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.
Peter P. Reed. Rogue Performances: Staging the Underclasses in Early American Theatre Culture. Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.
- Laura L. Mielke. “Rogue Performances: Staging the Underclasses in Early American Theatre Culture (review).” Theatre Journal, Volume 62, Number 4 (December 2010), pp. 703-704. Available online. [may require subscriber login]
Schanke, Robert A. Queer Theatre and the Legacy of Cal Yeomans. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2011.
- James Fisher “Queer Theatre and the Legacy of Cal Yeomans (review)”. FORTHCOMING, Theatre History Studies 32 (2012) .pdf available here Used with permission.
Andrew Sofer, The Stage Life of Props. University of Michigan Press. 2003.
- John Bell. “The Stage Life of Props (review)”. TDR: The Drama Review 49.2(T186) (Summer 2005): 161-162. Available online [may require subscriber login]
- Michael M. Chemers. “The Stage Life of Props”. Theatre Survey. 45.2 (Nov 2004): 319. Available online [may require subscriber login]
- Heather May. “The Stage Life of Props. By Andrew Sofer. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2003. Pp. xiii + 278 + illus. $19.95 Pb”. Theatre Research International. 29:3 (October 2004): 289-290. Available online [may require subscriber login]
Bruce McConachie, Engaging Audiences: A Cognitive Approach to Spectating in the Theatre. Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.
- Vanessa Ford. “Engaging Audiences: A Cognitive Approach to Spectating in the Theatre (review).” Theatre Journal 62.2 (2010): 303-304. Available online [may require subscriber login]
David Savran, Highbrow/Lowdown: Theater, Jazz, and the Making of the New Middle Class. University of Michigan Press, 2010.
- Randy Gener. “The Invention of American Drama”. American Theatre 26.10 (Dec 2009): 54-55. Available online [may require subscriber login]
- Mariis Schweitzer. “Highbrow/Lowdown: Theater, Jazz, and the Making of the New Middle Class”. The Journal of American History. 97.3 (Dec 2010): 844. Available online [may require subscriber login]
Diana Taylor and Sarah J. Townsend, eds. Stages of Conflict: A Critical Anthology of Latin American Theater and Performance. University of Michigan Press, 2008.
- Carla Beatriz Melo. “Stages of Conflict: A Critical Anthology of Latin American Theater and Performance (review).” Theatre Journal 61.3 (2009): 499-500. Available online [may require subscriber login]
- Jorge Huerta. “Stages of Conflict: A Critical Anthology of Latin American Theater and Performance.” Theatre History Studies 30 (2010): 254+. Available online [may require subscriber login]
Access the anthology’s accompanying website through www.hemisphericinstitute.org.
Erika Fisher-Lichte, The Transformative Power of Performance: A New Aesthetics. Routledge, 2008.
- Lisa Merrill. “The Transformative Power of Performance: A New Aesthetics (review).” Modern Drama 52.4 (2009): 495-497. Available online [may require subscriber login]
Thomas Postlewait, The Cambridge Introduction to Theatre Historiography. Cambridge University Press, 2009.
- James Peck. “The Cambridge Introduction to Theatre Historiography (review).” Theatre Journal 62.2 (2010): 305-306. Available online [may require subscriber login]
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