Customer comments on this selection.
 Great survey of ideas about performance
I have this book in paperback - it is a fantastic reference for anyone involved in performance - especially theater, dance and performance art. Each of the sections of the book is by a different practitioner (or theorist) and they are cross-referenced to other readings in the book that relate. I did as the authors suggest in the intro, and selected an author and area of interest to me, and then kept following cross-references to make my way through the book. The ideas and concepts unfolded in this way like a conversation across the decades.
Fantastic excerpts from writings from Boal, Brooks, Brecht, Cunningham, Duncan, Wilson, Grotowski, LePage. The book covers dance, performance art, theater, happenings, and singing. The nature of the readings is general enough, and involved with large enough issues, that no matter what type of performance is being discussed, the readings tend to contain ideas that are relevant to other types of performance as well.
This is part of my summer reading, but I'm funny that way - you may find it to be a bit more like a text book. Most of the pieces are fairly accessible, although to be sure, you will get more out of it the more culturally literate you are. Individual pieces are compelling, and generally exemplify the main ideas put forth by the profiled individuals in relation to the nature of performance.
I highly recommend this book - gives you much better insight than reading a standard theater history text. For me, even the theories I disagree with were inspirational and thought provoking.
Doesn't really replace the necessity of having a good set of important works like "The Theater and Its Double" or "The Empty Space", but helps fill in the gaps for other materials that you otherwise might not have exposure to.
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