Basic. This is the key word in Scenic Design and Lighting Tecniques: A Basic Guide for Theatre; written by two seasoned professionals with over twenty years of experience. This book is designed to show you how to turn a bare stage into a basic set design; without using heavy language that would bog you down. From materials and construction to basic props and lighting; this book explains all you will need to know to build your set and light it.
#1095817 in eBooks 2013-04-16 2013-04-16File Name: B00BEFNXLI
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Reforming the English languagehellip;By John P. Jones IIIhellip;before it became the worldrsquo;s language.George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright who wrote ldquo;Pygmalionrdquo; in 1912. He would win the Nobel Prize in 1925. He was a polemist and a gadfly; challenging much conventional thought. He opposed both organized religion and vaccinations. More people are familiar with this play thanks to the musical My Fair Lady which is largely based upon its central themes; though ldquo;the rain in Spain stays mainly in the plainrdquo; is never in the original work.Pygmalion is the first name of Professor Higgins; an insufferable; arrogant academic prig. He has developed quite a skill; which he demonstrates throughout the play: identifying someonersquo;s place of origin by their accent. He claimed to be able to spot someonersquo;s birthplace within London to within two miles. As for reforming the English languagehellip; and many others would no doubt agree; particularly those who have learned it as a second language: he advocated the use of phonetics.The good professor decides to conduct an ldquo;experiment.rdquo; During a rainstorm; he meets a Cockney flower girl on the streets. He is so proud of his skills; that he is confident that he can teach her ldquo;properrdquo; English (as well as manners) so that in six months; she can pass herself off as a ldquo;lady.rdquo; Lisa Doolittle is the flower girl; and she does want proper diction lessons in order to better herself. But she does have a mind of her own; and shows it; objecting to the callus way that she is treated; as merely a pawn in Professor Higginrsquo;s experiment. There are several supporting characters; such as Professor Higginrsquo;s mother who largely supports Ms. Doolittle in the conflicts. Meanwhile; her dad; a dustman; sees direct monetary gain in this experiment; not in improving his daughterrsquo;s social status; but in hitting the Professor up for a ldquo;fiver.rdquo;The play is left open-ended. In fact; Shaw devotes the last 10% of the work to speculating on the best possible outcomes after the experiment is concluded; including if it would be best for Ms. Doolittle to marry the Professor; purportedly a confirmed bachelor. Shaw notes: ldquo;rsquo;When you go to women;rsquo; says Nietzsche; lsquo;take your whip with you.rsquo; Sensible despots have never confined that precaution to women: they have taken their whips with them when they have dealt with men; and been slavishly idealized by the men over whom they have flourished the whip much more than by women. No doubt there are slavish women as well as slavish men; and women; like men; admire those that are stronger than themselves. But to admire a strong person and to live under that strong personrsquo;s thumb are two different things.rdquo;Sensible sentiments even; that resonate more than a century later. And I must consider the difficulties of enunciation in another language; and trust I would be able to find a better teacher that the ldquo;goodrdquo; Professor. 5-stars; for Shawrsquo;s work.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Hard to swallowBy HHI cant say that I enjoyed these plays very much. I find Ibsens characters to be unbelievable; especially one of the shining stars of his fame and accomplishments; Nora Helmer of "A Dolls House". I guess what I find most obnoxious about these characters is the speed with which they do things; which could be blamed on the necessity of story and play-writing; or it could be that the characters do not show significant glimmers of what they are to suddenly and so surprisingly become. Nora; for example; is this flitting; domestic plaything (thus the title) for nine-tenths of the play; unable to see her own mistakes and the seriousness of the looming catastrophe ahead. Then; all of a sudden; she is a most advanced; thoughtful; determined individual; come to drastic acts with absolutely no passion and able to express her inmost feelings and will to her husband without missing a beat. Irsquo;ve been in arguments and they donrsquo;t go like that.Ibsen said of his own work that his plays only just pose questions; they dont make statements. I myself donrsquo;t buy Ibsens assessment for a second. It is historically interesting that he considered his plays questions; but they are very clearly works of value statements and modes for societal change (which is exactly what they became). With lines like ldquo;If Irsquo;m ever going to reach any understanding of myself and the things around me; I must learn to stand alonerdquo;; would you honestly believe his plays are unbiased vignettes; wondering about human nature; and nothing more?2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Bad formatting for Kindle.By Linda McCombeI gave this one star as the formatting for Kindle was very; very bad. It was all over the pages in boxes; ran off the pages and left blanks in the story. Story is a classic; but this version is awful.