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Summary
The Creative Spirit includes five complete plays: Joe Turner's Come and Gone by August Wilson, And the Soul Shall Dance by Wakako Yamauchi, Angels in America by Tony Kushner, Dog Lady by Milcha Sanchez-Scott, Buried Child by Sam Shepard. Focusing on the collaborative and creative processes that go into productions, Stephanie Arnold introduces students to the theatre through engaging and accessible plays and through the playwrights who craft the play texts and the theatre practitioners who bring those texts to life on the stage. A rich context is provided for each play with a discussion of the playwright's biography and sources, timelines that provide historical and cultural background, and a case study of an actual production of the play to give students a sense of experiencing theatre from the inside. Includes new interviews with theatre professionals about their work. Offers a vibrant visual presentation with full-color photographs throughout including over fifty new photographs of many exciting new plays and revivals such as Anna in the Tropics, Cathay, Gem of the Ocean, Electricidad, 9 Parts of Desire, The Pillowman, All's Well that Ends Well, Awake and Sing, Hedda Gabler, Medea, Much Ado About Nothing, The Soldier's Tale, and The Teahouse. Features more coverage of writing about the theatre including information on the contributions of the dramaturg and the critic and a new appendix of guided writing assignments such as reviewing productions and conducting interviews. Emphasizes the diverse and vibrant roots of the theatre with expanded materials on Latino theatre as well as Chinese and Chinese-American theatre in addition to the rich presentation of diversity already in the book. Book jacket.
Table of Contents
PART ONE: THE NATURE OF THEATRE
Chapter 1 The Impulse to Perform
Personal Performance
Community Performance
Ritual Performance Among the Hopi
Performance as Community Obligation
Professional Performance: Four Stories
Bill Irwin: Physical Humor
Anna Deavere Smith: The Power of Words
Neil Marcus: Storyteller and Dancer
Frances McDormand: Creation of Character
Summary
Topics for Discussion and Writing
Suggestions for Further Reading
Chapter 2 Theatre and Society
The Power of Theatre
Theatre and Religious Festivals
The Greek Theatre: Athens, Fifth Century B.C.E
The Medieval Mystery Cycle
The Professional Theatre
The Elizabethan Theatre
The Beijing Opera of Chinca
Theatre as a Mirror of Society
Theatre and Social Change
Theatre and September 11
Waiting for Godot in Sarajevo
Summary
Topics for Discussion and Writing
Suggestions for Further Reading
PART TWO THE NATURE OF PERFORMANCE
THE THEATRE PRACTITIONERS
Chapter 3 The Playwright’s Vision
Looking at Joe Turner’s Come and Gone by August Wilson
Exploring the Text of Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
Plot and Characters: A Meeting of Two Worlds
Historical and Cultural Contexts of the Play
The Playwright’s Sources
The Complete Text of Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
Producing Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
The Construction of Meaning Through Collaboration
The Oregon Shakespeare Festival
The Actors at Work
Staging the Juba
Expanding the Stage Image: The Work of the Designers
Conclusion: History and Meaning in Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
Summary
Topics for Writing and Discussion
Suggestions for Further Reading
Chapter 4 The Art of the Actor
The Presence of the Actor
The Actor’s Craft
The Work of the Actor
Competing for Roles: The Audition
Preparing for the Role
The Rehearsal Process
Approaches to Acting
The Internal Approach
The External Approach
Acting Cordelia in King Lear
Gestural Acting
The Performance
Theatre and Film
Becoming an Actor
Summary
Topics for Discussion and Writing
Suggestions for Further Reading
Chapter 5 The Director
The History of the Director
The Director and the Development of Realism
The Director and the Determination of Style
The Visionary Director: Jerzy Grotowski
Approaches to Directing
The Director at Work
Choosing the Play
The Director’s Initial Response to the Play
Creating Metaphor’s
Working with the Actors
Casting
Nontraditional Casting
The Work Environment
Improvisation
Staging the Play
Focus
Spatial Composition and Character Development
Rhythm and Pacing
Preparing the Play for Performance
The Director’s Training
Summary
Topics for Discussion and Writing
Suggestions for Further Reading
Chapter 6 The Designers
Stagecraft and the Theatre
The Theatrical Space
The Proscenium Theatre
Thrust, Arena, and Black Box Stages
The Implications of Theatre Architecture for Designers
Three-Dimensional Space
Meetings and Interactions
The History of Scene Design
Scene Design Today
Costume Design
Stylistic Unity
The Psychology of Character
The Costume Designer and the Actor
Lighting Design
The History of Light in the Theatre
The Lighting Designer’s Materials
Conceptualizing with Light
The Light Plot and the Light Cues
Visibility
Focus
Mood and Atmosphere
The Rhythm of Light
The Growing Prominence of Sound Design
The Integration of Sound into the Production Process
The Sound Designer’s Materials
Environmental Sound and Sound Reinforcement
Summary
Topics for Discussion and Writing
Suggestions for Further Reading
Chapter 7 The Musical Theatre: Composers, Lyricists and Choreographers
Origins of Musical Theatre in America
The Broadway Theatre
Oklahoma!
West Side Story
My Fair Lady
Cabaret
The Musicals of Stephen Sondheim
A Chorus Line
New Directions for the Musical Theatre
Savion Glover and Bring in da Noise Bring in da Funk
Jonathan Larson and Rent
Julie Taymor and The Lion King
Susan Stroman and Contact
Summary
Topics for Discussion and Writing
Suggestions for Further Reading
PART THREE: THE NATURE OF STYLE
REALISM AND THEATRICALISM
Chapter 8 Understanding Style: Realism
Introduction to Realism
Realistic Elements in Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
Realism in Film
Origins of Realism
The Social Background of Realism
European Realism
Henrik Ibsen
August Strindberg
Anton Chekhov
American Realism
Lillian Hellman
Poetic Realism: Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams
Constantin Stanislavsky and Realstic Acting
Summary
Topics for Discussion and Writing
Suggestions for Further Reading
Chapter 9 Expressing a World View Through Realism
Looking at And the Soul Shall Dance by Wakako Yamauchi
Eploring the Text of And the Soul Shall Dance
Plot and Characters
Personal, Cultural, and Historical Contexts of the Play
Evoking a World Through Detail
The Complete Text of And the Soul Shall Dance
Producing And the Soul Shall Dance
Introduction to East West Players
Location and Physical Space
Staging the Play
The Director’s Prologue
The Influence of Asian Theatre
Staging a Period Play: The Work of the Director and the Actors
Building Character Relationships
Contrasting Productions: East West Players and Northwest Asian American Theatre
Scene Design and the Physical Space
Interpreting Family Relationships
Sexuality and Gender
Summary
Topics for Discussion and Writing
Suggestions for Further Reading
Chapter 10 Understanding Style: Theatricalism
Exposing the Mechanics of the Theatre
Expressionism
German Expressionism
American Expressionism
Epic Theatre: Bertolt Brecht
Brecht’s Concept of Alienation
Brecht’s Approach to Acting
Theatre of the Absurd
A Revolution in Movement: Martha Graham
Total Theatre: Robert Wilson
Summary
Topics for Discussion and Writing
Suggestions for Further Reading
Chapter 11 Expressing a Worldview Through Theatricalism
Looking at Angels in America: Millennium Approaches by Tony Kushner
Exploring the Text of Angels in America: Millennium Approaches
Plot and Characters
A World in Spiritual Collapse
Influences on Kushner as Playwright: Bertolt Brecht and Caryl Churchill
The Historical Framework of Angels in America
The Complete Text of Angels in America: Millennium Approaches
Producing Angels in America
The Eureka Theatre and the Playwright
The Role of the Dramaturg
The Developmental Process
Expanding Opportunities for the Development of New Plays
Summary
Topics for Discussion and Writing
Suggestions for Further Reading
PART FOUR: THE NATURE OF DRAMA
STRUCTURE AND GENRE
Chapter 12 The Elements of Drama and Dramatic Structure
Fundamental Elements of Structure
Character
Plot
Language
Music
Spectacle
The Organization of the Drama in Space and Time
The Duration of the Performance
Building the Drama: the Internal Rhythm
Conflict, Rising Tension, and Resolution
Summary
Topics for Discussion and Writing
Suggestions for Further Reading
Chapter 13 Genre
Introduction to Genre
Tragedy and Comedy
Origins in Greek Drama
Aristotle on Tragedy and Comedy
A Look at Tartuffe
Tragedy: Catharsis and Awareness
Plot Summaries of Selected Tragedies
Common Themes of Tragedy
Can Tragedy Exist Today?
Melodrama
Tragicomedy
Farce
Summary
Topics for Discussion and Writing
Suggestions for Further Reading
Chapter 14 Choosing a Genre: Comedy
Looking at Dog Lady by Milcha Sanchez-Scott
Exploring the Text of Dog Lady
Plot and Characters
The Playwright’s Sources: An Intersection of Cultures
Characteristics of the Play
Blended Language
Magical Realism
Reinterpreting Catholic Imagery: The Virgin of Guadalupe