This textbook provides a global, chronological mapping of significant areas of theatre, sketched from its deepest history in the evolution of our brain's 'inner theatre' to ancient, medieval, modern, and postmodern developments. It considers prehistoric cave art and built temples, African trance dances, ancient Egyptian and Middle-Eastern ritual dramas, Greek and Roman theatres, Asian dance-dramas and puppetry, medieval European performances, global indigenous rituals, early modern to postmodern Euro-American developments, worldwide postcolonial theatres, and the hyper-theatricality of today's mass and social media. Timelines and numbered paragraphs form an overall outline with distilled details of what students can learn, encouraging further explorations online and in the library. Questions suggest how students might reflect on present parallels, making their own maps of global theatre histories, regarding geo-political theatrics in the media, our performances in everyday life, and the theatres inside our brains.
Author(s): Mark Pizzato
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2019
Language: English
Pages: 322
Acknowledgments
Contents
List of Figures
List of Tables
1 Theatricality in Deep History and the Human Brain
A. Initial Questions, Terms, and Goals
B. Culture’s Cave and the Brain’s Inner Theatre (from Plato to Neuroscience)
C. Deep-Historical, Bio-Cultural Identity Needs
D. Tragic Flaws in Being Human
References
2 From Prehistoric to Ancient Theatricality
A. Prehistoric Cave, Figurine, and “Temple” Performances
B. African San (Bushman) Hunter-Gatherers
C. Ancient Egypt with TIMELINE
D. Middle Eastern Ritual Dramas
References
3 Greco-Roman Beginnings of “Theatre” (as Theatron/Theatrum )
A. Minoan, Mycenaean, and Ancient Greece with TIMELINE
B. Ancient Rome with TIMELINE
References
4 Traditional Forms of Asian Theatre
A. India with TIMELINE
B. China with TIMELINE
C. Korea with TIMELINE
D. Japan with TIMELINE
E. Indonesian Traditions on the Islands of Java and Bali
F. Cambodian Traditions
References
5 Medieval Europe and Premodern Africa, Australia, and the Americas
A. Early Middle Ages in Western Europe (400s–900s) with TIMELINE
B. High Middle Ages in Western Europe (1000s–1200s) with TIMELINE
C. Late Middle Ages in Europe (1300s–1500s) with TIMELINE
D. Premodern Africa with TIMELINE (300s BCE–1600s CE)
E. Australian Aboriginal Performances
F. North American Indigenous Performances Before Colonization
G. Mexican and Central American Indigenous Performances
H. South American Indigenous Performances
References
6 Early Modern Developments in Italy and France (1400s–1600s)
A. Renaissance Europe, TIMELINE
B. Italy’s Renaissance Ideals (1400s–1600s)
C. France’s Neoclassical Tensions (1500s–1600s)
References
7 Early Modern Mixtures in England, Spain, and the New World (1500s–1600s)
A. England’s Renaissance and Religious Conflicts, TIMELINE
B. English Renaissance Theatre
C. The Iberian “Reconquest” and American Conquests, TIMELINE
D. Spanish Golden Age Theatre
E. Aztec Mesoamerica and New Spain
References
8 Restoration and Baroque Revolutions (1600s–1700s)
A. England’s Commonwealth and Restoration Periods (1642–1700), TIMELINE
B. English Restoration Theatre (1660–1700)
C. The Age of Reason Across Europe and the US (mid-1600s–1700s), TIMELINE
D. Baroque Exuberance and Enlightened Restraints
References
9 Romanticism, Melodrama, and Minstrelsy (1800s)
A. Nineteenth-Century Events, TIMELINE
B. Romanticism, Riots, and New Forms
C. Popular Melodramas with New Technologies and “Total” Artists
D. Blackface Minstrelsy, Uncle Tom ’s Cabin, and “Wild West” Shows
References
10 Modern Realisms and Anti-Realisms (Late 1800s to Early 1900s)
A. Turn of the Century, TIMELINE
B. Psychological Realism
C. Socialist Realism and Propaganda
D. Naturalism
E. Neo-Romanticism and Symbolism (as Anti-Realist Styles)
F. Dada
G. Expressionism and Related Developments in African-American Theatre
H. Futurism
I. Surrealism
J. Other Movements and Artists of the Early 1900s
References
11 Mid-Twentieth Century, Euro-American Innovations
A. Major Events of the Late 1930s–1950s, TIMELINE
B. Artaud’s “Theatre of Cruelty”
C. Brecht’s Epic Theatre and Alienation Effects
D. Existentialist and Absurdist Drama
E. American Realisms
F. Other Developments in US Theatre, along with Radio and Film
References
12 Postmodern Theatre in the United States (1950s–2010s)
A. Major American Events of the 1950s–70s, TIMELINE
B. American Avant-Gardists
C. Musical Innovations
D. Major American Events of the 1980s–2010s, TIMELINE
E. American Millennial Theatre
F. Millennial Musicals
G. African-American Theatre Since Mid-Century
H. Arab-American Theatre Artists
I. Asian-American Theatre
J. Latinx Theatre
K. Native American Theatre
L. Feminist Theatre Artists
M. Queer (LGBT+) Theatres and Artists
References
13 Postmodern Theatre in Europe (1950s–2010s)
A. Major European Events of the Last Half Century, TIMELINE
B. British and Irish Theatre
C. Continental Theatre
References
14 Global, Postcolonial Theatre
A. Colonial and Postcolonial Events of the Last Half Millennium, TIMELINE
B. African Theatre in Anglophone Countries
C. Caribbean and Latin American Theatre
D. Canadian Theatre
E. Indigenous Theatre in Canada, Australia, and the South Pacific
F. Australian and Asian-Pacific Theatre in Recent Decades
G. Middle Eastern Theatre
References
Further References and Suggested Readings
