LOPE DE VEGA (1562-1635), poet/playwright of unrivaled popularity during Spain's Golden Age of literature (including Miguel de Cervantes and Calder n de la Barca), rescued theater from ineffective conventions and claimed authorship of some 1800 titles. Many of the almost 500 existing plays are stagings of pivotal events and protagonists from national history. Lope entertains his eager public with colorful stories of the passions, heroism and villainy of the high and mighty blending these with the virtues and vices of ordinary folk and stock characters. In the twilight of the once great empire, now powerless and bankrupt, Lope draws his audience into a reimagined past that is confirmed and redeemed by a prophecy of future greatness. With the history play Lope gives new meaning to the moniker often ascribed to him, Phoenix of Spain.

In "Audiences of Empire," author Elaine Bunn proposes a new subgenre, the populist "national history play" that is communal and deliberately expansive. She shows Lope, the frustrated historian, connecting king to commoner and putting myths, legends and miracles to fresh use.

Finally, "Audiences of Empire" includes a personal reminiscence by the author about the challenges of the writing process and her experience as a feminist academic in a slowly transforming patriarchal university system. Her protracted research on Lope's early theater makes her aware finally of the significance of her own historical moment with surprising insights.

When Parker first meets James on a beautiful beach in France, she thinks she's fallen in love. But because he lives so far away in Australia, while she is in New York, she doesn't think they will ever be more than friends. As time passes on, James finds a girlfriend, leaving Parker speechless and hurt. Mid junior year, she bumps into Mark Samuels, a senior, and he starts talking to her after he recently breaks up with his long term girlfriend, but he ends up breaking Parker's heart for longer than she would ever admit. Then college comes around and it's where she thought she had fallen in love again, yet life seems to have decieved her again. So before she graduates with her BA in fashion marketing, she decides to write a list of things she wants to do before she dies. Number one; be the person someone looks up to in their life, be their hero one way or another. So she finds herself on a plane to India to look for anyone who might need her help. When she finally finds a little boy with a deadly sickness, she panics, but tells herself that it's all worth it in the end. As he inspires her to follow her heart and tell the person she is in love with how she really feels, she takes his advice and flies to Australia to find James. Will he let her into his life, say the three words every woman wants to hear, and end up together or will fate take things into its own hands?

In celebration of his one-hundredth birthday, a charming, irresistibly readable, and handsomely packaged look back at the life and times of the greatest entertainer in American history, Frank Sinatra. Sinatra's Century is an irresistible collection of one-hundred short reflections on the man, his music, and his larger-than-life story, by a lifetime fan who also happens to be one of the poetry world's most prominent voices. David Lehman uses each of these short pieces to look back on a single facet of the entertainer's story-from his childhood in Hoboken, to his emergence as "The Voice" in the 1940s, to the wild professional (and romantic) fluctuations that followed. Lehman offers new insights and revisits familiar stories-Sinatra's dramatic love affairs with some of the most beautiful stars in Hollywood, including Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe, and Ava Gardner; his fall from grace in the late 1940s and resurrection during the "Capitol Years" of the 1950s; his bonds with the rest of the Rat Pack; and his long tenure as the Chairman of the Board, viewed as the eminence grise of popular music inspiring generations of artists, from Bobby Darin to Bono to Bob Dylan. Brimming with Lehman's own lifelong affection for Sinatra, the book includes lists of unforgettable performances; engaging insight on what made Sinatra the model of American machismo-and the epitome of romance; and clear-eyed assessments of the foibles that impacted his life and work. Warm and enlightening, Sinatra's Century is full-throated appreciation of Sinatra for every fan.

Afterword by Alzheimer's Research UK. 'Shobna Gulati is the Northern heroine of a nation' - Lemn Sissay 'Lucid and probing' - Guardian 'Wonderful and emotional, a masterpiece of resilience.' - Emma Kennedy Remember Me? is a memoir about caring for a parent with dementia and the memories that resurface in the process. In her first book, Shobna Gulati sets out to reclaim her mother's past after her death, and in turn, discovers a huge amount about herself and their relationship. Remember Me? captures the powerful emotions that these memories hold to both Shobna and her mother; secrets they had collectively buried and also the concealment of her mother's condition. What ensues is a story of cultural assimilation, identity and familial shame. 'A raw, honest, moving and wry account of the complexity of a mother daughter relationship convoluted by the torment of dementia.' - Sanjeev Bhaskar 'Gulati's book not only describes the complexities of caring (we must not forget its joys, she says, alongside its difficulties) and her mother's dementia, it is also an exploration of identity.' - Guardian 'You'll find yourself not wanting to leave her trusted embrace.' - Desiree Burch 'Beautifully written. Heartfelt.' - Kate Robbins 'I laughed, I cried ... a relationship like no other.' - Ferne Mccann

One of Hollywood's biggest personalities, Bruce Dern is not afraid to say what he thinks. He has left an indelible mark on numerous projects, from critically acclaimed films to made-for-TV movies and television series. His notable credits include The Great Gatsby (1974), The 'Burbs (1989), Monster (2003), Django Unchained (2012), and Nebraska (2013), for which he won the Best Actor award at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival. He also earned Oscar nominations for Best Supporting Actor in Coming Home (1978) and for Best Actor in Nebraska (2013).

In Bruce Dern: A Memoir, Christopher Fryer and Robert Crane help the outspoken star frame the fascinating tale of his life in Hollywood. Dern details the challenges he faced as an artist in a cutthroat business, his struggle against typecasting, and his thoughts on and relationships with other big names in the industry, including Elia Kazan, Alfred Hitchcock, Jack Nicholson, Paul Newman, Bob Dylan, Matt Damon, Jane Fonda, John Wayne, and Tom Hanks. He also explores the impact of his fame on his family and discusses his unique relationship with his daughter, actress Laura Dern.

Edgy and uncensored, this memoir takes readers on a wild ride, offering an insider's view of the last fifty years in Hollywood.

An unrivalled icon of grace and femininity, Audrey Hepburn is perhaps the most beloved star in the history of cinema. She enchanted millions of people with the sweetness of her smile and her inimitable style and was able to renew her image throughout the decades, anticipating fashion trends and establishing a new ideal of beauty. This volume retraces Hepburn's incredible rise, from the early years to her worldwide fame. The book is divided into four sections: 'A Star is Born', which follows Audrey's first steps into the spotlight as a doe-eyed dancer; 'The Golden Age', how Audrey became the muse of Hubert de Givenchy and gave Hollywood a new ideal of elegance; 'A Diva's Style', which touches on Breakfast at Tiffany's, where Holly Golighty went down in the history of cinema with her sunglasses and little black dress, along with many others of Audrey's later film work; and 'Saving the Children'. This final section of the book puts great emphasis on her humanitarian work as UNICEF ambassador, on the side of all the children of the world. Both on screen and in real life, Audrey has remained faithful to the elegance of understatement and kindness, hidden behind her unforgettable smile.

The definitive guide to a Hollywood legend. Few stars are as loved as Audrey Hepburn, today as much as ever. Beautiful, delicate, graceful - but always warm and natural - she stole our hearts. She was also brave, working tirelessly for UNICEF in the face of her own failing health. in this moving and heartwarming biography Alexander Walker traces the extraordinary combination of luck and talent that allowed a fragile little girl,who nearly died in Hitler's occupied Europe, to conquer, in just one year, the New York stage and the Hollywood screen. Walker analyses her ascent to power and world fame and reveals the sadness of her life: two failed marriages, a broken engagement, and the crushing disappointment that occupied her triumph in My Fair Lady. Most importantly of all, this biography reveals what no one has known until now: the truly terrifying family secret that tore Audrey's childhood apart and kept her forever silent about her parents.

Improvisation is a highly creative and collaborative art form, encompassing the skills of storytelling, character creation and stage presence all in the moment. However, with an array of styles and techniques to choose from, it can be hard for new practitioners to negotiate the moving parts and find their own individuality. In this practical guide, Artistic Director and improv expert Jason Moran explores the basic pillars of improvisation and explains how to practically apply these in an improvised scene, game or situation. Each chapter showcases a different pillar and offers a practical checklist to make each scene interesting and robust. This helpful book unpacks and analyses real-life improvised examples from the stage, rehearsal room and classroom, illustrating to the reader what works well and what could work better, making it essential reading for actors, presenters and anyone who wants to increase their confidence in public performances.

Jason Statham has risen from street seller through championship diving and modelling to become arguably the biggest British male film star of the twenty-first century. This is the first book to offer a critical analysis of his work across a variety of media, including film, television, video games and music videos. Each chapter focuses on a particular aspect of Statham's career, from his distinctive screen presence to his style, branding and celebrity. Accessibly written, and featuring a contribution from Hollywood director Paul Feig, who worked with Statham on the 2015 action-comedy Spy, the collection will appeal to a wide audience of scholars, students and fans. -- .