17 new plays including important
classics such as
Moliere’s
Tartuffe and Beckett’s
Krapp’s Last Tape, along with innovative and award-winning
contemporary plays — some never before anthologized
such as
Moises Kaufman’s
The Laramie Project, Conor McPherson’s
Shining City, and Sara Ruhl’s
The Clean House 2 new casebooks include one on
American Melodrama, offering excerpts and images from 3 plays along with supporting critical commentaries that contextualize the works. A casebook on
August Wilson enhances student understanding of the playwright and two of his most celebrated works:
Fences and
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Students explore the major influences on his writing through critical commentary, art, poetry, and Blues song lyrics.
A greater emphasis on theater design, staging, and performance style
- 14 commentaries are new and provide a variety of ways for a student to think about a play — from the perspective of a reviewer, an actor, a director, a set designer, or a playwright.
- New illustrated sections on "The Actor" explore the development of acting styles, methods, and techniques in every major period of drama.
- Expanded and richly illustrated sections on staging and theater design include detailed diagrams of period theaters along with a discussion of the major technical innovations in staging.
- New marginal quotations by actors directors, or other playwrights, accompany each biographical introduction and illuminate a particular playwright or work.
- 93 new performance photographs and stage diagrams help students visualize the plays in performance.
A completely revised and updated book companion site at bedfordstmartins.com/jacobus helps students succeed in the course with: study and discussion questions, writing assignments, web assignments, annotated research links, and links to the best drama resources online. For instructors there is a selected bibliography, a list of audiovisual resources, and assignment ideas.