Theatre & Performance Studies Books

New and Published Books

1. The Craft of Comedy

   By Athene Seyler, Stephen Haggard

   Edited by Robert Barton

   "a work on the art and craft of comedy as important in its own way as works by Stanislavski and Chekhov" – Oxford Theatre Companion In 1939, a young, inexperienced actor wrote to a famous actress of his acquaintance, asking for advice on playing comedy. She responded enthusiastically, and they...

   Published December 20th 2012 by Routledge
2. Stanislavski: The Basics

   By Rose Whyman

   Series: The Basics

   Stanislavski: The Basics is an engaging introduction to the life, thought and impact of Konstantin Stanislavski. Regarded by many as a great innovator of twentieth century theatre, this book examines Stanislavski’s: life and the context of his writings major works in English translation...

   Published December 18th 2012 by Routledge
3. Dramas of the Past on the Twentieth-Century Stage

   In History’s Wings

   By Alexander Feldman

   Series: Routledge Advances in Theatre & Performance Studies

   This book defines and exemplifies a major genre of modern dramatic writing, termed historiographic metatheatre, in which self-reflexive engagements with the traditions and forms of dramatic art illuminate historical themes and aid in the representation of historical events and, in doing so,...

   Published December 18th 2012 by Routledge
4. Liveness in Modern Music

   Musicians, Technology, and the Perception of Performance

   By Paul Sanden

   Series: Routledge Research in Music

   This study investigates the idea and practice of liveness in modern music. Understanding what makes music live in an ever-changing musical and technological terrain is one of the more complex and timely challenges facing scholars of current music, where liveness is typically understood to represent...

   Published December 17th 2012 by Routledge
5. The Heart of Teaching

   Empowering Students in the Performing Arts

   By Stephen Wangh

   The Heart of Teaching is a book about teaching and learning in the performing arts. Its focus is on the inner dynamics of teaching: the processes by which teachers can promote—or undermine—creativity itself. It covers the many issues that teachers, directors and choreographers experience, from...

   Published December 17th 2012 by Routledge
6. The Path Of The Actor

   By Michael Chekhov

   Edited by Andrei A. Kirillov, Bella Merlin

   This is the first English translation of Michael Chekhov’s two-volume autobiography, combining The Path of the Actor (1927) and extensive extracts from his later volume Life and Encounters. Full of illuminating anecdotes and insightful observations involving prominent characters from the MAT and...

   Published December 14th 2012 by Routledge
7. Anton Chekhov at the Moscow Art Theatre

   Illustrations of the Original Productions

   Edited by and translated by Vera Gottlieb

   The Moscow Art Theatre is still recognized as having more impact on modern theatre than any company in the world. This lavishly illustrated and beautifully produced facsimile edition of a Russian journal from 1914 documents, photographically, the premieres of all of Anton Chekhov's plays produced...

   Published December 14th 2012 by Routledge
8. Planning Process Drama

   Enriching teaching and learning, 2nd Edition

   By Pamela Bowell, Brian S. Heap

   Process drama is now firmly established, internationally, as a powerful and dynamic pedagogy. This clear and accessible book provides a practical, step-by-step guide to the planning of process drama. Grounded in theory and illustrated in practice, it identifies and explains the principles of...

   Published November 27th 2012 by Routledge
9. Comedy and the Public Sphere

   The Rebirth of Theatre as Comedy and the Genealogy of the Modern Public Arena

   By Arpad Szakolczai

   Series: Routledge Studies in Social and Political Thought

   The book aims at reframing the discussion on the "public sphere," usually understood as the place where the public opinion is formed, through rational discussion. The aim of this book is to give an account of this rationality, and its serious shortcomings, examining the role of the media and the...

   Published November 25th 2012 by Routledge
10. The Properties Director’s Handbook

    Managing a Prop Shop for Theatre

    By Sandra Strawn

    You may be familiar with how to hang lights, build scenery, or run a high school/college/community theatre, but few are familiar with the nitty-gritty details of being a properties director or prop master. There has an utter lack of information on this topic in the market.until now. Sandy Strawn...

    Published November 18th 2012 by Focal Press