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Escaping the Athenian court to marry, Hermia and Lysander take refuge in a nearby wood. There, too, are Helena and Demetrius and the King and Queen of the fairies, Oberon and Titania. Oberon orchestrates a series of mischievous and magical tricks by which love is transformed, misplaced, deceived, revealed and finally, restores. This edition of the text includes notes, a glossary and an introduction.

This book describes a technique developed and refined by the authors, all of them young actors, in their work with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Mamet, actor W. H. Macy, and director Gregory Mosher. A Practical Handbook for the Actor is written for any actor who has ever experienced the frustrations of acting classes that lacked clarity and objectivity, and that failed to provide a dependable set of tools. An actor's job, the authors state, is to find a way to live truthfully under the imaginary circumstances of the play. The ways in which an actor can attain that truth form the substance of this eloquent book.

Story of a natural disaster and collective guilt; a violent tragedy of love and revenge.

This book lays out an entire course of training exercises in a most explicit, practical down-to-earth manner for an easy to read understanding of those techniques and procedures used in Method acting.

For one week each autumn, Mick Dowd is hired to disinter the bones in certain sections of his local cemetery to make way for the new arrivals. As the time approaches for him to dig up those of his own late wife, strange rumours regarding his involvement in her sudden death seven years ago gradually begin to resurface.

A Sourcebook on Naturalist Theatre provides essential primary sources which document one of the key movements in modern theatre. Christopher Innes has selected three writers to exemplify the movement, and six plays in particular: * Henrik Ibsen - A Dolls House and Hedda Gabler * Anton Chekhov - The Seagull and The Cherry Orchard * George Bernard Shaw - Mrs Warren's Profession and Heartbreak House. Innes' introduction provides an overview of naturalist theatre. Key themes include: the representation of women, significant contemporary issues and the links between theory, play writing and stage practice. The primary sources explore many aspects of naturalism, giving information on: * the playwrights' intentions when writing plays * contemporary reviews * literary criticism * political and social background * production notes from early performances of the plays.

The play reveals to the very depths the character of Blanche du Bois, a woman whose life has been undermined by her romantic illusions, which lead her to reject so far as possible the realities of life with which she is faced and which she consistently ignores. The pressure brought to bear upon her by her sister, with whom she goes to live in New Orleans, intensified by the earthy and extremely "real" young husband of the latter, leads to a revelation of her tragic self-delusion and, in the end, to madness.

Tennessee William's sensuous, atmospheric plays transformed the American stage with their passion, exoticism and vibrant characters who rage against their personal demons and the modern world. In A Streetcar Named Desire fading southern belle Blanche Dubois finds her romantic illusions brutally shattered; The Glass Menagerie portrays an introverted girl trapped in a fantasy world; and Sweet Bird of Youth shows how we are unable to escape 'the enemy, time'.

Jo, the teenage heroine who lives in a filthy tenement bedsitter, is deserted by her nagging peroxided mother, who is unaware that her daughter is pregnant by a black sailor. Jo's greatest fear is that her illegitimate baby might be mentally deficient like her own father. To soothe, clean and cook for her is Geof, an effeminate art student, with whom she makes a temporary home. Bruised by insensitivity and rejection, the boy and girl find a very real comfort in each other.

This sequel to the best-selling anthology contains contemporary plays by some of the world's most important writers. All are perfect for classes and showcases.