The stage manager is the renaissance man of the theater. He or she must have a working knowledge of how the various technical aspects of the theater work (scenery, props, costumes, lights and sound), be part director, part playwright, part designer and part producer, and be prepared to act as confidant, counselor and confessor to everyone else in the company.This book addresses all of these considerations in detail and offers the readerprofessional or amateur, veteran or beginner...

Get the complete, illustrated guide to scenery constructionUsing nails and wood, fabric and paint, hardware and rigging, you create an illusion. You build the make-believe world of the play.Now you have a scene-shop manual to help you. In The Stagecraft Handbook, Daniel A. Ionazzi, director of production for the UCLA Department of Theater, offers trap-room-to-grid guidance. Clearly written, heavily illustrated, this book covers every aspect of scen...

The Most Widely Used Manual For Aspiring And Veteran Stage Managers - Now Revised and ExpandedThe next best thing to shadowing a Broadway stage manager, this detailed, behind-the-scenes book as been brought completely up to date. First published in 1991, it is widely used and has been lauded as the most comprehensive, educational book on stage management available. From preproduction planning and first rehersals to opening night and final strike, all the essentials of the professio...

Dramaturgy in the Making maps contemporary dramaturgical practices in various settings of theatre-making and dance to reveal the different ways that dramaturgs work today. It provides a thorough survey of three major areas of practice - institutional dramaturgy, production dramaturgy and dance dramaturgy - with each illustrated through a range of case studies that illuminate methodology and which will assist practitioners in developing their own 'dramaturgical toolbox'.In ...

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:

Elia Kazan was the twentieth century’s most celebrated director of both stage and screen, and this monumental, revelatory book shows us the master at work. Kazan’s list of Broadway and Hollywood successes—A Streetcar Named Desire, Death of a Salesman, On the Waterfront, to name a few—is a testament to his profound impact on the art of directing. This remarkable book, drawn from his notebooks, letters, interviews, and autobiography, reveals Kazan’s method: how he uncovered the “spi...

The Prop Builder's Molding & Casting HandbookThis is the first book to contain, in one comprehensive volume, every molding and casting procedure of use to the theater props builder (no matter what his or her level or proficiency). The author demonstrates the techniques involved in using more than thirty different materials ranging from papier-mache to breakaway glass.While the use of some materials–plaster and polyester resins, for example–is cover...

Star of the West End's 'Rat Pack' and cabaret stalwart, Gary Williams, shares the secrets of his success in Cabaret Secrets – a practical guide with everything you need to create your own show, travel the world and get paid to do what you love.Written for singers who want to create their own cabaret show, or improve the one they already have, Cabaret Secrets covers everything from finding a theme, scripting a show and running a rehearsal. There's lots of practical advice on how to ...

Planning a school or amateur Shakespeare production? The best way to experience the plays is to perform them, but getting started can be a challenge: The complete plays are too long and complex, while scene selections or simplified language are too limited."The 30-Minute Shakespeare" is a new series of abridgements that tell the story” of each play from start to finish while keeping the beauty of Shakespeare’s language intact. Specific stage directions and character suggestions gi...

Why fear the things that go bump in the night when you can become one?World-renowned special effects artists Brian and Nick Wolfe will teach you how to transform everyday faces into an army of ghastly personas--from raging fire demons and disfigured zombies, to blood-spattered vampires and otherworldly aliens--with simple face-painting techniques. Learn the secrets to creating believable, creepy costume makeup with readily availabl...

In celebration of American Theatre’s twenty-fifth anniversary, the editors of the nation’s leading theater magazine have chosen their best essays and interviews to provide an intimate look at the people, plays, and events that have shaped the American theater over the past quarter-century. Over two hundred artists, critics, and theater professionals are gathered in this one-of-a-kind collection, from the visionaries who conceived of a diverse and thriving national theater communit...

Having surveyed post-war British drama in State of the Nation, Michael Billington now looks at the global picture. In this provocative and challenging new book, he offers his highly personal selection of the 100 greatest plays ranging from the Greeks to the present-day.But his book is no mere list. Billington justifies his choices in extended essays- and even occasional dialogues- that put the plays in context, explain their significance and trace their performance history...