Theater: The Lively Art, 5/e & CD-ROM w/ Theatergoer's Guide [Paperback]

Edwin Wilson (Author), Alvin Goldfarb (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0073025682 | ISBN-13: 978-0073025681 | Publication Date: June 15, 2004 | Edition: 5

Created for Theater Appreciation courses that cover both history and elements, the new fifth edition of The Lively Art remains a comprehensive introductory theater text that incorporates a number of elements in one volume: an introduction to the audience’s experience of theater, an investigation of the elements of theater, and a study of the important developments in the history of theater.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Edwin Wilson, as teacher, author, director, and critic, has worked in many aspects of theater. Educated at Vanderbilt University, the University of Edinburgh, and Yale University, he received a master of fine arts degree from the Yale Drama School, as well as the first doctor of fine arts degree awarded by Yale. He has taught at Yale, Hofstra, Vanderbilt, Hunter College, and the CUNY Graduate Center. At Hunter he served as chair of the Department of Theatre and Film and head of the graduate theater program. At CUNY he directed the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center devoted to theater research, publication, and communication. From 1972 to 1994 he was the theater critic of The Wall Street Journal. He is the author of The Theater Experience and a co-author, with Alvin Goldfarb, of Living Theatre: A History, as well as coeditor of The Anthology of Living Theater; all published by McGraw-Hill. He edited and wrote the introduction for Shaw on Shakespeare. He has been a member of the New York Drama Critics Circle, of which he served as president, and has been on the selection committees of the Pulitzer Prize in drama and the Tony awards. He serves on the board of the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize and the John Golden Fund, and has for many years served on the board of the Theatre Development Fund, of which he was president for two terms. Alvin Goldfarb is President and Professor of Theatre at Western Illinois University. Dr. Goldfarb also served as vice president and provost, dean of Fine Arts, and chair of Theatre at Illinois State University. Dr. Goldfarb holds a Ph.D. in theater history from the City University of New York and a master's degree from Hunter College. He is the coauthor of Living Theatre:A History and coeditor of The Anthology of Living Theater with Edwin Wilson. Dr. Goldfarb is also the coeditor, with Rebecca Rovit, of Theatrical Performance during the Holocaust: Texts, Documents, Memoirs, which was a National Jewish Book Award finalist. He has published numerous articles and reviews in scholarly journals and anthologies. Dr. Goldfarb served as a member of the Illinois Arts Council and president of the Illinois Alliance for Arts Education. He has received service awards from the latter organization as well as from the American College Theater Festival. Dr. Goldfarb also received an Alumni Achievement Award from the City University of New York Graduate Center's Alumni Association.

Product Details

• Paperback: 399 pages
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages; 5 edition (June 15, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0073025682
• ISBN-13: 978-0073025681
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #959,231 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A General Overview of Western Theatre Tradition, November 10, 2006

By 

Donald Leo Lerma - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Theater: The Lively Art, 5/e & CD-ROM w/ Theatergoer's Guide (Paperback)

As textbooks go this is a light overview of Western Theatre Tradition. It includes a CD ROM with very little additional information. The book fails to go in depth into the historical influences that helped shape world and the theatrical tradition. It does however include landmark events in the theatre world of western europe and how it evolved into what we know today.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent and informative, July 6, 2009

By 

R. Asher (IN, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Theater: The Lively Art (Paperback)

I particularly liked this text's descriptions of theater. The next is in depth and short at the same time, and talks about a lot of different aspects of theater that may be unknown to regular or theater majors

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars College Textbook, March 10, 2011

By 

TwinzMommy - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Theatre: The Lively Art (Paperback)

Used this book for Intro to Theatre in college and it is a great book and very informative on the history of theatre!