Reviews for Principles of Stage Combat Handbook

The average rating for Principles of Stage Combat Handbook based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-05-24 00:00:00 Chris Morris I love history. I love theater and dance and film, and the histories of those things. I picked up this monograph on a whim, thinking it could be fascinating, or densely yet dispassionately dull. It was, in fact, both scholarly and deeply interesting. Society as a whole was changing so much at that time, and all of those changes brought massive change to and inspired massive change within the theatrical world. The focus is on the dramatic "legitimate stage" (as opposed to vaudeville, opera, or other entertainment industries, except insofar as they intersect with dramatic theater) and I found this a good choice, as to cover all forms of stagecraft for this time would have required a far larger and probably less cohesive volume, and in the popular memory/imagination the dramatic stage tends to seem more stable'after all, it stuck it out through the fall of vaudeville and light opera and the rise of cinema and musical comedy. Yet McArthur documents an immense shift in the actors viewed themselves and were viewed by their public, rife with debates and doubts, both purposefully shaping an image, a narrative, of their art, but also often driven by conditions beyond their control. I tend to balk at the notion that any historical era can be seen purely through the histories of the most visible people of that era. However, the GROUPS of people who attract the most attention in the era, and the form that attention takes, says a lot about the priorities and self-image of the time. Actors, by the very nature of their profession, are highly visible people. This much seems clear to us now, but this book really takes apart how this visibility shaped and was shaped by the Players themselves in such a pivotal historical age. Absolutely fascinating.

Review # 2 was written on 2012-10-15 00:00:00 David Adaskin A refreshing overview of the Actor's role in oral tradition, stock theater companies, Broadway and silent film in New York, Hollywood, and in Europe during WWI. "Actors in the 19th Century" can easily be utilized as a solid blueprint for issues in technology, image, media, and privacy as actors today have a lot of opportunity and freedom to not only engage professionally, but socially as well. This is an approachable, informative work of non-fiction; a quality focus on the Actor at the turn of the century, but don't expect references to the Internet, web series, or pilot season!