R.U.R.--written in 1920, premiered in Prague in 1921, and first performed in New York in 1922--garnered worldwide acclaim for its author and popularized the word robot. Mass-produced as efficient laborers to serve man, Capek's Robots are an android product--they remember everything but think of nothing new. But the Utopian life they provide ultimately lacks meaning, and the humans they serve stop reproducing. When the Robots revolt, killing all but one of their masters, they must strain to learn the secret of self-duplication. It is not until two Robots fall in love and are christened "Adam" and "Eve" by the last surviving human that Nature emerges triumphant.

Kamala attempts to boost Ms. Marvel's fledgling super hero profile by writing her own fan fiction. But when building a fandom becomes an obsession, Kamala's schoolwork and relationships begin to suffer. To become the Jersey City hero of her dreams, Kamala must learn to accept herself just as she is - imperfections and all.

Finalist for the 2019 Edinburgh Gadda Prize This book explores intersectional constructions of race and whiteness in modern and contemporary Italy. It contributes to transnational and interdisciplinary reflections on these issues through an analysis of political debates and social practices, focusing in particular on visual materials from the unification of Italy (1861) to the present day. Giuliani draws attention to rearticulations of the transnationally constructed Italian 'colonial archive' in Italian racialised identity-politics and cultural racisms across processes of nation building, emigration, colonial expansion, and the construction of the first post-fascist Italian society. The author considers the 'figures of race' peopling the Italian colonial archive as composing past and present ideas and representations of (white) Italianness and racialised/gendered Otherness. Students and scholars across a range of disciplines, including Italian studies, political philosophy, sociology, history, visual and cultural studies, race and whiteness studies and gender studies, will find this book of interest.

Meet Diane, a permaculture gardener dripping with butch charm. She's got supernatural abilities owing to her true identity--the Greek god Dionysus--and she's returned to the modern world to gather mortal followers and restore the Earth to its natural state. Where better to begin than with four housewives in a suburban New Jersey cul-de-sac? In this Obie-winning comedy with a twist, Pulitzer Prize finalist Madeleine George pens a hilarious evisceration of the blind eye we all turn to climate change and the bacchanalian catharsis that awaits us, even in our own backyards.

This book explores the interplay between performing arts, intangible cultural heritage and digital environments through a compendium of essays on emerging practices and case studies, as well as critical, historical and theoretical perspectives. It features essays that engage with varied forms of intangible cultural heritage, from music and storytelling to dance, theatre and martial arts. Cases of digital technology interventions are provided from different geographical and cultural settings, from Europe to Asia and the Americas. Together, the collection reflects on the implications that digital interventions have on intangible cultural heritage engagements, its curation and transmission in diverse localities. The volume is a valuable resource for discovering the multiple ways in which cultural heritage is mediated through digital technologies, and engages with audiences, artists, users and researchers.

Dr. Bertram and Sandra Cabot invite longtime friends Dirk and Celeste Von Stofenberg to their beautiful Connecticut Gold Coast home in honor of James, the Von Stofenbergs' only son, who has recently been released from an esteemed private psychiatric hospital. The feast promises to be delicious, but when Sandra enlists Dirk to help her change the course of her life, the sky turns a strange color, Canadian geese start crashing into the bay window, and the fate of the evening tilts toward an inevitable conclusion that promises to change the lives of all who come to the table.

In this modern morality tale, a vicious killer is on the loose, and the kindhearted Douglass finds himself the target of detectives who need a win at any cost. Desperate to seek justice and clear his name, Douglass escapes prison and sets out on a harrowing, fantastical quest to find the true perpetrator. In this riveting dark comedy, the lines between good and evil blur in a search for redemption.

In this modern revenge play, Brenda Hendricks has her hands full dealing with her son Noah after he is expelled from a prestigious college and unexpectedly returns to their isolated Northern California home. When a mysterious woman arrives on their doorstep, Brenda and Noah find their world turned upside down in ways both intimate and epic.

This handbook brings together essays in the philosophy of film and motion pictures from authorities across the spectrum. It boasts contributions from philosophers and film theorists alike, with many essays employing pluralist approaches to this interdisciplinary subject. Core areas treated include film ontology, film structure, psychology, authorship, narrative, and viewer emotion. Emerging areas of interest, including virtual reality, video games, and nonfictional and autobiographical film also have dedicated chapters. Other areas of focus include the film medium's intersection with contemporary social issues, film's kinship to other art forms, and the influence of historically seminal schools of thought in the philosophy of film. Of emphasis in many of the essays is the relationship and overlap of analytic and continental perspectives in this subject.

Roland Auguet examines the Roman taste for blood and considers what the games, that strange combination of Cruelty and Civilization, reveal about the Roman mentality. He shows how the great spectacles became a part of city life - they were awaited with impatience, everyone discussed them, some applauded the action in the arena, while others booed frantically.
This book provides an exciting history of gladiators, chariot racing and other games as well as an investigation of their function and significance within society. It is essential reading for anyone who is interested in the Romans' violent form of entertainment.

Now in its third edition, A Handbook of Diction for Singers is a complete guide to achieving professional levels of diction in Italian, German, and French. Combining traditional approaches in the teaching of diction with new material not readily available elsewhere, author David Adams presents the sounds of each language in logical order, along with essential information on matters such as diacritical marks, syllabification, word stress, and effective use of the variety of foreign-language dictionaries. A Handbook of Diction for Singers places particular emphasis on the characteristics of vowel length, the sequencing of sounds between words, as well as the differences between spoken and sung sounds in all three languages, all while taking care to clarify concepts typically difficult for English-speaking singers. This revised third edition offers significantly expanded coverage of each language as well as a new chapter that introduces readers to the specific sounds unique to those languages. The result is a concise yet thorough treatment of the three major languages of the classical vocal repertory, and an invaluable reference for vocalists and voice teachers.

Behind Lily's every move lies her greatest secret, her undying devotion to the child she was forced to abandon. The Confession of Lily Dare is the latest comic melodrama written by and starring the legendary master of theatrical parody Charles Busch (Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, Die Mommie Die, The Divine Sister). Here he celebrates the gauzy "confession film" tearjerkers of early 1930's pre-code cinema, such as The Sin of Madelon Claudet, Frisco Jenny, and Madame X.

As lines between characters and actors - as well as observers and observed - blur, a dizzying series of vignettes builds to a climactic moment in which performance and reality collide, highlighting the absurdity of anti-Blackness in our society. Through facilitation and dialogue we must decide how to cope, resist, and move forward.

Stuck at home in a state of shocked limbo, Julie and Zander, two thirteen-year-olds, try to make sense of the chaos they've witnessed, their awkward crushes, and an infinitely more complicated future - but the grown-ups are no help at all. An urgent response to our times, This Flat Earth is a startling and deeply felt story of growing up in our confounding world.