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Messy Connections: Creating Atmospheres of Addiction Recovery Through Performance Practice (ISSN)
by Cathy SloanThis book examines performance practices that involve people in recovery from addiction, theorising such practices as recovery-engaged.Focusing on examples of practice from a growing movement of UK-based recovery arts practitioners and performers, it highlights a unique approach to performance that infuses an understanding of lived experiences of addiction and recovery with creative practice. It offers a philosophy of being in recovery that understands lived experience, and performance practice, as a dynamic system of interrelations with the human and nonhuman elements that make up the societal settings in which recovery communities struggle to exist. It thereby frames the process of recovery, and recovery-engaged performance, as an affective ecology – a system of messy connections. Building upon ideas from posthumanist research on addiction, cultural theory on identity and new materialist interpretations of performance practice, it considers how such contemporary theory might offer additional ways of thinking and doing arts practice with people affected by addiction. The discussion highlights the distinct aesthetics, ethics and politics of this area of performance practice.This study will be of great interest to students and scholars in Applied Theatre and Critical Arts and Mental Health studies.
The Methuen Drama Handbook of Gender and Theatre (Methuen Drama Handbooks)
by Sean Metzger and Roberta MockThis is a guide to contemporary debates and theatre practices at a time when gender paradigms are both in flux and at the centre of explosive political battlegrounds.The confluence of gender and theatre has long created intense debate about representation, identification, social conditioning, desire, embodiment, and lived experience. As this handbook demonstrates, from the conventions of early modern English, Chinese, Japanese and Hispanic theatres to the subversion of racialized binaries of masculinity and femininity in recent North American, African, Asian, Caribbean and European productions, the matter of gender has consistently taken centre stage. This handbook examines how critical discourses on gender intersect with key debates in the field of theatre studies, as a lens to illuminate the practices of gender and theatre as well as the societies they inform and represent across space and time. Of interest to scholars in the interrelated areas of feminist, gender and sexuality studies, theatre and performance studies, cultural studies, and globalization and diasporic studies, this book demonstrates how researchers are currently addressing theatre about gender issues and gendered theatre practices. While synthesizing and summarizing foundational and evolving debates from a contemporary perspective, this collection offers interpretations and analyses that do not simply look back at existing scholarship, but open up new possibilities and understandings. Featuring essential research tools, including a survey of keywords and an annotated play list, this is an indispensable scholarly handbook for anyone working in theatre and performance.
Mike Bartlett (Routledge Modern and Contemporary Dramatists)
by William C. BolesHailed as one of the most talented playwrights to have emerged in the late 2000s, Mike Bartlett's diverse range of plays strike at the heart of the various crises predominant in the early twenty-first century. Offering the first extensive examination of the plays and television series written by award winning playwright Mike Bartlett, this volume not only provides analysis of some of Bartlett’s best-known works (Cock, Doctor Foster, King Charles III, and Albion), but also includes new interviews with Bartlett and some of his closest and oft relied upon collaborators. In this book, Bartlett’s plays and television series are grouped together thematically, allowing the reader to observe the cross-pollination between his works on the stage and screen. The book also includes an introductory biographical chapter that discusses early influences on his writing (Harold Pinter, Mark Ravenhill, Tony Kushner, and Quentin Tarantino), his time in the Young Writers Programme at the Royal Court, and his work with the Apathists.Routledge Modern and Contemporary Dramatists is a series of innovative and exciting critical introductions to the work of internationally pioneering playwrights, giving undergraduate students an ideal point of entry into these key figures in modern drama.
Mike Bartlett (Routledge Modern and Contemporary Dramatists)
by William C. BolesHailed as one of the most talented playwrights to have emerged in the late 2000s, Mike Bartlett's diverse range of plays strike at the heart of the various crises predominant in the early twenty-first century. Offering the first extensive examination of the plays and television series written by award winning playwright Mike Bartlett, this volume not only provides analysis of some of Bartlett’s best-known works (Cock, Doctor Foster, King Charles III, and Albion), but also includes new interviews with Bartlett and some of his closest and oft relied upon collaborators. In this book, Bartlett’s plays and television series are grouped together thematically, allowing the reader to observe the cross-pollination between his works on the stage and screen. The book also includes an introductory biographical chapter that discusses early influences on his writing (Harold Pinter, Mark Ravenhill, Tony Kushner, and Quentin Tarantino), his time in the Young Writers Programme at the Royal Court, and his work with the Apathists.Routledge Modern and Contemporary Dramatists is a series of innovative and exciting critical introductions to the work of internationally pioneering playwrights, giving undergraduate students an ideal point of entry into these key figures in modern drama.
Milestones in Staging Contemporary Genders and Sexualities (Milestones)
This introduction to the staging of genders and sexualities across world theatre sets out a broad view of the subject by featuring plays and performance artists that shifted the conversation in their cultural, social, and historical moments.Designed for weekly use in theatre studies, dramatic literature, or gender and performance studies courses, these ten milestones highlight women and writers of the global majority, supporting and amplifying voices that are key to the field and some that have typically been overlooked. From Paula Vogel, Split Britches, and Young Jean Lee to Werewere Liking, Mahesh Dattani, Yvette Nolan, and more, the chapters place artists’ key works into conversation with one another, structurally offering an intersectional perspective on staging genders and sexualities.Milestones are a range of accessible textbooks, breaking down the need-to-know moments in the social, cultural, political, and artistic development of foundational subject areas.
Milestones in Staging Contemporary Genders and Sexualities (Milestones)
by Emily A. RollieThis introduction to the staging of genders and sexualities across world theatre sets out a broad view of the subject by featuring plays and performance artists that shifted the conversation in their cultural, social, and historical moments.Designed for weekly use in theatre studies, dramatic literature, or gender and performance studies courses, these ten milestones highlight women and writers of the global majority, supporting and amplifying voices that are key to the field and some that have typically been overlooked. From Paula Vogel, Split Britches, and Young Jean Lee to Werewere Liking, Mahesh Dattani, Yvette Nolan, and more, the chapters place artists’ key works into conversation with one another, structurally offering an intersectional perspective on staging genders and sexualities.Milestones are a range of accessible textbooks, breaking down the need-to-know moments in the social, cultural, political, and artistic development of foundational subject areas.
**Missing** (Nhb Modern Plays Ser.)
by Chris BushA daringly theatrical investigation of the climate crisis through the perspectives of class, patriarchy and colonialism. Chris Bush's play (Not) the End of the World was first staged at the Schaubühne in Berlin in 2021, directed by Katie Mitchell. 'Staggering… Bush's remarkable text melds a ruthless structural concept with exquisite lyricism' - Guardian 'A play of endless permutations, interrogating the idea of choice and individual agency in the face of planetary crisis… Bush's fractal text, like a shattered sheet of ice, combines vivid passages about embracing the paths unchosen with a stark account of the consequences of vanishing marine life and rising temperatures. It is intentionally contradictory, at once putting the onus on the individual, while highlighting the need for change at a governmental level. It deftly captures these tensions, while articulating the mental tug of war underlining many of our decisions' - The Stage
Montaigne and Shakespeare: The emergence of modern self-consciousness
by Suzanne EllrodtThis book is not merely a study of Shakespeare’s debt to Montaigne. It traces the evolution of self-consciousness in literary, philosophical and religious writings from antiquity to the Renaissance and demonstrates that its early modern forms first appeared in the Essays and in Shakespearean drama. It shows, however, that, contrary to some postmodern assumptions, the early calling in question of the self did not lead to a negation of identity. Montaigne acknowledged the fairly stable nature of his personality and Shakespeare, as Dryden noted, maintained 'the constant conformity of each character to itself from its very first setting out in the Play quite to the End'. A similar evolution is traced in the progress from an objective to a subjective apprehension of time from Greek philosophy to early modern authors. A final chapter shows that the influence of scepticism on Montaigne and Shakespeare was counterbalanced by their reliance on permanent humanistic values.
The Mountaintop: Hoodoo Love; Saturday Night/sunday Morning; The Mountaintop; Hurt Village (Student Editions)
by Katori HallThe Mountaintop is published here as a Methuen Drama Student Edition, featuring notes and commentary by Harvey Young, Dean of the College of Fine Arts, Boston University, USA. The introduction offers a discussion of key themes including race, identity, politics, magical realism, one-act plays, historical figures and martyrs.The night before his assassination, Martin Luther King, Jr. retires to room 306 in the now-famous Lorraine Motel after giving an acclaimed speech to a massive church congregation. When a mysterious young maid visits him to deliver a cup of coffee, King is forced to confront his past and the future of his people.Portraying rhetoric, hope and ideals of social change, The Mountaintop also explores being human in the face of inevitable death. The play is a dramatic feat of daring originality, historical narration and triumphant compassion.
Multilingual Dramaturgies: Towards New European Theatre (New Dramaturgies)
by Kasia LechMultilingual Dramaturgies provides a study of dramaturgical practices in contemporary multilingual theatre in Europe. Featuring interviews with international theatremakers, the book gives an insight into diverse approaches towards multilingual theatre and its dramaturgy that reflect cultural, political, and economic landscapes of contemporary Europe, its inhabitants, and its theatres. First-hand accounts are contextualized to reveal a complex set of negotiations involved in the creative and political tasks of staging multilingualism and engaging the audience, as well as in practical issues like funding and developing working models. Using interviews with practitioners from a diverse range of theatrical backgrounds and career levels, and with various models of financial support, Multilingual Dramaturgies also offers an insight into different attitudes towards multilingualism in European theatres. The book illuminates not only the potential for multilingual dramaturgies, but also the practical and creative difficulties involved in making them. By bringing the voices of artists together and providing a critical commentary, the book reveals multilingual dramaturgies as webbed practices of differences that also offer new ways of understanding and performing identity in a European context. Multilingual Dramaturgies sheds light on an exciting theatre practice, argues for its central role in Europe and highlights potential directions for its further development.
Multiple Casualty Incident (Nhb Modern Plays Ser.)
by Sami IbrahimHere, in a London training centre, people prepare to help strangers on another side of the world. There, a city is burning. Here, Sarah gets a meal deal. There, people are in danger. Here, Khaled watches a training video. There, there are men with guns. Here, Sarah and Khaled flirt with each other. There, an aid worker looks after a refugee. Suddenly – here becomes there. In Sami Ibrahim's play Multiple Casualty Incident, roleplay, desire and compassion intertwine, revealing the limits of help, the beginnings of harm and the complexities of humanitarian work. It was first performed at The Yard Theatre, London, in 2024, directed by Jaz Woodcock-Stewart. 'A timely exploration of the ethics of foreign aid' - The Stage 'Unforgettable… when what's actually going on is revealed, the impact is astonishing' - Time Out 'Mind-bending and reality-blending… the political becomes extraordinarily personal in ways [that are] wholly unexpected… does not shy away from the disconcerting questions [about] Western humanitarian aid' - A Youngish Perspective
Multisensory Shakespeare and Specialized Communities (Shakespeare and Social Justice)
by Sheila T. CavanaghHow can theatre and Shakespearean performance be used with different communities to assist personal growth and development, while advancing social justice goals?Employing an integrative approach that draws from science, actor training, therapeutical practices and current research on the senses, this study reveals the work being done by drama practitioners with a range of specialized populations, such as incarcerated people, neurodiverse individuals, those with physical or emotional disabilities, veterans, people experiencing homelessness and many others. With insights drawn from visits to numerous international programs, it argues that these endeavors succeed when they engage multiple human senses and incorporate kinesthetic learning, thereby tapping into the diverse benefits associated with artistic, movement and mindfulness practices. Neither theatre nor Shakespeare is universally beneficial, but the syncretic practices described in this book offer tools for physical, emotional and collaborative undertakings that assist personal growth and development, while advancing social justice goals. Among the practitioners and companies whose work is examined here are programs from the Shakespeare in Prison Network, the International Opera Theater, Blue Apple Theatre, Flute Theatre, DeCruit and Feast of Crispian programs for veterans, Extant Theatre and prison programs in Kolkata and Mysore, India.
Networked Music Performance: Theory and Applications
by Miriam IorwerthNetworked Music Performance (NMP) is the essential guide to both playing music online and ensemble music through networks. Offering a range of case studies, from highly technical solutions to inclusive community projects, this book provides inspiration to musicians to try NMP whatever their level of technical expertise. Drawing upon recent research to examine the background and history of the practice as well as specific practical approaches, technical and musical considerations are included for readers, as are ideas around accessibility and creativity. Accessibility is considered in the context of the opportunities that NMP gives to musicians working remotely, as well as some of the barriers to participation in NMP and how these can be overcome. Synchronous and asynchronous approaches to NMP are explored in detail, examining the technical and musical affordances and challenges of working remotely for musicians. Networked Music Performance will appeal to music and music technology students as well as professional musicians and technicians who have started working online and wish to improve their practice. As NMP in the context of music education and community music are also explored, this book supplies educators and community leaders with knowledge and practical guidance on how to move their practice online.
Networked Music Performance: Theory and Applications
by Miriam IorwerthNetworked Music Performance (NMP) is the essential guide to both playing music online and ensemble music through networks. Offering a range of case studies, from highly technical solutions to inclusive community projects, this book provides inspiration to musicians to try NMP whatever their level of technical expertise. Drawing upon recent research to examine the background and history of the practice as well as specific practical approaches, technical and musical considerations are included for readers, as are ideas around accessibility and creativity. Accessibility is considered in the context of the opportunities that NMP gives to musicians working remotely, as well as some of the barriers to participation in NMP and how these can be overcome. Synchronous and asynchronous approaches to NMP are explored in detail, examining the technical and musical affordances and challenges of working remotely for musicians. Networked Music Performance will appeal to music and music technology students as well as professional musicians and technicians who have started working online and wish to improve their practice. As NMP in the context of music education and community music are also explored, this book supplies educators and community leaders with knowledge and practical guidance on how to move their practice online.
New Approaches to Decolonizing Fashion History and Period Styles: Re-Fashioning Pedagogies
New Approaches to Decolonizing Fashion History and Period Styles: Re-Fashioning Pedagogies offers a wide array of inclusive, global, practical approaches for teaching costume and fashion history.Costume designers, technicians, and historians have spent the last several years re-evaluating how they teach costume and fashion history, acknowledging the need to refocus the discourse to include a more global perspective. This book is a collection of pedagogical methods aimed to do just that, with an emphasis on easy reference, accessible activities, and rubrics, and containing a variety of ways to restructure the course. Each chapter offers a course description, syllabus calendar, course objectives, and learning outcomes, as well as sample activities from instructors across the country who have made major changes to their coursework. Using a combination of personal narratives, examples from their work, bibliographies of helpful texts, and student responses, contributors suggest a variety of ways to decolonize the traditionally Western-focused fashion history syllabus.This collection of pedagogical approaches is intended to support and inspire instructors teaching costume design, costume history, fashion history, period styles, and other aesthetic histories in the arts.
New Approaches to Decolonizing Fashion History and Period Styles: Re-Fashioning Pedagogies
by Ashley BelletNew Approaches to Decolonizing Fashion History and Period Styles: Re-Fashioning Pedagogies offers a wide array of inclusive, global, practical approaches for teaching costume and fashion history.Costume designers, technicians, and historians have spent the last several years re-evaluating how they teach costume and fashion history, acknowledging the need to refocus the discourse to include a more global perspective. This book is a collection of pedagogical methods aimed to do just that, with an emphasis on easy reference, accessible activities, and rubrics, and containing a variety of ways to restructure the course. Each chapter offers a course description, syllabus calendar, course objectives, and learning outcomes, as well as sample activities from instructors across the country who have made major changes to their coursework. Using a combination of personal narratives, examples from their work, bibliographies of helpful texts, and student responses, contributors suggest a variety of ways to decolonize the traditionally Western-focused fashion history syllabus.This collection of pedagogical approaches is intended to support and inspire instructors teaching costume design, costume history, fashion history, period styles, and other aesthetic histories in the arts.
Nine Lessons and Carols: Stories for a Long Winter (Nhb Modern Plays Ser.)
by Chris Bush Maimuna MemonA play about connection and isolation, forged during the Covid pandemic, exploring what we hold on to in troubled times. Chris Bush's play Nine Lessons and Carols: Stories for a Long Winter, with songs by Maimuna Memon, was first staged at the Almeida Theatre, London, in 2020, directed by Rebecca Frecknall. 'A reminder of the power of theatre and our need for it' - Telegraph 'Tender and embracing, Nine Lessons and Carols leaves you with the glow that only comes from a true sense of shared experience' - The Stage
Nine questions every actor of color should consider when tokenism is not enough
by Shanésia DavisThis book confronts and analyzes the systemic racism that confronts actors of color in the USA through interviews with leading performers in the nation’s theatrical epicentre of Chicago.Each chapter deals with a different central question, from how these actors approach roles and the obstacles that they face, to the ways in which the industry can change to better enable actors of color. By bringing together these actors and sharing the ways in which they have functioned within the white theatre world, we can appreciate how theatre needs to embrace their identities so that all voices are heard, understood, and valued. The stories of these actors will reflect the systemic racism of the past and present with the hope of remaking the future.This is an important book for students, teachers, and professionals who engage in theatre work, helping them to understand the lived experiences of actors of color through those actors’ own words.
Nine questions every actor of color should consider when tokenism is not enough
This book confronts and analyzes the systemic racism that confronts actors of color in the USA through interviews with leading performers in the nation’s theatrical epicentre of Chicago.Each chapter deals with a different central question, from how these actors approach roles and the obstacles that they face, to the ways in which the industry can change to better enable actors of color. By bringing together these actors and sharing the ways in which they have functioned within the white theatre world, we can appreciate how theatre needs to embrace their identities so that all voices are heard, understood, and valued. The stories of these actors will reflect the systemic racism of the past and present with the hope of remaking the future.This is an important book for students, teachers, and professionals who engage in theatre work, helping them to understand the lived experiences of actors of color through those actors’ own words.
Northanger Abbey: (stage version) (Nhb Modern Plays Ser.)
by Jane AustenCatherine Morland knows little of the world, but who needs real-life experience when you have novels to guide you? Seizing her chance to escape her claustrophobic family and join the smart set in Bath, she meets worldly, sophisticated Isabella Thorpe – Iz, to her friends – and so Cath's very own adventure begins. This playful and surprising reimagining of Northanger Abbey is infused with the spirit of Jane Austen's original novel and fizzes with imagination and humour. It was premiered in 2024 at the Orange Tree Theatre, London, before touring to Octagon Theatre, Bolton, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, and Theatre by the Lake, Keswick. 'Friendship is certainly the finest balm for the pangs of any sort of… disappointed love.' 'A smartly playful adaptation that pulses with real passions… it asks big, clever questions about personal agency, authorship and control… Austen would thoroughly approve' - Evening Standard 'Moves at a tremendous clip… the wooing is done with such subtlety and good humour' - The Times 'An incisive adaptation that approaches the tale from a fresh, contemporary angle… exuberantly, unashamedly silly… Quick-fire scenes jump about in time, skilfully picking apart the narrative with flashbacks that offer new context, or cutting away to asides where the characters debate their real intentions… an appealing, intriguingly flawed protagonist… unexpected and intriguing' - The Stage 'A spirited three-hander romp… it's exhilarating, transmuting Austen's daftest novel into something really quite beautiful' - Time Out
Now, I See (Nhb Modern Plays Ser.)
by Lanre MalaoluTwo brothers, long estranged, reunite at a ceremony to honour their lost sibling's life. As they seek to let go, they must confront the past whilst rediscovering the joy that binds them together. A powerful fusion of movement, song and text, Now, I See is an exploration of identity, forgiveness and nature's capacity to heal. It celebrates the profound bond of brotherhood and the resilience that can be found in joy. Now, I See is the second instalment in Lanre Malaolu's groundbreaking trilogy that excavates and celebrates the reality of being a Black man in contemporary Britain. It was premiered at Stratford East, London, in 2024, directed by Malaolu.
Nye (Modern Plays)
by Tim PriceOne man's dream of the NHSFrom campaigning at the coalfield to leading the battle to create the NHS, Aneurin 'Nye' Bevan is often referred to as the politician with greatest influence on our country without ever being Prime Minister.Confronted with death, Nye's deepest memories lead him on a mind-bending journey back through his life; from childhood to mining underground, Parliament and fights with Churchill in an epic Welsh fantasia.Tim Price's surreal and spectacular journey through the life and legacy of the man who transformed Britain's welfare state premiered at the National Theatre starring Michael Sheen as Nye Bevan. This edition was published to coincide with the original production in February 2023.
Object Performance in the Black Atlantic: The United States
by Paulette RichardsGiven that slaveholders prohibited the creation of African-style performing objects, is there a traceable connection between traditional African puppets, masks, and performing objects and contemporary African American puppetry? This study approaches the question by looking at the whole performance complex surrounding African performing objects and examines the material culture of object performance. Object Performance in the Black Atlantic argues that since human beings can attribute private, personal meanings to objects obtained for personal use such as dolls, vessels, and quilts, the lines of material culture continuity between African and African American object performance run through objects that performed in ritual rather than theatrical capacity. Split into three parts, this book starts by outlining the spaces where the African American object performance complex persisted through the period of slavery. Part Two traces how African Americans began to reclaim object performance in the era of Jim Crow segregation and Part Three details how increased educational and economic opportunities along with new media technologies enabled African Americans to use performing objects as a powerful mode of resistance to the objectification of Black bodies. This is an essential study for any students of puppetry and material performance, and particularly those concerned with African American performance and performance in North America more broadly.
Object Performance in the Black Atlantic: The United States
by Paulette RichardsGiven that slaveholders prohibited the creation of African-style performing objects, is there a traceable connection between traditional African puppets, masks, and performing objects and contemporary African American puppetry? This study approaches the question by looking at the whole performance complex surrounding African performing objects and examines the material culture of object performance. Object Performance in the Black Atlantic argues that since human beings can attribute private, personal meanings to objects obtained for personal use such as dolls, vessels, and quilts, the lines of material culture continuity between African and African American object performance run through objects that performed in ritual rather than theatrical capacity. Split into three parts, this book starts by outlining the spaces where the African American object performance complex persisted through the period of slavery. Part Two traces how African Americans began to reclaim object performance in the era of Jim Crow segregation and Part Three details how increased educational and economic opportunities along with new media technologies enabled African Americans to use performing objects as a powerful mode of resistance to the objectification of Black bodies. This is an essential study for any students of puppetry and material performance, and particularly those concerned with African American performance and performance in North America more broadly.
The Odyssey: (It's a Really Really Really Long Journey) (Plays for Young People)
by Nina SegalIt starts – like many stories – with a man.A man leaving – heard that before?A man going off to find his fortune.A man going off to start a war.Telemachus was just a baby when his dad Odysseus left to fight in the Trojan War. Now he's almost grown he sets off on a quest to find him, even if his mum is not convinced. Luckily he has the muses - and some great tunes - to guide him on his heroic journey.Join Telemachus on an epic adventure through stormy seas and strange lands, filled with mystical creatures, dangerous monsters and enchanting sirens - plus two talking sheep - and discover what really makes a true hero.This fun, musical re-telling of Homer's classic story The Odyssey is adapted by Nina Segal, with the original production directed by Jennifer Tang.This edition was published to coincide with the world premiere at Unicorn Theatre in London, in March 2024.