Brings theatre to life for students by showing the relationship and relevance of the performing arts to their everyday lives

The Enjoyment of Theatre’s balanced coverage of performance and history provides a comprehensive and accessible introduction to theatre for both majors and nonmajors. This text establishes the aesthetic underpinnings of theatre art and then explores performance and production topics such as playwriting, acting, directing, design, and the theatre industry. The Enjoyment of Theatre also covers the full span of theatre’s 2,500-year history. The authors make theatre come alive for students by showing them how theatre is relevant to their everyday lives.

Learning Goals:

Upon completing this book, readers will be able to:

Understand today's theatre and the social impact of the theatre since its inception
Explore theatre's cultural and economic context

Part I: Locating Theatre, Experiencing Plays: Theory and Criticism

Chapter 1: Theatre: Performance and Art

Why Theatre

Theatre as Performance

Theatre as Art

Theatre as Performing Art

Chapter 2: Theatre: The Performing Audience: Three Roles

Theatre as Performing Art: The Role of the Audience

Theatre as Cultural Expression: The Role of the Audience

Theatre as Business: The Role of the Audience

Chapter 3: How to Read a Play

Seeing versus Reading

Preliminary Work

Play Analysis Using the Parts of the Play

Organizing a Response

Chapter 4: How to See a Play

Experiencing the Performance

Preliminary Work

Performance Analysis

Organizing a Response

Chapter 5: Mediating the Art and Business of Theatre

Mediators of Theatre Art

Mediators of Theatre Business

Part II: Today’s Theatre and Its Makers: Theatre Practice

Chapter 6: Making Theatre Today: The Context

Theatre Spaces

Theatrical Venues in the United States

Professional Theatre

Amateur Theatre

Children’s Theatre

Chapter 7: Playwrights

The Nature of Playwrights and Playwriting

Sources of Plays and Playwrights

The Playwright’s Career

Training Playwrights

From Page to Stage: Professional Issues

What Is Good Playwriting?

Chapter 8: Actors

The Nature of Acting

Audition, Rehearsal, and Performance

What Is Good Acting

Chapter 9: Directors

The Nature of Directing

The Director at Work

Training Directors

What Is Good Directing?

Chapter 10: Designers and Technicians

Elements of Design

Areas of Design

The Process of Design

Playscript Interpretation and Design

Practical Considerations

The Technical Director

Training Designers

What Is Good Design?

Part III: Theatre of Other Times and Places: Theatre History

Theatre: Present and Past

The Sweep of Theatre History

Part IIIA: Facade Stages (534 BCE–c. 550 CE)

Chapter 11: The Theatre of Greece

Context

Theories of the Origins of Theatre

Traits of Greek Theatre

Plays and Playwrights

Theatre Buildings and Practices

The End of Athens’ Golden Age

Chapter 12: The Theatre of Rome

Context

Roman Festivals and Theatre of the Republic

The Empire and the End of the Roman Drama

The Breakup of the Empire

The Eastern (Byzantine) Empire and Theatre

Part IIIB: Emblem, Environment, and Simultaneity (c. 950–c. 1650)

Chapter 13: Theatre in the Middle Ages

Context

Early Medieval Drama and Theatre

Medieval Culture and Theatre, c. 1200–1550

The End of Medieval Religious Theatre: The Transformation of Medieval Secular Theatre

Chapter 14: The Golden Ages of England and Spain

Context

The Renaissance in England: The Age of Shakespeare

The Closing of English Theatres

The Spanish Golden Age

Part IIIC: Illusionism (c. 1550–c. 1950)

Chapter 15: The Italian Renaissance

Context

Mainstream Theatre

An Alternative Theatre: Commedia dell’Arte

Italy: Eclipse

Chapter 16: The Triumph and Decline of Neoclassicism

French Theatre

English Restoration Theatre and Beyond (1660–c. 1750)

English Theatre in America

Chapter 17: Successful Failure: Theatre and Reform, c. 1750 to the 1950s

Context

Three Countries, Two Experiences

First Wave: Romanticism, 1750–1850

Second Wave: Realism, 1850–1950

Realism and Naturalism: Three Important Leaders

Third Wave: Avant-Gardism, 1890–1950

Avant-Garde Theatres and Movements

Chapter 18: The Rise and Triumph of Commercialism, c. 1750 to the 1950s

Context

Commercial Theatre

Drama in the Commercial Theatre

Chapter 17: Successful Failure: Theatre and Reform, c. 1750 to the 1950s

Context

Three Countries, Two Experiences

First Wave: Romanticism, 1750–1850

Second Wave: Realism, 1850–1950

Realism and Naturalism: Three Important Leaders

Third Wave: Avant-Gardism, 1890–1950

Avant-Garde Theatres and Movements

Chapter 18: The Rise and Triumph of Commercialism, c. 1750 to the 1950s

Context

Commercial Theatre

Drama in the Commercial Theatre

Theatres and Production Practices

The Decline of Commercial Theatre

Responses to Commercial Theatre

Chapter 19: Musical Theatre

Context

The American Musical Emerges

Song Forms

Musicals since 1950

Chapter 20: Eclectic Theatre, c. 1950–c. 2000

Context

Avant-Garde Theatre

Professional Theatre

The Decline and Cultural Displacement of Theatre

Chapter 21: US Theatre from 2000

Context

Theatrical Changes

Commercial and Not-for-Profit Theatre

Theatrical Trends in the New Millennium

The Long View

Chapter 22: Global Theatre

Context

The East

The Islamic World

Sub-Saharan Africa

What is included with this book?

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The Enjoyment of Theatre

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Table of Contents

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