Theatre: Collaborative Acts (3rd Edition)

Theatre: Collaborative Acts stimulates creative thinking and discussions of artistic, social, and ethical questions through its interwoven themes of theatre as culture, collaboration, spatial art, and a fusion of the past and present. The central premise of Theatre: Collaborative Acts is that theatre is entertainment and art.  It allows us to escape, relax, and refocus.  Through their study of theatre, readers develop lifelong tools to help them enjoy, analyze, understand, read, visualize, and get the most out of many different types of theatre experiences.  This Third Edition continues to emphasize the diversity of purpose and effect of theatre, and the collaborative nature of the theatrical process. 

Four major themes and principles:

o   Theatre is cultural study: looking at theatrical events and how they are created provides a window into the way a society

        views itself, drawing examples from multicultural theatre, not just the Western tradition. 

o   Theatre is collaboration: theatre-making is a shared experience including both theatre practitioners and audience

        members.

o   Theatre is a spatial art: critical to theatrical collaboration is the way space is used, adapted, transformed, and the way

        theatrical artists interact in and with that space. 

o   Theatre is a dynamic fusion of past and present: it represents a unique opportunity to see how the past and present

        are interrelated.

Boxed features:

o   “Exploring Collaboration” boxes include profiles of successful artistic teams and feature a variety of approaches to the

        artistic process.  

o   “Exploring Historical and Cultural Perspectives” boxes offer a window on specific theatrical events.

o   “Artists of the Theatre” boxes feature colorful and influential theatrical figures of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

Special features:

o   “Interpreting Space and Design” photo essay demonstrates ways in which spaces and characters have been redefined

        by directors and designers and examines the human figure in space and the dynamics of three-dimensional performance.

o   "Key Theatrical Events" timeline of selective theatrical, social, and artistic events allows readers to place their

        explorations in a wider context.

o   “Theatre of Diversity” photo essay demonstrates diversity in types of theatre and theatrical experiences.

Pedagogy:

o   “For Further Exploration” provides a reference list of articles, books, videos, and websites.

o   “Questions and Activities” provide springboards for class discussions and outside projects.

o   “Key Terms and Concepts” (in boldface in the chapter) are arranged by topic and followed by page reference number.

o   A Bibliography brings together all the major sources included in the “Further Exploration” sections.