Plays & Drama: Books

This anthology is the first to survey the full range of modern Japanese drama and make available Japan's best and most representative twentieth- and early-twenty-first-century works in one volume.

Provides both rigorous readings of dramatic works and a historical overview of Chinese theatre from the 1980s to the 2013. Expressionism becomes a discursive locus to be incorporated and even transformed during a critical phase in the modernization of Chinese drama during the post-Maoist era.

Throughout the 19th century, people heard more music in the theatre accompanying popular dramas than they did in almost any other area of their lives. But unlike film music, theatrical music has received little attention from scholars. The author searches these abandoned sounds, mining old manuscripts and newspapers, and finds that starting in the 1790s, theatrical managers in Britain and the United States began to rely on music to play an interpretive role in melodramatic productions.

Music continues to be immensely influential in key developments of theatrical practices. In this study of musicality in the theatre, David Roesner offers a revised view of the nature of the relationship between music and theatre.

This collection of chapters from a wide variety of contexts will of course seek primarily to open up questions regarding the validity of the very category of small nations and the role of theatre and performance in such contexts.

An ethnographic study which mixes quantitative and qualitative methodology in an international multi-site project, it ties together the issues of urban and arts education through the lens of student engagement. The research presents a framework for understanding student involvement at school in the context of students’ families and communities as well as changing social, political, and economic realities around the world.

First published in 1984, Gerald Bordman's Oxford Companion to American Theatre is the standard one-volume source on our national theatre. Provides an up-to-date guide to the American stage from its beginnings to 2012. Includes playwrights, plays, actors, directors, producers, songwriters, famous playhouses, dramatic movements, and much more.

A comprehensive guide to American dramatic literature, from its origins in the early days of the nation to American classics such as Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman and Thornton Wilder's Our Town to the groundbreaking works of today's best writers.

Includes over 2500 entries that range widely over theatre in the last century. It features not only exceptional scholarly entries, but a series of fascinating boxed essays written by active professional theatre insiders, including Arnold Wesker writing on playwriting, Ben Kingsley on preparing a part, and Daniel Massey on performing Shaw. The Companion is wide-ranging in geographical scope, with entries on “Portuguese-Speaking African Theatre” and “Arab Theatre”, as well as current, with entries on “Digital performance” and the “Internet”.

Information on the history and 21st century practice of theatre in all parts of the world. It depicts the dynamic interaction of performance traditions from all cultures in present-day theatre.

Surveys and analyses the breadth, vitality, and development of theatrical work to emerge from America over the last fifty years. Each chapter provides a biographical introduction to the playwright's work; survey and concise analysis of the writer's most important plays; discussion of their style, dramaturgical concerns, and critical reception; bibliography of published plays; and select list of critical works.

A to Z reference for modern drama, highlighting the interdisciplinary nature of drama by placing playwrights and plays within their social, cultural, and historical contexts.

Information about theatre and performance from ancient Greek theatre to the latest developments in London, Paris, New York, and around the globe.

Provides critical overviews of the most-studied plays of all time periods, nations, and cultures. Includes discussions of themes, characters, critical reception, dramatic devices and traditions as well as cultural and historical context.

Music continues to be immensely influential in key developments of theatrical practices. In this study of musicality in the theatre, David Roesner offers a revised view of the nature of the relationship between music and theatre.

Discusses concerns of theatre history, develops a new perspective on ethical implications of theatre practice, reassesses the concept of the guru, and offers a new approach to the actor's cool-down. Expands from theatre to opera and presents a new consideration of the spiritual aspects of singing in opera, conducting for opera, and the opera experience for singers and spectators.

Monographs on Greek and Latin language and literature. Drawing on insights from various disciplines as well as from performance and reception studies, this volume shows how a heightened awareness of performance can enhance our appreciation of Greek and Roman theatre.

538 profiles of individual dramatists. Besides listing new productions and publications and honors and awards, these essays provide analyses of significant new works.

This work is self-described as "a simple working guide for playwrights," and is divided into three parts: Script opportunities, career opportunities, and resources.