Edexcel Advanced Drama & Theatre Studies textbook

Summary:
Edexcel Advanced Drama & Theatre Studies has been written specifically to meet the needs of students following the Edexcel Drama & Theatre Studies Advanced specification, and provides thorough, structured and up-to-date coverage of the subject content. The textbook:
- gives students an appreciation of the rapidly changing world of theatre
- provides a scholarly and theoretical basis for the subject
- places emphasis on interpretation and performance, and encourages students to form their own opinions on the purpose of theatre
- analyses the political and social contexts of plays and playwrights
- includes detailed examples from set texts
- investigates the role of the playwright, actor, theatre company and director
- contains sample examination-style questions

The author combines knowledge of current classroom practice with extensive academic and examination experience in drama and theatre studies. This book is an invaluable companion to students and teachers of drama and theatre studies at AS and A2.

• Full of concrete examples of how to explore the specification in a practical and scholarly way
• The context, language and structure of a range of plays are explored in detail
• Emphasis on personal response to live theatre
• Frequent summary boxes
• Illustrated with stills from recent and notable productions

Table of Contents:
Section A The craft of the playwright
Chapter 1 Understanding social context
Chapter 2 Understanding political context
Chapter 3 Understanding historical context
Chapter 4 Understanding cultural context
Chapter 5 Using language to bring the play to life
Chapter 6 The language of Berkoff's Metamorphosis
Chapter 7 The structure of Marlowe's Doctor Faustus
Chapter 8 Characterisation in Marlowe's Doctor Faustus
Section B Shaping the play
Chapter 9 Konstantin Stanislavski
Chapter 10 Applying Stanislavski's principles: An Inspector Calls by J. B. Priestley
Chapter 11 Bertolt Brecht
Chapter 12 Applying Brecht's principles: Macbeth by Shakespeare
Chapter 13 Antonin Artaud
Chapter 14 Applying Artaud's principles: Woyzeck by Georg Buchner
Chapter 15 Modern directors
Chapter 16 Devising
Section C The world of the audience
Chapter 17 Ancient Greek and Roman theatre
Chapter 18 British theatre: Elizabethan and Restoration
Chapter 19 British theatre: melodrama and music hall
Chapter 20 Responding to the play
Bibliography and references
Index

About the Author(s):
Richard Vergette is a freelance educational consultant, actor and author. He has also been a lecturer in Drama at the University of Lincoln, Head of the Performing Arts faculty at John Leggott College, Scunthorpe (which contains one of the largest and most successful drama departments in the UK), and a senior examiner for Edexcel.