An Acting Method Using the Psychophysical Experience of Workshop Games-exercises

An Acting Method Using the Psychophysical Experience of Workshop Games-exercises
Author: Jerry Rojo
Publisher:
Total Pages: 274
Release: 2000
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN:

Rojo (dramatic arts, U. of Connecticut) describes the method of acting and performance he developed. Using the actor's own self-personality, the psychophysical technique employs extemporaneous games and exercises in a specialized workshop that can lead to a performance for an audience. He begins by setting out the theory behind the method, then explores the function of games and exercises in the workshop setting, and describes the games and exercises themselves. The approach has roots in the methods of Stanislavski, Meyerhold, Brecht, and Grotowski, but also draws on Richard Schechner's more recent theory and practice of environmental theater. The text is double spaced. Annotation copyrighted by Book News Inc., Portland, OR.

Bronson Howard, Dean of American Dramatists

Bronson Howard, Dean of American Dramatists
Author: Lloyd Anton Frerer
Publisher:
Total Pages: 384
Release: 2001
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN:

Between 1842 and 1908, Bronson Howard wrote 27 plays which appeared under 39 different titles, and had opening nights in New York, London and Berlin. This study is both a historical biography and critical analysis of the literature, concluding with an attempt to place his work in critical perspective both in terms of his own era, and ours. In addition to his best-known play, the often-anthologized civil war spectacle Shenandoah, it examines his other works such as Saratoga, Young Mrs Winthrop, One of Our Girls and The Henrietta.

Trance and Transformation of the Actor in Japanese Noh and Balinese Masked Dance-drama

Trance and Transformation of the Actor in Japanese Noh and Balinese Masked Dance-drama
Author: Margaret Coldiron
Publisher: Edwin Mellen Press
Total Pages: 438
Release: 2004
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN:

This study examines the effect of the mask upon the masked performer int he Balinese Topeng and Calonarang dance dramas and Japanese Noh Theatre. It represents the first systematic study of the relationship between the actor and the mask from the performer's perspective. The approach is largely empirically based and draws upon the author's extensive field research in Bali and Japan which included interviews with performers and mask makers, study of mask carving and dance and observation of private lessons and public performances. This study will be of interest to scholars and students in many fields including Anthropology, Cultural Studies, Performance Studies, Theatre, Dance and Visual Arts. It will be also of interest to theatre and dance practitioners, especially those working with masks or intercultural performance.

The Curriculum, Training Methods and History of a Comptetitive Improvisational Comedy Company

The Curriculum, Training Methods and History of a Comptetitive Improvisational Comedy Company
Author: Kevin Bradshaw
Publisher: Edwin Mellen Press
Total Pages: 196
Release: 2004
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN:

You can hit, you can field, but can you make them laugh? Working from interviews and questionnaires, Bradsaw (theater, Gonzaga U.) also uses his personal experience with a ComedySportz team in describing the intensive preparation necessary to get players ready for competitive improv comedy. He describes the history of the art form, the workshops conducted to help players develop the timing of trapeze artists and the hides of rhinos, and the fine points of a sport that favors explosive mind games over protective headgear, however handy the latter may be. He includes a list of teams in the Comedy League of America, the games played in ComedySportz, and a sample questionnaire. We were amused. The text is double-spaced. Annotation : 2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).

The Dramaturgy of Mark Medoff

The Dramaturgy of Mark Medoff
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 492
Release: 2004
Genre: Drama
ISBN:

Select social and academic communities accord cultural status to deafness and disability, but cultural designation remains an intensely debated topic among many culture non-members and a sensitive hot potato among culture group members. As a result and with alarming speed and regularity, an increasing number of scholars now examine multiple facets of deafness and disability and how culture members intersect with mainstream society. This much needed research helps to bring into perspective and to reconcile distinct segments of our pluralistic world. Yet relatively little in-depth research investigates how dramatic literature represents deaf or disability cultures or people; more specifically, although for centuries plays have developed a myriad of disabled characters, only a handful of plays have developed deaf characters. Given these combined circumstances, the entire fields of creativity and inquiry related to deafness are badly neglected. To date, only a small sprinkling of commercially produced playscripts include deaf characters or take deaf issues as their thematic through lines. It is not surprising, then, that no existing anthology groups plays about deafness in order to p

Choice

Choice
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 590
Release: 2001
Genre: Academic libraries
ISBN:

Scene Design at the Court of Louis XIV

Scene Design at the Court of Louis XIV
Author: Frederick Paul Tollini
Publisher:
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2003
Genre: Drama
ISBN:

This study adds another insight into the period of Louis XIV - that the confluence of the theatrical arts from older traditions developed to shape a distinctly French style which all pertained to the glorification of the Sun King. While previous studies have stressed the literary and musical side of the performances of the period, this study examines the settings and scene designs which completed the picture of the royal mythologies. Besides giving an account of the festivities of Versailles and other venues, and setting them in their social environment, this work relates the spectacles to the political and social milieu, incorporating both contemporary literary theory and cultural history.

The Representation of London in Regency and Victorian Drama (1821-1881)

The Representation of London in Regency and Victorian Drama (1821-1881)
Author: Anthony Williams
Publisher: Edwin Mellen Press
Total Pages: 266
Release: 2000
Genre: Drama
ISBN:

This work is an account of popular theatre as the central form of entertainment in Regency and Victorian London. The author roots each play in the context of its original performance, as most London theatres had a distinctive local audience and character, and an understanding of a particular drama involves considering the class and attitudes of those for whom it was performed.

The Activities of Popular Dramatists and Drama Groups in Scotland, 1900-1952

The Activities of Popular Dramatists and Drama Groups in Scotland, 1900-1952
Author: Linda Mackenney
Publisher: Edwin Mellen Press
Total Pages: 328
Release: 2000
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN:

This discussion provides primary research on the activities of popular dramatists and drama groups in Scotland who played an important role in the late blossoming of a Scottish national drama. The text covers Joe Corrie's Fife Miner Players, Glasgow Unity Theatre and Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop. These companies produced a wide range of original works on contemporary issues (the General Strike of 1926, unemployment in the hungry 30s, Glasgow's post-war housing shortage) as well as religious, racial and gender issues. They adopted a variety of styles, from agit-prop to social realism, and made creative use of popular forms of entertainment, from the Burns Supper to the village concert. The book provides a comparison with the work of other international popular drama movements.