Yuku free message boards

Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre
TPB Impro ought to be required reading not only for theatre people generally but also for teachers, educators, and students of all kinds and persuasions. Readers of this book are not going to agree with everything in it; but if they are not challenged by it, if they do not ultimately succumb to its wisdom and whimsicality, they are in a very sad state indeed . . . .Johnstone seeks to liberate the imagination, to cultivate in the adult the creative power of the child . . . .Deserves to be widely read and tested in the classroom and rehearsal hall . . .Full of excellent good sense, actual observations and inspired assertions.

At This Theatre
At This Theatre, by Louis Botto (Editor), Robert Viagas (Editor), HC. This is the ultimate backstage tour of Broadway! AT THIS THEATRE tells the complete history of Broadway in the 20th century, theatre by theatre. This gorgeous book is now updated, revised and with a larger format, covering 1900 to 2001. PLAYBILLÕs columnist, Louis Botto, along with Robert Viagas, opens the doors and lets readers explore the 40 active Broadway theatres in New York. From the conception and design of the buildings, to their original creators, and on to the theatresÕ transformation, often under duress, from legitimate houses to vaudeville and Burlesque, to movie houses and then back to their original purpose, this book captures the magical world of Broadway. It is a complete and authoritative history that only Botto, the curator of PLAYBILLÕs incomparable 116-year-old archives, can tell. Expanded from his popular column in PLAYBILL magazine, AT THIS THEATRE is the biography of those living, breathing buildings we call theatres. In this substantially updated version, Botto includes the histories of all the theatre rescued from the wrecker in the last ten years, including the American Airlines Theatre, DisneyÕs New Amsterdam, and the Lyric and the Apollo, now combined into the Ford Center. AT THIS THEATRE is filled with great stories featuring a cast of characters including Ethel Merman, David Merrick, Katharine Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart and Spencer Tracy. And itÕs also a theatrical spectacle boasting lavish illustrations of posters, programs, and photographs throughout. This is the gift book for every theatre lover on your list, including yourself!

Tinder Box: The Iroquois Theatre...
Tinder Box: The Iroquois Theatre Disaster 1903, by Anthony P. Hatch. HC. This is the one-hundredth anniversary year of the worst single building fire and the most horrible theater disaster in US history.
At a Christmas week matinee December 30, 1903, more than 600 people, mostly women and children, perished in less than 30 minutes in a five-week-old theater that was advertised as being "Absolutely Fireproof" and one of the most luxurious playhouses ever built in America—the epitome of Twentieth Century luxury, comfort and safety. Rushed to completion because of corporate greed, the Iroquois opened in Chicago's Loop without exit signs, firefighting equipment, sprinkler system, fire alarm, telephone, a completed ventillation system and exterior fire escapes because city buiding inspectors had been paid off in free tickets and fire department and other officials looked the other way. Published warnings went unheeded. When fire broke out from a short circuit in a backstage spotlight, the panicked audience found itself locked in by untrained ushers and though leading comedian Eddy Foy begged for calm, people trampled one another in a mad dash to escape and piled up at exit doors that, even when broken open, swung in rather than out. Hundreds jumped or were pushed from the incomplete fire escapes into what became known as "Death Alley."

The disaster, which for 1903 had the impact that the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, stunned the world, closed theaters and ultimately resulted in fundamental changes in building and safety codes now taken for granted, such as illuminated exits signs, panic bars, doors that swing out, not in and fire retardant materials. However, questions remain as to whether today's theaters and movie houses are any safer in a panic situation, and some fire experts interviewed by the author say that another Iroquois disaster could again occur.

Acting Games: Improvisations and...
Acting Games: Improvisations and Exercises: A Textbook of Theatre Games and Improvisations, by Marsh Gary Cassady. TPB. A four-section book of acting games and improvisations to assist students in developing their creative abilities. Section one includes games for relaxing and focusing. Section two helps students discover new ways of seeing themselves, others and the world around them. The third section demonstrates with improvisations how to use space to build scenes and create characters from imagination. Section four features acting games to analyze and play characters from existing plays. All of the essential elements of acting and character development are explored. A working textbook for acting students of all ages.

Puppets and Puppet Theatre
Puppets and Puppet Theatre, by David Currell. HC. Motion and performance are the emphasis in these three books. Currell, the author of several books on puppets (e.g., The Compete Book of Puppet Theatre), presents a detailed manual with line drawings and photographs for constructing and staging several types of two- and three-dimensional puppets to be used by children or adults. Some of the moving toys in the Howes's book, such as jumping figures and bobbing birds, are constructed much like puppets, but this book also includes carousels, pinwheels, and a very clever little theater with magnetic characters. Maskwork combines historical information about ethnic masks that children can make for their own performances, with performance and staging tips included. All three books would be welcome in general crafts collections. The Currell and Foreman books are also suitable for theater collections.

Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre
Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre, by Stanley Green. TPB. This book is a must-have for people who work in, study, or love the musical theatre. When did a particular musical open? Who wrote it, and what else did he/she work on? What was the chronology of a performer or director's stage career? Were there revivals, London productions, tours? Who starred in a given production? While there are many books that can help find such information, no other book does it as efficiently.

Judi Dench: With a Crack in Her Voice
Judi Dench: With a Crack in Her Voice, TPB. From her stage work in Shakespeare, Chekhov and Shaw, to her startling reinterpretation of "M" in the Bond series, to her brilliant turns as Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth in Mrs. Brown and Shakespeare in Love, Dame Judi Dench has secured a place in both the critical and popular imagination as one of the most talented and celebrated actors working on the stage or screen today. While Miller's biography exhaustively chronicles her public career, it doesn't probe the veil of privacy Dench has drawn around her personal life. The daughter of a doctor, Dench was born in 1934 in middle-class comfort. A prize-winning student, she participated in amateur theater with her family. After training at the Old Vic, she played Ophelia. In 1968, she originated the role of Cabaret's Sally Bowles in London's West End and a year later became a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, working frequently in television and films as well as on stage. Miller is adept at detailing and contextualizing Dench's career; she has interviewed almost everyone with whom Dench has worked. While she covers the milestones in Dench's personal life--including her 1971 marriage to actor Michael Williams and the birth of her daughter, Finty, a year later--fans interested in dish or personal drama will have to wait for an encore. (Dec.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Mielziner: Master of Modern Stage Design
Mielziner: Master of Modern Stage Design, by Mary C. Henderson, Frank Rich, New York Public Library. HC. Every once in a while a book comes along that is both beautiful and informative, and this gorgeous book on the great stage designer, Jo Mielziner, is one of them. Mielziner is considered one of the greatest (perhaps the greatest) set designers of all time. He designed the original sets for A Streetcar Named Desire, Death of a Salesman, and Carousel and operas such as Don Giovanni. This book covers his entire career, bringing the reader into the golden world of Broadway at a time when it really was a place of magic and divine inspiration. The 140 color photos are marvelous, though one wishes for more of the larger pictures (economics, surely; the $45 price tag is a bargain). Henderson, a journalist and theater historian of international reputation, has written a fascinating text, with background details that offer insights into this crazy world. Highly recommended for all academic art and theater collections and public libraries with patron interest. -Susan L. Peters

An Unfinished Woman
An Unfinished Woman, by Lillian Hellman. TPB. Hellman didn't pull any punches in this 1969 autobiography in which she reminisces about her unhappy upbringing in New Orleans and her literary relationships, especially that most famous one with master whodunit writer Dashiell Hammett. Though many critics and biographers claim that Hellman invented half of her life stories, these tales do make for interesting reading, so who cares.

Sound and Music for the Theatre: The Art...
Sound and Music for the Theatre, by James Lebrecht, Deena Kaye. TPB. This is the only comprehensive text that discusses the aesthetics of sound design for the stage. It is a practical and comprehensive guide to the field of sound design, covering the designer's relationships within the theatre community and detailing the process of sound design. The focus is on design approaches and techniques, rather than equipment operation. For every phase of theatrical production, Sound and Music for the Theatre traces the entire process of sound design from initial concept through finished plan. The book discusses the early evolution of a sound design that supports the play. It discusses how to research sources for music and effects, devise a sound plot, and negotiate in a contract. It explains how to plan the gathering and construction of the sound design elements; how the designer operates in a rehearsal; and how to set up and train an operator to run sound equipment for a theatrical production. The instructive information is interspersed with "war stories" describing real-life problems and solutions that sound designers or composers will be able to apply in similar situations that they may encounter. Also included are two highly informative roundtable discussions with well-respected directors, playwrights, composers and sound designers focusing on sound in the theatre.