Actors and Acting in Shakespeare's Time: The Art of Stage Playing

by John H. Astington

• ISBN13: 9780521192507
• ISBN10: 0521192501
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-11-08
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

John Astington brings the acting style of the Shakespearean period to life, describing and analyzing the art of the player in the English professional theater between Richard Tarlton and Thomas Betterton. The book pays close attention to the cultural context of stage playing, the critical language used about it, and the kinds of training and professional practice employed in the theater at various times over the course of roughly one hundred years - 1558-1660. Perfect for courses, this up-to-date survey takes into account recent discoveries about actors and their social networks, about apprenticeship and company affiliations, and about playing outside the major center of theater, London. Astington considers the educational tradition of playing, in schools, universities, legal inns, and choral communities, in comparison to the work of the professional players. A comprehensive biographical dictionary of all major professional players of the Shakespearean period is included as a handy reference guide.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The purpose of playing

Shadows, jests, and counterfeits

Playing and education

Apprentices

Playing many parts

Players at work

Conclusion

Appendix

Principal actors 1558-1660

Bibliography

Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.