Ex Libris
Shoot-from-the-hip book reviews with an emphasis on historiography.
Someday, all of theater history will be online. Until then, you’re gonna need some books. Here are some titles that we’re reading. In a few cases, we’ve linked to some already published reviews to give you a sense of what readers are saying (you may need institutional access to get to some of these reviews). But what we’re really interested in is your two cents (firewall-free): What are you using in your classes? What’s your go-to book for theory and methodology? If you’d like to share your quick take on these or other titles in the field, please submit your review.
Andrew Sofer. Dark Matter: Invisibility in Drama, Theater, and Performance (Ann Arbor: U of Michigan P, 2013).
- W.B. Worthen, Theatre Journal 66 (2014): 495-496. Available online [may require subscriber login].
- Ariel Watson, Modern Drama 57 (2014): 445-447. Available online [may require subscriber login].
- Fran Teague, Comparative Drama 49 (2015): 228-230. Available online [may require subscriber login].
- Lawrence Manley, TDR 59 (2014): 186-87. Available online [may require subscriber login].
- Dean Wilcox, Theatre Research International 40 (2015): 130-131. Available online [may require subscriber login].
- Peter Womack, Theatre Survey 56 (2015): 111-113. Available online [may require subscriber login].
John Fletcher. Preaching to Convert: Evangelical Outreach and Performance Activism in a Secular Age. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2013.
- Hank Willenbrink. “Preaching to Convert: Evangelical Outreach and Performance Activism in a Secular Age.” Theatre Journal 67.1 (March, 2013). p. 412. Available online [may require subscriber login].
- Jeanie C. Crain.”Preaching to Convert: Evangelical Outreach and Performance Activism in a Secular Age.” Journal of American Culture 38.3 (September, 2015). pp.308-309. Available online [may require subscriber login].
- Peter Civetta. “Preaching to Convert: Evangelical Outreach and Performance Activism in a Secular Age by John Fletcher, and: Sensational Devotion: Evangelical Performance in Twenty-First Century America by Jill Stevenson (review).” TDR 59.4 (Winter 2015) T228. pp. 194-197. Available online [may require subscriber login].
- Deborah A. Dougherty.”Preaching to Convert: Evangelical Outreach and Performance Activism in a Secular Age by John Fletcher and Sensational Devotion: Evangelical Performance in Twenty-First Century America by Jill Stevenson.” Theatre Survey 56.3 (September, 2015). pp. 443-446. Available online [may require subscriber login].
David Wiles and Christine Dymkowski, eds. The Cambridge Companion to Theatre History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013.
- J. Fisher. “The Cambridge companion to theatre history, ed. by David Wiles and Christine Dymkowski.” Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries. 51.3 (November, 2013). p.471. Available online [may require subscriber login].
- Maggie B. Gale. “Wiles, David and Dymkowski, Christine. The Cambridge Companion to Theatre History.” New Theatre Quarterly 30.4 (November, 2014) 404-405. Available online [may require subscriber login]
- Scott Magelssen. “The Cambridge Companion to Theatre History.” TDR 58.4/T224 (Winter 2014). Available online [may require subscriber login]
Ann Folino White. Plowed Under: Food Policy Protests and Performance in New Deal America. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2015.
- Michael Schwartz. “Plowed Under: Food Policy Protests and Performance in New Deal America by Ann Folino White (review).” Theatre Journal 67.4 (December, 2015). pp.758-59. Available online [may require subscriber login].
- Todd Holmes. “Plowed Under: Food Policy Protests and Performance in New Deal America by Ann Folino White (review).” Register of the Kentucky Historical Society 114.1 (Winter 2016). pp. 122-124. Available online [may require subscriber login].
- J. Chris Westgate. “Plowed Under: Food Policy Protests and Performance in New Deal America by Ann Folino White.” Journal Of American History 102.3 (December, 2015). pp.917-918. Available online [may require subscriber login].
Dwight Conquergood. Cultural Struggles: Performance, Ethnography, Praxis. Edited by E. Patrick Johnson. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2013.
- Laurie Frederik. “Cultural Struggles: Performance, Ethnography, Praxis by Dwight Conquergood, edited by E. Patrick Johnson (review).” Theatre Journal 66.4 (December 2014) p. 344. Available online [may require subscriber login].
- Renée Alexander Craft. “Cultural Struggles: Performance, Ethnography, Praxis by Dwight Conquergood, edited by E. Patrick Johnson (review).” TDR 59.1 (Spring 2015) (T225). Available online [may require subscriber login].
- Scott Irelan. “Cultural Struggles: Performance, Ethnography, Praxis by Dwight Conquergood, edited by E. Patrick Johnson (review).” Choice Reviews Dec 2013. Available online [may require subscriber login].
- Bryant Keith Alexander. “Books in Performance Studies: Reviews and Reflections (review essay).” Text and Performance Quarterly 34.4 (October, 2014). pp. 416-433. Available online [may require subscriber login].
- Norman K. Denzin. “Cultural Struggles: Performance, Ethnography, Praxis by Dwight Conquergood, auth. and E. Patrick Johnson, ed. (review).” American Anthropologist 116.3 (September, 2014) pp. 676-677. Available online [may require subscriber login].
- Hari Stephen Kumar. “Cultural Struggles: Performance, Ethnography, Praxis. Dwight Conquergood, (edited by E. Patrick Johnson).”Anthropology & Education Quarterly 45.4 (2014) pp.415-417. Available online [may require subscriber login].
Robin Bernstein. Racial Innocence: Performing American Childhood from Slavery to Civil Rights. NYU Press, 2011
- Flynn, Richard. “Performing American Childhood from Slavery to Civil Rights.” The Lion and the Unicorn, 36.2, April 2012. available online [may require subscriber login].
- Bak, Meredith A.. “Performing American Childhood from Slavery to Civil Rights. Robin Bernstein. New York: New York University Press, 2011. 318 pp. $22.80 paperback.” Journal of Popular Culture*, v. 45 issue 4, 2012, p. 913.
- Melancon, T.C. “Performing American Childhood from Slavery to Civil Rights.” Choice 6/2012 Vol. 49, issue 10 p.1854.
Richard Schechner, Performance Studies: An Introduction. Second Edition. Routledge, 2006.
- Dolan, Jill. “Performance Studies: An Introduction (Book).” Modern Drama 46.2 (2003): 305-308. Available online [may require subscriber login]
Rebecca Schneider. Performing Remains: Art and War in Times of Theatrical Reenactment. Routledge, 2011.
- T. Nikki Cesare. “Performing Remains: Art and War in Times of Theatrical Reenactment (review).” Modern Drama, Volume 55, Number 2 (Summer 2012), pp. 283-285. Available online. [may require subscriber login.]
- Sara Brady. “Performing Remains: Art and War in Times of Theatrical Reenactment (review).” Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism, Volume 26, Number 2 (Spring 2012), pp. 223-225. Available online. [may require subscriber login.]
Thomas Postlewait and Bruce A. McConachie, eds. Interpreting the Theatrical Past. University of Iowa Press, 1989.
- Rosemarie Bank. “Interpreting the Theatrical Past: Essays in the Historiography of Performance by Thomas Postlewait, Bruce A. McConachie.” Theatre Journal, Volume 42, Number 2 (May 1990), pp. 272-274. Available online. [may require subscriber login.]
Bernard F. Dukore. Dramatic Theory and Criticism: Greeks to Grotowski.Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1974.
- Laurence Senelick and Edward Pixley. “Dramatic Theory and Criticism: Greeks to Grotowski by Bernard F. Dukore.” Educational Theatre Journal, Volume 28, Number 2 (May 1976), pp. 271-275. Available online. [may require subscriber login]
