"The Judson Dance Theatre "explores the work and legacy of one of the most influential of all dance companies, which first performed at the Judson Memorial Church in downtown Manhattan in the early 1960s. There, a group of choreographers and dancers--including future well-known artists Twyla Tharp, Carolee Schneemann, Robert Morris, Trisha Brown, Yvonne Rainier, and others--created what came to be known as " postmodern dance." Taking their cues from the experiments of Merce Cunningham, they took movements from everyday life--walking, running, gymnastics--to create dances that influenced not only future dance work but also minimalism in music and art, as well as the wedding of dance and speech in solo performance pieces.
Judson's legacy has been explored primarily in the work of dance critic Sally Banes, in a book published in the 1980s. Although the dancers from the so-called "Judson School" continue to perform and create new works--and their influence continues to grow from the US to Europe and beyond--there has not been a book-length study in the last two decades that discusses this work in a broader context of cultural trends. Burt is a highly respected dance critic and historian who brings a unique new vision to his study of the Judson dancers and their work which will undoubtedly influence the discussion of these seminal figures for decades to come
"Performative Traces: Judson" "Dance Theatre and Its Legacy "combines history, performance analysis, theory, and criticism to give a fresh view of the work of this seminal group of dancers. It will appeal to students of dance history, theory, and practice, as well as all interested in the avant-grade arts and performance practice in the 20th century.

A varied collection of 30 contemporary duologues from Mark Wheeller's plays. Compiled at a time when social distancing is a consideration, these duologues all lend themselves to Zoom/Social Distance friendly performances. It includes duologues from: Too Much Punch For Judy Hard To Swallow Missing Dan Nolan I Love You, Mum - I Promise I Won't Die Game Over ... and many more of Mark's plays... and musicals. It also includes a previously unpublished self-contained short Sibling Saviours. All these duologues are suitable for young people to use for classroom or audition use. Despite many being ostensibly for adult performers they are all tried and tested for young people to use with amazing results. There has never before been a collection of exclusively Mark Wheeller duologues.

*A memoir and self-help manual by one of the country's most treasured comedians - for anyone who feels stuck in a rut but doesn't have the tools or self-belief to shake things up* In his mid-twenties, Jimmy was bored, boring, unfulfilled and underachieving. He wasn't exactly depressed, but he was very sad. Think of a baby owl whose mum has recently died in a windmill accident. He was that sad. This book tells the story of how Jimmy turned it around and got happy, through the redemptive power of dick jokes. Written to take advantage of the brief window between the end of lockdown and Jimmy getting cancelled for saying something unforgivable to Lorraine Kelly, this book is as timely as it is unnecessary. Because you might be interested in Jimmy's life but he's damn sure you're a lot more interested in your own, Before & Laughter is about both of you. But mainly him. It tells the story of Jimmy's life - the transformation from white-collar corporate drone to fake-toothed donkey-laugh plastic-haired comedy mannequin - while also explaining how to turn your own life around and become the you you've always dreamt of being. At just GBP20, it's cheaper than Scientology, quicker than therapy, and significantly less boring than church. Before & Laughter contains the answers to all the big questions in life, questions like: * What's the secret to happiness? * Is Jimmy wearing a wig? * What happened with that tax thing? * What's the meaning of life? * Is Jimmy's laugh real? * Can those teeth bite through vibranium? And for readers in the West Country: yes, there are pictures (actually, sorry, there are no pictures, but there's a book about a hungry caterpillar you'll love). Because it's Jimmy Carr - recently scientifically proved to be the funniest comedian in the UK - there are jokes, jokes and more jokes throughout. If laughter really was the best medicine, the NHS would be handing out this book in Nightingale Hospitals. Fascinating, thoughtful and insightful - are all words that appear in the book.

Known as the "bible" of theatre history, Brockett and Hildy's History of the Theatre is the most comprehensive and widely used survey of theatre history in the market. This 40th Anniversary Edition retains all of the traditional features that have made History of the Theatre the most successful text of its kind including worldwide coverage, more than 530 photos and illustrations, useful maps, and the expertise of Oscar G. Brockett and Franklin J. Hildy, two of the most widely respected theatre historians in the field. This tenth edition provides the most thorough and accurate assessment of theatre history available and includes contemporary milestones in theatre history.

Stunts of Late Nineteenth- Century New York: Aestheticised Precarity, Endangered Liveness examines the emergence of stunts in the media, politics, sport and art of New York at the turn of the twentieth century. This book investigates stunts in sport, media and politics, demonstrating how these risky performances tapped into anxieties and fantasies concerning work, freedom, gendered/ raced/ classed bodies and the commodifi cation of human life. Its case studies examine bridge jumping, extreme walking contests, stunt journalists such as Nellie Bly, and cycling feats including Annie Londonderry's round- the- world venture. Supported by extensive archival research and Performance Studies theorisations of precarity, liveness and surrogation, Smith theorises an under- examined form which is still prevalent in art, politics and commerce, to show what stunts reveal about value, risk and human life. Suitable for scholars and practitioners across a range of subjects, from Performance Studies to gender studies, to media studies, Stunts of Late Nineteenth- Century New York explores how stunts turned everyday precarity into a spectacle.

Humorality in Early Modern Art, Material Culture, and Performance seeks to address the representation of the humors from non-traditional, abstract, and materialist perspectives, considering the humorality of everyday objects, activities, and performance within the early modern period. To uncover how humoralism shapes textual, material, and aesthetic encounters for contemporary subjects in a broader sense than previous studies have pursued, the project brings together three principal areas of investigation: how the humoral body was evoked and embodied within the space of the early modern stage; how the materiality of an object can be understood as constructed within humoral discourse; and how individuals' activities and pursuits can connote specific practices informed by humoralism. Across the book, contributors explore how diverse media and cultural practices are informed by humoralism. As a whole, the collection investigates alternative humoralities in order to illuminate both early modern works of art as well as the cultural moments of their production.

The updated third edition of this popular book offers a clear and detailed overview of the postproduction process, showing readers how to manage each step in taking a film, TV, or media project from production to final delivery, from scheduling and budgeting through editing, sound, visual effects, and more. Accessibly written for producers, post supervisors, filmmakers, and students and extensively updated to address current digital and file-based industry practices, The Guide to Managing Postproduction for Film, TV, and Digital Distribution helps the reader to understand the new worlds of accessibility, deliverables, license requirements, legal considerations, and acquisitions involved in postproduction, including the ins and outs of piracy management and archiving. This edition addresses the standards for theatrical and digital distribution, network, cable and pay TV, as well as spotlights internet streaming and various delivery methods for specialty screenings, projection large format (PLF), and formats including 3D, virtual reality and augmented reality.

The shift from traditional documentary to "factual entertainment" television has been the subject of much debate and criticism, particularly with regard to the representation of science. New types of factual programming that combine documentary techniques with those of entertainment formats (such as drama, game-shows and reality TV) have come in for strident criticism. Often featuring spectacular visual effects produced by Computer Generated Imagery these programmes blur the boundaries between mainstream science and popular beliefs. Through close analysis of programmes across a range of sciences, this book explores these issues to see if criticisms of such hybrid programmes as representing the "rotting carcass of science TV" really are valid. Campbell considers if in fact; when considered in relation to the principles, practices and communication strategies of different sciences; these shows can be seen to offer more complex and rich representations that construct sciences as objects of wonder, awe and the sublime.

This book examines the paradox of China and the United States' literary and visual relationships, morphing between a happy duet and a contentious duel in fiction, film, poetry, comics, and opera from both sides of the Pacific. In the 21st century where tension between the two superpowers escalates, a gaping lacuna lies in the cultural sphere of Sino-Anglo comparative cultures. By focusing on a "Sinophone-Anglophone" relationship rather than a "China-US" one, Sheng-mei Ma eschews realpolitik, focusing on the two languages and the cross-cultural spheres where, contrary to Kipling's twain, East and West forever meet, like a repetition compulsion bordering on neurosis over the self and its cultural other. Indeed, the coupling of the two-duet-cum-duel-is so predictable that each seems attracted to and repulsed by its dark half, semblable, (in)compatible for their shared larger-than-life-ness.

This book explores Italian science fiction from 1861, the year of Italy's unification, to the present day, focusing on how this genre helped shape notions of Otherness and Normalness. In particular, Italian Science Fiction draws upon critical race studies, postcolonial theory, and feminist studies to explore how migration, colonialism, multiculturalism, and racism have been represented in genre film and literature. Topics include the role of science fiction in constructing a national identity; the representation and self-representation of "alien" immigrants in Italy; the creation of internal "Others," such as southerners and Roma; the intersections of gender and race discrimination; and Italian science fiction's transnational dialogue with foreign science fiction. This book reveals that though it is arguably a minor genre in Italy, science fiction offers an innovative interpretive angle for rethinking Italian history and imagining future change in Italian society.

In this engaging book, Maria Chiara D'Argenio delineates a turn in recent Latin American filmmaking towards inter/cultural feature films made by non-Indigenous directors. Aimed at a global audience, but played by Indigenous actors, these films tell Indigenous stories in Indigenous languages. Over the last two decades, a growing number of Latin American films have screened the Indigenous experience by combining the local and the global in a way that has proved appealing at international film festivals. Locating the films in composite webs of past and present traditions and forms, Indigenous Plots in Twenty-First Century Latin American Cinema examines the critical reflection offered by recent inter/cultural films and the socio-cultural impact, if any, they might have had. Through the analysis of a selection of films produced between 2006 and 2019, the book gauges the extent to which non-Indigenous directors who set out to engage critically with colonial legacies and imaginaries, as well as with contemporary Indigenous marginalization, succeed in addressing these concerns by 'unthinking' and 'undoing' Western centrism and coloniality. Drawing on a wide range of disciplines and considering the entire cinematic process - from pre-production to the films' production, circulation and critical reception - Indigenous Plots in Twenty-First Century Latin American Cinema makes the case for a holistic cultural criticism to explain the cultural and political work cinema does in specific historical contexts.

With time running out to renew their lease, the women of the beleaguered New Bunion Historical Society must find creative ways to snare new members and lure visitors to their sleepy New England town. When a set of George Washington's dentures turns up in the hands of an unexpected rival, the ladies of the society brace themselves for all-out war. Heartfelt and historic, this farce proves that our differences don't divide us, they make us strong.

Pull up a seat for a colorful tour of sound-proofed, silver-screened retreats fit for movie stars, Starship commanders, and sultans. Take an ultra-privileged tour through some of today's finest high-tech homes, where room-by-room sensors and touch-pad controls put lighting, sound, temperature, and security at your command. Watch screens descend or ascend from unexpected hiding places, projectors appear, and windows disappear in James-Bond-like mechanical transitions. And enjoy flat-screen and plasma entertainments in the most unexpected places: shower stalls, pool rooms, home sports bars, and more. This is the only book that offers an inside look at the ultimate techie fantasies, culminating in today's hottest home trend -- more than 80 dedicated home theaters. Many of these fantasy rooms were drawn straight out of sci-fi, classic films, and even Westerns, embodying the fantasy of Hollywood. Others are to-die-for interiors created by designers in today's hottest styles. Visit basement hideaways that deliver the ultimate theater experience, while doubling as hurricane shelters. There are also bedrooms, playrooms, garages, and even attics that have been remodeled into state-of-the-art theaters and media rooms. Included are equipment lists for many of the projects, and discussions about the art of wiring, and advice on choosing a professional to help you transform your home. This is a lip-smacking look at a luxury that is becoming an increasingly popular domestic investment. Packed with dazzling, mind-blowing pictures of home theater systems and media/rec rooms, the book is sure to inspire and excite movie enthusiasts, architects, and designers looking for insight to the hi-tech world of electronic homes.

Body, Soul and Cyberspace explores how recent science-fiction cinema answers questions about body and soul, virtuality, and spirituality in the digital age by linking cinematic themes with religious, philosophical and ethical concepts.

This volume explores the notion of German cinema as both a national and increasingly transnational entity. It brings together chapters that analyse the international circuits of development and distribution that shape the emerging films as part of a contemporary "German cinema", the events and spectacles that help frame and re-frame national cinemas and their discoverability, and the well-known filmmakers who sit at the vanguard of the contemporary canon. Thereby, it explores what we understand as German cinema today and the many points where this idea of national cinema can be interrogated, expanded and opened up to new readings. At the heart of this interrogation is a keen awareness of the technological, social, economic and cultural changes that have an impact on global cinemas more broadly: new distribution channels such as streaming platforms and online film festivals, and audience engagement that transcends national borders as well as the cinema space. International film production and financing further heightens the transnational aspects of cinema, a quality that is often neglected in marketing and branding of the filmic product. With particular focus on film festivals, this volume explores the tensions between the national and transnational in film, but also in the events that sit at the heart of global cinema culture. It includes contributions from filmmakers, cultural managers and other professionals in the field of film and cinema, as well as scholarly contributions from academics researching popular culture, film, and events in relation to Germany.

This book explores the representation of real-life serial murders as adapted for the screen and popular culture. Bringing together a selection of essays from international scholars, Serial Killing on Screen: Adaptation, True Crime and Popular Culture examines the ways in which the screen has become a crucial site through which the most troubling of real-life crimes are represented, (re)constructed and made accessible to the public. Situated at the nexus of film and screen studies, theatre studies, cultural studies, criminology and sociology, this interdisciplinary collection raises questions about, and implications for, thinking about the adaptation and representation of true crime in popular culture, and the ideologies at stake in such narratives. It discusses the ways in which the adaptation of real-life serial murder intersects with other markers of cultural identity (gender, race, class, disability), as well as aspects of criminology (offenders, victims, policing, and profiling) and psychology (psychopathy, sociopathy, and paraphilia). This collection is unique in its combined focus on the adaptation of crimes committed by real-life criminal figures who have gained international notoriety for their plural offences, including, for example, Ted Bundy, Ian Brady and Myra Hindley, Aileen Wuornos, Jack the Ripper, and the Zodiac, and for situating the tales of these crimes and their victims' stories within the field of adaptation studies.

In Go Back to Where You Are God offers Passalus, a failed actor from ancient Athens festering in hell, the opportunity of redemption by returning to Earth to free a young woman from her domineering mother, Claire, a distinguished stage actress. Passalus accepts the proposal with the understanding that on completing his mission his soul be annihilated. God agrees - with the caveat that Passalus not become entangled in the lives of others. Granted the ability to shape-shift, Passalus assumes the role of a British matron and former actress, arriving at Claire's summer home during a week-end in which she is hosting friends and family. But Passalus is also equipped to hear the inner thoughts of the characters he encounters - and armed with knowledge of their suffering is unable to remain aloof. He also finds himself falling in love with Claire's brother, Bernard, the underappreciated author of eccentric comedies. The play dramatizes second chances in love - and love that facilitates the soul's release from hell into life again.

Imagine the outrageous Mae West in a Cecil B. DeMille biblical epic. Judith, a beautiful, wealthy young widow, is reviled by her own people as a gold digging adventuress. When her ancient city of Bethulia is facing brutal annihilation, Judith, wearing her most glittering finery, slips into the enemy camp, seduces and ultimately decapitates the ruthless General Holofernes. This wild homage to the Hollywood movie epic is the latest trip to the cinematic past by the author of Vampire Lesbians of Sodom and The Divine Sister.

Winner! 2012 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award, Best Production Winner! 2012 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award, Best World Premiere Play Yellow chronicles a year in the life of the perfect family in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Bobby Westmoreland, a high school football coach, and his wife Kate, a respected therapist, have two ambitious children in high school. Their son Dayne is the golden football star while their daughter Gracie is an overly-dramatic actress. Gracie's best friend is a young gay boy, Kendall, who is at constant odds with his abusive, fundamentalist mother, Sister Timothea. The play opens with the start of the football season and high school auditions for "Oklahoma." Everything falls apart when an unexpected tragedy rocks the Westmoreland family to the breaking point. Yellow explores the themes of cowardice, intolerance and the damage caused to families by secrets, rejection and the difficulty of forgiveness. A departure from the comedy of earlier works, Del Shores' Yellow is the award-winning playwright's most dramatic play to date. The play was one of the most awarded Los Angeles plays of 2010, winning Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Awards for Best Production and Best World Premiere Play.

Matt returns from a break at work to the company lunch room, where he meets new employee Melora. A spark ignites almost immediately, but the blossoming friendship is still subject to life's realities of age, responsibility, and commitment. Meanwhile Matt's wife Arianne has plans for a celebratory evening at home that get interrupted by an unintentional spark of her own. Birthday Boy is about what happens when there's a sudden connection between two people that if pursued could interfere with a life that has been going along just fine; about the paths we choose to take and those we choose not to; the commitments we do honor, the worthwhile sacrifices we must make. In short, a celebration of the messy, imperfect, life that being a husband, a wife, a father, a mother, all entails in order to evolve into the grownups we're meant to be.