Specially-commissioned essays explore the element of performance theory known as "theatricality" in six case studies that use specific circumstances to illustrate how the concept of "theatricality" developed. Topics covered include early use of the term; employment of theatricality by other disciplines to describe events; non-Western interpretation of theatricality; and its role in analyzing political and cultural events and philosophies. The book provides an introductory guide for those discovering the complex yet rewarding world of performance theory.

Why do actors get stage fright? What is so embarrassing about joining in? Why not work with animals and children, and why is it so hard not to collapse into helpless laughter when things go wrong? In trying to answer these questions - usually ignored by theatre scholarship but of enduring interest to theatre professionals and audiences alike - Nicholas Ridout attempts to explain the relationship between these apparently unwanted and anomalous phenomena and the wider social and political meanings of the modern theatre. This book focuses on the theatrical encounter - those events in which actor...

Ric Knowles develops and demonstrates a method of theatrical performance analysis involving the entire theater experience, from production to reception. Five case studies provide a first-step introduction to key terms and areas of performance theory. They include the cultural work performed by a major Shakespearean repertory theater, a small nationalist theater devoted to new play development, a major New York-based avant-garde touring theater company, and a British socialist company dedicated to the work of Shakespeare, as well as a range of international festivals.

Ric Knowles develops and demonstrates a method of theatrical performance analysis involving the entire theater experience, from production to reception. Five case studies provide a first-step introduction to key terms and areas of performance theory. They include the cultural work performed by a major Shakespearean repertory theater, a small nationalist theater devoted to new play development, a major New York-based avant-garde touring theater company, and a British socialist company dedicated to the work of Shakespeare, as well as a range of international festivals.

Contemporary academic discourse is filled with the word "perform." Nestled among a variety of prefixes and suffixes (re-, post-, -ance, -ivity?), the term functions as a vehicle for a host of inquiries. This development is intriguing and complex for students, artists, and scholars of performance and theater. By examining the history of theater studies and related institutions and comparing the very different disciplinary interpretations and developments that led to this engagement, this study offers ways of placing performance theory and performance studies in context.

Contemporary academic discourse is filled with the word "perform." Nestled among a variety of prefixes and suffixes (re-, post-, -ance, -ivity?), the term functions as a vehicle for a host of inquiries. This development is intriguing and complex for students, artists, and scholars of performance and theater. By examining the history of theater studies and related institutions and comparing the very different disciplinary interpretations and developments that led to this engagement, this study offers ways of placing performance theory and performance studies in context.

Theater history has often been interpreted in ways which highlight and omit key elements. Jacky Bratton explores this dilemma by examining how theater history has been chronicled and interpreted. Analyzing case studies from nineteenth-century British theater, Bratton reveals the difference between the existence of "the drama" (plays and play literature) and "the stage" (performance, theater building, and attendance).

Theater history has often been interpreted in ways which highlight and omit key elements. Jacky Bratton explores this dilemma by examining how theater history has been chronicled and interpreted. Analyzing case studies from nineteenth-century British theater, Bratton reveals the difference between the existence of "the drama" (plays and play literature) and "the stage" (performance, theater building, and attendance).

Specially-commissioned essays explore the element of performance theory known as "theatricality" in six case studies that use specific circumstances to illustrate how the concept of "theatricality" developed. Topics covered include early use of the term; employment of theatricality by other disciplines to describe events; non-Western interpretation of theatricality; and its role in analyzing political and cultural events and philosophies. The book provides an introductory guide for those discovering the complex yet rewarding world of performance theory.

Why do actors get stage fright? What is so embarrassing about joining in? Why not work with animals and children, and why is it so hard not to collapse into helpless laughter when things go wrong? In trying to answer these questions - usually ignored by theatre scholarship but of enduring interest to theatre professionals and audiences alike - Nicholas Ridout attempts to explain the relationship between these apparently unwanted and anomalous phenomena and the wider social and political meanings of the modern theatre. This book focuses on the theatrical encounter - those events in which actor...