Print Encyclopedias
The Cambridge Guide to World Theatre by
The Cambridge Guide to World Theatre is a new, illustrated, single-volume reference that emphasizes international theater and performance in its broadest sense. A-to-Z entries provide clear and concise information on traditions, theories, companies, playwrights, practitioners, venues and events. More than 300 photographs and drawings supplement the text to make this the ideal resource for theatergoers, general readers, students and professionals. The Guide contains an entry for any country with a significant theatrical past or present, from Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Europe, exploring areas of world theater that are neglected in many contemporary works of reference. National entries explain the history and nature of theater movements, identifying prominent figures and activities. Information is given about not only the personalities and practice of Shakespeare's theater but also about performance in such places as Brazil, Nigeria, India and Japan; a short bibliography for further reading is also provided. The popular origins of theatrical traditions in ritual and festival are explained in The Guide and separate entries cover folk drama, street theater, mummer's plays, and many other types of performance. This comprehensive reference also includes reliable biographical and critical essays on the established leaders of the field, renowned actors, directors, and designers. It is filled with extensive cross references that lead the reader from one entry to an
Call Number: PN2035 .C27 1988Publication Date: 1988
The Cambridge History of American Theatre by
The Cambridge History of American Theatre is an authoritative and wide-ranging history of American theatre in all its dimensions, from theatre building to play writing, directors, performers, and designers. Engaging the theatre as a performance art, a cultural institution, and a fact of American social and political life, the History recognizes changing styles of presentation and performance and addresses the economic context that conditions the drama presented. The History approaches its subject with a full awareness of relevant developments in literary criticism, cultural analysis, and performance theory. At the same time, it is designed to be an accessible, challenging narrative. Volume One deals with the colonial inceptions of American theatre through the post-Civil War period: the European antecedents, the New World influences of the French and Spanish colonists, and the development of uniquely American traditions in tandem with the emergence of national identity.
Call Number: PN2221 .C37 1998Publication Date: 1998
The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre by
This new edition of an extremely popular reference work has been completely revised both to widen its coverage of the theater and to bring existing entries up to date. Based on the highly acclaimed fourth edition of The Oxford Companion to the Theatre, it offers theater-goers an indispensable handbook to all aspects of the stage. The range of the book is international and it places a wealth of information right at the reader's fingertips. There are entries on dramatists, from Plautus and Ibsen to August Wilson and Václav Havel; actors and actresses, from Sarah Bernhardt to Laurence Olivier and Anthony Hopkins; directors, such as Peter Brook, Peter Hall, and Mike Nichols; theaters, from Shakespeare's Globe to the Palais Royal in Paris and the Lunt-Fontanne in New York; and critics, such as Kenneth Tynan and Clive Barnes. In addition, there are entries on theater styles, drama festivals, and fascinating details about everything from theater companies, designers, and producers to winners of the Pulitzer Prize. The more technical aspects of theater are also covered, for example lighting, sound, method acting, and the different parts of a stage, and a complete system of cross-referencing makes it particularly easy for readers to find what they are looking for. Broad in scope and delightfully written, The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre is a must for theater enthusiasts everywhere.
Call Number: PN2035 .C63 1992Publication Date: 1993
Drama by
Critical Survey of Drama, Second Revised Edition, combines, updates, and expands two earlier Salem Press reference sets: Critical Survey of Drama, Revised Edition, English Language Series (1994), and Critical Survey of Drama, Foreign Language Series (1986). This new eight-volume set contains 613 essays, of which 548 discuss individual dramatists and 65 cover overview topics. The set also contains lists of major dramatic awards, a detailed time line of world drama history, a glossary of dramatic terms and movements, and a bibliography. Of the revised edition's 548 profiles, 90 are completely new essays, primarily reflecting playwrights who have recently come to be regarded as established figures in theater. More than 110 author profiles have been updated and revised to include the authors' new works and achievements, developments in their personal lives, more current analysis, and updated bibliographies. All other author profiles have been re-edited and the bibliographies have been updated and annotated. Each dramatist essay starts with direct ready-reference material: birth/death dates and places and list of the author's major dramatic works. Every essay also includes a brief survey of the author's publications in other literary forms, a summary of professional achievements and awards, and an extended biographical sketch. The bulk of each entry is a clearly written, extensive critical analysis of the writer's major dramatic works and career. Each entry ends with an annotated bibliography of secondary works about the author, providing a solid list of sources for further study. Overview essays, which are arranged under broad subject headings, cover dramatic traditions in the United States and other parts of the world, as well as various genres and techniques. The set includes more than 30 new overview essays. More than 25 of the original overview essays have been updated to reflect current trends in the theater. In addition to the overview essays, volume 8 includes an annotated general bibliography; a chronological listing (by birth dates); a geographical index that separates dramatists by the geographical areas in which they have lived or worked; a categorized list of dramatists, which groups them by movement, dominant genre, or ethnic affiliation; and a comprehensive subject index.
Call Number: PN1625 .C74 2003Publication Date: 2003
Encyclopedia of Stage Lighting by
If one does not know who a snuff-boy was or how his job related to stage lighting, or needs to understand the difference between motivated light and motivating light, the answers can be found in the more than 1500 detailed entries of this encyclopedia, which is ideal for students, teachers, lighting technicians, lighting designers and all others who have an interest in stage lighting. Some of the numerous topics covered are equipment, methods, concepts, design process, electricity, characteristics of light, and lightboard operations. Where applicable, entries present both the historical and current day significance of the apparatus or concept being introduced. In addition, the many areas of stage lighting that elicit debate are viewed from all angles and the various options presented. This approach will allow the reader to make a personal evaluation of the most appropriate method. Entries are extensively cross-referenced. Computer-generated line drawings and samples of lighting paperwork are included with the entries to which they relate.
Call Number: PN2091.E4 B66 2003Publication Date: 2003
The Oxford Companion to American Theatre by
First published in 1984, Gerald Bordman's Oxford Companion to American Theatre has established itself as the standard one-volume source on our national theatre. It has been hailed for its "wealth of authoritative information" (Back Stage), for its "fascinating picture of the volative Americanstage" (The Guardian), for its "well-chosen, illuminating facts" (Newsday). The distinguished actor Jose Ferrer wrote "I'm in awe of the scholarship and research that have gone into the making of this book." And The Los Angeles Times called it "the almost perfect gift book for both the student andthe theatre lover." Now Bordman has thoroughly revised this redoubtable volume, once again providing a completely up-to-date guide to the American stage from its beginnings to the present. Here are over 3,000 entries on playwrights, plays, actors, directors, producers, songwriters, famous playhouses, dramaticmovements, and much more. Readers will find summaries of plays as varied as The Contrast, Francesca da Rimini, Arsenic and Old Lace, Our Town, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?; biographical sketches of Edwin Forrest and Bartley Campbell, Lillian Hellman and David Rabe, John Barrymore and JessicaTandy, George Gershwin and Cole Porter; and entries on groups such as The Actors Studio, Christy's Minstrels, and the Provincetown Players. For the new edition, Bordman has added entries on such recent plays as Fences, M. Butterfly, The Heidi Chronicles, and The Piano Lesson, as well as biographiesof Len Cariou, Dustin Hoffman, Raul Julia, Tommy Tune, and August Wilson, to name a few. And as in the previous edition, Bordman gives readers as broad a picture of American popular theatre as possible, offering extensive coverage not only of classic works (such as Death of a Salesman) but alsomany commercially successful plays (such as Brother Rat or Getting Gertie's Garter), plus entries on foreign figures and productions that have influenced our dramatic development (from Shakespeare to Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter). Accessibly and attractively arranged in the two-column, A-Z format for which the Companion series is famous, this is a volume of enormous erudition, an essential reference for everyone who has a passion for the stage.
Call Number: PN2220 .B6 1992Publication Date: 1992
Theatre Lighting from A to Z by
An encyclopedia of essential equipment, techniques, and concepts, in some 1,200 alphabetically arranged entries, with extensive cross-referencing, and 350 drawings, diagrams, and charts. For both novice and experienced theatre technicians. Comb binding. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland,
Call Number: PN2091.E4 B59 1992Publication Date: 1992
The Ultimate Scene and Monologue Sourcebook by
This sourcebook provides context for actors when reading for auditions. Full scene analyses for over 1000 monologues and dialogues from more than 300 plays are provided.
Call Number: PN2080 .H66 1994Publication Date: 1994
Electronic Encyclopedias
The Cambridge Guide to Theatre by
Substantially revised and updated for this new edition, this is the most comprehensive guide to the history and current practice of worldwide theatre available today: * Covers all major playwrights, works, traditions, theories, companies, venues and events * Details the origins of popular theatre tradition * Discusses the work of actors, directors and designers * Explains theatre architecture and design * Written by over 100 expert contributors * Illustrated throughout Providing information, assessment and entertainment, The Guide will prove an indispensable reference tool both for students of theatre, and the general theatregoer alike.
Publication Date: 1995
The Cambridge History of American Theatre by
The Cambridge History of American Theatre is an authoritative and wide-ranging history of American theatre in all its dimensions, from theatre building to play writing, directors, performers, and designers. Engaging the theatre as a performance art, a cultural institution, and a fact of American social and political life, the History recognizes changing styles of presentation and performance and addresses the economic context that conditions the drama presented. The History approaches its subject with a full awareness of relevant developments in literary criticism, cultural analysis, and performance theory. At the same time, it is designed to be an accessible, challenging narrative. Volume One deals with the colonial inceptions of American theatre through the post-Civil War period: the European antecedents, the New World influences of the French and Spanish colonists, and the development of uniquely American traditions in tandem with the emergence of national identity.
Publication Date: 1998
The Cambridge History of British Theatre by
Volume 1 of The Cambridge History of British Theatre begins in Roman Britain and ends with Charles II's restoration to the throne imminent. The four essays in Part I treat pre-Elizabethan theatre, the eight in Part II focus on the riches of the Elizabethan era, and the seven in Part III on theatrical developments during and after the reigns of James I and Charles I. The essays are written for the general reader by leading British and American scholars, who combine an interest in the written drama with an understanding of the material conditions of the evolving professional theatre which the drama helped to sustain, often enough against formidable odds. The volume unfolds a story of enterprise, innovation and, sometimes, of desperate survival over years in which theatre and drama were necessarily embroiled in the politics of everyday life: a vivid subject vividly presented.
Publication Date: 2004- The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre by
This new edition of an extremely popular reference work has been completely revised both to widen its coverage of the theater and to bring existing entries up to date. Based on the highly acclaimed fourth edition of The Oxford Companion to the Theatre, it offers theater-goers an indispensable handbook to all aspects of the stage. The range of the book is international and it places a wealth of information right at the reader's fingertips. There are entries on dramatists, from Plautus and Ibsen to August Wilson and Václav Havel; actors and actresses, from Sarah Bernhardt to Laurence Olivier and Anthony Hopkins; directors, such as Peter Brook, Peter Hall, and Mike Nichols; theaters, from Shakespeare's Globe to the Palais Royal in Paris and the Lunt-Fontanne in New York; and critics, such as Kenneth Tynan and Clive Barnes. In addition, there are entries on theater styles, drama festivals, and fascinating details about everything from theater companies, designers, and producers to winners of the Pulitzer Prize. The more technical aspects of theater are also covered, for example lighting, sound, method acting, and the different parts of a stage, and a complete system of cross-referencing makes it particularly easy for readers to find what they are looking for. Broad in scope and delightfully written, The Concise Oxford Companion to the Theatre is a must for theater enthusiasts everywhere.
Publication Date: 1993
The Oxford Companion to American Theatre by
First published in 1984, Gerald Bordman's Oxford Companion to American Theatre is the standard one-volume source on our national theatre. Critics have hailed its "wealth of authoritative information" (Back Stage), its "fascinating picture of the volatile American stage" (The Guardian), and its"well-chosen, illuminating facts" (Newsday). Now thoroughly revised, this distinguished volume once again provides an up-to-date guide to the American stage from its beginnings to the present. Completely updated by theater professor Thomas Hischak, the volume includes playwrights, plays, actors, directors, producers, songwriters, famousplayhouses, dramatic movements, and much more. The book covers not only classic works (such as Death of a Salesman) but also many commercially successful plays (such as Getting Gertie's Garter), plus entries on foreign figures that have influenced our dramatic development (from Shakespeare toBeckett and Pinter). New entries include recent plays such as Angels in America and Six Degrees of Separation, performers such as Eric Bogosian and Bill Irwin, playwrights like David Henry Hwang and Wendy Wasserstein, and relevant developments and issues including AIDS in American theatre,theatrical producing by Disney, and the rise in solo performance. Accessible and authoritative, this valuable A-Z reference is ideal not only for students and scholars of theater, but everyone with a passion for the stage.
Publication Date: 2004
