Noted as one of the most comprehensive, authoritative surveys of the theatre in academia, THE ESSENTIAL THEATRE, 11th Edition, engages your students and gets them excited about theatre. Drawing from the expertise of the authors as dedicated teachers, published scholars, and practicing artists, this text is ideal for an introductory theatre course. It's vibrant and numerous representations of current and classic performances encourage students to become active theatergoers and fans. The Eleventh Edition includes an all-new chapter devoted to musical theatre, while the thoroughly revised chapter on acting covers the diversity of contemporary approaches. The text also includes numerous new photos, new "Then and Now" boxes, and expanded use of dates to provide context for artists' major works. In addition, a companion anthology, PLAYS FOR THE THEATRE, 11th Edition, contains scripts that serve as a foundation for discussion of the various types of theatrical experience explored in the text.

Preface.
PART I: FOUNDATIONS.
1. The Nature of Theatre.
2. The Audience and Criticism.
3. The Play.
PART II: VARIETIES OF THEATRICAL EXPERIENCE.
4. Festival Theatre: Greek, Roman, and Medieval Theatre Experiences.
5. Creating a Professional Theatre: Elizabethan England, Italian Commedia dell'Arte, and Seventeenth-Century France.
6. Theatre in the 1800s.
7. Modernism in the Twentieth Century: 1900–1960.
8. Decentralization and Subsidization: New Directions.
9. Contemporary Theatre and Its Diversity.
10. Musical Theatre.
11. Asian and African Theatre.
PART III: THEATRICAL PRODUCTION.
12. Theatrical Space and Production Design.
13. Playwriting and Dramaturgy.
14. Directing and Producing.
15. Acting.
16. Scene Design.
17. Costume Design and Makeup.
18. Lighting and Sound Design.
Glossary.
Bibliography.
Index.

Noted as one of the most comprehensive, authoritative surveys of the theatre in academia, THE ESSENTIAL THEATRE, 11th Edition, engages your students and gets them excited about theatre. Drawing from the expertise of the authors as dedicated teachers, published scholars, and practicing artists, this text is ideal for an introductory theatre course. It's vibrant and numerous representations of current and classic performances encourage students to become active theatergoers and fans. The Eleventh Edition includes an all-new chapter devoted to musical theatre, while the thoroughly revised chapter on acting covers the diversity of contemporary approaches. The text also includes numerous new photos, new "Then and Now" boxes, and expanded use of dates to provide context for artists' major works. In addition, a companion anthology, PLAYS FOR THE THEATRE, 11th Edition, contains scripts that serve as a foundation for discussion of the various types of theatrical experience explored in the text. The chapter on acting has been completely revised to present a diversity of contemporary approaches to acting. Ten new "Then and Now" text boxes link select topics in theatre history to the present-day. These insightful boxed features--and accompanying photos--spotlight the way the past continues to influence the present, not only in theatre but also in popular culture, including films, contemporary comedy, and even flash mobs. Many of the more than 80 vivid new photos feature contemporary productions as well as actors and actresses that students will recognize from film and television illustrating that theatre does not exist in isolation but rather is an art form that is a vibrant part of the cultural makeup of the contemporary entertainment industry. The 11th Edition extends the Enhanced 10th edition's use of dates for major figures and works. The dates are not intended for memorization, but rather provide a sense of context of where a work fits within an artist's lifetime as well as--via implied comparison to the "Theatre in a Broad Context" timelines--where it fits within a sociological context. Expanded versions of the "Theatre in a Broad Context" timelines help students situate theatrical events and developments within a larger historical context. A timeline has been added to cover Asian and African theatre in Chapter 11 as well as the new Chapter 10: Musical Theatre. Based on instructor and student feedback as well as the authors' own experiences as teachers, the material in Part 2 is organized to make the historical overview of theatre's many expressions more clear, as Chapters 6, 7, 8, and 9 feature increased attention to the major playwrights of the modern and contemporary periods and all plays include a date of first production, thereby offering a clearer sense of context. Providing easy reference, the examination of the differences between the early modernist movements of realism, symbolism, expressionism, surrealism, futurism, and dadaism is included in a feature box that contrasts all the different features of each. Chapters 14–18 include a series of questions to help students attending a performance more fully consider and analyze the work of the different theatre artists. Numerous "Practitioners and Theorists" boxes are included in the later chapters to give students more perspectives on the different kinds of designers--scene, costume and makeup.