Envisioning the Americas: Latina/O Theatre & Performance


Book Description

Envisioning the Americas: Latina/o Theatre & Performance gathers five plays by five of the US' most daring Latina/o dramatists: Migdalia Cruz, John Jesurun, Oliver Mayer, Alejandro Morales, and Anne Garcia-Romero. With a preface by Academy Award-nominated screenwriter and multiple award-winning playwright Jose Rivera, edited with an introduction by Caridad Svich. A sensual, provocative collection destined to stir things up theatrically in American theatre. Cigarettes and Moby-Dick by Migdalia Cruz Liz One by John Jesurun Dias y Flores by Oliver Mayer Marea by Alejandro Morales and Land of Benjamin Franklin by Anne Garcia-Romero Introduced and Edited by Caridad Svich




Theatre as Human Action


Book Description

Theatre as Human Action is the ideal textbook to introduce students to the various aspects of theatre, especially for those who may have little or no theatergoing experience. Seven diverse plays are described to the reader from the start, and then returned to throughout the book so that students can better understand the concepts being discussed. Both the theoretical and practical aspects of theatre are explored, from the classical definition of theatre to today’s most avant-garde theatre activities. Types of plays, the elements of drama, and theatre criticism are presented, as well as detailed descriptions of the different jobs in theatre, such as actor, playwright, director, designer, producer, choreographer, and more. The book concludes with a look at where and how theatre is evolving in America and the latest changes and innovations today. This fourth edition has been greatly expanded and updated, including: The introduction of four new plays—Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street; Fences; Angels in America; and Hadestown—in addition to Macbeth, You Can’t Take It With You, and Hamilton A discussion of the rise of social media in raising awareness and replacing traditional review outlets An entirely new, enhanced section on diversity and inclusion in theatre An updated selection of playwrights featured, including Terrence McNally, Lynn Nottage, Tony Kushner, and Lin-Manuel Miranda, to better reflect the diversity of those writing for the theatre today. Featuring full-color photographs, updated discussion questions, new topics for further research, and potential creative projects, the fourth edition of Theatre as Human Action is an invaluable resource to introduce students to the world of theatre.




AMERICAN JORNALERO


Book Description

AMERICAN JORNALERO: This new play by playwright Ed Cardona Jr., premiered at INTAR in New York City in May 2012, focuses on the plight of a group of day laborers/jornaleros in Queens. A portrait of the intersecting transient lives in the search for a daily wage in a land of many compromised American dreams. A compassionate, clear-eyed and illuminating look at lives and people too often ignored in the US landscape, AMERICAN JORNALERO is a vibrant play.




War Plays


Book Description

WAR PLAYS by Christine Evans collects for the first time three of this US-based, UK-Australian playwright's remarkable plays about war and aftermath: Trojan Barbie, Mothergun and Slow Falling Bird. With an introduction by esteemed filmmaker Peter Davis, this collection is a terrific introduction to Evans' astute theatrical voice.




Theatre and Cartographies of Power


Book Description

From the colonial period to independence and into the twenty-first century, Latin American culture has been mapped as a subordinate “other” to Europe and the United States. This collection reconsiders geographical space and power and the ways in which theatrical and performance histories have been constructed throughout the Americas. Essays bridge political, racial, gender, class, and national divides that have traditionally restricted and distorted our understanding of Latin American theatre and performance. Contributors—scholars and artists from throughout the Americas, including well-known playwrights, directors, and performers—imagine how to reposition the Latina/o Americas in ways that offer agency to its multiple peoples, cultures, and histories. In addition, they explore the ways artists can create new maps and methods for their creative visions. Building on hemispheric and transnational models, this book demonstrates the capacity of theatre studies to challenge the up-down/North-South approach that dominates scholarship in the United States and presents a strong case for a repositioning of the Latina/o Americas in theatrical histories and practices.




Popular Forms for a Radical Theatre


Book Description

POPULAR FORMS FOR A RADICAL THEATRE is a collection of articles and interviews edited by playwrights Caridad Svich and Sarah Ruhl exploring populism, theatre practice, and radicalism. The book includes essays by Todd London, W. David Hancock, Diane Paulus, Aleks Sierz, Will Eno, Jonathan Kalb, Michael Friedman and interviews with Eugenio Barba, Dijana Miloseviv, Nina Steiger, Scott Graham, Richard Maxwell and Brian Mendes. A vital and provocative collection for students, practitioners, and scholars in theatre and performance.




Orpheus X and other plays


Book Description

Four plays for music-theatre and performance by accomplished multi-disciplinary playwright-poet-lyricist-composer-storyteller Rinde Eckert. This volume includes his Pulitzer Prize nominated play ORPHEUS X as well as the plays HORIZON, AND GOD CREATED GREAT WHALES and THE GARDENING OF THOMAS D. With an introduction by scholar Jonathan Chambers, this is an exciting and daring collection by an eminent experimental theatre artist.




Dark Matters and other plays


Book Description

Three new plays from American playwright Oliver Mayer take feisty, sexy, playful turns through stories of politics, identity, freedom, music, and trans-locality. With an introduction by dramatist Velina Hasu Houston.




The Homophobes


Book Description

The Homophobes is a clown show by Argentine performance artist and playwright Susana Cook wherein a misunderstood miracle shakes a conservative congregation's values to its core when their beloved pastor becomes the center of a spectacular firestorm that will forever shatter their notions of sex, gender and intercourse between animate beings. The Homophobes was commissioned and first presented by Dixon Place in New York City.




Contemporary Plays by Women of Color


Book Description

In the two decades since the first edition of Contemporary Plays by Women of Color was published, its significance to the theatrical landscape in the United States has grown exponentially. Work by female writers and writers of color is more widely produced, published, and studied than ever before. Drawing from an exciting range of theaters, large and small, from across the country, Roberta Uno brings together an up-to-date selection of plays from renowned and emerging playwrights tackling a variety of topics. From the playful to the painful, this revised and updated edition presents a rich array of voices, aesthetics, and stories for a transforming America.




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