Customer Reviews

Extreme Exposure: An Anthology of Solo Performance Texts from the Twentieth Century

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Extreme Exposure is AWESOME. It is (to say the least) a great sample of solo performance. These one man shows are both funny and touching. You'll be glad you checked it out! Ryan Smith TTU

This is a fantastic compliation of some of the most innovative and passionate solo performances in recent history. For actors, artists, and writers, it is endlessly inspiring. For the casual reader, it provides an accessible means of understanding performance art and appreciating the form as art. Highly recommended.
And, remember, read these out loud!

In my undergraduate studies, our final project was to produce a One Man Show of our own. I used this book to format my own. It has so many examples, all different. I highly recommend this for all acting students as there are many untapped monologues in here!!!

This is a great book. Great. For anyone interested in solo performance, it's history and performers, this is the book. I do not know of a book as expansive, yet concise, which takes texts from early 20th Century performers like Moms Mabley and Ruth Draper to modern masters like the late-Spalding Gray and Dael Orlandersmith.
Edited by Jo Bonney, a director famous for solo productions, and featuring introductions to each performer's section, this becomes a theatre book unlike any I've come across.
Lenny Bruce, Andy Kaufman, Lord Buckley, Whoopi Goldberg, John Leguizamo, Anna Deavere Smith, Roger Guenveur Smith, Laurie Anderson, Lily Tomlin, etc., etc....
Works are featured in fragments, specific character pieces from larger plays, and many of the performers have multiple pieces, exhibiting their styles, poetry, innovation and skill.
This is a great book.

Extreme Exposure: An Anthology Of Solo Performance Texts From The Twentieth Century is a 423 page compilation of extensive excerpts taken from the works of more than fifty solo writer/performers, as well as prefatory material that situates their efforts into an historical context. A comprehensive introduction by editor and director Jo Bonney explores the roots and development of this distinctive performance art form, helping the reader to appreciate its richness, depth, diversity, and possibilities. Extreme Exposure is highly recommended reading for students and historians of the theatre, as well as an invaluable reference for writers, performers, and directors.

I'm not sure quite what I was expecting from this book, but I wish I hadn't bought it. One of the excerpts looked promising as a comedic forensics piece, but it is more biographical, really.