Theatre Performance and Technology: The Development of Scenography in the Twentieth Century (Theatre and Performance Practices) - Softcover

Baugh, Christopher

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9781403916976: Theatre Performance and Technology: The Development of Scenography in the Twentieth Century (Theatre and Performance Practices)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1403916977 ISBN 13: 9781403916976

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005

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Throughout history, all great theatre cultures have used technology as an important part of performance: as a means to shift and change scenic appearance, and as visual rhetoric, spectacle and show. Revolutionary scientific thinking in the twentieth century, alongside the technology to use electric light in performance, served to underpin the ideas of Appia, Craig, Meyerhold, Terence Gray, Caspar Neher and Josef Svoboda. Distinctive though their ideas remain, they were unified in their firm belief that new forms of performance would only be achievable through a detailed and close study of artistic resources and technologies.

Their practices and understandings have served both to significantly expand and to create distinctive new connections and possibilities between technology, scenography and performance. In this stimulating survey, Christopher Baugh explores the ways in which development and change in technology have been reflected in scenography, and considers how change in scenographic identity has impacted upon the place and meaning of performance.

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Product Description:

Theatre Performance and Technology Technology has always been an important part of theater, both as a means to an end and as end in itself. Throughout the twentieth century a unifying attitude in all art forms is the desire to examine the materials and the tools of making art. In the theatre this approach significantly expands the relationships between technology, scenography and performance. This book explores ways in which development and change in technology have been reflected in scenography, and considers how change in scenographic identity has impacted upon the place and meaning of performance.

Review:

'An extremely valuable work, which combines detailed analysis with a helpful contextual overview.' - Professor Dominic Shellard, University of Sheffield, UK

'There simply are no competing texts: Chris Baugh's unique arrangement of scenographic buttons is immediately a key work in the field - invaluable and long overdue.' - Richard Downing, University of Wales, Aberystwyth

'Baugh provides eloquent examples of the ways in which scientific discoveries and theatrical innovations interrelate...Throughout, Baugh exhibits extensive knowledge and investment in his subject matter, providing plentiful examples and historical contextualization.' Alicia Tycer - Theatre Notebook

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