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Objects as Actors: Props and the Poetics of Performance in Greek Tragedy
by Melissa MuellerObjects as Actors charts a new approach to Greek tragedy based on an obvious, yet often overlooked, fact: Greek tragedy was meant to be performed. As plays, the works were incomplete without physical items—theatrical props. In this book, Melissa Mueller ingeniously demonstrates the importance of objects in the staging and reception of Athenian tragedy. As Mueller shows, props such as weapons, textiles, and even letters were often fully integrated into a play’s action. They could provoke surprising plot turns, elicit bold viewer reactions, and provide some of tragedy’s most thrilling moments. Whether the sword of Sophocles’s Ajax, the tapestry in Aeschylus’s Agamemnon, or the tablet of Euripides’s Hippolytus, props demanded attention as a means of uniting—or disrupting—time, space, and genre. Insightful and original, Objects as Actors offers a fresh perspective on the central tragic texts—and encourages us to rethink ancient theater as a whole.
Objects as Actors: Props and the Poetics of Performance in Greek Tragedy
by Melissa MuellerObjects as Actors charts a new approach to Greek tragedy based on an obvious, yet often overlooked, fact: Greek tragedy was meant to be performed. As plays, the works were incomplete without physical items—theatrical props. In this book, Melissa Mueller ingeniously demonstrates the importance of objects in the staging and reception of Athenian tragedy. As Mueller shows, props such as weapons, textiles, and even letters were often fully integrated into a play’s action. They could provoke surprising plot turns, elicit bold viewer reactions, and provide some of tragedy’s most thrilling moments. Whether the sword of Sophocles’s Ajax, the tapestry in Aeschylus’s Agamemnon, or the tablet of Euripides’s Hippolytus, props demanded attention as a means of uniting—or disrupting—time, space, and genre. Insightful and original, Objects as Actors offers a fresh perspective on the central tragic texts—and encourages us to rethink ancient theater as a whole.
Objects as Actors: Props and the Poetics of Performance in Greek Tragedy
by Melissa MuellerObjects as Actors charts a new approach to Greek tragedy based on an obvious, yet often overlooked, fact: Greek tragedy was meant to be performed. As plays, the works were incomplete without physical items—theatrical props. In this book, Melissa Mueller ingeniously demonstrates the importance of objects in the staging and reception of Athenian tragedy. As Mueller shows, props such as weapons, textiles, and even letters were often fully integrated into a play’s action. They could provoke surprising plot turns, elicit bold viewer reactions, and provide some of tragedy’s most thrilling moments. Whether the sword of Sophocles’s Ajax, the tapestry in Aeschylus’s Agamemnon, or the tablet of Euripides’s Hippolytus, props demanded attention as a means of uniting—or disrupting—time, space, and genre. Insightful and original, Objects as Actors offers a fresh perspective on the central tragic texts—and encourages us to rethink ancient theater as a whole.
Objects as Actors: Props and the Poetics of Performance in Greek Tragedy
by Melissa MuellerObjects as Actors charts a new approach to Greek tragedy based on an obvious, yet often overlooked, fact: Greek tragedy was meant to be performed. As plays, the works were incomplete without physical items—theatrical props. In this book, Melissa Mueller ingeniously demonstrates the importance of objects in the staging and reception of Athenian tragedy. As Mueller shows, props such as weapons, textiles, and even letters were often fully integrated into a play’s action. They could provoke surprising plot turns, elicit bold viewer reactions, and provide some of tragedy’s most thrilling moments. Whether the sword of Sophocles’s Ajax, the tapestry in Aeschylus’s Agamemnon, or the tablet of Euripides’s Hippolytus, props demanded attention as a means of uniting—or disrupting—time, space, and genre. Insightful and original, Objects as Actors offers a fresh perspective on the central tragic texts—and encourages us to rethink ancient theater as a whole.
Objectives, Obstacles, and Tactics in Practice: Perspectives on Activating the Actor
by Valerie Pye Hillary BucsObjectives, Obstacles, and Tactics in Practice is the first book that compiles practical approaches of the best practices from a range of practitioners on the subject of working with Stanislavski’s "objectives," "obstacles," and "tactics." The book offers instructors and directors a variety of tools from leading acting teachers, who bring their own individual perspectives to the challenge of working with Stanislavski’s principles for today’s actors, in one volume. Each essay addresses its own theoretical and practical approach and offers concrete instructions for implementing new explorations both in the classroom and in the rehearsal studio. An excellent resource for acting and directing instructors at the university level, directing and theatre pedagogy students, high school/secondary theatre teachers, and community theatre leaders, Objectives, Obstacles, and Tactics in Practice serves as a resource for lesson planning and exploration, and provides an encyclopedia of the best practices in the field today.
Objectives, Obstacles, and Tactics in Practice: Perspectives on Activating the Actor
by Valerie Pye Hillary BucsObjectives, Obstacles, and Tactics in Practice is the first book that compiles practical approaches of the best practices from a range of practitioners on the subject of working with Stanislavski’s "objectives," "obstacles," and "tactics." The book offers instructors and directors a variety of tools from leading acting teachers, who bring their own individual perspectives to the challenge of working with Stanislavski’s principles for today’s actors, in one volume. Each essay addresses its own theoretical and practical approach and offers concrete instructions for implementing new explorations both in the classroom and in the rehearsal studio. An excellent resource for acting and directing instructors at the university level, directing and theatre pedagogy students, high school/secondary theatre teachers, and community theatre leaders, Objectives, Obstacles, and Tactics in Practice serves as a resource for lesson planning and exploration, and provides an encyclopedia of the best practices in the field today.
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 Object of Comedy: Philosophies and Performances (Performance Philosophy)
by Jamila M. H. Mascat Gregor ModerWhat is the object of comedy? What makes us laugh and why? Is comedy subversive, restorative or reparative? What is at stake politically, socially and metaphysically when it comes to comedic performances? This book investigates not only the object of comedy but also its objectives – both its deliberate goals and its unintended side effects.In researching the object of comedy, the contributions gathered here encounter comedy as a philosophical object: instead of approaching comedy as a genre, the book engages with it as a language, a medium, an artifice, a weapon, a puzzle or a trouble, a vocation and a repetition. Thus philosophy meets comedy at the intersection of various fields (e.g. psychoanalysis, film studies, cultural studies, and performance studies) –regions that comical practices and theories in fact already traverse.
The Oberon Book of Queer Monologues
by ScotteeThe first collection of its kind, The Oberon Book of Queer Monologues chronicles over one hundred years of queer and trans performance.Combining classical and contemporary stage plays with spoken word and performance art, this anthology features over forty extracts from some of the most exciting stage works in the English-speaking world. It will be an essential tool for artists seeking monologues for auditions or training; a comprehensive guide through the hidden histories of queer theatre; and a celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community.Curated by award-winning artist Scottee.
The Oberon Book of Monologues for Black Actors: Classical and Contemporary Speeches from Black British Plays
by Simeilia Hodge-DallawayForeword by Kwame Kwei Armah How many Black British plays can you name? Inspired by both classical and contemporary plays, The Oberon Book of Monologues for Black Actors gives readers an insight into some of the best cutting-edge plays written by black British playwrights, over the last sixty years. This collection features over twenty speeches by Britain’s most prominent black dramatists. The monologues represent a wide-range of themes, characters, dialects and styles. Suitable for young people and adults, each selection includes production information, a synopsis of the play, a biography of the playwright and a scene summary. The aim of this collection is that actors will enjoy working on these speeches, using them to help strengthen their craft, and by doing so, help to ensure these plays are always remembered.
The Oberon Book of Monologues for Black Actors: Classical and Contemporary Speeches from Black British Plays
by Simeilia Hodge-DallawayForeword by Naomie Harris How many Black British plays can you name? Inspired by both classical and contemporary plays, The Oberon Book of Monologues for Black Actresses gives readers an insight into some of the best cutting-edge plays written by black British playwrights, over the last sixty years. This collection features over twenty speeches by Britain’s most prominent black dramatists. The monologues represent a wide-range of themes, characters, dialects and styles. Suitable for young people and adults, each selection includes production information, a synopsis of the play, a biography of the playwright and a scene summary. The aim of this collection is that actors will enjoy working on these speeches, using them to help strengthen their craft, and by doing so, help to ensure these plays are always remembered.
The Oberon Book of Modern Monologues for Women: Teens to Thirties
by Dee CannonMonologues are an essential part of every actor’s toolkit. Actors need them for drama school entry, training, showcases and when auditioning for roles in the industry. This book showcases selected monologues from some of the finest modern plays by some of today’s leading contemporary playwrights. The monologues contain a diverse range of quirky and memorable characters that cross cultural and historical boundaries. The pieces are organised in age-specific groups: ‘Teens’, ‘Twenties’ and ‘Thirties’. This volume comes in a brand new format, with a notes page next to each speech, acting as an actor’s workbook as well as a monologue resource.
The Oberon Book of Modern Monologues for Women: Volume Two
by Catherine WeateMonologues are an essential part of every actor’s toolkit. Actors are required to perform monologues regularly throughout their career: preparing for drama school entry, showcasing skills for agents or auditioning for a role. Following on from the bestselling first volume (2008), this book showcases selected monologues from some of the finest modern plays by some of today’s leading contemporary playwrights. These monologues contain a diverse range of quirky and memorable characters that cross cultural and historical boundaries. The pieces are helpfully organised into age-specific groups: ‘Teens’, ‘Twenties’, ‘Thirties’ and ‘Forties plus’.
The Oberon Book of Modern Monologues for Men: Teens to Thirties
by Dee CannonMonologues are an essential part of every actor’s toolkit. Actors need them for drama school entry, training, showcases and when auditioning for roles in the industry. This book showcases selected monologues from some of the finest modern plays by some of today’s leading contemporary playwrights. The monologues contain a diverse range of quirky and memorable characters that cross cultural and historical boundaries. The pieces are organised in age-specific groups: ‘Teens’, ‘Twenties’ and ‘Thirties’. This volume comes in a brand new format, with a notes page next to each speech, acting as an actor’s workbook as well as a monologue resource.
The Oberon Book of Modern Monologues for Men: Volume Two
by Catherine WeateMonologues are an essential part of every actor’s toolkit. Actors are required to perform monologues regularly throughout their career: preparing for drama school entry, showcasing skills for agents or auditioning for a role. Following on from the bestselling first volume (2008), this book showcases selected monologues from some of the finest modern plays by some of today’s leading contemporary playwrights. These monologues contain a diverse range of quirky and memorable characters that cross cultural and historical boundaries. The pieces are helpfully organised into age-specific groups: ‘Teens’, ‘Twenties’, ‘Thirties’ and ‘Forties plus’.
The Oberon Book of Comic Monologues for Women: Volume One
by Katy Wix Jennifer Saunders'So Katy Wix has written this book of comic monologues and I may have to steal some of them. Although written for the female voice, I dare say they would stand up very well if you were a gentleman and changed the odd word or two. Here you have a book filled with brilliant characters and much funny. Each piece is bubbling with the quirky genius that makes Miss Wix one of the funniest performers / writers around. If I was ever called to audition, which I am not often despite being largely available and willing to try my hand at most things, I would be most grateful to Miss Wix for this fantastic collection. However most likely I shall keep it by my bed to dip into for laughs. It is a very good read. Well done Miss Wix.' Jennifer Saunders There are many monologues books on the market but very few provide rich material for comedy. This collection from up and coming comedian & actress Katy Wix plugs that gap and provides female performers with the kind of wonderfully warm and interesting characters that they need – and deserve. A comedian and writer, Wix has for the past few years been writing audition speeches for students at drama schools including RADA, LAMDA, Drama Centre and The Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. A book of contemporary comedy monologues does not exist for today's actor or indeed a book comprising solely of showcase speeches. This is a collection of very funny and original audition speeches filling a significant gap in the market: made up of monologues for various age ranges, each with a running time of two to three minutes. The brevity in length makes these ideal for auditions or showcases and the variety in age and style encompasses different comedic approaches; from the very quirky to the more traditional – perfect for every type of performer.
The Oberon Anthology of Contemporary Spanish Plays (Oberon Modern Playwrights)
by William GregoryFrom a colonial past to a precarious European present, this selection of works by contemporary writers challenges the accepted vision of the Spain to explore the national themes, historical legacies and modern-day concerns of a country of great geographical and cultural diversity.A Basque History by Borja Ortiz de Gondra (2017 Max Award, Best Playwright) explores the impact of war, regional and national identity, language and culture on the Basque people of the Iberian north.The Sickness of Stone by Blanca Domenech. An idealistic restoration expert clashes with an old-school pragmatist over the best way to acknowledge and heal the wounds of Spain's bloody and oppressive past.Cuzco by Víctor Sánchez Rodríguez. A Spanish couple travels to Peru to save their relationship, but find themselves confronted by post-colonial guilt, depression and disconnectedness.The Greyhound by Vanessa Montfort. This comic tale of a homeless greyhound explores the clash between the EU's prosperous north and the austerity-stricken Mediterranean.On The Edge by Julio Escalada explores the little-known underworlds of Spain's North African territories where the fight for survival leads to prejudice, volatility and violence.
The Oberon Anthology of Contemporary Norwegian Plays (Oberon Modern Plays)
by Neil Howard‘If the essence of drama is conflict, the crossing of wills, of culture versus barbarism, the Norwegians have a natural spring to tap into – and it is explosive.’ – Line Rosvoll, Artistic Director of the Norwegian Centre of New Playwriting, from her Introduction. The Oberon Anthology of Contemporary Norwegian Plays brings together a selection of exciting playwrights reflecting the breadth and vitality of Norwegian theatre’s booming new writing scene. Six plays, translated by Neil Howard and published for the first time in English, demonstrate a common willingness to push formal boundaries and to find new ways to tackle the universal experiences of the human condition; grief and loss, violence, manipulation, abuse and despair. Grief Work by Eirik Fauske Kinder K by Kristofer Grønskag A Remarkable Person by Pernille Dahl Johnsen Time Without Books by Lene Therese Teigen Why Not Before by Liv Heløe Watching Shadows by Hans Petter Blad
The Oberon Anthology of Contemporary Irish Plays: "This Is Just This. This Is Not Real. It's Just Money" (Oberon Modern Playwrights)
by Thomas ConwayHEROIN by Grace Dyas, Trade by Mark O’Halloran, The Art of Swimming by Lynda Radley, Pineapple by Phillip McMahon, I ? Alice ? I by Amy Conroy, The Big Deal edited by Una McKevitt, Oedipus Loves You by Simon Doyle & Gavin Quinn, The Year of Magical Wanking by Neil WatkinsEdited and introduced by Thomas Conway.This anthology comprises eight new plays by Irish playwrights premièred between the years 2006 and 2011.These playwrights ride, however, in no slipstream of the identifiably Irish play. Here, the enterprise of playwriting itself is being re-imagined. Here, above all else, is a commitment to becoming in the theatre.For all that, each play is concerned with what is unfinished business in Ireland. How astonishing, then, that these plays should revolve for the most part around identity and, in particular, sexual identity. How identity comes into play, how we open up the field of play, how we raise into collective experience the exercise of that play – the urgency in the playwriting would appear to lie precisely here.We can read from the historical moment – from a narrative emphasizing an economic bubble and its hangover – into these plays. Or we can take these playwrights at their word and observe lives lived at the contour of identities in the making. It is for us as readers, just as we have as theatre-goers – frequently scandalized, enthralled, shamed, appalled, unburdened, tickled pink – to decide.
The Oberon Anthology of Contemporary Greek Plays (Oberon Modern Plays)
by Lena Kitsopoulou Nina Rapi Yannis Mavritsakis Akis Dimou Charalampos Giannou5 of the most notable Greek playwrights, two women and three men 5 voices representative of contemporary Greek dramaturgy in all its diversity A palimpsest of plays indicative of the current theatre trends in Greece. A fusion of concerns, feelings and ideas, taking you on a journey to Greek theatre. Because Greek theatre does not stop at ancient tragedy and comedy. Lena Kitsopoulou, M.A.I.R.O.U.L.A. Existential anxieties consume a ‘strange’ woman who wants to leave all that is tormenting her behind. Nina Rapi, Angelstate In an imaginary space of expiation six characters seek truths while battling with desire, loss and guilt. Yannis Mavritsakis, Wolfgang Based on a real event that ‘traumatised’ civilized Europe, a man obsessively seeks absolute devotion by totally depriving a woman’s freedom. Akis Dimou, … and Juliet A monologue about sexual loneliness. Our heroine, an aged Juliet reminisces upon the traumas of love. Charalampos Giannou, Hungry A common family crisis takes an unexpected turn in a series of tragicomic events and becomes a total disaster.
The Oberon Anthology of Contemporary French Plays (Oberon Modern Playwrights)
by Chris CampbellA diverse selection of contemporary plays from a range of established and up-and-coming playwrights based in France, edited and translated by Chris Campbell, Literary Manager of the Royal Court. ‘The four works in this collection illustrate how contemporary French playwriting cannot be confined to any particular tendencies. Notwithstanding, if one might claim – rather reductively – that UK playwriting tends to focus on social, political or economic issues, then French playwriting tends to foreground form. The wholesale rejection of naturalism begun at the turn of the twentieth century by Alfred Jarry and Roger Vitrac, and taken to its extreme by post-war authors including Beckett and Nathalie Sarraute, led to the explosion of classical theatrical notions like narrative coherence, inear action, psychological characterization and comprehensible dialogue, which were replaced by dissolute poetic fragments. Theatre became a laboratory for research into formal possibility. Contemporary plays in French often push the boundaries of conventional theatrical presentation and production, posing new challenges for directors and actors, who are obliged to revise and renew their dramatic practice in order to stage them. So, too, do these plays pose challenges for translators, and Chris Campbell has succeeded with modest mastery in rendering the music of each of the four authors’ individual voices in his translations.’ Dr Clare Finburgh, University of Kent, from her introduction.
The Oberon Anthology of Contemporary Argentinian Plays (Oberon Modern Playwrights)
by Catherine BoyleFrom Ushuaia, the southernmost town in the world to the edges of the great Paraná river, and from the city of Buenos Aires to its fertile plains and the estuaries of northern Argentina, The Oberon Anthology of Contemporary Argentinian Plays provides a unique insight into the preoccupations and the creative responses of one of the major theatre-producing countries in Latin America. Includes the plays: La vida extraordinaria (Extraordinary Life) by Mariano Tenconi Blanco, translated by Catherine Boyle Pato verde (Green Duck) by Fabián Miguel Díaz, translated by Gwen MacKeith Fonavi by Leonel Giacometto, translated by Rosalind Harvey Nou Fiuter (No Future) by Franco Calluso, translated by William Gregory Poema ordinario (Poor Men’s Poetry) by Juan Ignacio Fernández, translated by William Gregory Fuego de dragón sobre dragón de madera (Dragon Fire over Wood Dragon) by Candelaria Sabagh, translated by Kate Eaton
The Oberon Anthology of Contemporary American Plays: Volume Two (Oberon Modern Playwrights)
by Adam Rapp Suzan-Lori Parks Ann Marie Healy Nick JonesThe second volume in this series brings together some of the best new writing from contemporary American playwrights, each play introduced by critically acclaimed writers themselves.The volume includes:The Edge of Our Bodies by Adam Rapp, introduced by AM HomesThe Coward by Nick Jones, introduced by Marsha NormanThe Book of Grace by Suzan-Lori Parks, introduced by Oskar EustisWhat Once We Felt by Ann Marie Healy, introduced by Paula Vogel
The Oberon Anthology of Contemporary American Plays: Volume One (Oberon Modern Playwrights)
by Mark SubiasThis new series brings together some of the best new writing from contemporary American playwrights.Volume One is introduced by Andre Bishop, Artistic Director of the Lincoln Center Theater, the most prestigious theatre in the USA. Each play is introduced by critically acclaimed writers themselves.The volume includes:KIN by Bathsheba Doran, (with an introduction by Chris Durang)Kin sheds a sharp light on the changing face of kinship in the expansive landscape of the modern world.“Simply terrific. Perhaps the finest new play of the season. Funny and audacious, haunting, and exquisitely wrought.” - Charles Isherwood, New York TimesMIDDLETOWN by Will Eno (with an introduction by Gordon Lish)Middletown was awarded the prestigious Horton Foote Prize for Promising New American Play in 2010.“Middletown glimmers from start to finish with tart, funny, gorgeous little comments on big things: the need for love and forgiveness, the search for meaning in life, the long, lonely ache of disappointment.” - Charles Isherwood, New York TimesCOMPLETENESS by Itamar Moses (with an introduction by Doug Wright)Completeness is a 21st-century romantic comedy about the timeless confusions of love.“A funny, ridiculously smart new play. I haven’t seen another play recently that so perfectly captured love – hot-blooded, fearless, fickle – at this stage in life. I was left with nothing but admiration.” - Jeremy Gerard, Bloomberg NewsGOD'S EAR by Jenny Schwartz (with an introduction by Edward Albee)“This ode to love, loss and the routines of life has the economy and dry wit of a Sondheim love song … Schwartz is a real talent and she is trying something ambitious … In [her] very modern way, [she is] making a rather old-fashioned case for the power of the written word.” - Jason Zinoman, New York Times