandra Keller Charity LofthouseThroughout his lengthy career as both an actor and a director, Clint Eastwood has appeared in virtually every major film genre and, at this point in his career, has emerged as one of America’s most popular, recognizable, and respected filmmakers. He also remains a controversial figure in the political landscape, often characterized as the most prominent conservative voice in mostly liberal Hollywood. At Eastwood’s late age, his critical success as actor and director, his combative willingness to confront serious cultural issues in his films, and his undeniable talent behind the camera all call for a new and comprehensive study that considers and contextualizes his multiple roles, both on and off screen. Tough Ain’t Enough offers readers a series of original essays by prominent cinema scholars that explore the actor-director’s extensive career. The result is a far-reaching and nuanced portrait of one of America’s most prolific and thoughtful filmmakers.
Tough Guys Do Dance
by David WintersDavid Winters has produced and directed over 80 feature films and over 200 television shows and TV movies, and is recognized as nothing short of an icon in the entertainment industry. In Tough Guys Do Dance, David shares many fascinating and, at times, jaw-dropping behind-the-scenes stories regarding his associations with some of the biggest names in show business—names like Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Barbra Streisand, and Michael Jackson, to name a few. It is filled with personal stories of David&’s life that at times may seem hard to imagine and is told with David&’s personal voice and real-life humility in a way that only he could tell. David&’s work in the legendary Broadway show and film West Side Story inspired millions of boys and men alike to embrace the art of dance and truly showed them that &“tough guys do dance&”! Whether you are a student of dancing or an aspiring actor or producer, this book will prove to be one of the most entertaining reads you will ever experience.
Toulouse-Lautrec's The Circus: Thirty-Nine Crayon Drawings in Color (Dover Fine Art, History Of Art Series)
by Henri de Toulouse-LautrecA bareback rider's skirt ripples in the breeze, an acrobat bends his muscular limbs into a handstand, and a poodle obeys a clown brandishing a whip. The circus is in town! These kaleidoscopic visions from under the big top offer audiences a series of post-Impressionistic sideshows, courtesy of thirty-nine brilliant crayon drawings in the distinctive style of Toulouse-Lautrec.These scenes took place far from the artist's customary haunts, the bars and cafes of Montmartre. While Toulouse-Lautrec was at the height of his artistic powers, he was compelled to undergo treatment for alcoholism at a country clinic. Seeking relief from his forced confinement, he sketched vignettes from a local circus troupe's rehearsals. His sensitive interpretations of the scenes reflect the cruelty behind the performers' exotic feats, as well as his self-image as an entertainer, an outsider, and a captive.Although these drawings are masterpieces of composition and movement, the artist gave them away. The originals were scattered across Europe and America for decades, until an intrepid collector tracked them down. These reproductions are the work of a noted lithographer, Fernand Mourlot, whose skill recaptures the color and spirit of Toulouse-Lautrec's works.
The Tour: A Life Between the Lines
by Bill StainesFor more than 35 years Bill Staines has traveled the highways and byways of North America, playing his music in colleges, coffeehouses, concert halls, and folk song societies. He is one of America's quintessential troubadours, logging almost 70,000 miles a year on the open road. The Tour is not only a collection of characters, consequences, and experiences, it is- perhaps more importantly-an offering up of some of the wisdom gamed from life between the lines.
Touring Performance and Global Exchange 1850-1960: Making Tracks (Routledge Advances in Theatre & Performance Studies)
by Gilli Bush-BaileyThis collection uncovers connections and coincidences that challenge the old stories of pioneering performers who crossed the Atlantic and Pacific oceans from the mid-nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century. This book investigates songlines, drama, opera, music theatre, dance, and circus—removing traditional boundaries that separate studies of performance, and celebrating difference and transformation in style, intention, and delivery. Well known, or not known at all, travelling performers faced dangers at sea and hazardous journeys across land. Their tracks, made in pursuit of fortune and fame, intersected with those made by earlier storytellers in search for food. Making Tracks takes a fresh look at such tracks—the material remains—demonstrating that moving performance does far more than transfer repertoires and people; it transforms them. Touring performance has too often been conceived in diasporic terms, as a fixed product radiating out from a cultural centre. This collection maps different patterns—ones that comprise reversed flows, cross currents, and continually proliferating centres of meaning in complex networks of global exchange. This collection will be of great interest to scholars and students in theatre, music, drama studies and cultural history.
Touring Theatrical Productions: An International Guide
by Dinesh YadavTouring Theatrical Productions: An International Guide is a practical and comprehensive overview of planning, staging and closing international touring productions. This book offers a step-by-step chronological journal of preparing a company for international touring, from applying for international visas to returning home after a tour. It includes discussions of invitations, contracts, scheduling, health and safety, personnel, packing and shipping, certifications, insurance, travel, unions, hotels, ethics and cuisines. Each chapter is filled with guidelines, samples of paperwork and checklists to ensure the smooth running of any international tour. Written by the Production Manager and Technical Director of India’s most travelled show The Manganiyar Seduction with Can & Abel Theatres, this book includes examples, incidents and experiences of performing in over 20 countries with over 200 shows. This how-to guide will benefit Technical Directors and Production Managers of touring productions, as well as students in Production Management, Tour Management, Art Administration and Technical Theater courses.
Touring Variety in the Asia Pacific Region, 1946–1975 (Transnational Theatre Histories)
by Jonathan BollenAviation extended the horizon of international touring across Asia and the Pacific in the 1950s and 1960s. Nightclubs in Hong Kong, Manila, Melbourne, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, and Taipei presented an international array of touring acts. This book investigates how this happened. It explores the post-war formation of the Asia Pacific region through international touring and the transformation of entertainment during the ‘jet age’ of aviation. Drawing on archival research across the region, Bollen investigates how touring variety forged new relations between artists, audiences, and nations. Mapping tours and tracing networks by connecting fragments, he reveals how versatile artists translated repertoire in circulation as they toured, and how entrepreneurial endeavours harnessed the production of national distinction to government agendas. He argues that touring variety on commercial circuits diversified the repertoire in regional circulation, anticipating the diversity emerging in state-sanctioned multiculturalisms, and driving the government-construction of national theatres for cultural diplomacy.
Tourist Distractions: Traveling and Feeling in Transnational Hallyu Cinema
by Youngmin ChoeIn Tourist Distractions Youngmin Choe uses hallyu (Korean-wave) cinema as a lens to examine the relationships among tourism and travel, economics, politics, and history in contemporary East Asia. Focusing on films born of transnational collaboration and its networks, Choe shows how the integration of the tourist imaginary into hallyu cinema points to the region's evolving transnational politics and the ways Korea negotiates its colonial and Cold War past with East Asia's neoliberal present. Hallyu cinema's popularity has inspired scores of international tourists to visit hallyu movie sets, filming sites, and theme parks. This tourism helps ease regional political differences; reimagine South Korea's relationships with North Korea, China, and Japan; and blur the lines between history, memory, affect, and consumerism. It also provides distractions from state-sponsored narratives and forges new emotional and economic bonds that foster community and cooperation throughout East Asia. By attending to the tourist imaginary at work in hallyu cinema, Choe helps us to better understand the complexities, anxieties, and tensions of East Asia's new affective economy as well as Korea's shifting culture industry, its relation to its past, and its role in a rapidly changing region.
Toward a General Theory of Acting
by John LutterbieToward a General Theory of Acting explores the actor's art through the lens of Dynamic Systems Theory and recent findings in the Cognitive Sciences. An analysis of different theories of acting in the West from Stanislavski to Lecoq is followed by an in depth discussion of technique, improvisation, and creating a score. In the final chapter, the focus shifts to how these three are interwoven when the actor steps in front of an audience, whether performing realist, non-realist, or postdramatic theatre. Far from using the sciences to reduce acting to a formula, Lutterbie celebrates the mystery of the creative process.
Toward a Philosophy of the Documentarian: A Prolegomenon
by Dan GevaThe theme of this book is the documentarian—what the documentarian is and how we can understand it as a concept. Working from the premise that the documentarian is a special—extended—sign, the book develops a model of a quadruple sign structure for-and-of the documentarian, growing out of enduring traditions in philosophy, semiotics, psychoanalysis, and documentary theory. Dan Geva investigates the intellectual premise that allows the documentarian to show itself as an extremely sophisticated, creative, and purposeful being-in-the-world—one that is both embedded in its own history and able to manifest itself throughout its entire documentary life project, as a stand-alone conceptual phase in the history of ideas.
Toward an Anthropology of Screens: Showing and Hiding, Exposing and Protecting
by Mauro Carbone Graziano LinguaThis book shows that screens don’t just distribute the visible and the invisible, but have always mediated our body's relationships with the physical and anthropological-cultural environment. By combining a series of historical-genealogical reconstructions going back to prehistoric times with the analysis of present and near-future technologies, the authors show that screens have always incorporated not only the hiding/showing functions but also the protecting/exposing ones, as the Covid-19 pandemic retaught us. The intertwining of these functions allows the authors to criticize the mainstream ideas of images as inseparable from screens, of words as opposed to images, and of what they call “Transparency 2.0” ideology, which currently dominates our socio-political life. Moreover, they show how wearable technologies don’t approximate us to a presumed disappearance of screens but seem to draw a circular pathway back to using our bodies as screens. This raises new relational, ethical, and political questions, which this book helps to illuminate.
Toward A Just Pedagogy Of Performance: Historiography, Narrative, And Equity In Dramatic Practice (Routledge Series in Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Theatre and Performance)
by Charles O’MalleyThis book is a compendium of resources largely by and for artists and scholars interested in engaging in conversations of justice, diversity, and historiography in the fields of theatre and performance studies. For these students, and for the future instructors in our field who will use this book, we hold a tripartite hope: to expand, to enable, and to provide access. In its whole, we intend for this book to provoke its readers to question the narratives of history that they’ve received (and that they may promulgate) in their artistic and scholarly work. We aim to question methods and ethics of reading present in the western mode of studying drama and performance history. The contributions in the book—not traditional chapters, but manifestos, experiences, articles, conversations, and provocations—raise questions and illuminate gaps, and they do not speak in a unified voice or from a static position. These pieces are written by artists, graduate students, teachers, administrators, and undergraduates; these are expressions of hope and of experience, and not of dogma. This book is aimed toward instructors of undergraduates, both graduate students and faculty at all levels of seniority within theatre and performance studies, as well as at artists and practitioners of the art that wish to find more just ways of viewing history.
Towards a Comparative Economic History of Cinema, 1930–1970 (Frontiers in Economic History)
by John SedgwickThis book examines the economic circumstances in which films were produced, distributed, exhibited, and consumed during the spoken era of film production until 1970. The periodisation covers the years between the onset of sound and the demise of the phased distribution of films. Films are generally appreciated for their aesthetic qualities. But they are also commodities. This work of economic history presents a new approach, considering consumption behaviour as significant as supply-side decision-making. Audiences’ tastes are considered central, with box-office an indicator of what they liked. The POPSTAT Index of Film Popularity is used as a proxy where box office knowledge is missing. Comparative analysis is conducted through the tool RelPOP. The book comprises original case studies covering film consumption in Great Britain, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United States during the 1930s; Australia and occupied Belgium during the Second World War; and Italy, the United States, Poland and Czechoslovakia during the Post-war. An overriding theme is how the classical American business model, which emerged during the 1910s linking production to distribution and exhibition, adapted to local circumstances, including the two countries behind the Iron Curtain during the years of ‘High Stalinism’.
Towards a Philosophy of Cinematography
by Alexander NevillThis book presents three interrelated essays about cinematography which offer a theoretical understanding of the ways that film practitioners orchestrate light in today’s post-digital context. Cinematography is a practice at the heart of film production which traditionally involves the control of light and camera technologies to creatively capture moving imagery. During recent years, the widespread adoption of digital processes in cinematography has received a good deal of critical attention from practitioners and scholars alike, however little specific consideration about evolving lighting practices can be found amongst this discourse. Drawing on new-materialist ideas, actor-network theory and the concept of co-creativity, these essays examine the impact of changing production processes for the role and responsibilities of a cinematographer with a specific focus on lighting. Each essay advances a new perspective on the discipline, moving from the notion of light as vision to light as material, from technology as a tool to technology as a network, and from cinematography as an industry to cinematography as a collaborative art.
Towards a Theory of Mime
by Alexander IlievTowards a Theory of Mime is a genuinely unique book about non-verbal communication and performance. Combining a broad global history of the evolution of human communication with an introduction to the general practice of mime, Alexander Iliev traces a lineage from Marceau and Barrault to his own distinguished practice as performer and teacher. The book moves from a fascinating description of the first principles of gestural language to a stunning sequence of specific exercises in practical training.Written in a sometimes poetic, always accessible and often humorous style, Towards a Theory of Mime conveys complex ideas in a strikingly accessible way.Alexander Iliev has over forty years experience practising and teaching both theatre and anthropology around the world. He is currently Associate Professor at the National Academy in Sofia.
Towards Embodied Performance: Directing and the Art of Composition
by Rachel DicksteinTowards Embodied Performance invites directors and other generative performance makers to experiment with making their own original, visually stunning, sonically immersive, and physically rigorous embodied performance.Through historical context, the author’s 30-plus years of experience, and original interviews with leading theatre artists, this book sets the stage for a new generation of artists building boundary-breaking work. Directors are often categorized into one of only two frameworks: the Stanislavskian director, whose method is based on text analysis and character wants and needs, and the “auteur” director, whose work might focus on visual spectacle at the expense of text or character objectives. This book argues that the director of embodied performance fuses these two approaches, acting as the author of the event. In Part I, readers will explore the core elements of embodied performance – space, time, body, language, and action – through a lens that bridges traditional directing methodology with experimental, devised, collaborative theatre-making. Part II provides examples of this embodied practice by multi-disciplinary artists in visual and sound installation, video and film, dance-theatre, and new music/opera, including such artists as Shirin Neshat, James Turrell, Bill T. Jones, Janet Cardiff, Okwui Okpokwasili, William Kentridge, and Heather Christian. Part III suggests creative prompts and exercises for performance makers to engage the visual, physical, textual, and sonic in compositional storytelling on stage.Towards Embodied Performance is an invaluable resource for theatre directors, devisers, and generative artists at all levels from students to teachers, from early-career to mid-career artists. Directors, actors, choreographers, designers, composers, writers, scholars, and engaged audience members can all use this text to explore collaboratively created performance that invites its audience into the ripest version of the present moment.
Towards Queer Literacy in Elementary Education: Always Becoming Allies (Queer Studies and Education)
by Selena E. Van HornThis book blends multiple research studies, historical and current events, reflective teaching examples, and guidance for LGBTQ+ inclusion and queer pedagogy in elementary schools. It is divided into three sections to guide the readers from a broad understanding of the hxstories of LGBTQ+ discriminations, rights, and some communities’ resistance to LGBTQ+ children, teachers, and curriculum to a focused invitation into the author's own reflections, teaching, and discussions with children about LGBTQ+ literature and topics. The volume provides hxstories, theoretical and methodological inquiry, resources, and encouragement for teacher-researchers ready to engage LGBTQ+-inclusion and queer literacy pedagogy in their classrooms, schools, and communities.
A Town Bewitched
by Suzanne De MontignyIt’s tough for Kira, growing up in the small town of Hope as a child prodigy in classical violin, especially when her dad just died. And to make matters worse, Kate McDonough, the red-haired fiddler appears out of nowhere, bewitching the town with her mysterious Celtic music. Even Uncle Jack succumbs to her charms, forgetting his promise to look after Kira’s family. But when someone begins vandalizing the town leaving dead and gutted birds as a calling card, Kira knows without a doubt who’s behind it. Will anyone believe her?
Toxic Masculinity: Mapping the Monstrous in Our Heroes
by Esther De Dauw and Daniel J. ConnellContributions by Daniel J. Connell, Esther De Dauw, Craig Haslop, Drew Murphy, Richard Reynolds, Janne Salminen, Karen Sugrue, and James C. Taylor The superhero permeates popular culture from comic books to film and television to internet memes, merchandise, and street art. Toxic Masculinity: Mapping the Monstrous in Our Heroes asks what kind of men these heroes are and if they are worthy of the unbalanced amount of attention. Contributors to the volume investigate how the (super)hero in popular culture conveys messages about heroism and masculinity, considering the social implications of this narrative within a cultural (re)production of dominant, hegemonic values and the possibility of subaltern ideas, norms, and values to be imagined within that (re)production. Divided into three sections, the volume takes an interdisciplinary approach, positioning the impact of hypermasculinity on toxic masculinity and the vilification of “other” identities through such mediums as film, TV, and print comic book literature. The first part, “Understanding Super Men,” analyzes hegemonic masculinity and the spectrum of hypermasculinity through comics, television, and film, while the second part, “The Monstrous Other,” focuses on queer identity and femininity in these same mediums. The final section, “Strategies of Resistance,” offers criticism and solutions to the existing lack of diversity through targeted studies on the performance of gender. Ultimately, the volume identifies the ways in which superhero narratives have promulgated and glorified toxic masculinity and offers alternative strategies to consider how characters can resist the hegemonic model and productively demonstrate new masculinities.