Enjoyment of Theatre, The, 7th Edition

The Enjoyment of Theatre's balanced coverage of performance and history provides a comprehensive and accessible introduction to theatre.

 

This book covers the full span of theatre's 2,500-year history as well as performance/production topics such as playwriting, acting, directing, and the theatre industry. This seventh edition features major revisions and welcomes two highly respected collaborators from the University of South Carolina to the proven author team of Cameron and Gillespie. Together, they make theatre come alive for all readers by showing them how theatre is, and will continue to be, relevant to their everyday lives.

Preface

 

PART I: Locating Theatre, Experiencing Plays: Theory and Criticism

 

Chapter 1: Theatre: Performance and Art

Theatre as Performance  

Theatre as Art  

Theatre as Performing Art  

Taking Stock  

Key Terms  

 

Chapter 2: Theatre: Cultural Expression, Business, and the Role of Audience

The Nature of Theatre Audiences  

Theatre as Cultural Expression: The Role of the Audience  

Theatre as Business: The Role of the Audience  

Key Terms  

 

Chapter 3: How to Read a Play

Preliminary Work  

Play Analysis Using the Parts of the Play  

Organizing a Response  

Key Terms  

 

Chapter 4: How to See a Play 

Preliminary Work  

Performance Analysis  

Organizing a Response  

Key Terms  

 

Chapter 5: Mediators and Gatekeepers 

Theorists  

Critics  

Reviewers  

Dramaturgs  

Specialists in Public Relations, Advertising, Marketing  

Agents  

Key Terms  

 

PART II: Today’s Theatre and Its Makers: Theatre Practice

 

Chapter 6:  Making Theatre Today: The Context

Theatre Spaces  

Producing Situations in the United States  

Theatre Funding  

Key Terms  

 

Chapter 7: Playwrights 

The Nature of Playwrights and Playwriting  

Being a Playwright  

Training Playwrights  

From Page to Stage: Professional Issues  

What Is Good Playwriting?  

Key Terms  

 

Chapter 8: Actors 

The Nature of Acting  

Training Actors  

Audition, Rehearsal, and Performance  

The Personality of the Actor  

What Is Good Acting?  

Key Terms  

 

Chapter 9: Directors 

The Nature of Directing  

The Director at Work  

Training Directors  

What Is Good Directing?  

Key Terms  

 

Chapter 10: Designers and Technicians 

The Nature of Design  

Designers at Work  

Training Designers 

What Is Good Design?  

Key Terms  

 

PART III: Theatre of Other Times and Places: Theatre History

    Theatre: Present and Past  

    The Sweep of Theatre History 

 

Part IIIa:Facade Stages (534 B.C.E. - c.550 C.E.)

Chapter 11: The Theatre of Greece

Background

Theories of the Origins of Theatre 

Traits of Greek Theatre  

Plays and Playwrights  

Theatre Buildings and Practices  

The End of Athens’ Golden Age  

Key Terms  

 

Chapter 12: The Theatre of Rome

Background

Roman Festivals and Theatre 

Roman Drama 

Theatre Buildings, Scenery, Costumes, and Masks 

Audiences 

The Empire and the End of Roman Drama 

The Breakup of the Empire 

Key Terms  

 

Part IIIb: Emblem, Environment, and Simultaneity (c. 950 - c. 1550)

Chapter 13: Theatre in the Middle Ages

Background

Early Medieval Drama and Theatre 

Medieval Culture and Theatre,  c. 1200–c. 1550  

The End of Medieval Religious Theatre: The Transformation of Medieval Secular Theatre 

Key Terms 

 

Chapter 14: The Golden Ages of England and Spain 

Background

The Renaissance in the North: The Age of Shakespeare 

The Closing of English Theatres 

The Spanish Golden Age  

Theatres in the East  

Key Terms

 

Part IIIc: Illusionism (c. 1550 - 1960)

Chapter 15: The Italian Renaissance

Theatre in Italy  

Key Terms

 

Chapter 16: The Triumph and Decline of Neoclassicism

French Theatre from Its Beginnings through Its Golden Age  

English Restoration Theatre and Beyond (1660—c. 1750)  

Key Terms 

 

Chapter 17: Successful Failure: Theatre and Reform, 1750 - 1960's

Background

First Wave: Romanticism, 1750–1850 

Second Wave: Realism, 1850–1950  

Realism and Naturalism: Three Important Leaders 

Third Wave: Avant-Gardism, 1890–1960  

Avant-Garde Theatres and Movements  

Key Terms  

 

Chapter 18: The Rise and Triumph of Commercialism: 1750 - 1960's 

What Is Commercialism?  

Drama in the Commercial Theatre  

Theatres and Production Practices 

The Decline of Commercial Theatre  

Responses to Commercial Theatre

Key Terms 

 

Chapter 19: Theatre for a New Millennium 

Background

Postmodernism  

The Theatre in America, 1960 and Beyond

Key Terms 

 

Chapter 20: Global Theatre 

Background

The East

The Islamic World

Africa

Key Terms 

 

Glossary

Index