Composing Ourselves: The Little Theatre Movement and the American Audience (Theater in the Americas) - Softcover

Dorothy Chansky

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0809326493 ISBN 13: 9780809326495

Publisher: Southern Illinois University Pr, 2005

Synopsis

Charting the origins of serious theatre, drama pedagogy, and the nonprofit model. The Little Theatre movement prompted and promoted the college theatre major, the inclusion of theatre pedagogy in K-12 education, prototypes for the nonprofit model, and the notion that theatre is a valuable form of self-expression. An important piece of revisionist history, ""Composing Ourselves: The Little Theatre Movement and the American Audience"" argues that the movement was a national phenomenon, not just the result of aspirants copying the efforts of the much-storied Provincetown Players, Washington Square Players, Neighborhood Playhouse, and Chicago Little Theatre. Going beyond the familiar histories of the best-known groups, Dorothy Chansky traces the origins of both the ideas and the infrastructures for serious theatre that are ordinary parts of the American cultural landscape today. She also investigates the gender discrimination, racism, and class insensitivity that were embedded in reformers' ideas of the ""universal"" and that still trouble the rhetoric of regional, educational, and community theatre. Fifteen illustrations complement the volume, now in paperback for the first time.

About this title

About the Author

Dorothy Chansky is an assistant professor in the Department of Theatre, Speech, and Dance at the College of William and Mary. She wrote the original musical The Brooklyn Bridge, which was performed off-Broadway and published in book form.

Edition details

• Publisher: Southern Illinois University Pr
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0809326493
• ISBN 13: 9780809326495
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320