Microdramas

Crucibles for Theater and Time

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Theatre, Performing Arts
Cover of the book Microdramas by John H Muse, University of Michigan Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: John H Muse ISBN: 9780472123148
Publisher: University of Michigan Press Publication: October 13, 2017
Imprint: University of Michigan Press Language: English
Author: John H Muse
ISBN: 9780472123148
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Publication: October 13, 2017
Imprint: University of Michigan Press
Language: English

In Microdramas, John H. Muse argues that plays shorter than twenty minutes deserve sustained attention, and that brevity should be considered a distinct mode of theatrical practice. Focusing on artists for whom brevity became both a structural principle and a tool to investigate theater itself (August Strindberg, Maurice Maeterlinck, F. T. Marinetti, Samuel Beckett, Suzan-Lori Parks, and Caryl Churchill), the book explores four episodes in the history of very short theater, all characterized by the self-conscious embrace of brevity. The story moves from the birth of the modernist microdrama in French little theaters in the 1880s, to the explicit worship of speed in Italian Futurist synthetic theater, to Samuel Beckett’s often-misunderstood short plays, and finally to a range of contemporary playwrights whose long compilations of shorts offer a new take on momentary theater.

Subjecting short plays to extended scrutiny upends assumptions about brief or minimal art, and about theatrical experience. The book shows that short performances often demand greater attention from audiences than plays that unfold more predictably. Microdramas put pressure on preconceptions about which aspects of theater might be fundamental and about what might qualify as an event. In the process, they suggest answers to crucial questions about time, spectatorship, and significance.
 

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In Microdramas, John H. Muse argues that plays shorter than twenty minutes deserve sustained attention, and that brevity should be considered a distinct mode of theatrical practice. Focusing on artists for whom brevity became both a structural principle and a tool to investigate theater itself (August Strindberg, Maurice Maeterlinck, F. T. Marinetti, Samuel Beckett, Suzan-Lori Parks, and Caryl Churchill), the book explores four episodes in the history of very short theater, all characterized by the self-conscious embrace of brevity. The story moves from the birth of the modernist microdrama in French little theaters in the 1880s, to the explicit worship of speed in Italian Futurist synthetic theater, to Samuel Beckett’s often-misunderstood short plays, and finally to a range of contemporary playwrights whose long compilations of shorts offer a new take on momentary theater.

Subjecting short plays to extended scrutiny upends assumptions about brief or minimal art, and about theatrical experience. The book shows that short performances often demand greater attention from audiences than plays that unfold more predictably. Microdramas put pressure on preconceptions about which aspects of theater might be fundamental and about what might qualify as an event. In the process, they suggest answers to crucial questions about time, spectatorship, and significance.
 

More books from University of Michigan Press

Cover of the book The Drama of the American Short Story, 1800-1865 by John H Muse
Cover of the book Defending the Holy Land by John H Muse
Cover of the book Nothing Happened by John H Muse
Cover of the book After Live by John H Muse
Cover of the book Selma and the Liuzzo Murder Trials by John H Muse
Cover of the book When Evil Came to Good Hart, 10th Anniversary Edition by John H Muse
Cover of the book Democratization by Institutions by John H Muse
Cover of the book Bad Boys by John H Muse
Cover of the book The Role of the Judge in International Trade Regulation by John H Muse
Cover of the book Michigan's County Courthouses by John H Muse
Cover of the book What Matters in Medicine by John H Muse
Cover of the book The Augustinian Epic, Petrarch to Milton by John H Muse
Cover of the book Lenin's Last Struggle by John H Muse
Cover of the book The Puzzle of Judicial Behavior by John H Muse
Cover of the book A Crooked Line by John H Muse
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy