TY  - BOOK
AU  - Thomson,Leslie
TI  - From playtext to performance on the early modern stage: how did they do it? 
T2  - Studies in performance and early modern drama
SN  - 9781032278070
AV  - PR658.T4 T46 2023
U1  - 822/.309 23/eng/22020509
PY  - 2023///
CY  - Milton Park, Abindon, Oxon, New York
PB  - Routledge
KW  - English drama
KW  - 17th century
KW  - Criticism, Textual
KW  - Early modern and Elizabethan, 1500-1600
KW  - Theater
KW  - Production and direction
KW  - England
KW  - History
KW  - 16th century
N1  - P.B; P.B; Includes bibliographical references and index
N2  - "This book reconsiders the evidence for what we know (or think we know) about early modern performance condition. This study encourages a new recognition and treatment of certain aspects of the plays as evidence - and demonstrates the significance of the implications of that new information. This book is also an assessment of the competing narratives about the processes involved in early modern performance: about the status of manuscript playbooks, about the parts that players memorized, about the functions of the bookkeeper, about casting, about prompting, and about rehearsal practices. Leslie Thomson investigates the bases for the interdependent beliefs that an early modern player relied only on his part to prepare for a performance, that rehearsal was minimal, and that a bookkeeper compensated for these circumstances by prompting any player who was "out of his part." By focusing on often ignored (or downplayed) requirements and challenges of early modern play texts, Thomson provides evidence for answers that will foster a more nuanced and thorough understanding of original performance practices. That will, in turn, influence how we read, study, and edit the plays. This exploration will be of great interest to theatre and performance researchers, graduate students, teachers of early modern drama at the undergraduate and graduate levels, performers, directors, editors"--
ER  -