Theatrical Directors: A Biographical Dictionary

by John W. Frick, Stephen Vallillo

Overview

Designed primarily for use by students and theatre generalists, this volume contains biographical sketches, arranged alphabetically, of over 300 individuals distinguished for their stage directing. It includes both contemporary directors and those who are no longer working. Emphasis is on artists who have international reputations, especially those whose work has had an impact on American theatre. Each entry profiles the director's life and assesses the significance of his or her accomplishments, provides a list of productions not mentioned in the narrative, and includes a bibliography. The work also includes appendixes, providing a selected bibliography, and indexes of names and plays.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313274787
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	04/25/1994
Pages:	584
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 1.25(d)
Lexile:	1290L (what's this?)

About the Author

JOHN W. FRICK is Associate Professor of Theatre at the Univerity of Virginia. He is the author of New York's First Theatrical Center: The Rialto at Union Square, the co-editor of The Directory of Historic American Theatres, and has published articles and reviews in The Drama Review, Theatre Jourbanal, The Jourbanal of American Drama and Theatre, The Yearbook of Interdisciplinary Studies in the Fine Arts, Performing Arts Resources, Southern Theatre, Marquee, American National Biography, and The Encyclopedia of New York City.

STEPHEN M. VALLILLO is Assistant Professor in the Speech Department of St. John's University. He has published articles in The Drama Review, Black American Literature Forum, Theatre History Studies, Musical Theatre in America, Dictionary of Literary Biography, and Performing Arts Resources. He chairs the Theatre Library Association's annual book awards and the International Bibliography of Theatre Advisory Committee for the American Society of Theatre Research.

Table of Contents

Preface
The Dictionary
Appendixes: Directors Listed by Country in Which Primary Work Was Done
Chronlogical List of Directors
Selected Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

Bob Fosse, Nicholas Hytner, Lee Strasberg, and Jean Vilar are only a few of over 300 contemporary directors covered in this dictionary. These prominent men and women ``have established international reputations,'' and their work represents the most famous and successful of productions. The alphabetically arrranged biographies range from one to three pages and are divided into three parts: a history of the director, additional productions, and a selected bibliography. Entries are signed, and a note about each contributor appears at the end of the book. Editors Frick and Vallillo have written numerous articles for theater journals such as The Drama Review . This book should be of interest to aspiring theater arts students as well as to those who simply love theater. Highly recommended for most collections.-- Ina M. Wise, Daley Community Coll. Lib., Chicago

Library Journal

Nearly 300 stage directors are included in this biographical dictionary. In their preface, the editors state that the volume "concentrates upon those directors whose achievements, in the estimation of editors and the Advisory Board, constitute a significant contribution to Western theatre." The advisers and contributors, about whom information is provided at the end of the volume, are primarily professors of theater and drama; there are also a few actors, directors, and critics Directors are arranged alphabetically, beginning with George Abbott and ending with Franco Zeffirelli. Each of the signed entries consists of three sections. The first is a narrative summary of the director's life and accomplishments. Dates are given for all productions mentioned. For important productions, additional information, such as the names of designers, composers, and principal actors, is also provided. The second section is a chronological listing of "Additional Productions," and the third is a selected bibliography. Most entries are from one to two pages in length. When other directors mentioned in the articles have entries of their own, these are indicated by asterisks The oldest director discussed is the German Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, born in 1926; the youngest is Deborah Warner, born in 1959. More than a third did their primary work in the U.S. Most of the others worked in Europe, although a handful are from South America and Japan. Although the entries are too short to provide substantive critical analysis, an attempt is made to pinpoint each director's significance. The article on John Gielgud, for example, discusses his role in reviving popular interest in Shakespeare and his unique sensitivity to text. Though written for the most part in an accessible style, the articles sometimes drift into academese. The article on Peter Sellars discusses his role in breaking down the "ethnocentricity of the Western classical canon," while Peter Brook is called "a mass of dualism. Following the articles are a highly selective bibliography, citing both monographs and journals; a chronological list of directors; and a list of directors by the country in which their primary work was done. These are followed by an index Many of the directors found here are also listed in other books, such as "The Cambridge Guide to World Theatre" and "The Oxford Companion to the Theatre". Entries in those works, however, are much briefer. Sources such as Gale's "Who's Who in the Theatre" and "Notable Names in American Theatre" are mainly lists of credits. Though there are several compilations on movie directors, there is no single source on the theater. "Theatrical Directors" should be a useful addition to theater collections in large public and college libraries.

Zom Zoms

Primarily for students and theatre generalists, this volume contains biographical sketches, arranged alphabetically, of some 300 individuals distinguished for their stage directing. It includes both contemporary directors and those who are no longer working. Emphasis is on artists who have international reputations, especially those whose work has had an impact on American theatre. Each entry profiles the director's life and assesses the significance of his or her accomplishments, provides a list of productions not mentioned in the narrative, and includes a bibliography. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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