American Theatre : : History, Context, Form / / Theresa Saxon.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Edinburgh University Press Backlist eBook-Package 2013-2000
• VerfasserIn: Saxon, Theresa,
• Place / Publishing House: Edinburgh : : Edinburgh University Press, , [2022]; ©2011
• Year of Publication: 2022
• Language: English
• Series: BAAS Paperbacks : BAAS
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (216 p.)

This book provides a brief yet informative evaluation of the variety and complexity of theatrical ventures in the United States. It embraces all epochs of theatre history, from pre-colonial Native American performance rituals and the endeavours of early colonisers in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, to the end of the twentieth century, situating American theatre as a lively, dynamic and diverse arena.Theresa Saxon examines the implications of political manoeuvrings, economics - both state funded and commercial - race and gender, and material factors such as technology, riot and fire as major forces determining the structure of America's playhouses and productions.She investigates critical understandings of the term 'theatre,' and assesses ways in which the various values of commerce, entertainment, education and dramatic production have informed the definition of theatre throughout America's history.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction: Critical Heritage -- 1 Defining American ‘Drama’ -- 2 European Forms -- 3 Performance and Strife in Eighteenth-Century Theatre -- 4 Politics and Plays in the Nineteenth Century -- 5 ‘Modern’ American Theatre and the Twentieth Century -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index