Theatrical Worlds
Reviewed by Brad Stoller, Associate Professor, Piedmont Va Community College on 2/15/17
Comprehensiveness
Though this book does cover a vast areas of theatre both in the west and other parts of the world it does not provide an index.
Content Accuracy
In areas of production and design I found that the book accurately portrayed the life of an artist in the field. It is refreshing to have members of the technical design as well as professionals in directing and acting included together.
Relevance/Longevity
I would say that the text will not be obsolete very quickly and or be able to be updated fairly easily.
Clarity
Jargon in theatre is becoming less and less obscure to the general public as so much of our contemporary wold is being viewed through the theatrical/film lens. So even though there is jargon I don't see that as a problem.
Consistency
The book is arranged in such a way that the separate sections exist on their own merits and internal structure. I admire that they authors don't try to sound like they are too alike. In fact though, I would prefer even more distinction between the voices.
Modularity
I would say the strength of this book is that it can so easily be broken up into modular sections and used in a variety of classes.
Organization/Structure/Flow
I would prefer the text were arranged slightly differently. The flow of book is challenged by saving until the end all of the various international theatre instead of them being an appendix. I appreciate the attempt to try to include other theatre outside the west in the main text but they are not given enough weight or detail to merit it. I would prefer them to be separated.
Interface
There really aren't many charts. The images are helpful and contribute to the navigation of the text to find the section the student might want to find.
Grammatical Errors
NO errors.
Cultural Relevance
The inclusion of cultural sensitive issues in present in theatre in general. Including the world of theatre outside of the west shows a contrast to mainstream American/western culture. There is though a fringe theatre element that is no well represented and in my opinion cannot be expressed well in this kind of text. Cabaret, avant and improvisation theatre is impossible to pin down.