Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Introduction -- Chapter 1: Theatre from the Ancient World to the Medieval Era -- Nature Worship -- Mumming Play -- Shamanism -- Ancient Egypt -- Ancient Greece -- Dramatic Genres -- Euripedes -- The Theatre -- Ancient Rome -- Native Traditions -- Imitation of Greek Models -- Seeds of Decay -- Mime and Pantomime -- Popular Traditions and Secular Theatre in the Medieval Era -- Liturgical Drama -- Mystery Cycles -- Morality Plays -- Interludes -- Chapter 2: Renaissance Theatre -- The Renaissance Stage -- Vincenzo Scamozzi -- Major Theatrical Styles, Tendencies, and Forms -- Talian Neoclassicism -- Courtly Entertainments -- Opera -- Commedia Dell'arte -- Jesuit Theatre and School Drama -- Spain's Golden Age -- English Theatre -- Elizabethan Theatre -- Jacobean Theatre -- German Theatre -- French Neoclassicism -- Spread of National Theatres -- Ballet and Opera-Ballet -- Restoration Theatre -- Chapter 3: Western Theatre in the 18th and 19th Centuries -- Middle-Class Drama -- The Beginnings of American Theatre -- The Romantic Theatre -- Melodrama -- The Early 19th Century -- Romantic Realism -- Alexandre Dumas, Fils -- The Actor-Manager -- Movement Toward Realism -- Madame Vestris -- Naturalism -- Théâtre-Libre -- Freie Bühne -- The Independent Theatre -- Moscow Art Theatre -- The American Theatre -- The African Grove Theater -- Popular Entertainment -- Chapter 4: East Asian Theatre -- History and Forms of East Asian Theatre -- Common Traditions -- Kabuki -- Social Conditions -- Chapter 5: Theatre in Southeast Asia -- Diverse Traditions in the Performing Arts -- The Folk Tradition -- The Court Tradition -- The Popular and Western Traditions -- Characteristics of Dance -- Dramatic and Nondramatic Forms -- Styles and Conventions of Movement and Costuming -- Bharata Natyam -- Characteristics of Drama.

Thematic Origins and Materials -- Characters -- Dramatic Materials -- Costumes, Makeup, and Settings -- Origins and Development of the Performing Arts -- Spreading of Styles -- Popular Theatre and Western Rule -- Chapter 6: African Theatre -- West Africa -- Kola Ogunmola -- East Africa -- Southern Africa -- Chapter 7: Western Theatre of the Early 20th Century -- Russia -- Italy -- Expressionism in Germany -- Avant-Garde in France -- Ireland -- Great Britain -- Old Vic -- United States -- Chapter 8: Post-World War II Theatre -- Avant-Garde Experiments -- United States -- Broadway -- Off-Broadway, Off-Off Broadway, and Regional Theatre -- African American, Asian, and Hispanic Companies -- Women's Companies and Gay and Lesbian Theatre -- Tennessee Williams -- Great Britain -- Australia, New Zealand, and Canada -- France -- Germany -- Soviet Union -- Other European Countries -- Conclusion -- Glossary -- Bibliography -- Index -- Back Cover.