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Stage Left |
Drama Bookshoppe |
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If you would like to help support Stage Left Theater Company and community theater in Salida and Central Colorado you can do so by shopping here in our Drama Bookshoppe. A percentage of every sale made through these links goes directly to Stage Left and is used to help finance their productions. To order any of these books just click on the title link.
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Stage Left |
Impro: Improvisation and the Theatre | ||
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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. |
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Stage Left |
Theatre Games for Young Performers | ||
![]() Theatre Games for Young Performers:... Theatre Games for Young Performers: Improvisations and Exercises for Developing Acting Skills, by Maria C. Novelly, Arthur L. Zapel (Editor), Kathy Pijanowski (Editor), TPB. Written especially for those who coach adolescent actors, this delightfully fresh workbook tells you the how, when, what and why of theatre games for young performers. Anyone working with young actors in schools or recreational centers will find this book exceptionally helpful. The basics of pantomime, improvisations, voice control, monologs and dialogs are all presented in game formats with exercises and worksheets for easy organization. |
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Stage Left |
At This Theatre | ||
![]() 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! |
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Stage Left |
A Director Prepares | ||
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A Director Prepares: Seven Essays on Art...
A Director Prepares: Seven Essays on Art and Theatre, by Anne Bogart. TPB. Bogart (directing, Columbia Univ.) is the artistic director of the SITI Company, an ensemble-based theater company that she founded with Tadshi Suzuki. Her book is aimed at the practitioner but has value for the avid theater goer as well. What we see on stage, as a whole, is a culmination of bits and pieces, steps forward and backward, as a work of "art" is created and then presented. In each essay, Bogart discusses one of seven concepts violence, memory, terror, eroticism, stereotype, embarrassment, and resistance that can work as an obstruction or catalyst to this creative process. The concepts themselves are thought-provoking, and Bogart's text is even more so. For Bogart, these concepts incite energy (positive or negative) that both actors and director absorb and radiate. One suspects that the energy acts on the viewer (and reader) as well. A quote by Jeanette Winterson on the first page clearly illustrates Bogart's passion and love of the theater experience: "Art is the burning bush that both shelters and makes visible our profounder longings." For all theater collections. Susan L. Peters, Univ. of Texas Medical Branch on Galveston -From Library Journal |
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Stage Left |
Tinder Box | ||
![]() 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 Americathe 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. |
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Stage Left |
The Entertainment Sourcebook 2003 | ||
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The Entertainment Sourcebook 2003: An...
The Entertainment Sourcebook 2003: An Insider's Guide on Where to Find Everything, by Association of Theatre Artists and Craftspepole, Applause Theatre. TPB. This reference book is so essential that, according to set designer Robin Wagner, "Broadway couldn't function without it!" Packed with more than 5,000 entries from across the country, THE ENTERTAINMENT SOURCEBOOK: 2003 is an insider's guide to finding any item imaginable, be it a Civil War sabre, a Greek fisherman's hat, authentic Amish clothing, 19th Century chandeliers or human skulls. Known in the industry simply as "The Green Book," the new edition comes in a handier size and is for sale at a new low price. In addition to hundreds of pages of "products and services," this edition features category listings, a company index, a product index, and appendices that include Web resources, support services, professional organizations and more. THE ENTERTAINMENT SOURCEBOOK is useful for anyone planning an event and especially indispensable for those who work in the theatre. Take it from Laura Koch, prop mistress for THE PRODUCERS, who says, "if you can't find it in this book, you don't need it in your show!" |
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Stage Left |
Acting Games: Improvisations and Exercises | ||
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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. |
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Stage Left |
Theatre for Young Audiences | ||
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Theatre for Young Audiences: 20 Great...
Theatre for Young Audiences: 20 Great Plays for Children, by Coleman A. Jennings (Editor), Maurice Sendak. HC. The library of children's theater is understocked, and this collection partly redresses that situation. These mostly recent short plays are directed at children around ten, the ideal age to build a theater-going habit. The book begins with an interview with Maurice Sendak and includes a play of his, indicating the level of excellence the collection aims for and succeeds in achieving. None of these plays is doctrinaire or didactic, though they are full of wisdom. They engage children's imagination to communicate a sense of worth. There are coming-of-age plays, tolerance plays, and plays about children in society and war, and we are prefaced by useful introductions that will aid adult directors. Some are musicals. The best of them are based on folk tales from American Indian, eastern European, Russian, Japanese, and other traditions. Some are adaptations of children's literature such as Charlotte's Web and The Jungle Books. There is something here to meet every theater need and every child's anticipation. |
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Stage Left |
Puppets and Puppet Theatre | ||
![]() 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. |
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Stage Left |
Auditioning for the Musical Theatre | ||
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Auditioning for the Musical Theatre
Auditioning for the Musical Theatre, by Fred Silver, Charles Strouse (Designer). TPB. Proven tactics and techniques from a leading New York vocal coach on how to "act" a song, choose the right material, handle a callback, what to wear, how to use eye contact, select a voice teacher and vocal coach, and more. Includes 130 excellent yet unusual audition songs for all types of situations and performers, including juveniles and dancers. |
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Stage Left |
Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre | ||
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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. |
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Stage Left |
Stage Management and Theatre Administration | ||
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Stage Management and Theatre...
Stage Management and Theatre Administration, by Pauline Menear, Terry Hawkins. TPB. This manual is a no-frills Introduction to Stage Management and Theater Admistration. It can also be used as a reference guide. The check lists are complete and the language is very simple. |
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Stage Left |
Judi Dench: With a Crack in Her Voice | ||
![]() 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. |
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Stage Left |
Broadway Theatres: History and Architecture | ||
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Broadway Theatres: History and...
Broadway Theatres: History and Architecture, by William Morrison, TPB. From Herald Square to Columbus Circle, the potent combination of New York City's soaring population, the introduction of mass transit, and the rise of popular, inexpensive entertainment helped create what is today known around the world as Broadway. Morrison chronicles 74 theaters built between the late 1800s and the 1930s, focusing on the architects and impresarios behind the scenes who set the standards for modern theater architecture and presentation. The profiles are short, informal, and concise, giving key historical facts, architectural details, and notable productions. The copious black-and-white photos are mainly archival, though a few show current interiors. Considering the landmark status of many of the existing interiors and several dazzling recent renovations, a color photo section would have been welcome. Nonetheless, the photographs and text together add up to an informative overview of the changing fortunes of the theater industry. This book is a worthy look at a significant part of New York's history and--with more than 30 playhouses still standing--its importance today. |
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Stage Left |
Mielziner: Master of Modern Stage Design | ||
![]() 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 |
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Stage Left |
The Theatre Audition Book | ||
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The Theatre Audition Book: Playing...
The Theatre Audition Book: Playing Monologs from Contemporary, Modern, Period, Shakespeare and Classical Plays, by Gerald Lee Ratliff, TPB. Playing monologs from contemporary, modern, period, Shakespeare and classical plays. With one hundred twenty-seven audition pieces, this handbook has a monolog for almost any audition situation. It's important that the actor be inventive and imaginative in performing a monolog. This book shows students how to investigate dramatic and theatrical elements. The first two chapters provide a blueprint for preparing auditions and selecting audition materials. Each monolog also includes a character analysis. The monologs selected for audition performance are conveniently grouped in historical period from classical to contemporary. All are representative of competitive material found at auditions. A valuable resource. |
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Stage Left |
An Unfinished Woman | ||
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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. |
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Stage Left |
Training to Imagine | ||
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Training to Imagine: Practical...
Training to Imagine: Practical Improvisational Theatre Techniques to Enhance Creativity, Teamwork, Leadership, and Learning, by Kat Koppett, Thiagi. TPB. In todays fast paced, right-sized, competitive environment businesses increasingly need staff who are creative, think on their feet, take the unexpected in their stride, and work effectively in fluid teams. How can they instill and develop these critical skills? The answer may be to improvise! Improvisational actors make up scenes, dialog and entire plays on the spot. They work collaboratively in front of paying customers who expect to be entertained and amazed. Improv actors use no script, cannot predict what will happen next, and have no chance to go back or rewrite. They rely on their knowledge, practiced skills and their colleagues. This book is the first to apply the improv methodologies of the theater to developing the business skills that are in high demand. Kat Koppetta professional trainer, management consultant and professional actordemonstrates to trainers and managers how they can effectively transfer improv training techniques to their day to day business environment. TRAINING TO IMAGINE translates the theories and exercises of improv into straightforward and practical guidelines and training activities. This book is written for trainers, HR personnel, managers and team leaders who are interested in increasing their tool kit, and enhancing the impact, fun, and retention levels of their workshops. It assumes no previous experience with improvisation or performing, offers all the needed background and provides clear and practical instructions with a range of simple and effective exercises. Trainers and managers may find the book improves their own presentation and teaching skills. |
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Stage Left |
Sound and Music for the Theatre | ||
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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. |
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Stage Left |
Staging in Shakespeare's Theatres | ||
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Staging in Shakespeare's Theatres...
Staging in Shakespeare's Theatres, by Andrew Gurr, Mariko Ichikawa, TPB. By bringing together evidence from different sources--documentary, archaeological, and the play-texts themselves--Staging Shakespeare's Theatres reconstructs the ways in which the plays were originally staged in the theaters of Shakespeare's own time, and shows how the physical possibilities and limitations of these theaters affected both the writing and the performances. The book explains the conditions under which the early playwrights and players worked, their preparation of the plays for the stage, and their rehearsal practices. It looks at the quality of evidence supplied by the surviving play-texts, and the extant to which audiences of the time differed from modern audiences; and it gives vivid examples of how Elizabethan actors made use of gestures, costumes, props, and the theater's specific design features. Stage movement is analyzed through a careful study of how exits and entrances worked on such stages. The final chapter offers a thorough examination of Hamlet as a text for performance, excitingly returning the play to its original staging at the Globe. |
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