Experiencing the Art of Theatre: A Concise Introduction (Available Titles CengageNOW) - Softcover

Downs, William Missouri; Wright; Ramsey, Erik

9780495001805: Experiencing the Art of Theatre: A Concise Introduction (Available Titles CengageNOW)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0495001805 ISBN 13: 9780495001805

Publisher: Cengage Learning, 2006

This invigorating new introductory text makes timely and relevant connections between theatre and the familiar world of Hollywood television and film to help students understand how the living art of theatre relates to, predates, and influences the screen entertainment they are used to watching. From theatre's ritual origins to modern musicals, from the controversies surrounding the NEA to the applicability of acting lessons in everyday life, this book is an important first step toward a deeper awareness of theatre's continuing and contemporary significance. Featuring strong coverage of current events in theatre, the reviewer-praised anecdotal narrative makes this book fun to read and one that students will want to keep long after the course is over. THE ART OF THEATRE is organized into three distinct sections, giving you the flexibility to organize your course your way. Adding to this flexibility is the book's availability in two versions. THE ART OF THEATRE: THEN AND NOW contains 16 chapters with extensive coverage of the history of theatre. EXPERIENCING THE ART OF THEATRE: A CONCISE INTRODUCTION features 13 chapters and a briefer treatment of theatre history.

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About the Author:

William Missouri Downs has taught introduction to theatre courses for 18 years. More than 14,000 students have taken his class and he has won 18 university teaching and research awards, including seven Top Ten Professor honors. Bill is a full professor at the University of Wyoming where he heads the playwriting program, and teaches in the Department of Religious Studies. Also a playwright, Bill has authored 20 full-length plays, won numerous playwriting awards, and has had over 100 productions from New York to Singapore and from Austria to South Africa, including productions at the Kennedy Center and the Berkeley Rep. In addition, Samuel French and Playscripts have published several of his plays. In Hollywood he was a staff writer on the NBC sitcom "My Two Dads" (which starred Paul Reiser). He also wrote episodes of "Amen" (Sherman Helmsley), "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air" (Will Smith), and sold/optioned screenplays to Imagine Pictures and Filmways. He is a member of both the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Dramatists Guild of America (DGA). Bill holds an MFA in acting from the University of Illinois and an MFA in screenwriting from UCLA film school. He was trained in playwriting by Lanford Wilson and Milan Stitt at the Circle Rep in New York City and was a member of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts Playwrights unit. He has directed over 30 plays including the musical "Good Morning Athens," which was performed at the Kennedy Center during the American College Theatre Festival. He has authored several articles and three other books including: SCREENPLAY: WRITING THE PICTURE and NAKEN PLAYWRITING, both published by Silman/James.

Review:

"After [reading] a few pages of the preface I was thrilled. It touched a passion in me that I never felt from any of the other texts I have read. From the moment I read "We have designed this book to take the student step by step through what they know, Hollywood screen entertainment, to an understanding, and perhaps even love, of the art of theatre," I was hooked. Bravo. That statement names precisely what I am looking for from a text on this subject."

"I cannot say enough about the high quality of this text. My job will be made much easier, overall, as I will not have to spend so much time filling in the gaps that are left by most other texts....Really, really superb."

"I can't tell you how impressed I am with [the author's] passion for the material. It shows."

"The authors have written an outstanding book. They have presented a wealth of information without presenting it in a dry manner. I have...found it to be not only insightful but enjoyable."

"I think [the authors'] approach to theatre history is what's needed to catch the attention of and educate today's students. The creative sections of the text excite me, [and]...the theoretical and social material appears to be well done."

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