Stage and School

I've been using this book as the main text for my Theater Arts class, and our school has used it for decades. If you plan to teach a comprehensive theater class--one that includes both performance and production--this is an excellent choice.

I am a highschool freshman in an intro to theater class. Our teacher uses this book as his only reference to anything related to theater. It's a great resource. Currently, i have done 2 monologues and 1 scene from this book. It's such a great tool to use, i recommend this for any drama teachers or students. i own a copy myself, just because it's that great.

What more can be said about The Stage and the School? S & S has been around for generations and is the groundfloor-cornerstone-base-first/last words of secondary school dramatics in the United States. Harry Schanker has brought new life to the Ommanney classic and has done an excellent job updating this work. The teacher resource edition is also outstanding.

This textbook has many features in it that I would include if I were to write my own book. It has illustrations on every other page showing actual production photos from various professional theatres. There are also diagrams showing material that is easier shown than just talked about. There is a glossary and index in the back, as well as a specific table of contents in the front. In addition to material covered in chapters, there is also scenes included for student and teacher use. There are 2 person scenes, multiple character scenes as well as monologues for men and women. It's a good place for students to start their searches for material. The material covered is a wide range. There are sections on Interpreting the Drama which includes Improvisation, Voice and Diction, and General Acting Techniques. A section on Appreciating the Drama talking about History of Drama, the Structure of Drama and the Varieties of Drama. Then there is also a section on Producing the Drama which includes the musical, the set, lighting, costuming and even make-up. I believe this book gives students a great introduction to theatre and drama which concrete information they can take with them. Some students come to theatre and drama classes with a basic knowledge of the material, and this can help build on that knowledge. And if students have no knowledge, this book starts with the basics like stage directions and different parts of a theatre. I highly recommend this book to any teacher with an introductory or intermediate theatre and drama class.