Bücher der Reihe Theatre and Performance Theory

Ric Knowles' study is a politically urgent, erudite intervention into the ecology of theatre and performance festivals in an international context. Since the 1990s there has been an exponential increase in the number and type of festivals taking place around the world. Events that used merely to be events are now 'festivalized': structured, marketed, and promoted in ways that stress urban centres as tourist destinations and "e;creative cities"e; as targets of corporate enterprise. Ric Knowles examines the structure, content, and impact of international festivals that draw upon and represent multiple cultures and the roles they play in one of the most urgent processes of our times: intercultural negotiation and exchange. Covering a vast geographical sweep and exploring festival models both new and ancient, the work sets compelling new standards of practice for post-pandemic festivals.

Copyright for performances of theater and music was invented in the nineteenth century. Courtroom battles over new laws helped define the value of dramatic and musical performances both economically and artistically. Scholars of theater and performance, music, and law will learn how copyright changes the artistic forms it seeks to control.

Reading the Material Theatre, first published in 2004, demonstrates a method of theatrical performance analysis taking into account the entire theatre experience, from production to reception. It includes five case studies of the cultural work performed by repertory and touring theatre companies and by international festivals.

This 2010 book presents the neglected yet compelling and necessary story of local activists in South Saharan Africa who employ modes of performance as tactics of resistance and intervention in their day-to-day struggles for human rights. The dynamic relationship between performance and activism are illustrated in three case studies.

Professing Performance, first published in 2004, explores the institutional history of performance in the US academy in order to revise current debates around the role of the arts and humanities in higher education. Shannon Jackson analyses long-standing debates between the world of the scholar and the world of the artist.

Things nearly always go wrong in the theatre. This study looks at the things that shouldn't happen: stage fright, embarrassment, animals on stage, getting the giggles and bumping into the furniture. All these turn out to be neither anomalies nor accidents, but are instead what makes theatre, theatre.

Theatre history has been interpreted in ways which highlight and often omit key elements. Using case studies from nineteenth-century British theatre, Bratton examines the difference between the existence of 'the drama' and 'the stage' and offers a new perspective on theatre history and the discipline.

This collection of specially-commissioned, accessible, essays explores that element of performance theory known as theatricality. Six case studies use historically specific circumstances to illustrate how and why the concept of theatricality is used. Provides a first-step guide for those discovering the complex yet rewarding world of performance theory.

This collection of specially-commissioned, accessible, essays explores that element of performance theory known as theatricality. Six case studies use historically specific circumstances to illustrate how and why the concept of theatricality is used. Provides a first-step guide for those discovering the complex yet rewarding world of performance theory.