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A History of the Theatre Costume Business: Creators of Character
by Triffin I. Morris Gregory DL Morris Rachel E. PollockA History of the Theatre Costume Business is the first-ever comprehensive book on the subject, as related by award-winning actors and designers, and first hand by the drapers, tailors, and craftspeople who make the clothes that dazzle on stage.Readers will learn why stage clothes are made today, by whom, and how. They will also learn how today’s shops and ateliers arose from the shops and makers who founded the business. This never-before-told story shows that there is as much drama behind the scenes as there is in the performance: famous actors relate their intimate experiences in the fitting room, the glories of gorgeous costumes, and the mortification when things go wrong, while the costume makers explain how famous shows were created with toil, tears, and sweat, and sometimes even a little blood. This is history told by the people who were present at the creation – some of whom are no longer around to tell their own story. Based on original research and first-hand reporting, A History of the Theatre Costume Business is written for theatre professionals: actors, directors, producers, costume makers, and designers. It is also an excellent resource for all theatregoers who have marveled at the gorgeous dresses and fanciful costumes that create the magic on stage, as well as for the next generation of drapers and designers.
The Tony Awards: A Celebration of Excellence in Theatre
by Eila Mell The American Theatre WingCommemorating over 75 years of Broadway greatness with never-before told stories, rare photos from the American Theatre Wings' archives, and interviews with major honorees like Lin-Manuel Miranda, Patti LuPone, and Hugh Jackman, The Tony Awards is the official, authorized guide to Broadway's biggest night.The Tony Awards: A Celebration of Excellence in Theatre pays tribute to the magic that happens when the curtain goes up and Broadway's best and brightest step onto center stage. Supported by the American Theatre Wing, the arts organization that founded the Tony Awards in 1947 and continues to produce the Tony Awards live telecast each year, author Eila Mell has interviewed a cavalcade of past and present Tony winners, including actors, producers, writers, costume designers, and many many others. Their voices fill the pages of this book with fascinating, behind-the-scenes stories about what it's like to win the theatre world's highest honor. Featuring a foreword by Audra McDonald and over 400 color and black-and-white photographs, The Tony Awards also spotlights more than 130 captivating interviews with a parade of industry insiders, including: Mel Brooks, Matthew Broderick, Carol Burnett, Kristin Chenoweth, Glenn Close, James Corden, Bryan Cranston, Neil Patrick Harris, Jennifer Holliday, Hugh Jackman, John Kander, Angela Lansbury, Judith Light, Hal Linden, Kenny Leon, Patti LuPone, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Rita Moreno, Bernadette Peters, Chita Rivera, Martin Short, Tom Stoppard, Julie Taymor, Leslie Uggams, and Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Unbuttoned: The Art and Artists of Theatrical Costume Design
by Shura PollatsekUnbuttoned: The Art and Artists of Theatrical Costume Design documents the creative journey of costume creation from concept to performance. Each chapter provides an overview of the process, including designing and shopping; draping, cutting, dyeing, and painting; and beading, sewing, and creating embellishments and accessories. This book features interviews with practitioners from Broadway and regional theatres to opera and ballet companies, offering valuable insights into the costume design profession. Exceptional behind-the-scenes photography illustrates top costume designers and craftspeople at work, along with gorgeous costumes in progress.
Creative Arts Therapy Careers: Succeeding as a Creative Professional (ISSN)
by Sally BaileyCreative Arts Therapy Careers is a collection of essays written by and interviews with registered drama therapists, dance/movement therapists, music therapists, art therapists, poetry therapists, and expressive arts therapists.The book sheds light on the fascinating yet little-known field of the creative arts therapies – psychotherapy approaches which allow clients to use creativity and artistic expression to explore their lives, solve their problems, make meaning, and heal from their traumas. Featuring stories of educators in each of the six fields and at different stages of their career, it outlines the steps one needs to take in order to find training in one of the creative arts therapies and explores the healing aspects of the arts, where creative arts therapists work, who they work with, and how they use the arts in therapy. Contributors to this book provide a wealth of practical information, including ways to find opportunities to work with at-risk populations in order to gain experience with the arts as healing tools; choosing the right graduate school for further study; the difference between registration, certification, and licensure; and the differences between a career in a medical, mental health, educational, correctional, or service institution.This book illuminates creative arts therapy career possibilities for undergraduate and graduate students studying acting, directing, playwriting, creative writing, visual arts, theatre design, dance, and music. It is also an excellent resource for instructors offering a course to prepare arts students of all kinds for the professional world.
Living the Lighting Life: A Guide to a Career in Entertainment Lighting
by Brad SchillerLiving the Lighting Life provides practical tools and advice for a successful career in entertainment lighting. This easy-to-navigate guide offers real-world examples and documentation from the author and key industry experts, giving readers a comprehensive overview of the lighting life. The book provides insight on: Different job opportunities in the entertainment lighting industry; Business procedures, contracts, time sheets, and invoices; Tips on self-promotion, networking, and continual learning; The lighting lifestyle, healthy living, and work-related travel; Maintaining and developing creativity to provide innovative lighting and solutions. With insightful interviews from industry veterans, Living the Lighting Life is a key navigational resource for anyone considering a career in entertainment lighting or just starting out.
Foundations for Performance Training: Skills for the Actor-Dancer
by Cara HarkerFoundations for Performance Training: Skills for the Actor-Dancer explores the physical, emotional, theoretical, and practical components of performance training in order to equip readers with the tools needed to successfully advance in their development as artists and entertainers.Each chapter provides a fresh perspective on subjects that students of acting and dance courses encounter throughout their training as performing artists. Topics include: Equity, diversity, and inclusion in performance Mind/body conditioning for training, rehearsal, and performance Developing stage presence and spatial awareness Cultivating motivation and intention in performance Expanding repertoire and broadening skillset for performance Auditioning for film and stage Developing theatrical productions This book also offers experiential exercises, journal writing prompts, and assignments to engage readers, enrich their learning experience, and deepen their exploration of the material described in each chapter. Readers will grow as performing artists as they analyze the principles of both acting and dance and discover how deeply the two art forms are intertwined.An excellent resource for students of acting, musical theatre, and dance courses, Foundations for Performance Training encourages a strong foundation in creative analysis, technique, artistic expression, and self-care to cultivate excellence in performance.
Cassie and the Lights (Nhb Modern Plays Ser.)
by Alex HowarthWhen her mother disappears, teenager Cassie wants to care for her sisters on her own. But can kids be parents? Or should Cassie let foster parents adopt her sisters and create a new family? Alex Howarth's play Cassie and the Lights is a tender and playful examination of what makes a family and what holds it together. Based on real-life events and interviews with children in care, it celebrates the resilience of young people and the power of sisterhood. The play has been performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, VAULT Festival in London, 59E59 in New York City and Adelaide Fringe Festival in Australia. It toured the UK in 2024, produced by Patch of Blue and 3 hearts canvas, in association with Southwark Playhouse and Verse Unbound. 'Glows in the darkness… a thoughtful, warm, moving hour that will leave you wanting to call whoever you think of as family' - Guardian 'Bursts with life and quirkily observed truths' - The Stage
The Routledge Companion to Performance and Medicine (Routledge Companions)
by Gianna Bouchard Alex MermikidesThe Routledge Companion to Performance and Medicine addresses the proliferation of practices that bridge performance and medicine in the contemporary moment.The scope of this book's broad range of chapters includes medicine and illness as the subject of drama and plays; the performativity of illness and the medical encounter; the roles and choreographies of the clinic; the use of theatrical techniques, such as simulation and role-play, in medical training; and modes of performance engaged in public health campaigns, health education projects and health-related activism. The book encompasses some of these diverse practices and discourses that emerge at the interface between medicine and performance, with a particular emphasis on practices of performance.This collection is a vital reference resource for scholars of contemporary performance; medical humanities; and the variety of interdisciplinary fields and debates around performance, medicine, health and their overlapping collaborations.Chapter 18 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY 4.0 license.
The Routledge Companion to Performance and Medicine (Routledge Companions)
The Routledge Companion to Performance and Medicine addresses the proliferation of practices that bridge performance and medicine in the contemporary moment.The scope of this book's broad range of chapters includes medicine and illness as the subject of drama and plays; the performativity of illness and the medical encounter; the roles and choreographies of the clinic; the use of theatrical techniques, such as simulation and role-play, in medical training; and modes of performance engaged in public health campaigns, health education projects and health-related activism. The book encompasses some of these diverse practices and discourses that emerge at the interface between medicine and performance, with a particular emphasis on practices of performance.This collection is a vital reference resource for scholars of contemporary performance; medical humanities; and the variety of interdisciplinary fields and debates around performance, medicine, health and their overlapping collaborations.Chapter 18 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY 4.0 license.
Contemporary Farce on the Global Stage: or, Serious Laughter
by David GramContemporary Farce on the Global Stage provides audiences and practitioners a detailed survey of how the genre of farce has evolved in the 21st century. Often dismissed as frivolous, farce speaks a universal language, with the power to incisively interrogate our world through laughter.Unlike farces of the past, where a successful resolution was a given and we could laugh uproariously at adulterous behaviour, farce no longer guarantees an audience a happy ending where everything works out. Contemporary farce is no longer ‘diverting us’ with laughter. It is reflecting the fractured world around us. With a foreword by award-winning playwright Ken Ludwig, the book introduces readers to the Mechanics of Farce, and the ‘Four Ps,’ which are key elements for understanding, appreciating, and exploring the form. The Five Doors to Contemporary Farce identify five major categories into which farces fall. Behind each door are a wide selection of plays, modern and contemporary examples from all over the world, written by a diverse group of playwrights who traverse gender, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Supplementing each section are comments, observations, and reflections from award-winning playwrights, directors, actors, designers, dramaturgs, and scholars.Designed specifically to give theatre-makers a rounded understanding that will underpin their own productions, this book will also be of use to theatre and performance studies students.
Survey of Historic Costume
by Phyllis G. Tortora Sara B. MarckettiSurvey of Historic Costume, 6th Edition, is the best-selling introduction to Western dress from the ancient world through the twenty-first century. Each chapter presents social, cross-cultural, environmental, geographic, and artistic influences on clothing. With visuals, illustrated tables, and in-depth discussions, readers come to recognize recurring themes and concepts and understand the role of dress from a diverse, global perspective. The new edition features more than 1,000 full-color photographs and illustrations, a new feature that examines global dress, and a fully updated chapter on the twenty-first century. New Student Resources~ Survey of Historic Costume STUDIO features digital study tools such as visual flashcards, self-quizzes, videos, a timeline and assignments and activities and includes a free Student Study Guide eBook to help students master concepts and improve grades.New to this Edition~ Chapter Timelines present an overview and images of historic events in each chapter focusing on fashion and textiles, politics and conflicts, decorative and fine arts, economics and trade, technology, and religion~ New Global Connections boxed highlights dress and textiles from around the world including China, India, Japan, Latin America, Africa and more~ New Chapter 20 covering twenty-first century dress from 2000 to presentKey Features ~ Contemporary Comments from contemporary sources provide a sense of the attitude toward clothing of individuals of the period~ Modern Influences photo feature explains historic costume is reinterpreted in modern fashion design~ Visual Summary Tables show clear line drawing of period garments and Illustrated Tables depict important accessories, footwear and headwear ~ Companion Survey of Historic Costume Student Study Guide (9781628922349) includes historic snapshots, review questions, summary tables, visual quizzes and glossary of key terms.Teaching Resources~ Instructor's Guide including sample syllabi and units based on the timeline in the book, chapter objectives, lecture notes, discussion questions, additional research projects, assignments, and an answer key for the Student Study Guide~Test Bank with multiple choice, true/false and essay questions for each chapter with answer key~ Image Bank with all the illustrations and photos from the text~ PowerPoint presentations for each chapter
Living the Dream: Building a Sustainable Career in the Performing Arts
by Kirstin Chávez Johnathon PapeLiving the Dream: Building a Sustainable Career in the Performing Arts offers an accessible guide to understanding one’s arts career as a business. This essential companion to the inner workings of the arts world begins with defining the dream, including how to conceive mission statements, branding and business plans. Part II covers sharing the dream with others through social media, networking, and working with agents or artist managers. Part III offers an overview of the financial aspect, including budgets, taxes, and managing risks. Part IV concludes by discussing the realities of an arts career, including work/life balance, preparing for the future, and managing mental health. This practical and insightful overview is a must‑have companion for aspiring and early career professionals in the performing arts, as well as students on a range of arts courses, including Music Business, Entrepreneurship, and Career Skills classes.
Living the Dream: Building a Sustainable Career in the Performing Arts
by Kirstin Chávez Johnathon PapeLiving the Dream: Building a Sustainable Career in the Performing Arts offers an accessible guide to understanding one’s arts career as a business. This essential companion to the inner workings of the arts world begins with defining the dream, including how to conceive mission statements, branding and business plans. Part II covers sharing the dream with others through social media, networking, and working with agents or artist managers. Part III offers an overview of the financial aspect, including budgets, taxes, and managing risks. Part IV concludes by discussing the realities of an arts career, including work/life balance, preparing for the future, and managing mental health. This practical and insightful overview is a must‑have companion for aspiring and early career professionals in the performing arts, as well as students on a range of arts courses, including Music Business, Entrepreneurship, and Career Skills classes.
Red Pitch: (West End edition) (Nhb Modern Plays Ser.)
by Tyrell WilliamsRed Pitch. South London. Three lifelong friends Omz, Bilal and Joey are playing football. Like they always have. Living out dreams of football stardom. Beyond their football pitch, local shops are closing, old flats are being demolished as new flats shoot up, some residents struggle to stay while others rush to leave. A coming-of-age story about what it means to belong somewhere, Tyrell Williams' fast-paced and sharp-edged play tells a powerful story about gentrification, regeneration and the impact of this relentless change on London's communities. Red Pitch received an ecstatic critical and audience response when it was first performed at the Bush Theatre, London, in February 2022, directed by Associate Artistic Director Daniel Bailey. The production was revived at the Bush in September 2023, and transferred to @sohoplace in London's West End in March 2024. For Red Pitch, Tyrell Williams won the Evening Standard Theatre Award and the Critics' Circle Theatre Award both for Most Promising Playwright, The Stage Debut Award for Best Writer, the George Devine Award, as well as the Off West End Award for Best New Play. An earlier version of the play was presented in June 2019, as part of the Untold Season at Ovalhouse, London. 'Fierce, affectionate and effortlessly funny' - Guardian '90 minutes of end-to-end stuff… the plot is pacy and exciting. The language is rich and vivid. It's also very funny… It's still rare to see a play about young, black, working-class youths on our stages: rarer still to see one in which they are celebrated like this' - Evening Standard 'Intelligent, nuanced – an unbelievable debut… phenomenal… true mastery of craft. It's a next-level coming-of-age story' - The Stage 'Sharp, funny and deeply poignant… feels wholly authentic… an eloquent love letter to our increasingly threatened public spaces… Tyrell Williams is a rising talent of the first rank. Theatre needs voices like his' - Whatsonstage 'A triumphant take on flux and football in a fast-changing south London neighbourhood' - Independent
Shakespeare for Every Night of the Year
by Colin SalterImmerse yourself in the sublime words of the Bard with this sumptuous anthology of Shakespeare, with one entry for every night of the year. Chosen especially by a Shakespeare fanatic to reflect the changing seasons and daily events, the entries in this glorious book include: Romeo and Juliet on Valentine's Day. A Midsummer Night's Dream in Midsummer. The witches of Macbeth around their cauldron on Halloween. Also featured is one of Shakespeare's only two mentions of football for the anniversary of the first FA cup final. Beautifully illustrated with favourite scenes from Shakespeare's best-loved plays, this magnificent volume is a fun introduction to the well-known work and lesser known plays and poetry and is designed to be accessible to both adults and curious children. Keep this book by your bedside and luxuriate in the rich language of the greatest writer the world has ever known, for entertainment, relaxation and timeless wisdom every night of the year.
Fitting and Pattern Alteration: A Multi-Method Approach to the Art of Style Selection, Fitting, and Alteration - with STUDIO
by Judith Rasband Elizabeth Liechty Della Pottberg-SteineckertFitting and Pattern Alteration: A Multi-Method Approach to the Art of Style Selection, Fitting, and Alteration, Fourth Edition, shows readers how to recognize, evaluate, and correct fit for a variety of body types, sizes, for women, men, and children. This comprehensive guide presents proven methods of style selection, fitting, and alteration. The authors use a multi-level approach that is both logical and easy to follow, and each procedure is clearly identified and fully illustrated with a second color added to clarify the procedure and show directional measuring. Each figure is drawn to scale ensuring consistency and accuracy. The cause for the fitting problem is clearly identified and explained--giving readers the why behind each fitting procedure. Highlights of this edition include discussions of sustainable practices, body diversity, and now includes examples for menswear and childrenswear. New to this Edition -Discusses sustainable practices, in accordance with industry standards -Now includes diverse body sizes, body types, and discussions around body positivity -Newly added examples for menswear and childrenswear STUDIO Features Include-Study smarter with self-quizzes featuring scored results and personalized study tips -Review concepts with flashcards of terms and definitions Instructor Resources-Instructor's Guide to help integrate the text into your classroom-PowerPoint Slides for every chapter
Macbeth: The New Oxford Shakespeare (Oxford World's Classics)
by William Shakespeare'Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?' Dark and violent, Macbeth is a restless, haunting exploration of the human costs of violence and power. One of the most theatrically spectacular of Shakespeare's plays, Macbeth has endured as a psychologically and supernaturally sinister work. Emma Smith's introduction considers the historical and contemporary contexts of the play, from the influence of the Gunpowder Plot as an act of domestic terrorism, to the combination of banal domesticity and pure horror in the play's setting and events. The New Oxford Shakespeare offers authoritative editions of Shakespeare's works with introductory materials designed to encourage new interpretations of the plays and poems. Using the text from the landmark The New Oxford Shakespeare Complete Works: Modern Critical Edition, these volumes offer readers the latest thinking on the authentic texts (collated from all surviving original versions of Shakespeare's work) alongside innovative introductions from leading scholars. The texts are accompanied by a comprehensive set of critical apparatus to give readers the best resources to help understand and enjoy Shakespeare's work. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
Crisis Theatre and The Living Newspaper (Elements in Theatre, Performance and the Political)
by null Sarah Jane Mullan null Sarah BartleyCrisis Theatre and The Living Newspapers traces a history of the living newspaper as a theatre of crisis from Soviet Russia (1910s), through the Federal Theatre Project of the Great Depression in America (1930s), to Augusto Boal's teatro jornal in Brazil (1970s), and its resonance with documentary forms deployed in the final years of apartheid in South Africa (1990s), up until the present day in the UK (2020s). Across this Element, the author is interested in what a transnational and transhistorical examination of the living newspaper through the lens of crisis reveals about the ways in which theatre can intervene in our collective social, economic and political life. By holding these diverse examples together, the author asserts the Living Newspaper as a form of Crisis Theatre.
Utpal Dutt and Political Theatre in Postcolonial India (Elements in Theatre, Performance and the Political)
by null Mallarika Sinha RoyAmong the most significant playwrights and theatre-makers of postcolonial India, Utpal Dutt (1929–1993), was an early exponent of rethinking colonial history through political theatre. Dutt envisaged political theatre as part of the larger Marxist project, and his incorporation of new developments in Marxist thinking, including the contributions of Antonio Gramsci, makes it possible to conceptualise his protagonists as insurgent subalterns. A decolonial approach to staging history remained a significant element in Dutt's artistic project. This Element examines Dutt's passionate engagement with Marxism and explores how this sense of urgency was actioned through the writing and producing of plays about the peasant revolts and armed anti-colonial movements which took place during the period of British rule. Drawing on contemporary debates in political theatre regarding the autonomy of the spectator and the performance of history, the author locates Dutt's political theatre in a historical frame.
Macbeth: The New Oxford Shakespeare (Oxford World's Classics)
by William Shakespeare'Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?' Dark and violent, Macbeth is a restless, haunting exploration of the human costs of violence and power. One of the most theatrically spectacular of Shakespeare's plays, Macbeth has endured as a psychologically and supernaturally sinister work. Emma Smith's introduction considers the historical and contemporary contexts of the play, from the influence of the Gunpowder Plot as an act of domestic terrorism, to the combination of banal domesticity and pure horror in the play's setting and events. The New Oxford Shakespeare offers authoritative editions of Shakespeare's works with introductory materials designed to encourage new interpretations of the plays and poems. Using the text from the landmark The New Oxford Shakespeare Complete Works: Modern Critical Edition, these volumes offer readers the latest thinking on the authentic texts (collated from all surviving original versions of Shakespeare's work) alongside innovative introductions from leading scholars. The texts are accompanied by a comprehensive set of critical apparatus to give readers the best resources to help understand and enjoy Shakespeare's work. ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.
Shakespeare's adolescents: Age, gender and the body in Shakespearean performance and early modern culture
by Victoria SpareyShakespeare’s adolescents examines the varied representation of adolescent characters in Shakespeare’s plays. Using early modern medical knowledge and an understanding of contemporary theatrical practices, the book unpacks complexities that surrounded the cultural and theatrical representations of ‘signs’ associated with an individual’s physical maturation. Each chapter explores the implications of different ‘signs’ of puberty, in verbal cues, facial adornments, vocal traits and body sizes, to illuminate how Shakespeare presents vibrant adolescent selves and stories.By analysing female and male puberty together in its discussion of adolescence, Shakespeare’s adolescents provides fresh insight into the age-based symmetry of early modern adolescent identities. The book uses the adolescent’s state of transformation to illuminate how the unfixed nature of adolescence was valued in early modern culture and through Shakespeare’s celebrated characters and actors.
Shakespeare's adolescents: Age, gender and the body in Shakespearean performance and early modern culture
by Victoria SpareyShakespeare’s adolescents examines the varied representation of adolescent characters in Shakespeare’s plays. Using early modern medical knowledge and an understanding of contemporary theatrical practices, the book unpacks complexities that surrounded the cultural and theatrical representations of ‘signs’ associated with an individual’s physical maturation. Each chapter explores the implications of different ‘signs’ of puberty, in verbal cues, facial adornments, vocal traits and body sizes, to illuminate how Shakespeare presents vibrant adolescent selves and stories.By analysing female and male puberty together in its discussion of adolescence, Shakespeare’s adolescents provides fresh insight into the age-based symmetry of early modern adolescent identities. The book uses the adolescent’s state of transformation to illuminate how the unfixed nature of adolescence was valued in early modern culture and through Shakespeare’s celebrated characters and actors.
Mind Mangler: Member of the Tragic Circle (Modern Plays)
by Mr Henry Lewis Mr Henry Shields Jonathan SayerHenry Lewis and Jonathan Sayer, the multi award-winning team behind the sold-out global smash hit The Play That Goes Wrong and the BBC comedy series The Goes Wrong Show, star in this hilarious new comedy by Mischief.Join the 'Mind Mangler' as he returns to the stage following a disappointing two-night run at the Luton Holiday Inn conference centre, suite 2b. His new two-man show solo spectacular is predicted to spiral into chaos as he attempts to read your mind...Following a sold out run at the Edinburgh Festival this summer, Mind Mangler is a guaranteed night of 'laugh filled, mind-bending silliness' (Broadway World) that will leave you gasping for breath. Not to be missed!
Mind Mangler: Member of the Tragic Circle (Modern Plays)
by Mr Henry Lewis Mr Henry Shields Jonathan SayerHenry Lewis and Jonathan Sayer, the multi award-winning team behind the sold-out global smash hit The Play That Goes Wrong and the BBC comedy series The Goes Wrong Show, star in this hilarious new comedy by Mischief.Join the 'Mind Mangler' as he returns to the stage following a disappointing two-night run at the Luton Holiday Inn conference centre, suite 2b. His new two-man show solo spectacular is predicted to spiral into chaos as he attempts to read your mind...Following a sold out run at the Edinburgh Festival this summer, Mind Mangler is a guaranteed night of 'laugh filled, mind-bending silliness' (Broadway World) that will leave you gasping for breath. Not to be missed!
Contemporary Farce on the Global Stage: or, Serious Laughter
by David GramContemporary Farce on the Global Stage provides audiences and practitioners a detailed survey of how the genre of farce has evolved in the 21st century. Often dismissed as frivolous, farce speaks a universal language, with the power to incisively interrogate our world through laughter.Unlike farces of the past, where a successful resolution was a given and we could laugh uproariously at adulterous behaviour, farce no longer guarantees an audience a happy ending where everything works out. Contemporary farce is no longer ‘diverting us’ with laughter. It is reflecting the fractured world around us. With a foreword by award-winning playwright Ken Ludwig, the book introduces readers to the Mechanics of Farce, and the ‘Four Ps,’ which are key elements for understanding, appreciating, and exploring the form. The Five Doors to Contemporary Farce identify five major categories into which farces fall. Behind each door are a wide selection of plays, modern and contemporary examples from all over the world, written by a diverse group of playwrights who traverse gender, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. Supplementing each section are comments, observations, and reflections from award-winning playwrights, directors, actors, designers, dramaturgs, and scholars.Designed specifically to give theatre-makers a rounded understanding that will underpin their own productions, this book will also be of use to theatre and performance studies students.