Project Gutenberg 2011-07-20 Public domain in the USA. 301 Matthews, Brander 1852 1929 Penn, Arthur Matthews, James Brander Matthews, J. Brander (James Brander) 16021742 A Book About the Theater The show business -- The limitations of the stage -- A moral from a toy theater -- Why five acts? -- Dramatic collaboration -- The dramatization of novels and the novelization of plays -- Women dramatists -- The evolution of scene-painting -- The book of the opera -- The poetry of the dance -- The principles of pantomime -- The ideal of the acrobat -- The decline and fall of the negro-minstrelsy -- The utility of the variety-show -- The method of modern magic -- The lamentable tragedy of Punch and Judy -- The puppet-play, past and present -- Shadow-pantomime, with all the modern improvements -- The problem of dramatic criticism. Produced by Chris Curnow, Ernest Schaal, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) "A Book About the Theater" by Brander Matthews is a collection of essays written in the early 20th century. The work examines various aspects of theatrical arts and offers insights on the intricacies of the theater, from dramatic structure to performance techniques. Matthews, a professor of dramatic literature, brings both academic rigor and personal experience to his analysis, addressing topics that range from spectacle in theater to the nature of audience engagement. At the start of the book, Matthews sets the stage for his exploration by reflecting on the show business, tying it to historical figures like Disraeli and discussing their more theatrical approaches to politics. He emphasizes the integral relationship between drama and spectacle, asserting that all forms of entertainment, including theater, are ultimately about amusement. Through anecdotes and examples from various forms of theatrical expression, he begins to establish his thesis that understanding the art of the stage requires not only an appreciation of dramatic literature but also an awareness of its performance context and the evolving dynamics of audience engagement. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 48.4 (College-level). Difficult to read. en Theater -- History Theater Drama -- History and criticism PN Text Category: Plays/Films/Dramas Category: Essays, Letters & Speeches Category: Art 499931 2025-08-15T05:18:50.761878 text/html 497642 2021-01-07T22:41:10 text/html 2753690 2025-08-15T05:19:02.762782 application/epub+zip 2760868 2025-08-15T05:18:55.713819 application/epub+zip 258183 2025-08-15T05:18:52.788867 application/epub+zip 4124361 2025-08-15T05:19:06.972789 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 4109468 2025-08-15T05:19:00.324807 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 399286 2022-09-16T17:35:08.861679 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 469318 2025-08-15T05:18:50.066843 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 468910 2021-01-07T22:41:10 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 468909 2021-01-07T22:41:10 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 21732 2025-08-15T05:19:07.106760 application/rdf+xml 14115 2025-08-15T05:18:53.319831 image/jpeg 3899 2025-08-15T05:18:53.048837 image/jpeg 173877 2021-01-07T22:41:10 application/octet-stream application/zip 2677362 2021-01-07T22:41:10 application/octet-stream application/zip 173682 2021-01-07T22:41:10 application/octet-stream application/zip 2744967 2025-08-15T05:18:50.873849 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia