Critical Companion to Native American and First Nations Theatre and Performance

Critical Companion to Native American and First Nations Theatre and Performance
Author: Jaye T. Darby
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 281
Release: 2020-02-06
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1350035068

This foundational study offers an accessible introduction to Native American and First Nations theatre by drawing on critical Indigenous and dramaturgical frameworks. It is the first major survey book to introduce Native artists, plays, and theatres within their cultural, aesthetic, spiritual, and socio-political contexts. Native American and First Nations theatre weaves the spiritual and aesthetic traditions of Native cultures into diverse, dynamic, contemporary plays that enact Indigenous human rights through the plays' visionary styles of dramaturgy and performance. The book begins by introducing readers to historical and cultural contexts helpful for reading Native American and First Nations drama, followed by an overview of Indigenous plays and theatre artists from across the century. Finally, it points forward to the ways in which Native American and First Nations theatre artists are continuing to create works that advocate for human rights through transformative Native performance practices. Addressing the complexities of this dynamic field, this volume offers critical grounding in the historical development of Indigenous theatre in North America, while analysing key Native plays and performance traditions from the mainland United States and Canada. In surveying Native theatre from the late 19th century until today, the authors explore the cultural, aesthetic, and spiritual concerns, as well as the political and revitalization efforts of Indigenous peoples. This book frames the major themes of the genre and identifies how such themes are present in the dramaturgy, rehearsal practices, and performance histories of key Native scripts.

Stories of Our Way

Stories of Our Way
Author: Hanay Geiogamah
Publisher:
Total Pages: 520
Release: 1999
Genre: Drama
ISBN:

Cultural Writing. Native American Studies. STORIES OF OUR WAY is the first anthology of its kind to span more than thirty years of American Indian theater, including the 1930s classic THE CHEROKEE NIGHT. This distinguished group of twelve plays draws ona rich range of tribal experiences -- Cherokee, Choctaw, Creek, Kiowa, Navajo, Oneida, Otoe-Missouria, Rappahonack, and urban. They treatthe diverse stories of Native people's ways with gritty integrity, uncompromising honesty, and deep respect, balanced with an awareness of the challenges and responsibilities to renew, and a commitment to an evolving American Indian theatrical aesthetic. These playwrights invite audiences to probe the often painful past, share the enduring values of family, community, and tribe, and celebrate humor and spirituality.

Theatre and the USA

Theatre and the USA
Author: Charlotte Canning
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 72
Release: 2023-09-21
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1350332798

How is the individual and the 'nation' constructed and promoted in American theatre? How does theatre enable a nation to invent and reinvent itself? Who are the 'people' in 'We the People'? This brief study examines the intersection of the USA's sense of self with its theatre, revealing how the two have an entangled history and a shared identity. Through case studies of six canonical plays and musicals, such as Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852), Oklahoma! (1943), Angels in America (1991), and Hamilton (2015), Theatre and the USA demonstrates how all six of these plays sparked controversy, spoke to their moment, and became canonical texts, arguing that that the histories of these plays are the history of the USA's theatrical infrastructure.

Modern Asian Theatre and Performance 1900-2000

Modern Asian Theatre and Performance 1900-2000
Author: Kevin J. Wetmore, Jr.
Publisher: A&C Black
Total Pages: 313
Release: 2014-05-08
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 140817720X

Modern Asian Theatre and Performance 1900 – 2000 is a ground-breaking survey, tracking the advent of modern drama in Japan, India, China, Korea and Southeast Asia. It considers the shaping power of realism and naturalism, the influence of Western culture, the relationship between theatrical modernisation and social modernisation, and how theatre operates in contemporary Asian society. Organised by period, nation and region, each chapter provides: ·a historical overview of the culture; ·an outline of theatre history; ·a survey of significant playwrights, actors, directors, companies, plays and productions. With contributions from an international team of scholars, this authoritative introduction will uniquely equip students and scholars with a broad understanding of the modern theatre histories of Asia.

The Palgrave Handbook of Theatre and Migration

The Palgrave Handbook of Theatre and Migration
Author: Yana Meerzon
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 768
Release: 2023-09-02
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 3031201965

The Palgrave Handbook of Theatre and Migration provides a wide survey of theatre and performance practices related to the experience of global movements, both in historical and contemporary contexts. Given the largest number of people ever (over one hundred million) suffering from forced displacement today, much of the book centres around the topic of refuge and exile and the role of theatre in addressing these issues. The book is structured in six sections, the first of which is dedicated to the major theoretical concepts related to the field of theatre and migration including exile, refuge, displacement, asylum seeking, colonialism, human rights, globalization, and nomadism. The subsequent sections are devoted to several dozen case studies across various geographies and time periods that highlight, describe and analyse different theatre practices related to migration. The volume serves as a prestigious reference work to help theatre practitioners, students, scholars, and educators navigate the complex field of theatre and migration.

Milestones in Dance History

Milestones in Dance History
Author: Dana Tai Soon Burgess
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 237
Release: 2022-09-23
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1000635562

This introduction to world dance charts the diverse histories and stories of dancers and artists through ten key moments that have shaped the vast spectrum of different forms and genres that we see today. Designed for weekly use in dance history courses, ten chosen milestones move chronologically from the earliest indigenous rituals and the dance crazes of Eastern trade routes, to the social justice performance and evolving online platforms of modern times. This clear, dynamic framework uses the idea of migrations to chart the shifting currents of influence and innovation in dance from an inclusive set of perspectives that acknowledge the enduring cultural legacies on display in every dance form. Milestones are a range of accessible textbooks, breaking down the need-to-know moments in the social, cultural, political, and artistic development of foundational subject areas.

The Methuen Drama Book of Trans Plays

The Methuen Drama Book of Trans Plays
Author: Azure D. Osborne-Lee
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 457
Release: 2021-04-22
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1350179221

Finalist in the 2022 Lambda Literary Awards for the LGBTQ Anthology category The Methuen Drama Book of Trans Plays for the Stage is the first play anthology to offer eight new plays by trans playwrights featuring trans characters. This edited collection establishes a canon of contemporary American trans theatre which represents a variety of performance modes and genres. From groundbreaking new work from across America's stages to unpublished work by new voices, these plays address themes such as gender identity and expression to racial and religious attitudes toward love and sex. Edited by Lindsey Mantoan, Angela Farr Schiller and Leanna Keyes, the plays selected explicitly call for trans characters as central protagonists in order to promote opportunities for trans performers, making this an original and necessary publication for both practical use and academic study. Sagittarius Ponderosa by MJ Kaufman The Betterment Society by Mashuq Mushtaq Deen how to clean your room by j. chavez She He Me by Raphaël Amahl Khouri The Devils Between Us by Sharifa Yasmin Doctor Voynich and Her Children by Leanna Keyes Firebird Tattoo by Ty Defoe Crooked Parts by Azure Osborne-Lee

Fifty Key Figures in Queer US Theatre

Fifty Key Figures in Queer US Theatre
Author: Jimmy A. Noriega
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 228
Release: 2022-09-01
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 100063888X

Whether creating Broadway musicals, experimental dramas, or outrageous comedies, the performers, directors, playwrights, designers, and producers profiled in this collection have contributed to the representation of LGBTQ lives and culture in a variety of theatrical venues, both within the queer community and across the US theatrical landscape. Moving from the era of the Stonewall Riots to today, notable scholars in the field bring a wide variety of queer theatre artists into conversation with each other, exploring connections and differences in race, gender, physical ability, national origin, class, generation, aesthetic modes, and political goals, creating a diverse and inclusive study of 50 years of queer theatre. For readers seeking an introduction to or a deeper understanding of LGBTQ theatre, this volume offers thought-provoking analyses of theatre-makers both celebrated and lesser-known, mainstream and subversive, canonical and new.

Casting a Movement

Casting a Movement
Author: Claire Syler
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 267
Release: 2019-07-17
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 042994828X

Casting a Movement brings together US-based actors, directors, educators, playwrights, and scholars to explore the cultural politics of casting. Drawing on the notion of a "welcome table"—a space where artists of all backgrounds can come together as equals to create theatre—the book’s contributors discuss casting practices as they relate to varying communities and contexts, including Middle Eastern American theatre, Disability culture, multilingual performance, Native American theatre, color- and culturally-conscious casting, and casting as a means to dismantle stereotypes. Syler and Banks suggest that casting is a way to invite more people to the table so that the full breadth of US identities can be reflected onstage, and that casting is inherently a political act; because an actor’s embodied presence both communicates a dramatic narrative and evokes cultural assumptions associated with appearance, skin color, gender, sexuality, and ability, casting choices are never neutral. By bringing together a variety of artistic perspectives to discuss common goals and particular concerns related to casting, this volume features the insights and experiences of a broad range of practitioners and experts across the field. As a resource-driven text suitable for both practitioners and academics, Casting a Movement seeks to frame and mobilize a social movement focused on casting, access, and representation. Chapter 2 of this book is freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF at http://www.taylorfrancis.com under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND) 4.0 license.