The secrets of the Star Wars galaxy have been recorded in a series of handbooks and guides created and kept hidden by the Jedi Order, the Sith, the Bounty Hunters Guild, and the Empire itself. This set collects all four richly illustrated, in-world books in a custom slipcased library The Jedi Path From lightsaber combat to mastery of the Force, this manual as handed down from Master to Padawan presents the secrets of the Jedi Order. The knowledge and training contained within its pages have shaped such Jedi as Yoda, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Anakin and Luke Skywalker. The Book of Sith Fragments of five presumed-vanished texts by legendary Sith Lords have been tracked down and collected. Together with Darth Sidious's own manifesto, these documents provide a glimpse into the philosophy and the means of unleashing the power of the dark side. Discover the secrets and tactics of Boba Fett and other bounty hunters living on the margins of galactic law this volume collecting The Bounty Hunters Guild Handbook and a recruiting booklet from the secretive Mandalorian splinter group Death Watch, all annotated by Fett and the book's previous owners. Imperial Handbook Intercepted by the Rebel Alliance, this top-secret manual for Imperial commanders contains mission reports, military tactics, and other classified documents created by high-ranking officers. Analyzed by Rebel commanders, it holds the keys to understanding the Empire's power no matter which side of the Rebellion you are on.

The Arden Research Handbook of Shakespeare and Contemporary Performance is a wide-ranging, authoritative guide to research on Shakespeare and performance studies by an international team of leading scholars. It contains chapters on the key methods and questions surrounding the performance event, the audience, and the archive – the primary sources on which performance studies draws. It identifies the recurring trends and fruitful lines of inquiry that are generating the most urgent work in the field, but also contextualises these within the histories and methods on which researchers build. A central section of research-focused essays offers case studies of present areas of enquiry, from new approaches to space, bodies and language to work on the technologies of remediation and original practices, from consideration of fandoms and the cultural capital invested in Shakespeare and his contemporaries to political and ethical interventions in performance practice. A distinctive feature of the volume is a curated section focusing on practitioners, in which leading directors, writers, actors, producers, and other theatre professionals comment on Shakespeare in performance and what they see as the key areas, challenges and provocations for researchers to explore. In addition, the Handbook contains various sections that provide non-specialists with practical help: an A-Z of key terms and concepts, a guide to research methods and problems, a chronology of major publications and events, an introduction to resources for study of the field, and a substantial annotated bibliography. The Arden Research Handbook of Shakespeare and Contemporary Performance is a reference work aimed at advanced undergraduate and graduate students as well as scholars and libraries, a guide to beginning or developing research in the field, and an essential companion for all those interested in Shakespeare and performance.

Twelfth Night is one of the most accessible and yet elusive of Shakespeare's plays. It has enjoyed enormous popularity in performance, but it continues to challenge students. This guide provides a thorough introduction to the play. Included are chapters on the play's background, contexts, themes, dramatic art, critical reception, and performance history. The volume cites current scholarship and closes with a bibliography. Twelfth Night is one of the most accessible yet elusive of Shakespeare's plays. It has enjoyed enormous popularity in performance, but it continues to challenge students. It has experienced numerous revivals and has provoked some of the most brilliant critical responses from Shakespeare's critics. Written for students and general readers, this guide is a comprehensive introduction to Shakespeare's play. The volume begins with a look at the play's textual history. This is followed by an exploration of its historical and cultural contexts and its sources and analogues. The book next turns to Shakespeare's dramatic art and then examines his themes of identity, sexuality, and madness. The final chapters look at the critical response to the play and give special attention to the play's performance history. The guide closes with a bibliography.

Societies continue to struggle with the terrible legacy of the holocaust, but many of them cope through a wide range of performative cultural responses. A canon of more than 750 known plays, musicals, archival adaptations, ceremonies, interactive exhibits, and concerts reflect the manifold ideas of what the Holocaust was, who it affected and how it should be remembered by us all. In many of these works, youth is a key category of importance. Holocaust Memory and Youth Performance is the first critical examination of youth-focused plays and performances about the Holocaust. It considers works that are written by young authors as well as pieces taken from the diaries and memoirs of those who experienced the Holocaust as children or adolescents. While youth-focused plays about the Holocaust have been in the repertories of top professional companies throughout the world for decades and continue to be performed in theatres, schools and community centers, they are often neglected in concentrated and comparative studies of Holocaust theatre. Erika Hughes fills this gap by examining plays, including The Diary of Anne Frank and Today You are Called Sara, musicals, performances, scripts, performative museum installations and pedagogically-focused works of applied theatre for young audiences that tell the stories of young people who experienced the Holocaust. Adopting Hannah Arendt’s notion of natality as a powerful framework, this study examines the ways in which youth-theatre performances make a vital contribution to intergenerational witnessing and the collective memory of the Holocaust.

In the much-anticipated update to a classic in dance studies, Mark Franko analyzes the political aspects of North American modern dance in the 20th century. A revisionary account of the evolution of modern dance, this revised edition of Dancing Modernism / Performing Politics features a foreword by Juan Ignacio Vallejos on Franko's career, a new preface, a new chapter on Yvonne Rainer, and an appendix of left-wing dance theory articles from the 1930s. Questioning assumptions that dancing reflects culture, Franko employs a unique interdisciplinary approach to dance analysis that draws from cultural theory, feminist studies, and sexual, class, and modernist politics. Franko also highlights the stories of such dancers as Isadora Duncan, Martha Graham, and even revolutionaries like Douglas Dunn in order to upend and contradict ideas on autonomy and traditionally accepted modernist dance history. Revealing the captivating development of modern dance, this revised edition of Dancing Modernism / Performing Politics will fascinate anyone interested in the intersection of performance studies, history, and politics.

"This magical book is a love letter to the artists whose imagination and cleverness transport us and unite us, and to the beauty and fragility of their performance. When I read it I feel like I am constantly on the joyful edge of falling in love, trying so hard to keep hold of the feelings evoked. A very precious book in our precarious times." Vicky Featherstone An anthology of critical essays that draw on a decade of the authors thinking, writing about and working within contemporary performance as critics, producers, dramaturgs, makers, archivists and more. Together, the 40 essays sketch a map of the contemporary performance landscape from avant-garde dance to live art to independent theatre, tracing the contours of its themes, aims, desires and relationship to the wider worlds of mainstream theatre, art and politics. Each essay focuses on a particular artist and these include Bryony Kimmings, Dickie Beau, Forced Entertainment, Scottee, Selina Thompson, Tania El Khoury and Uninvited Guests. Reflecting the radical nature of the work considered, the authors attempt to find a new vocabulary and a non-conventional way of considering live performance in these essays. As both a fresh survey of contemporary performance and an exploration of how to think and write about upstream and avant-garde work, this book should be an essential resource for students, artists and audiences, as well as an accessible entry point for anyone curious to know about the beautiful and strange things happening beyond the UK’s theatrical mainstream.

Stanley Kubrick is one of the most revered directors in cinema history. His 13 films, including classics such as Paths of Glory, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, Barry Lyndon, and The Shining, attracted controversy, acclaim, a devoted cult following, and enormous critical interest. With this comprehensive guide to the key contexts - industrial and cultural, as well as aesthetic and critical - the themes of Kubrick's films sum up the current vibrant state of Kubrick studies. Bringing together an international team of leading scholars and emergent voices, this Companion provides comprehensive coverage of Stanley Kubrick’s contribution to cinema. After a substantial introduction outlining Kubrick's life and career and the film's production and reception contexts, the volume consists of 39 contributions on key themes that both summarise previous work and offer new, often archive-based, state-of-the-art research. In addition, it is specifically tailored to the needs of students wanting an authoritative, accessible overview of academic work on Kubrick.