Theatre: A Way of Seeing

A past president of the National Theatre Conference and the American Theatre Association and member of The College of Fellows of the American Theatre, Milly Barranger is highly regarded and a well-respected author of many books and articles on theatre and drama. She is currently Distinguished Professor Emerita of Theatre History and Theory at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Preface. Part I: THEATRE'S SEEING PLACES. 1. Discovering Theatre. The Immediate Art. Theatre's Immediacy. Theatre's Aliveness. Reflections in the Mirror. Theatre's Fictions. Theatre's Spaces. Theatre's Audiences. 2. The Seeing Place. Ritual and Theatre. Theatrical Performance. Western Theatre. Eastern Theatre. 3. Alternative Theatrical Spaces. Environmental Theatre. Forerunners of Alternative Approaches. The Polish Laboratory Theatre. The Living Theatre. Theatre du Soleil. The Bread and Puppet Theatre. The Free Southern Theatre. Part II: PLAYWRIGHTS, PERSPECTIVES, AND FORMS. 4. Image Maker: The Playwright. The Play and the Audience. The Playwright's Beginnings. The Playwright's Role. The Playwright's Tools. The Playwright's Industry. New American Writing: Alternative Voices. 5. Theatrical Writing: Perspectives and Forms. Drama's Perspectives. Tragedy. Comedy. Tragicomedy. Melodrama. Farce. Stage Adaptations. Epic Theatre. Absurdist Theatre. 6. Structures of Seeing. The Playwright's Art. Play Structures. Recent Structures. Postmodern Texts. Visual and Audio Texts. 7. Drama's Conventions. Writing Strategies. Conventions of Time. Conventions of Metaphor. 8. Stage Language. Language for the Theatre. Types of Stage Language. Contemporary Trends in American Theatre. Part III: THEATRE'S PRACTITIONERS. 9. Image Maker: The Actor. Acting - As Imagination and Technique. The Actor's Reality. The Actor's Training. Trends in Training American Actors. Actors at Work. 10. Image Maker: The Director. Forerunners. Director as Artist. Directors at Work. Staging: Approaches and Styles. Director as Auteur. 11. Image Makers: Designers: Scenery, Costumes, Makeup, Masks, Wigs, and Puppets. The Scene Designer. The Costume Designer. Makeup, Masks, Wigs, and Puppets. 12. Image Makers: Designers: Lighting and Sound. The Lighting Designer. The Sound Designer. Computer-Aided Design for Scenery, Costumes, Lighting, Sound. Technical Production. 13. Image Makers: Producers. Producing on Broadway. Producing Off Broadway. Producing in Regional Theatres. Part IV: AMERICAN MUSICAL THEATRE. 14. The American Musical. Musical Books, Composers, Lyricists, Choreographers, and Megamusicals. Precedents. An American Musical Idiom. Post-Second World War Musical Theatre. Musical Theatre at Midcentury. Sixties Alternatives to Broadway Musicals. New Directions. British Megamusicals. Broadway's Audiences. Part V. THEATRE'S CRITICS. 15. Viewpoints. Criticism. Seeing Theatre. The Professional Critic. Glossary. Notes. Index.