Theatre in Spain, 1490-1700

Theatre in Spain, 1490-1700
Author: Melveena McKendrick
Publisher: CUP Archive
Total Pages: 356
Release: 1989
Genre: Drama
ISBN: 9780521429016

This is the first book to examine the rise of Spain's extraordinary national theatre in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in all its aspects - the commercial theatre, the court drama and the Corpus autos, the organisation of theatrical life, the playhouses themselves and their public, the literary and moral controversies, and the plays as literary texts. The book has been written for students of drama as well as Hispanists: Spanish theatre is set in its national and international context; Spanish titles and theatrical terms are translated. Considerable space has been devoted to the experimental drama of the sixteenth century before Lope de Vega. At the core of the book is a highly distinctive, successful national theatre which mirrored the energies, beliefs and anxieties of a great nation in crisis, yet at the same time granted full expression to the individual genius of its greatest exponents - Lope de Vega, Tirso de Molina and Calderon de la Barca.

A Primer in Theatre History

A Primer in Theatre History
Author: William Grange
Publisher: University Press of America
Total Pages: 188
Release: 2012-12-14
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 0761860045

A Primer in Theatre History covers productions, personalities, theories, innovations, and plays from ancient Greece to the Spanish Golden Age. Grange discusses theatre from 534 BC in Athens to 1681 AD in Madrid. The book contains highly informative chapters on theatre culture in the ancient classical world, the medieval period, the Italian Renaissance, classical Asia, German-speaking Europe, France to 1658, and England to 1642. Following a wide-ranging introduction, chapters allow the uninitiated reader straightforward access to well-researched material, often presented in a humorous and approachable fashion. Descriptions of films augment discussions of theatre, while an extended bibliography and comprehensive index assist the reader in making further inquiries. Each chapter features illustrations by Mallory Prucha, a designer and graphic illustrator who has received several awards at theatre conferences around the US. A Primer in Theatre History does not read like a scholarly tome. Its whimsical wrinkles offer readers a more contemporaneous view of theatre than is customary. It employs, for example, frequent references to movies germane to topics and time periods under discussion. Such use of film promotes familiarity among younger readers, who can then appropriate analogies to theatre performance.

The Oxford Companion to Theatre and Performance

The Oxford Companion to Theatre and Performance
Author: Dennis Kennedy
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Total Pages: 705
Release: 2010-08-26
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 0199574197

An authoritative reference covering primarily actors, playwrights, directors, styles and movements, companies and organizations.

The Theater of Revisions in the Hispanic Caribbean

The Theater of Revisions in the Hispanic Caribbean
Author: Katherine Ford
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 223
Release: 2017-08-18
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 3319633813

This book explores the textured process of rewriting and revising theatrical works in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean as both a material and metaphorical practice. Deftly tracing these themes through community theater groups, ancient Greek theater, religious traditions, and national historical events, Katherine Ford weaves script, performance and final product together with an eye to the social significance of revision. Ultimately, to rewrite and revise is to re-envision and re-imagine stage practices in the twentieth-century Hispanic Caribbean.

A Companion to Golden Age Theatre

A Companion to Golden Age Theatre
Author: Jonathan Thacker
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Ltd
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2007
Genre: Spanish drama
ISBN: 9781855661400

As well as dealing with the lives and major works of the most significant playwrights of the period, this text focuses on other aspects of the growth and maturing of Golden Age theatre, reflecting the interests and priorities of modern scholarship.

The Story of Joseph in Spanish Golden Age Drama

The Story of Joseph in Spanish Golden Age Drama
Author: Michael D. McGaha
Publisher: Bucknell University Press
Total Pages: 356
Release: 1998
Genre: Bible
ISBN: 9780838753804

This book includes critical studies and English translations of six different dramatic versions of the biblical story of Joseph and his brothers written during the century and a half from about 1535 to 1685 - that is, from the earliest attempts at full-length drama to the end of the classical period, which is usually dated around the year of Calderon de la Barca's death in 1681. Three of the plays are full-length dramas, while the rest belong to the peculiarly Spanish genre of one-act religious plays known as autos sacramentales. Comparison of these six variations on a theme enhances our understanding of the gradual evolution of both the auto and the comedia (full-length) genres during the Golden Age. In addition to the biblical story, Spanish playwrights drew upon a rich tradition of retellings of the Joseph story written during the Middle Ages by Muslim, Jewish, and Christian Spaniards. Each of these ethnic and religious groups developed new interpretations of the story dictated by the historical circumstances of a particular time and place, yet each was influenced by the versions created by the others. Ultimately, this grudging collaboration produced a uniquely "multicultural" version of the story.

Staging and Stage Décor: Early Modern Spanish Theater

Staging and Stage Décor: Early Modern Spanish Theater
Author: Bárbara Mujica
Publisher: Vernon Press
Total Pages: 282
Release: 2022-06-05
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1648894356

This is the first book on staging and stage décor to focus specifically on early modern Spanish theater, from the 16th to the early 20th centuries. The introduction provides an overview of Spanish theater design from the 16th century, with particular attention to the corral theater and Lope de Vega. The scope of the book is vast. Some of the articles deal with early modern stagings, while others deal with contemporary productions. The collection contains articles by an international array of specialists on topics such as scenography and costuming, lighting, and performance space. It also broaches little-studied areas such as the use of alternative performance spaces, most notably prisons. The book provides in-depth analyses of particular archetypes - the melancholiac, the queen, the astrologer - and how they were, and are, staged. The focus on performance and performance space, costuming, set design, lighting, and audience seating make this a truly unique volume. This book is designed for students of Spanish literature and theater, researchers interested in theater history and early modern Spain, as well as theater professionals.

Golden Age Drama in Contemporary Spain

Golden Age Drama in Contemporary Spain
Author: Duncan Wheeler
Publisher: University of Wales Press
Total Pages: 440
Release: 2012-04-15
Genre: Drama
ISBN: 1783165014

This is the first monograph on the performance and reception of sixteenth- and seventeenth- century national drama in contemporary Spain, which attempts to remedy the traditional absence of performance-based approaches in Golden Age studies. The book contextualises the socio-historical background to the modern-day performance of the country’s three major Spanish baroque playwrights (Calderón de la Barca, Lope de Vega and Tirso de Molina), whilst also providing detailed aesthetic analyses of individual stage and screen adaptations.