Acting: An International Encyclopedia of Traditional Culture

by Mary Beth Osnes

Overview

A groundbreaking, cross-cultural reference work exploring the diversity of expression found in rituals, festivals, and performances, uncovering acting techniques and practices from around the world.

Acting: An International Encyclopedia explores the amazing diversity of dramatic expression found in rituals, festivals, and live and filmed performances. Its hundreds of alphabetically arranged, fully referenced entries offer insights into famous players, writers, and directors, as well as notable stage and film productions from around the world and throughout the history of theater, cinema, and television.

The book also includes a surprising array of additional topics, including important venues (from Greek amphitheaters to Broadway and Hollywood), acting schools (the Actor's Studio) and companies (the Royal Shakespeare), performance genres (from religious pageants to puppetry), technical terms of the actor's art, and much more. It is a unique resource for exploring the techniques performers use to captivate their audiences, and how those techniques have evolved to meet the demands of performing through Greek masks and layers of Kabuki makeup, in vast halls or tiny theaters, or for the unforgiving eye of the camera.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780874367959
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	12/07/2001
Series:	Art of Living Series
Pages:	456
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	12 - 18 Years

About the Author

Beth Osnes, PhD, is a scholar, teacher, and performer based in Boulder, CO.

Table of Contents

	Abbey Theatre	1
	Abhinaya	1
	Absurdism	1
	Abua Masquerade	2
	Acropolis	2
	Action Song	2
	Actors Studio	3
	Actual Death in the Theater	3
	Adavus	3
	Adler, Stella (1903-1992)	3
	Aeschylus (525-456 B.C.)	4
	Aesop	4
	Africa	4
	African American Theater	6
	African Ballets	7
	African Cinema	8
	Agin	8
	Albania	8
	Algeria	9
	Alienation Effect	9
	Allen, Woody (1935-)	9
	American Negro Theater	10
	Amicales	11
	Anagnorisis	11
	Ancient Greek Theater	11
	Ancient Mime	13
	Ancient Pantomime	13
	Andreini, Isabella	14
	Ankai Nat	14
	Antoine, Andre (1858-1943)	15
	Anyein Pwe	15
	Apache Mountain Spirit Dance	15
	Apuodaw	16
	Arab Cinema	16
	Arab Theater	16
	Arabic Shadow Puppet Theater	17
	Aragoto	17
	Arangetram	17
	Ardhanarishwara	17
	Ardja	18
	Arena Theatre of the Philippines	18
	Argentina	18
	Argentinean Jewish Theater	19
	Aristophanes (448-380 B.C.)	19
	Arlecchino	20
	Artaud, Antonin (1896-1948)	20
	Ashtapadi Attam	21
	Atellana	21
	Australia	21
	Australian Aboriginal Theater	22
	Austria	24
	Auto Sacramental	25
	Ayang	25
	Aztec Theater	25
	Baga Bundo	27
	Balasaraswati	27
	Bali	28
	Ball, Lucille (1911-1989)	29
	Ballet de Cour	29
	Bangladesh	29
	Bangsawan	30
	Barba, Eugenio (1936-)	30
	Barbados	30
	Baris	31
	Barong	31
	Barrault, Jean-Louis (1910-1994)	32
	Barrymore Family	32
	Batocchino	32
	Bedu	33
	Belasco, David (1859-1931)	34
	Belgian Cinema	34
	Belgium	34
	Benin	35
	Benshi	36
	Bergman, Ingmar (1918)	36
	Bernhardt, Sarah (1844-1923)	36
	Bharata Natyam	37
	Bhava	38
	Bhavai	39
	Bhutan	39
	Bio-Mechanics	39
	Boal, Augusto (1930-)	40
	Bolt, Alan (1930-)	40
	Booger Dance	41
	Booth, Edwin (1833-1893)	41
	Bosnia and Herzegovina	42
	Branagh, Kenneth (1961-)	42
	Brando, Marlon (1924-)	42
	Brazil	43
	Bread and Puppet Theatre	43
	Brecht, Bertolt (1898-1956)	44
	Breuer, Lee (1937-)	45
	Brighella	45
	Brook, Peter (1925-)	45
	Buddha	46
	Buddhism	46
	Buenaventura, Enrique (1925-)	47
	Bufo	47
	Bugaku	48
	Bulandra, Lucia Sturdza (1873-1961)	48
	Bulgaria	48
	Bulgarian Cinema	49
	Bunraku	49
	Bunuel, Luis (1900-1983)	51
	Burbage, Richard (1567-1619)	51
	Burning Man	51
	Burton, Richard (1925-1984)	52
	Butoh	52
	Cai Luong	55
	Cambodia	55
	Canada	56
	Canadian Cinema	58
	Canevas	58
	Cantinflas (1911-1993)	58
	Cantonese Rod Puppet Theater	59
	Capitano	59
	Caribbean Theater	59
	Carpas	60
	Cenaculo	60
	Champmesle, Marie Desmares (1642-1698)	61
	Changkuk	61
	Chao Tan (1915-1980)	61
	Chaplin, Charlie (1889-1977)	61
	Chau	62
	Chekhov, Anton (1860-1904)	63
	Chekhov, Mikhail (1891-1955)	63
	Chiang Ching (1914-1991)	64
	Childress, Alice (1920-1994)	64
	Chile	65
	China	66
	China Traveling Dramatic Troupe	68
	Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966-1976)	68
	Chinese New Year	68
	Chinese Wayang	69
	Ching	69
	Ching-I	69
	Chingana	69
	Chiton	70
	Choregos	70
	Chorodidaskalos	70
	Chou	70
	Chutti	70
	Cibber, Colley (1671-1757)	71
	Cirque du Soleil (Circus of the Sun)	71
	City Dionysia	72
	Cixi, nee Yehonala, Empress Dowager (1835-1908)	72
	Ckumkpa	73
	Clown	73
	Cocteau, Jean (1889-1963)	74
	Colombia	74
	Colombina	75
	Comedia	75
	Comedie Francaise	75
	Commedia dell'Arte	75
	Commedia Erudita	77
	Confrerie de la Passion (Brotherhood of the Passion)	78
	Copeau, Jacques (1879-1949)	78
	Corpus Christi	78
	Coryphaeus	79
	Cothurnus	79
	Craig, Edward Gordon (1872-1966)	79
	Croatia	79
	Cuba	79
	Cushman, Charlotte (1816-1876)	81
	Czech Republic	81
	Czechoslovak Cinema	82
	Da Mu Nao	83
	Dagelan	83
	Dalang	83
	Dama	85
	'dan Kama	85
	Dashavatar Kala	85
	Dasi Attam	86
	Davis, Bette (1908-1989)	86
	Dean, James (1931-1955)	86
	Decroux, Etienne (1898-1963)	87
	Dench, Judi (1934-)	87
	Deneuve, Catherine (1943-)	87
	Dengaku	87
	Denmark	87
	Depardieu, Gerard (1948-)	89
	Deus ex Machina	89
	Devadasi	89
	Dewa Muda	90
	Diderot, Denis (1713-1784)	90
	Dietrich, Marlene (1901-1992)	90
	Dikir Barat	90
	Dionysia	91
	Dionysian Artists	91
	Dionysus	92
	Dithyramb	93
	Documentary Theater	93
	Dominus Gregis	93
	Dottore	93
	Drama Gong	93
	Dulac, Germaine (1882-1942)	94
	Dullin, Charles (1885-1949)	94
	Dunham, Katherine (1910-)	94
	Duse, Eleonora (1858-1924)	95
	Dutch Cinema	96
	Eastwood, Clint (1930-)	97
	Eglogas	97
	Egypt	97
	Ekhof, Konrad (1720-1778)	99
	Ekkyklema	99
	Elizabethan England	99
	England	101
	Entremes	103
	Epic Theater	103
	Epidaurus	103
	Er	103
	Eskimo Spirit Play	103
	Esperento	104
	Estonia	104
	Ethiopia	104
	Euripides (485-406 B.C.)	105
	Existentialism	105
	Expressionism	106
	Fagfagto	107
	Farce	107
	Fasl Mudhik	107
	Fastnachtspiel	108
	Fay, William (1872-1947)	108
	Federal Theater Project	108
	Fellini, Federico (1920-1993)	109
	Female Impersonation	109
	Finland	110
	Foot Binding	110
	Forman, Richard (1937-)	111
	France	112
	Free Southern Theater	113
	French Cinema	114
	Fu Lien Ch'eng	114
	Fu Tai Hsi	115
	Fugard, Athol (1932-)	115
	Futurism	116
	Gamelan	117
	Ganesha	117
	Garrick, David (1717-1779)	117
	Gaucho	117
	Gaulan Kala	118
	Gelede	118
	Gendai-geki	119
	Genero Chico	119
	George II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen (1826-1914)	119
	Georgia	119
	German Cinema	120
	Germany	121
	Ghana	123
	Gielgud, John (1904-2000)	123
	Gilbert and Sullivan	124
	Giri	124
	Gish, Lillian (1896-1993)	124
	Gita Govinda	124
	Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von (1749-1832)	125
	Gogol, Nikolay (1809-1852)	125
	Goldberg, Whoopi (1949-)	125
	Gopal Kala	126
	Gopis	126
	Gray, Spalding (1941-)	126
	Greece	127
	Greek Chorus	127
	Greek Comedy	128
	Greek Tragedy	129
	Grotowski, Jerzy (1933-1999)	130
	Group Theater	131
	Grummelot	132
	Grundgens, Gustav (1899-1963)	132
	Guomundsdottir, Stefania (1876-1926)	132
	Gustav III (1746-1792)	132
	Haiti	135
	Haka	135
	Hakawati	136
	Hanamichi	136
	Hanswurst	136
	Hanuman	137
	Hapa Houle	137
	Happening	138
	Hashigaakari	138
	Hat Boi	138
	Heiberg, Johanne Luise (1813-?)	138
	Hellenistic Theater	139
	Henson, Jim (1936-1990)	139
	Hijazi, Salama (1855-1917)	139
	Hilarotragoedia	140
	Hindi Movies	140
	Hinduism	140
	Hira-Gasy	141
	Hitchcock, Alfred (1899-1980)	141
	Homer	142
	Hong Kong	142
	Hopkins, Anthony (1937-)	143
	Hsias	143
	Hsii	143
	Hua	143
	Hua Chu	143
	Hualian	143
	Hula	144
	Hun Krabok	144
	Hung	145
	Hungarian Cinema	145
	Hungary	145
	Hutt, William (1920-)	146
	Ibsen, Henrik (1828-1906)	147
	Iceland	148
	Iliad	From the B&N Reads Blog Page 1 of Related Subjects Music, Film & Performing Arts Performing Arts Performing Arts - Reference Music, Film & Performing Arts Performing Arts Performing Arts - Reference Editorial Reviews The title of this reference work is a bit misleading. While acting and actors are certainly prominent among the entries, this is an encyclopedia of world theater, with selected entries on the cinema of various cultures. Ranging in length from one sentence to more than a page, the entries are cross-referenced and well documented. Unfortunately, the writing can be murky, and the criteria used for entry selection are not indicated. For example, why include Marilyn Monroe but not Sidney Poitier and African cinema but not Asian cinema? Osnes (theater, Univ. of Colorado, Boulder), who as a Fulbright scholar in Malaysia studied and performed in traditional shadow-puppet theater, does include a wide range of traditional cultural terms not always found in any but the most exhaustive (and expensive) theater references. Still, there is nothing new here for libraries already holding works such as The World Encyclopedia of Contemporary Theatre (LJ 2/95), The Cambridge Guide to World Theatre (LJ 4/89), and An International Dictionary of Theatre Language (Greenwood, 1985). Small theater collections on a tight budget will, however, find this useful. Laura A. Ewald, Murray State Univ. Lib., KY Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information. Library Journal Customer Reviews