Teatro: Uma brevíssima introdução

Very Short Introductions #402

by Marvin A. Carlson

Este livro oferece uma visão abrangente e acessível do mundo do teatro, explorando sua história, suas teorias e práticas. Analisa-o de vários ângulos, desde o interesse em imitação encontrado nas pinturas em cavernas paleolíticas, passando pelo teatro de sombras usado por monges e missionários budistas até o desenvolvimento do teatro Nô no Japão, sem esquecer de Grécia e Roma da Antiguidade, e chegando ao teatro moderno e contemporâneo.

Genres: Nonfiction, Art, History, Theatre

160 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 4, 2014

About the author

Ph.D.in Drama and Theatre, Cornell University. Sidney E. Cohn Distinguished Professor of Theatre, Comparative Literature and Middle Eastern Studies.

Research and teaching interests include dramatic theory and Western European theatre history and dramatic literature, especially of the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. He has been awarded the ATHE Career Achievement Award, the George Jean Nathan Prize, the Bernard Hewitt prize, the George Freedley Award, and a Guggenheim Fellowship. He has been a Walker-Ames Professor at the University of Washington, a Fellow of the Institute for Advanced Studies at Indiana University, a Visiting Professor at Freie Universität Berlin, and a Fellow of the American Theatre. In 2005 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Athens. His best-known book, Theories of the Theatre (Cornell University Press, 1993), has been translated into seven languages. His 2001 book, The Haunted Stage won the Calloway Prize.

His newest book, Speaking in Tongues, was published by the University of Michigan Press in 2006.

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of a series of short books, whose subjects range from anything from Prehistory to The Dead Sea Scrolls. This book looks at the Theatre and gives a really good introduction to this huge subject. It begins with a history of the theatre, from Classical Greece and Rome all the way to the present. Obviously, with such a huge area to cover, this is very much an overview, but the author does a great job of fitting in a huge amount of information and making it readable (if a little dry in style).

As well as the history of the theatre, the connection of religion to the theatre is covered, plus the difference between drama (the written texts) and the performance of them (theatre). The actual performance is also examined; from actors and puppets, through designers and directors and even the audience. I feel this is a really good general history and examination of the theatre and would be especially useful to students.

Rated 3.5

[Sam Keller]

I read this for my arts class. It has a lot of information packed into 5 chapters and is not fun to read. There is a lot of information in this book but it is not interesting enough to where I feel like I learned a lot about the art of theater reading it. It just feels like this book had to made, not because the author of this book actually cares what he is talking about.

[Hank Hoeft · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is yet another excellent volume in the Very Short Introduction series. I'm beginning to sound like a broken record in praising the Oxford University Press' collection, but for awhile I thought I was going to have to rate this book only three stars instead of four. This was when I read the extensive discussion of the evolution and importance of performance theory--I thought the author had jumped the rails and was focusing on something outside the scope of the book. But it turns out that an understanding of performance theory--where it came from, what it means--is necessary to understand current thinking about what theatre and drama really are. The book's scope is wider than the "classical" conservative Eurocentric definition of theatre, and I appreciate the wide angle.

[Alana Godfrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are a few interesting topics covered here, I liked seeing the different ways that theatre developed in different countries. I was really interested in the idea of playwrights selling their work to specific theatres, and the idea of the first "pirates" copying the scripts... but the parts i found enjoyable didnt get much depth.

A lot of the chapters refer to specific stakeholders (directors/writers/actors etc) and their works. I found it harder to engage with these sections as i was unaware of who many of these people are/were so the sections had less relevance without further explanation. The majority of people will know who Shakespeare is, but may not know, for example, Patrice Chereau, Robert Wilson or Nuria Espert.

If you're looking for an introduction to theatre, anything past the general concepts requires significant further understanding, which this book doesnt offer.

This very short introduction really feels like your reading an essay instead of an engaging introduction to theatre. (i think i recall the author saying "in this essay" at one point).

[lu (peachairee) · Rating 4 out of 5]

fun

[Roman Clodia · Rating 4 out of 5]

An up-to-date exploration of performative theatre studies

The publisher's blurb above is a little misleading as this is a book about theatre, not drama; that is, it concentrates on the performative aspects of theatre (the things that make it akin to opera, mime, dance etc.) not the dramatic literary texts. The first couple of chapters explore the global history of theatre and its intimate relationship to religion and ritual; the next couple focus on the emergence of theatre and performance studies as academic disciplines in their own right, related to but separate from the literary study of dramatic texts. These are especially lucid on how the more general cultural interest in performance and the 'linguistic turn' in theory have fed into what current theatre studies are about. The final chapter feels slightly out in the cold as it looks at who 'makes' theatre: actor, director, audience.

This is excellent for students: either those about to embark on Theatre or Performance Studies degrees, or those studying English (or other literatures) who may be introduced to performative aspects of theatre alongside the more traditional close reading textual approach when working with dramatic texts. It's also a handy primer for academics in associated fields which might intersect with theatre studies: English, Literature, Classics.

General interested readers who would like to get a glimpse into the academic field of theatre will also find this accessible, I think, but may find the centre chapters on the factors which have shaped the emergence and research agenda of the field a little scholarly.

An excellent primer which packs in a lot of information in a concise and lucid manner.

[Em · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was, as said in the title, a very short intro to Theatre. It was repetitive at times. The author definitely followed Theatre study and favored the performance over the written text. Though the author tried to cover both I wish the he was followed Reading Drama instead. That would have made the intro a little more well rounded.

[Lauren Ray · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was good, with concise though occasionally redundant information. I wanted it to be written on a lower reading level so that it could potentially be used with high school students, but it's very dense to be "a very short" book.

[Norma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good introduction but sadly, many references to works in other languages were full of spelling mistakes.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brief, succinct, and very informational.