Studying Plays

This is an accessible and lively introduction to the essential tools for studying a dramatic text. Looking at the four key areas--dialogue, action, character, and space--the book focuses on the specifically dramatic aspects of plays, rather than on purely literary or theoretical concerns. Looking in detail at Death of a Salesman, A Doll's House, and King Lear among many others, the authors set the dramatic texts in their historical context, paying attention to the significance of particular theater buildings, actors, and audiences. Exercises at the end of each section and a glossary will help anyone wanting to learn more about drama.

Shepherd, Simon

Wallis, Mick

Literature & Fiction

Hodder Education Publishers

How should we study drama? What possibilities (and limitations) does the genre present? Beginning with an examination of "A Dolls House", the conventions of which frame much "serious" television drama, the book goes on to explore issues of characterisation, of transmission from page to stage,of authorship and the construction and deconstruction of the genre. It considers the uses (and abuses) of "space" and in a final chapter examines the varieties and functions of play. Complex ideas and technical terms are introduced in a way that will give the reader a secure preliminaryunderstanding, with constant reference to a range of plays and to their dramatic interpretation helping firmly to embed this knowledge.

The new edition of this standard textbook has been revised and expanded in response to lecturers' comments. It provides a comprehensive introduction to play texts, and looks at key elements of drama such as character, dialogue, plot, action, the body, and space. The book also discusses theatricality and sets drama in its historical context. Drawing on examples from King Lear, A Doll's House, Waiting for Godot, and The Tempest among others, the textbook is suitable for beginning students of drama. The book is part of the series that includes Studying the Novel and Studying Poetry. Mick Wallis is Professor of Performance and Culture at the University of Leeds, UK Simon Shepherd is a Professor at The Central School of Speech and Drama, London, UK The new edition of this standard textbook has been revised and expanded in response to lecturers' comments. It provides a comprehensive introduction to play texts, and looks at key elements of drama such as character, dialogue, plot, action, the body, and space. The book also discusses theatricality and sets drama in its historical context. Drawing on examples from King Lear, A Doll's House, Waiting for Godot, and The Tempest among others, the textbook is suitable for beginning students of drama. The book is part of the series that includes Studying the Novel and Studying Poetry. "Comprehensive, thoughtful and accessibly written."—Research in Drama Education "Comprehensive, thoughtful and accessibly written."—Research in Drama Education

Dramas & Plays

Bloomsbury USA

Studying Plays is a comprehensive introduction to understanding plays which examines and explains the key elements of drama such as character, dialogue, plot, action, the body and space, and draws on classic and contemporary plays. Key Features:
<li>The essential guide to drama for people approaching it for the first time. </li>
<li>New to this edition is a discussion of "design-led" text which explains how to read a scripted play while being fully open to the impact of design. </li>
<li>A new section on "post-dramatic" text is included to illuminate the best way to approach this difficult area which now forms part of many drama modules. </li>
<li>New also is an examination of "in-yer-face" theatre—a re-invention of the writer's theatre which engages with the effects of the "real" and appeals to young people. </li>
<li>Exercises throughout the book enable the reader to expand his or her analytical and creative abilities. </li>

History & Criticism

Drama Theatre Performance (The New Critical Idiom)

What is implied when we refer to the study of performing arts as 'drama', 'theatre' or 'performance'? Each term identifies a different tradition of thought and offers different possibilities to the student or practitioner. This book examines the history and use of the terms and investigates the different philosophies, politics, languages and institutions with which they are associated. Simon Shepherd and Mick Wallis:  analyze attitudes to drama, theatre and performance at different historical junctures trace a range of political interventions into the field(s) explore and contextualise the institutionalisation of drama and theatre as university subjects, then the emergence of 'performance' as practice, theory and academic disciplines guide readers through major approaches to drama, theatre and performance, from theatre history, through theories of ritual or play, to the idea of performance as paradigm for a postmodern age discuss crucial terms such as action, alienation, catharsis, character, empathy, interculturalism, mimesis, presence or representation in a substantial 'keywords' section. Continually linking their analysis to wider cultural concerns, the authors here offer the most wide-ranging and authoritative guide available to a vibrant, fast-moving field and vigorous debates about its nature, purpose and place in the academy.

Drama/Theatre/Performance (The New Critical Idiom)

Humor & Entertainment

Routledge

Now in its 4th edition, this is an accessible and comprehensive introduction to the critical study of drama. Using familiar examples of classic and contemporary works such as Shakespeare's King Lear, Ibsen's A Doll's House and Timberlake Wertenbaker's Our Country's Good, the book explores the essential elements of play texts, from character, dialogue and plot to theatrical space.
 With more in depth guidance on how to study plays in and as performance, both live and in recordings available online, the 4th edition of Studying Plays now includes:
 · new examples throughout the book drawn from a range of 21st-century plays by established and emergent writers for diverse theatres and companies · new explorations of how plays structure and engage audience response · a complete new section on the analysis of theatre of witness and testimony; monodrama; and postdramatic texts.

Bloomsbury Academic

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Books by Wallis, Mick

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Wallis, Mick. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Studying Plays

Studying Plays

Studying Plays

Studying Plays

Drama/Theatre/Performance (The New Critical Idiom)

Studying Plays

Studying Plays