Books » Performing Arts Books

Step down a little closer; you don't want to miss a thing. Join fifty-year sideshow veteran, Rick West, on a strange and wonderful trip through behind-the-scenes tales of his life as a showman. The strange, the bizarre, the unusual comprise this engaging memoir bursting at the seams with rare images of two-headed cows, Bigfoot creatures, pickled punks, showgirls, humongous hogs, 3,500-pound steers, and much, much more. From attending the Ozark Empire Fair at age five to revealing the true story behind Frank Hansen's infamous Minnesota Iceman, the author takes the reader into the world of America's sideshows and midway grind shows. It's all here; it's all on the inside. See it now or miss it forever. It's showtime!

The definitive history of the Broadway musical: the shows, the stars, the movers, and the shakers.Showtime brings the history of Broadway musicals to life in a narrative as engaging as the subject itself. Beginning with the scandalous Astor Place Opera House riot of 1849, Larry Stempel traces the growth of musicals from minstrel shows and burlesques, through the golden age of Show Boat and Oklahoma!, to such groundbreaking works as Company and Rent. Stempel describes the Broadway stage with vivid accounts of the performers drawn to it, and detailed portraits of the creators who wrote the music, lyrics, and stories for its shows, both beloved and less well known. But Stempel travels outside the theater doors as well, to illuminate the wider world of musical theater as a living genre shaped by the forces of American history and culture. He reveals not only how musicals entertain their audiences but also how they serve as barometers of social concerns and bearers of cultural values. Showtime is the culmination of decades of painstaking research on a genre whose forms have changed over the course of two centuries. In covering the expansive subject before him, Stempel combines original researchincluding a kaleidoscope of primary sources and archival holdingswith deft and insightful analysis. The result is nothing short of the most comprehensive, authoritative history of the Broadway musical yet published. 16 pages of four-color; 105 black-and-white illustrations

A definitive, accessible, and comprehensive history of the Broadway musical.Here for the first time is the whole history of the musical, on Broadway and off. Stempel combines original researchincluding a wealthy of primary sources and archival holdingswith deft and insightful analysis, and explores the rich strands of musical theater by genre and type, looking at not only how musicals work but also how they serve as barometers of social concerns and bearers of cultural values.Beginning with the scandalous Astor Place Opera House riot of 1849, Stempel traces the growth of musicals from minstrel shows and burlesques, through the golden age of Show Boat and Oklahoma!, to such groundbreaking works as Company and Rent. Stempel examines musicals in their cultural and historical context and includes detailed portraits of all the influential figuresthe creators, directors, and performerswho made it all possible.

Thousands attend stadium rock concerts around the globe and experience the artistry of lighting designer Andi Watson through his work with bands like Radiohead and Oasis. This visually arresting monograph presents a decade's worth of his extraordinary designs through hundreds of stage photographs. The foreword by Radiohead's Thom Yorke reveals the relationship between band and lighting designer, while other critical essays elucidate the history of stage lighting. An ideal book for devoted Radiohead followers and those interested in the intersection of contemporary art and pop culture.

Wagner's Tristan und Isolde occupies a singular position in the history of Western culture. What Nietzsche called the 'sweet and terrible infinity' of its basic nexus of longing and death has fascinated audiences since its first performance in 1865. At the same time, its advanced harmonic language, immediately announced by the opening 'Tristan chord', marks a defining moment in the evolution of modern music. This accessible handbook brings together seven leading international writers to discuss the opera's genesis and the libretto's relationship to late Romantic literary concerns, present an analysis of the Prelude, the music of the drama itself, and Wagner's innovative use of instrumental timbre, and illustrate the production history and reception of the music-drama into the twenty-first century. The book includes the first English translation of Wagner's draft prose of the libretto, a detailed discussion of Wagner's orchestration, and rare pictures from important and influential productions.

Working from a multi-cultural perspective, this book explores the value of performance as an agent of social change, and makes its arguments through the close examination of the success--not always complete--of specific projects in their practical and cultural contexts. Practitioners and commentators inquire as to how performance in its broadest context can play a part in community activism by helping communities find their own creative voices.

This is a collection of fourteen essays on particular topics from over one hundred years of Shakespeare performance in Japan. In addition, there are four interviews with leading directors and one with a leading perfomer. Unlike the few existing books on Japanese Shakespeare, this book concentrates on modern and postmodern theater, from c. 1970, and contains contributions from both Japanese and Western scholars and theater practitioners.

Charlie Chaplin (UK, 1889-Switzerland, 1977) is one of cinema's mythical figures, while the character he played so often has become an icon. After a childhood in Dickensian London and early work on the stage, it was his move to Hollywood that enabled him to express his rich talent to the maximum, becoming the undisputed master of the burlesque genre in its golden age. His best known feature films, including City Lights (1931), Modern Times (1936) and The Great Dictator (1940), were made in the 1930s and combine comedy with social and political comment. With the advent of sound, Chaplin put away his baggy trousers, walking stick, broken-down shoes and bowler hat and set about developing ambitious dramas. But during the cold war period his free lifestyle and left-wing political affiliations obliged him to leave the USA. While his last European films, Monsieur Verdoux (1947) and Limelight (1952), did not have the same popular success as his earlier work, they remain major masterpieces.

basic acting techniques in The Art of Voice Acting, you will discover* All new scripts * 20 more pages of new and updated information * A completely new chapter of studio stories and 'tricks-of-the-trade' from professional voiceover talent around the world * Updated information for voiceover demos and marketing * A comprehensive index that makes it easy to find what you're looking for * More voice and acting techniques * Contributions from some of the top voice talent in the world * An all new audio CD with the actual audio for every script in the book, * PLUS: exercises, demos and more! Written in an accessible and engaging style Alburger shares his experience as a performer, producer, director and performance coach to give you a clear no nonsense introduction to the business and art of voice acting. *Learn insider tips on marketing, finding work, making audition tapes and establishing yourself as a professional voice over actor *New chapter 'Tricks of the Trade', explains how to maximize your efforts and avoid pot holes in the industry *Perfect your performing skills using easy-to-follow voice exercises and demos on CD Rom

Now in full color, this guide helps the lighting designer with all of the many creative and operational challengesyou face. Providing respected and clear coverage of the process of programming automated lighting fixtures, Brad Schiller bringsyou from basic principles to pre-production preparations. Concepts, procedures, and guidelines to ensure a successful production are covered as well as troubleshooting, much needed information on work relationships, and of course all of the fun technology including LED lighting, console networking, digital lighting, and more. The final chapter brings the creative thinking of some of the heaviest hitting lighting designers of today, featuring Butch Allen, Jason Badger, Mike Baldassari, Richard Belliveau, Allen Branton, John Broderick, Dall Brown, Mark Butts, David Chance, Christian Choi, Vickie Claiborne, David Davidian, Patrick Dierson, C. Andrew Dunning, Mike Falconer, John Featherstone, Cory Fitzgerald, Laura Frank, Demfis Fyssicopulos, Craig Gaff, Steve Garner, Jon Griffin, Tim Grivas, Rob Halliday, Bryan Hartley, Bud Horowitz, Steve Irwin, Seth Jackson, Mark "Junior" Jacobson, Shannon January, David "Gurn" Kaniski, Mats Karlson, Eric Kennedy, Tom Kenny, Hillary Knox, Marcus Krmer, Jim Lenahan, Steve Lieberman, Esteban Lima, Heath Marrinan, Michael Nevitt, Adrian Ngieng, Paul Normandale, Jim Ohrberg, Steve Owens, Mitch Peebles, Paul Pelletier, John Rayment, Benoit Richard, Scott Riley, Larry "Uncle Fester" Robbins, Timothy F. Rogers, Susan Rose, Arnold Serame, Marsha Stern, Henry M. Sume, Howard Ungerleider, Lawrence Upton, Jon "Hillbilly" Weir, and Ross Williams. * the only guide that gives you in-depth instruction on programming your show, written by a master technician * now in full color! * interviews with top lighting gurus to learn the ups, downs, and how to get around in this industry * learn all of the latest, greatest, and coolestprogramming technology