PN1655.W57

Includes bibliographical references (p . 429-431) and index

Wilson Detailed TOC Chapter 1: Experiencing Today?s Global, Diverse Theatre A Preview Theatre as Source and Foundation The Actor-Audience Encounter Theatre is Transitory and Immediate Human Beings?The Focus of Theatre The Universal Impulse Toward Theatre: Ceremonies and Rituals Global Theatre Theatre of Diversity A Theatre of Infinite Variety Summary Part 1 The Audience Chapter 2: The Audience: Its Role and Imagination The Relationship between Performer and Audience The Special Nature of Theatre: A Contrast with Film The Chemistry of Performer-Audience Contact Theatre as a Group Experience Psychology of Groups How Audience Makeup Affects the Theatre Experience The Separate Roles of Performers and Spectators How Should the Audience Be Involved? Audience Participation through Direct Action The Imagination of the Audience Tools of the Imagination: Symbol and Metaphor The ?Reality? of the Imagination The Imaginary Worlds of Theatre Realism and Nonrealism Distinguishing Stage Reality from Fact Summary Chapter 3: Background and Expectations of the Audience Background of Individual Spectators Background of the Period Theater and Society Greek Theater and Culture Elizabethan Theater and Culture Modern Theater and Culture BOX: Historical Perspectives: Women in Greek and Elizabethan Theatres Background Information on the Play or Playwright Expectations: The Variety of Experiences in Modern Theater Broadway and Touring Theater Resident Professional Theater Alternative Theaters: Off-Broadway and Elsewhere Children?s Theater College and University Theater Community and Amateur Theater Multiethnic, Multicultural, Global and Gender Theater Summary Chapter 4: The Critic and the Audience Theatrical Criticism What Is Criticism? Preparation for Criticism Critical Criteria Descriptive and Prescriptive Criticism Fact and Opinion in Criticism The Reviewer and the Critic The Dramaturg or Literary Manager The Audience?s Relationship to Criticism The Audience?s Independent Judgment Analysis and Overanalysis Summary Chapter 5: Stage Spaces Creating the Environment Theatre Spaces Proscenium Stage Arena Stage Thrust Stage Created and Found Spaces BOX: Making Connections: Popular Performance Spaces All-Purpose Theater Spaces: The Black Box Special Requirements of Theater Environments Summary Part 2 The Performers and the Director Chapter 6 Acting: Offstage and in the Past Examples of Acting in Everyday Life Social Roles Personal Roles Acting in Life versus Acting Onstage Stage Acting: A Historical Perspective Physical Demands of Classical Acting Vocal Demands of Classical Acting BOX: Historical Perspectives: The Status of the Performer Performing in Classics Today The Development of Realistic Acting Summary Chapter 7 Stage Acting Today The Acting Experience Challenges of Acting Today BOX: A Life in the Theatre: The Artist Speaks: Cherry Jones: Actress The Stanivlasky System: A Technique for Realistic Acting Various Approaches Performers? Training Today BOX: Dynamics of Drama: Warm-Up Exercises for Voice and Body BOX: Dynamics of Drama: Finger Language: A Part of Indian Acting and Dancing Moving from Preparation to Performance Judging Performances Judging Performances Summary Chapter 8 The Director and the Producer The Theater Director Photo Essay: Director BOX: Historical Perspective: The Evolution of the Director The Director and the Script BOX: Global Cross-Currents: Peter Brook: International Director The Director and the Production The Director?s Power and Responsibility The Producer or Manager The Commercial Producer Noncommercial Theaters Completing the Picture: Playwright, Director, and Producer BOX: Dynamics of Drama: A Career in Theater: Employment for Young Performers, Playwrights, Directors, Designers, and Technical Personnel Summary Part 3 The Playwright: Creating the Play Chapter 9 Creating the World of the Play The Subject and Verb of Drama: People and Action Structural Conventions: The Rules of the Game Limited Space Limited Time Strongly Opposed Forces A Balance of Forces Incentive and Motivation Essentials of Dramatic Structure The Form of Drama: Plot versus Story BOX: Dynamics of Drama: Significance of Structure: The Architecture of Drama Dramatic Characters Creating a Dramatic Structure The Opening Scene Obstacles and Complications Crisis and Climax BOX: Dynamics of Drama: Structure in Women?s Plays Point of View The Dramatist?s Point of View Society?s Point of View A Cautionary Word about Genre Summary Chapter 10 Dramatic Forms: Climactic, Episodic, and Others Climactic Structure Characteristics of Climactic Structure Significant Periods of Climactic Structure Episodic Structure Characteristics of Episodic Structure BOX: Dynamics of Drama: Comparing Climactic and Episodic Form Significant Periods of Episodic Structure Combinations of Climactic and Episodic Form Ritual and Pattern as Dramatic Structure Rituals Patterns Serial Structure BOX: A Life in the Theatre: The Artist Speaks: Richard Foreman: Director, Playwright, and Designer Experimental and Avant-Garde Theater Special Structures Segments and Tableaux as Structure Structure in Musical Theater Summary Chapter 11 Dramatic Characters Types of Characters Extraordinary Characters Photo Essay: Extraordinary Characters Representative or Quintessential Characters Stock Characters Characters with a Dominant Trait Minor Characters and Major Characters A Narrator or Chorus BOX: Making Connections: Characters: Images of Ourselves Nonhuman Characters Using Dramatic Characters Effectively: Juxtaposition and Interaction Juxtaposition of Characters Orchestration of Characters Summary Chapter 12 Tragedy and Other Serious Drama Tragedy Traditional Tragedy BOX: Global Cross-Currents: The Asian Influence on the Playwrights Brecht and Wilder Modern Tragedy Heroic Drama Photo Essay: Modern Domestic Drama Bourgeois or Domestic Drama Melodrama BOX: A Life in the Theatre: The Artist Speaks: Emily Mann: Playwright-Director Summary Chapter 13 Comedy and Tragicomedy Comedy Characteristics of Comedy Techniques of Comedy Forms of Comedy Tragicomedy What Is Tragicomedy? Photo Essay: Forms of Comedy BOX: A Life in the Theatre: The Artist Speaks: Suzan-Lori Parks: Playwright Modern Tragicomedy Theater of the Absurd Absurdist Plots: Illogicality Absurdist Language: Nonsense and Non Sequitur Absurdist Characters: Existential Beings Summary Part 4 Setting the Stage: The Designers Chapter 14 Scenery A Brief History of Stage Design Scenic Design Today Objectives of Scene Design Aesthetic Aspects of Stage Design The Scenic Environment Mood and Style BOX: Historical Perspectives: Robert Edmond Jones on Scene Design Realistic and Nonrealistic Scenery Locale and Period The Design Concept The Central Image or Metaphor Coordination of the Whole BOX: Global Cross-Currents: The Magic of Designer Josef Svoboda Scene Design and Popular Entertainment Practical Aspects of Scene Design The Physical Layout Materials of Scene Design Special Effects BOX: A Life in the Theatre: The Artist Speaks: Robin Wagner: Scene Designer The Process of Scene Design Elements of Design Steps in the Design Process The Scene Designer?s Collaborators Designing a Total Environment Summary Chapter 15 Stage Costumes Costumes for the Stage The Costume Designer at Work BOX: A Life in the Theatre: The Artist Speaks: Jess Goldstein: Costume Designer Other Elements Makeup Hairstyles and Wigs Masks Coordination of the Whole Summary Chapter 16 Lighting and Sound Stage Lighting A Brief History of Stage Lighting Objectives and Functions of Lighting Design The Lighting Designer BOX: A Life in the Theatre: The Artist Speaks: Peggy Eisenhauer: Lighting Designer Sound in the Theater Sound Reproduction: Advantages and Disadvantages The Sound Designer Understanding Sound Reproduction and Sound Reinforcement Sound Technology Summary Part 5 The Theater Landscape Today Chapter 17 Global Theatre to come Chapter 18 Musical Theater Background Drama and Music The Appeal of Music and Dance Opera Types of Musical Theater A Brief History of the American Musical Antecedents The 1920s and 1930s: Musical Comedies The 1920s and 1930s: Advances in Musicals Musical Theater of the 1940s and 1950s BOX: A Life in the Theatre: The Artist Speaks: Nathan Lane: Actor Musicals from the 1960s through the 1980s BOX: Global Cross-Currents: The Theatre of Julie Taymor Musicals from 1990 to the Present Summary Chapter 19 Contemporary American Theater Traditional and Avant-Garde Theatre Theatre of Diversity African American Theatre Asian American Theatre Hispanic Theatre Native American Theatre Feminist Theatre Gay and Lesbian Theatre Political Theatre Performance Art Postmodernism Summary Appendixes Appendix A Synopses of Plays King Oedipus, Sophocles Tartuffe, Molière A Doll?s House, Henrik Ibsen The Cherry Orchard, Anton Chekhov Mother Courage, Bertolt Brecht A Streetcar Named Desire, Tennessee Williams Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller Waiting for Godot, Samuel Beckett A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry Fences, August Wilson Appendix B Major Theatrical Forms and Movements Appendix C Glossary Notes Select Bibliography Index

The ideal theatre appreciation text for courses focusing on theater elements, The Theatre Experience encourages students to be active theatre-goers as they learn about the fundamentals of a production. By addressing the importance of the audience, Wilson brings the art of performance to life for students who may have little experience with the medium. Two new chapters and added Global Cross-Currents boxes throughout greatly expand the text's coverage of global theatre, while revised coverage of theatrical design and production exposes students to the latest processes, techniques, and technologies in the field. Along with an extended box program and dynamic new photos, these elements combine to provide an engaging, current, and comprehensive introduction to the world of theatre.