Covering every phase of a theatrical production, this fourth edition of Sound and Music for the Theatre traces the process of sound design from initial concept through implementation in actual performances. The book discusses the early evolution of sound design and how it supports the play, from researching sources for music and effects, to negotiating a contract. It shows you how to organize the construction of the sound design elements, how the designer functions in a rehearsal, and how to set up and train an operator to run sound equipment. This instructive information is interspersed with 'war stores' describing real-life problems with solutions that you can apply in your own work, whether you're a sound designer, composer, or sound operator.

Screen plays is a ground-breaking collection that chronicles the rich and surprising history of stage plays produced for the small screen between 1930 and the present. The volume opens with a substantial historical outline of how plays originally written for the theatre have been presented by the BBC and ITV, as well as independent producers and cultural organisations. Subsequent chapters utilise a variety of critical methodologies to analyse a wide range of outside broadcasts from theatres, screen adaptations of existing stage productions, along with original television productions of classic and contemporary drama. Making a compelling case for the centrality of the theatre to British television's past and present, Screen plays opens up new areas of research for all those engaged in theatre, media and adaptation studies. -- .

This practical and informative book outlines everything you need to know about set, costume and lighting design from initial concept, script analysis, research ideas and putting it all together. The book is structured in several layers with the main chapters covering the key steps in the design process, followed by a case study-the Queensland Theatre Company's production of Pygmalion which Curtis designed the sets and costumes for-giving practical working samples relating to each step in the process. The further thinking sections investigate more complex aspects of how designers work, and can be read in sequence or as specialised thought-provoking topics.

What is the role of costume in Shakespeare production? Shakespeare and Costume in Practice argues that costume design choices are central not only to the creation of period setting and the actor's work on character, but to the cultural, political, and psychological meanings that the theatre makes of Shakespeare. The book explores questions about what the first Hamlet looked like in his mourning cloak; how costumes for a Shakespeare comedy can reflect or critique the collective nostalgias a culture has for its past; how costume and casting work together to ask new questions about Shakespeare and race. Using production case studies of Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, and The Tempest, the book demonstrates that costume design can be a site of experimentation, playfulness, and transgression in the theatre - and that it can provoke audiences to think again about what power, race, and gender look like on the Shakespearean stage.

Here is a complete, easy-to-use resource for anyone involved in the performing arts This expanded edition contains 33 indispensable, hard-to-find contracts and forms that will save artists and performing groups thousands of dollars in lawyer's fees, while minimizing their legal risks. Attorney/producer/playwright Charles Grippo explains the proper use of each form in clear, concise language. No matter which side of the negotiating table you're on, you'll find plenty of practical advice to help you obtain the best possible deal. These ready-to-use forms and contracts cover every aspect of theater law, including author agreements, commissions, production license, play publishing, and more. Also included on a convenient CD-ROM, the forms can be copied electronically, modified, customized, and saved.

New to this edition are contracts for performing arts designers; fight and stunt directors; musicians; stage managers and technical directors; front of the house personnel; commissions for original musical compositions; and much more. From producers and directors, to performers and choreographers, to theatrical designers and box office managers, this volume is a necessity for anyone involved in the performing arts.

A classic work of theatre history and criticism when first published, Arnold Aronson's formative study surveyed the phenomenon known as environmental theatre. Now updated in this richly illustrated second edition to reflect developments and practice since the 1980s, it offers readers a comprehensive study of the theatre practice which has evolved to become the dominant mode of much contemporary innovative performance. For most audiences, particularly in the Western tradition, theatre means going to a building in which seats face a stage on which actors perform a play. But there has always been a vital alternative that came to be known as environmental theatre. Whether in folk performances, street theatre, avant-garde performance, utopian architecture, Happenings, mass spectacles, or contemporary immersive theatre, the relationship of the spectator to the performance has been one in which the audience is surrounded or immersed in a shared space, in which the multiple events may be happening simultaneously, and in which the experience of theatrical space is visceral and often kinetic. This book examines the history of this phenomenon and looks at a range of contemporary practice. New chapters examine how the 'transformed spaces' of earlier work have become the interactive and immersive productions that characterize the work of companies such as Punchdrunk, dreamthinkspeak, Teatro da Vertigem, En Garde Arts, and The Industry, among others. Updated to take account of the burgeoning scholarship on the subject, The History and Theory of Environmental Scenography remains the authoritative account that illuminates present day theatre practice and its antecedents.

Technical Design Solutions for Theatre is a collection of single-focus articles detailing technical production solutions that have appeared in The Technical Brief Collection, a publication of the Yale School of Drama's Technical Design and Production Department. The primary objective of the publication was to share creative solutions to technical problems so that fellow theatre technicians can avoid having to reinvent the wheel with each new challenge. The range of topics includes scenery, props, painting, projections, sound, and costumes. Each article describes an approach, device, or technique that has been tested onstage or in a shop. Great reference of tips and solutions to persistent technical challenges in theatre production Solutions provided by contributors from over twenty different producing organizations Ten years of The Technical Brief Collection articles bound in each of three volumes A comprehensive index to all three volumes included in Volume III

In the first book of its kind to be published in twenty years, ten award-winning and current Broadway designers--five set designers, four lighting designers, and one projection designer--discuss the business aspects of the theatre world, sharing relevant insider information and strategies that will prove invaluable to aspiring and seasoned theatrical designers alike. Culled from years of experience, the information offered in these enlightening conversations will strengthen readers' understanding of how designing in the commercial theatre is different from designing in an academic setting or not-for-profit theatres. The conversations are accompanied by designer sketches, finished drawings, technical plates of drafting, photos of scale models, storyboards illustrating multi-scene productions and unique lighting looks, and photos from Broadway and regional theatre productions. If you've ever wondered what it really takes to make it in the world of theatre design, let these Broadway stars be your guide

(Applause Books). Voice and speech training has long been a part of the fabric of actor training and the training of those whose task it has been to persuade through the voice: primarily actors, politicians, lawyers, and other public speakers. Voice and Speech Training in the New Millennium is a collection of interviews with 24 of today's leading voice and speech teachers, each of whom has contributed to the advancement of the field and made today's training a cutting edge component of actor training. Included are interviews with master teachers Richard Armstrong, Cicely Berry, Patsy Rodenburg, Kristin Linklater, Catherine Fitzmaurice, Dudley Knight, Robert Barton, Rocco DalVera, Natsuko Ohama, Nancy Krebs, Bonnie Raphael, Susan Sweeney, Fran Bennett, Louis Colaianni, Nancy Houfek, Jan Gist, Andrea Haring, Saul Kotzubei, Robert Neff Williams, Andrew Wade, David Carey, Phil Thompson, Deb Kinghorn, and Gillian Lane-Plescia. Amidst their similarities and differences in approach is a unified spirit and acknowledgment that voice work is of fundamental importance to the actor's training process and has the potential to resonate profoundly with the actor and with the audience.

The second edition of Building the Successful Theater Company takes readers even deeper into the world of theatrical production, examining in great depth the financial realities of establishing--and maintaining--a successful organization. This indispensable reference is updated to include more theater company profiles with expert advice to better reveal the pitfalls, passions, and practicalities of the theater industry. The author's been-there-done-that personal experiences along with the wisdom of esteemed theater company heads will encourage readers to aim high and overcome challenges to accomplish all of their creative and financial objectives. Everything from finding a performance space, to creating a first season, to promoting a company and production, to designing a long-term plan is discussed in detail in this engaging guide--a sometimes irreverent, always relevant look behind the curtain of the modern stage troupe. Chapters include developing business and budget plans, rehearsing, attracting attention with publicity and word-of-mouth, adapting to growth, and more. No other book contains the unique insights and sound advice found in this indispensable reference. Allworth Press, an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing, publishes a broad range of books on the visual and performing arts, with emphasis on the business of art. Our titles cover subjects such as graphic design, theater, branding, fine art, photography, interior design, writing, acting, film, how to start careers, business and legal forms, business practices, and more. While we don't aspire to publish a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are deeply committed to quality books that help creative professionals succeed and thrive. We often publish in areas overlooked by other publishers and welcome the author whose expertise can help our audience of readers.

"This step-by-step, user friendly guide covers every aspect of stage management and can take any would-be stage manager at any level of theatre and turn them into an expert who will be the ultimate asset to your production."
-Tom Paster, Director of Musical Theatre, Northern Highlands Regional High School, NJ
"It's entertaining, informative and practical - a great resource for the "how-to" questions, and a terrific overview for anyone involved in the process of making theater."
-Les Gutman, Producing Director, Friendly Fire Theatre, NYC
Are you about to stage manage your first show and have no idea where to start? This book offers simplified guidelines for a complicated job and gives a step-by-step process for organizing auditions, rehearsals, the technical aspects, and performances. The author understands the pressures of the beginning stage manager and proceeds to calm those fears in a no-nonsense handbook. This "survival guide" gives detailed descriptions or examples of all the forms and lists the stage manager must use in production. An essential read for the novice stage manager in high school, college or community theatre.
About the Author
Mary Ellen Allison is a working stage manager with over thirty years of professional experience from Broadway to community theatre. Her credits include shows with award-winning theatre artists, such as: Horton Foote, Jean Stapleton, Allison Janney, Jim Dale, Andrew Lippa, and Frank Langella. She teaches stage management at Ramapo College of New Jersey and was named to Who's Who Among America's Teachers, 2003-2004.

Kinaesthesia and Visual Self-reflection in Contemporary Dance features interviews with UK-based professional-level contemporary, ballet, hip hop, and breaking dancers and cross-disciplinary explication of kinaesthesia and visual self-reflection discourses. Expanding on the concept of a 'kinaesthetic mode of attention' leads to discussion of some of the key values and practices which nurture and develop this mode in contemporary dance. Zooming in on entanglements with video self-images in dance practice provides further insights regarding kinaesthesia's historicised polarisation with the visual. It thus provides opportunities to dwell on and reconsider reflections, opening up to a set of playful yet disruptive diffractions inherent in the process of becoming a contemporary dancer, particularly amongst an increasingly complex landscape of visual and theoretical technologies.

Eccentric Nation examines four performance events in nineteenth-century New York City in which Irish cultural nationalism was constructed and reinforced by musicians, actors, playwrights, speakers, parades, and athletes, and disseminated among diverse crowds that included both Irish and Anglo-Americans. Their contemporaries and more recent analysts alike have often taken these performance conventions as representations of a common Irish voice or a monolithic national identity. Close examination reveals a much more conflicted Irish community. What appeared as shared symbolism was contested among both Irish and Anglo-Americans. Masculine nationalist heroes, visions of a romanticized peasant class, evocations of collective memories, and the repetition of performance traditions all served to reinforce the idea of a single community bound together. Those symbols often gave rise to diverse meanings that were circulated in the urban populace. Each chapter examines the staging of these four events that produced dissension in the Irish community, providing insight into the ways that a nation is imagined in different ways by a broad array of people who have a stake in its existence, even if they often disagree about its core identity.

Theatre and Performance Design: A Reader in Scenography is an essential resource for those interested in the visual composition of performance and related scenographic practices. Theatre and performance studies, cultural theory, fine art, philosophy and the social sciences are brought together in one volume to examine the principle forces that inform understanding of theatre and performance design. The volume is organised thematically in five sections: looking, the experience of seeing space and place the designer: the scenographic bodies in space making meaning This major collection of key writings provides a much needed critical and contextual framework for the analysis of theatre and performance design. By locating this study within the broader field of scenography - the term increasingly used to describe a more integrated reading of performance - this unique anthology recognises the role played by all the elements of production in the creation of meaning. Contributors include Josef Svoboda, Richard Foreman, Roland Barthes, Oscar Schlemmer, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Richard Schechner, Jonathan Crary, Elizabeth Wilson, Henri Lefebvre, Adolph Appia and Herbert Blau.

Trans/Acting: Latin American and Latino Performing Arts comprises fourteen new essays by leading scholars of Latin American and US Latino theater as well as the performance script Mexterminator vs. The Global Predator by Guillermo Gomez-Pena. The essays focus on contemporary Latin American and US Latino dramatic texts and performances. They range from a panoramic view of transculturation in twentieth-century Latin American theater to in-depth analyses of individual plays from Cuba (Abelardo Estorino), Mexico (Sabina Berman, Vicente Lenero, Paquita la del Barrio), Argentina (Rafael Spregelburd, Patricia Suarez, Susana Torres Molina), Uruguay (Gabriel Peveroni), and the US (Guillermo Reyes, Guillermo Gomez-Pena, and the Original Latin Kings of Comedy). By deploying the concept of trans/acting, with its connotations of negotiation and/or exchange, in various theoretical ways the essays explore and challenge the parameters of culturation, nationalism, gender, genre, translation, and adaptation in the context of globalization, shifting borders, and new cultural paradigms. The study of contemporary theater and performance arts in this volume is complemented by trans/actor Gomez-Pena's Mexterminator vs. The Global Predator, a strikingly transgressive script that underscores the performative nature of territorial and symbolic border crossings. Exploring the transformation of Latin American theater from the local to the global and the national to the transnational, Trans/Acting will appeal to scholars of Latin American studies, performance art, and globalization.

Basic. This is the key word in Scenic Design and Lighting Tecniques: A Basic Guide for Theatre, written by two seasoned professionals with over twenty years of experience. This book is designed to show you how to turn a bare stage into a basic set design, without using heavy language that would bog you down. From materials and construction to basic props and lighting, this book explains all you will need to know to build your set and light it.
* Be inspired by the images of real productions and learn from the instructional images
* Learn from designer's concepts and drawings from actual professional and university productions
* Know that after reading this book, you'll be equiped with exactly what you NEED to know to design your stage scenery and lighting

This book examines the development of neoclassical tragedy during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558-1603). The first chapter investigates the Elizabethan views of tragedy expressed by critics of the theater, including Gosson, Stubbes, and Rainolds, and defenders of poetry and drama such as Lodge, Philip Sidney, and Gager. The next chapter focuses on the English translations of Seneca's tragedy between 1559 and 1581. Subsequent chapters discuss the four extant Inns of Court tragedies performed in the sixteenth century, Legge's Richard Tertius and Alabaster's Roxana performed in Latin at Cambridge University, and Gager's three extant Neo-Latin tragedies performed at Oxford University. The last chapter considers three tragedies that were translated or modeled upon Garnier's French tragedies: Mary Sidney's translation of Marc Antoine, Daniel's Cleopatra, and Kyd's translation of Cornelie.

I Was Never Alone or Oporniki presents an original ethnographic stage play, based on fieldwork conducted in Russia with adults with disabilities. The core of the work is the script of the play itself, which is accompanied by a description of the script development process, from the research in the field to rehearsals for public performances. In a supporting essay, the author argues that both ethnography and theatre can be understood as designs for being together in unusual ways, and that both practices can be deepened by recognizing the vibrant social impact of interdependency animated by vulnerability, as identified by disability theorists and activists.

Shakespearean Performance: New Studies contains ten essays in Shakespearean performance scholarship, plus an introduction by the editor. They are papers presented at Drew University by some of the best Shakespearean scholars in the field: Andrew Gurr, Jean Howard, Arthur Kinney, Harry Keyishian, Russell Jackson, Corey Abate, Cary Mazer, Milla Riggio, Ralph Berry, and James Bulman. The essays cover such areas as the new Globe playhouse, the staging of certain plays, the film versions of several plays, cross-dressing, and the play-within-the-play, as well as other areas of interest to students of Shakespearean performance. The ten essays collected together here are all in the field of Shakespearean performance studies. They represent the areas of stage history, performance structure, Shakespeare on film, the physical playhouse, the phenomenon of cross-dressing, and cultural history reflected in stage direction.

For many people, even within the theatre industry, prop making is something of a 'dark art', practised by gifted individuals who manage to produce intricate works battling against short deadlines. However, the skills of prop making are relevant to many industries and contexts, whether for art projects, carnival floats, live action role-play (LARP), model railways or film and television. The options and applications are endless, but the traditional skills remain the same. The Prop Maker's Workshop Manual is a definitive guide to the materials and practices used within the professional performing arts industries, covering both traditional techniques and modern practices. Supported by original hand-drawn illustrations and over 300 colour photographs, topics covered include: paper mache and card construction; flexible canes and withies; timber and steel frameworks; sculpting, moulding and casting processes; texture and paint techniques; GRP and epoxy resins; thermoformable plastics, including Plastazote and Wonderflex and finally, an introduction to life casting.

The art of wig making and wig dressing has been practised for centuries, and continues to be an exciting and essential part of costume production for theatre and film. With style inspiration ranging from the seventeenth to the twentieth century, A Practical Guide to Wig Making and Wig Dressing is a comprehensive introduction to the knowledge and techniques required to produce beautiful, durable and historical hairstyles able to withstand the demands of performance. Featuring over 700 photographs, this book offers detailed step-by-step instructions on how to make a wig, how to dress it according to time period, and how to fit and remove it, as well as advice on tools, products and suppliers. The work of current industry practitioners is showcased throughout the book, offering key insights into career pathways and professional styling gained from a wealth of experience. Additional material includes: a history of the use and development of wigs; examples of wig foundation making and wig knotting; an introductuion to facial hair making and dressing and finally, how to make hairpieces, sets and dressing for male and female hairstyles.

From the stages of Broadway and London to university campuses, Paris, and the bourgeoning theaters of Africa, Greek tragedy remains constantly in production. This global revival, in addition to delighting audiences, has highlighted both the promise and the pitfalls of staging ancient masterpieces in the modern age. Addressing the issues and challenges these performances pose, renowned classicist Simon Goldhill responds here to the growing demand for a comprehensive guide to staging Greek tragedy today.
In crisp and spirited prose, Goldhill explains how Aeschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles conceived their works in performance and then summarizes everything we know about how their tragedies were actually staged. The heart of his book tackles the six major problems facing any company performing these works today: the staging space and concept of the play; the use of the chorus; the actor's role in an unfamiliar style of performance; the place of politics in tragedy; the question of translation; and the treatment of gods, monsters, and other strange characters of the ancient world. Outlining exactly what makes each of these issues such a pressing difficulty for modern companies, Goldhill provides insightful solutions drawn from his nimble analyses of some of the best recent productions in the United States, Britain, and Continental Europe.
One of the few experts on both Greek tragedy and contemporary performance, Goldhill uses his unique background and prodigious literary skill to illuminate brilliantly what makes tragedy at once so exciting and so tricky to get right. The result will inspire and enlighten all directors and performers--not to mention the growing audiences--of ancientGreek theater.

As a theatrical designer, it is vital for you to be able to develop your drawing skills to create renderings that can effectively communicate your visual idea. Drawing and Rendering for Theatre starts with the fundamentals of drawing, moves to the types of media, and finishes with specific exercises in each section that will make you more proficient. By the end of this book, you will be versatile enough to be able to create renderings in all areas of theatrical design!
Drawing and Rendering will teach you:
-How to develop good drawing habits from the start
-About composition
-How to draw in one, two, and three point perspective
-About color
-Techniques for different types of media including colored pencils, pastels, watercolor, and more
-How to draw digitally
This gorgeous full-color book is loaded with color examples of both student drawings that are analyzed and critiqued for areas that need improvement, and design renderings by professional theatrical designers.
*Beautiful four color book!
*Learn the drawing and painting skills you need to express your costume, lighting, or scenery ideas
*Examples of drawings critiqued for improvement
*Samples of professional design renderings

Now in paperback and with a new Preface, this collection of writings from international contributors who specialize in a diverse range of digital art and performance practices, surveys various aspects of performance and technology. The discussions interrogate the interaction between new technologies and performance practice. Furthermore, in an innovative way they link the sensuous contact that must exist between the physical and virtual, together with the resultant corporeal transformation. Not only do bodies morph and (de)morph but their identities consequently become destabilized. In certain technological practices, physicality is both transcended and ludically inscribed - the play (jouer) being all. Consequently, digital practices potentiate creative and aesthetic possibilities and demand new perceptive strategies that not only affirm sensate presence but also 'deceive'. The work identifies a new performance practice at the cutting edge of experimentation, and at the same time explores the evolution of new art practices. Especially, practices that are pivotal in alternative and also mainstream performance and popular culture.