Key Texts in Performance History
The Player's Passion: Studies in the Science of Acting by Recommended by David Levine: Explores the historical and cultural evolution of the theoretical language of the stage
The Economics of the British Stage, 1800-1914 by Recommended by Derek Miller: "Massively researched history of how changing economic structures reform how the theater operates. Focused on nineteenth-century industrialization in Britain."
Artificial Hells by Recommended by David Levine:
Melodramatic Formations by Recommended by Derek Miller. "Clear and superbly organized explanation of melodrama in the United States, providing a rich sense of how nineteenth-century theater operated. Also an excellent example of how theater criticism can illuminate social history."
Caspar Neher, Brecht's Designer by Recommended by Sara Brown
Breaking the Rules: The Wooster Group by Recommended by Paul Lazar
Performance Art: From Futurism to the Present by Recommended by David Levine. Check HOLLIS for all three editions.
Postdramatic Theatre by Recommended by Sylvaine Guyot
Latin numbers : playing Latino in twentieth-century U.S. popular performance by Recommended by Derek Miller: "Wide-ranging history of Latinx performance in the United States. Excellent example of reading performance across genres and of tracing the history of racial representation in performance."
The Builders Association by Recommended by Johnathan Carr. "Explores the last two decades of media in performance through the works of this cutting-edge theater group"
Highbrow-Lowbrow: The Emergence of Cultural Hierarchy in America by Recommended by James Stanley
American Avant-Garde Theatre: A History by Recommended by Paul Lazar
Theories of the Theatre by Recommended by Derek Miller: "Narrative history of theater theories in Europe and the US since Aristotle. A good summary of how Western thinking about theater changed from the Greeks to the early 20th century."
The Antitheatrical Prejudice by Recommended by James Stanley
Bodies in Dissent: spectacular performances of race and freedom, 1850-1910 by Recommended by Derek Miller: "A liberatory reading of trans-Atlantic black performance across multiple genres. Terrific example of close-reading historical performances."
Digital performance : a history of new media in theater, dance, performance art, and installation by Recommended by Johnathan Carr.
The Captive Stage : Performance and the Proslavery Imagination of the Antebellum North by Recommended by Derek Miller: "A counter-balance to histories of theater and performance that emphasize progressive or liberal ideas. Focused on pro-slavery performances in the North, a superb piece of historical research and interpretation."
Virtual Art From Illusion to Immersion by Recommended by Young Joo Lee: "The book introduces immersive (media) art from a philosophical, historical and technological perspective. It also lists and explains many of the important art works that are harder to find on the internet or re-experience, as they are time-based and location-based installation works."
Puppetry: A World History by Recommended by Kate Brehm. "A very comprehensive history of puppetry around the world up to the present day. Blumenthal organizes the material by subject instead of location or mechanism, which allows deeper access to why people make puppetry. The book is also full of images and references to living puppeteers."
