1 comments about Designing With Light: An Introduction to Stage Lighting.

1. Well worth having in your collection. A good introduction to the art of lighting theatre productions, with good explanations and examples of the design process. Simple information on control systems and basic patching processes but quite useful colour theory chapter. Also covers luminaires and effects projection techniques. All in all a good text.

5 comments about The Swing Book.

1. but nothing more. I would recommend it if you are interested in the history of swing (particularly the music) and want a guide to swing musicians. Do not expect to learn to swing dance from this book. The lindy hop chapter is like like a glossary of swing dance terms.

   Overall, it is well written and and provides a good introduction but it is too general and its focus can be too brief at times. It doesn't contain anything you couldn't learn from going to a swing dance or using a search engine.




2. What a fabulous book! It appealed to the dancer in me at once. I bought it on a whim, even though I was afraid of getting just another superficial treatment of swing. Pener proved me wrong; this book is killer-diller! I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of research Pener did for the book; any history major (which I am) would be proud of this one. Well-written, well-researched, with tons of addresses, web sites, and CD recommendations, this book is a gem. I thought knew quite a bit about the history and development of swing--I was wrong. A great resource for dancers who want to learn more swing history, culture and fashions. Every dancer, music historian, and swing lover should own this book!



3. The book which ( ) is the stuff! I love swing music and this book only enhanced my views and liking of the topic and music. It is a must buy book. Also, I met Scotty Morris ata show and thanked him for such a great foward. Hoppin job by Degen!



4. Degen Pener has really done his homework on this one. A fine book which treats its subject with respect. With the exception of a few books, Swing is usually given a brief glance in books on music and Jazz and those books often put the music and the dancers down. Pener really seems to like his subject and gives great recommendations on music to buy if you're just starting a collection. Top it all off with a reasonable price and you've got a book that Jazz lovers, Swing music lovers, and Swing dancers should clear space for on their book shelf.



5. More than just a valentine to swing, THE SWING BOOK is highly informative and entertaining. It really all is in here, in a fast and fun way with so many original interviews. Some real research and reporting went into this book, and it shows. Pener does a great job tracing the history of swing back in the day, and the social history of its recent comeback, with great quotes from the people who made it happen. All the experts weigh in, on dancing, on fashion, on tracking down the perfect find (whether it's a full suit or outfit, a small accessory, or the right album with the right performance of the right song), and on the history and artists both then and now. Makes you want to get out there and dance, or at least run to your record store.

5 comments about Pure Imagination: The Making of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

1. I bought this book as a gift for my cousin's birthday. He's not a huge Willy Wonka fan persay but we have fond memories of watching the movie together when we were younger and we like to randomly quote lines from the movie. What a perfect gift idea this would be, I thought. So I bought it online, not knowing what the pages inside looked like. And I was thrilled when I finally received it!
   
   The first thing I must point out is the great pictures. They're high quality and are probably the best parts of the book. There are pictures from the actual movie which are wonderful but my favorite pictures are the behind the scenes pictures. It's neat to see the characters when the camera isn't rolling. There are also a couple of sketches of different scenes (including the "Pure Imagination" scene).
   
   The book is also filled with stories and facts that the average Willy Wonka fan might not know. The book is seperated into chapters so if you're not into, say, how the movie was put together and edited, you can skip right over that part. Being able to see how certain scenes were created and how they casted the movie and where the actors are now (one of the most intriguing sections) makes this book a rather interesting read.
   
   If you know someone who loves Willy Wonka, this would make an excellent gift. I highly recommend it.



2. After reading this book I learned Mel stuart deserves a alot of credit, and rightly so, for bringing to the movie that timeless magical quality that after decades, I never get tired of. However, Mel leaves out to much behind the scenes, personal accounts, stories, general info. esp. as it pertains to the rest of the cast for this to be an enjoyable read.
   
   However, if you love the movie as much as I did, you will still want to buy this book at least to get Mel's take on the making of the movie.



3. After watching the movie since I was a little girl, I finally came across this wonderful book. After being such a fanatic about Wonka, I read this book and found so much more interesting facts about the movie and how it was made. This book is indeed a real treasure find! It is definitely worth the $.



4. While the book is interesting in and of itself, 80% of the content was already said in the audio commentary track of the DVD. The book reads like Mel Stuart listened to the commentary and retyped it out. Plus, even though the book is 160 pages, it's a very light read, you could do it in less than a day. I think it would have been better if there was more detail rather than just limiting all the topics to just one sentence each.



5. ...and you'll see a world of Pure Imagination. And pure imagination is what you get from this beauitfully done retrospective on one of the most important films of my generation: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, written by Mel Stuart and Josh Young.

   Filled with pictures and wonderful stories, this book provides an enchanting, enjoyable walk down memory lane. You read starting from the original impetus to make the film, all the way to a fond reunion many years later of the kids and director.

   Mel Stuart, being the film's director, has numerous and interesting insights to the creation of this classic. Some of the information in the book is also mentioned in a documentary on the Willy Wonka DVD, but no fear. It seems that if you love this movie, you simply cannot get enough of it!

   This book was purcahsed for me as a gift, and it does make the perfect gift for anyone who loves this movie. Or buy it for yourself, curl up on a cold, rainy night, and relive all of those wonderful memories you have of this incredible movie.

4 comments about Elegantly Frugal Costumes: The Poor Man's Do-It-Yourself Costume Maker's Guide.

1. nice little book, detailing ways to change existing 20th century clothes into period costumes for theatre.



2. I received this book as a gift, and I am grateful for it. It does have some good ideas, some that I hadn't thought about, some different ways of doing things. It helps to think in different ways, do some brain-exercising.



3. What I like about this book is that it foregoes any esoterica and costuming theory in favor of good old fashioned practicality. The reader doesn't have to sift through the excruciating snobby details, but instead is given the real lowdown as if visiting with a best friend who happens to be a costume mistress.

   This book focuses mainly on costuming for low-budget productions (such as community theatre or a school play), providing useful information and advice on making good-looking costumes from already existing garments and/or thrift store offerings. Information abounds about time period, costume cuts & styles, ways to splurge or skimp on your costumes and still have them look fabulous, as well as details that an inexperienced costumer might overlook (such as using velcro instead of buttons for ease in costume changes).

   I would highly recommend this to anyone who is involved in costuming for a production, or anyone who simply loves costumes and loves to recycle old clothes into great new ones. I love this book and have read through it several times just for inspiration.




4. An excellent book of ideas and help for someone wanting to learn to costume for community theatre. It contains excellent examples of her own work that is easy to follow. It does not overload your brain with useless information. A good starting out book, that aids a person in organizing the information , and research problems needed to suceeded in this field. Also a good read for veterans of the design buisness to give fresh ideas and back up what they have done . After 35 years finally I have found someone who appreciates the use of thrift stores , goodwill and lace curtains for stage costumes. Thank you Shirley for putting it into words and pictures.

5 comments about Excelsior, You Fathead!: The Art and Enigma of Jean Shepherd.

1. Excelsior, You Fathead is a must-have for any Jean Shepherd fan, simply because it's the only thing of its kind out there. There is a treasure trove of Shepherd tidbits, recollections and quotes enough to have made me re-read the book, in part or in its entirety, over 7 times.
   
   But, I must say that Mr. Bergmann has an agenda. Clearly, he prefers the 1950s Shep - the Jazz Shepherd - over the 1960s or 70s model. Having listened extensively to both, I feel the opposite but that's just a matter of opinion. However, the author seems desperate to dig up some dirt on Shep, to make this a tell-all. But the best he can come up with is people whining about how he wasn't always very nice to people, talked a lot (duh!) and tended not to look up old friends. The only thing remotely approaching the scandalous is that Shepherd didn't seem to care about his two kids from a very early marriage - this is deplorable, of course, but hardly Joan Crawford wire hanger material.
   
   Also, Bergmann seems to be a rather lazy author - I doubt whether he ever left New York City to write this book. There is no attempt to interview people from Jean's early past who might shed some light on his personality. The author says, over and over, how mysterious and close-mouthed Jean Shepherd must have been because he (author) just couldn't find out some things. Well, it IS hard to find out much when you're a lazy author.
   
   It is still an enjoyable book and, as I said, a must-have, must-read. Just don't expect too much of it. And maybe someday, some author a little less biased, a little less lazy will do Jean Shepherd justice. In the meantime, this is the best we have.



2. This book does not attempt to be a linear, narrative biography of Shepherd's life, but instead contains voluminous material organized around broad themes that cut across different time periods of his life. This is both a difficulty and a strength. It can make for a somewhat difficult and disjointed reading experience. The text contains extensive quotes from Shepherd's radio broadcasts, which, while valuable to have in writing, lose something in translation from Shepherd's delivery to written text and break up the flow of Bergmann's text. However, when viewed as a Jean Shepherd encyclopedia, the book is an indispensable addition to a Shepherd fan's library, as it assembles a prodigious amount of material. The book paints a full picture of Shepherd in both his genius and his flaws, including a sensitive treatment of Shepherd's problematic relationships with women and with his two, sometimes unacknowledged, children.



3. I was very disappointed after reading this book. A lot of good information about the life of Jean Shepherd was left out. Many details of his life were either missed or overlooked. I would hardly call it a biography. Most of the details were left out. After reading the entire book, I said to myself, "Is that it?" Hopefully someone will write a more complete story of such a man that was larger than life.



4. For this listener of the incomparable Jean Shepherd when his show was live on WOR radio out of New York and who still tunes in via taped recordings on the internet, "Excelsior...[ever higher]...You Fathead! [a Shepherdism]" is very welcome. His show did not book guests; it was Shep alone, monologist at work. Yes, Shepherd branched out into books, records, and a film he wrote and narrated--but those were pale imitations of the real thing, the radio show.
   
   Some of Bergmann's revelations about Shepherd's personal life will be disappointing to those who carried his banner a tad too high. Bergmann is a fan but his view of Jean Shepherd's unpleasant side is unvarnished and well-researched through interviews and published quotes of those who knew him. By all accounts Jean Shepherd was a hard man to know. Purposely so: he often did not give his real address to employers, coworkers, and friends. He would disappear for days in fast cars, touring the countryside. He traveled the world, usually alone. Which left the author fewer sources than he would have preferred decades after Shepherd's radio years. But he found enough. They offer insights into the "enigma" in the title, a polite description of a probable manic-depressive who often sabotaged his own dreams of fame and fortune.
   
   The "art" was spun out of an empty studio near Times Square in the quiet of late night from the 1950s to the mid-70s; it is an art like no other before or since. Some of Shepherd's monologues are partially excerpted here from recordings Bergmann painstakingly transcribed. Among these the author deftly weaves details he has unearthed of Shepherd's childhood in Indiana, his Army service, his tempestuous years in the Big City.
   
   Of course, not all Shepherd's radio broadcasts were unforgettable. The man had to fill forty-five minutes every night. When he got away from his natural talent for storytelling and indugled in shrill rants against all manner of "phoniness," he played too strongly to the sophomoric segment of his audience, the size of which he sometimes claimed dismayed him, Bergmann notes. Yet throughout his career Shepherd relied heavily on gigs at college campuses for extra income. But he wanted it all. The author relates how his subject fancied himself an heir to Jack Paar on the big-money "Tonight Show" before Johnny Carson snatched it away; had he won the job, Shepherd wouldn't have lasted a month: he was consistently dismissive of that audience...but he still craved its approval. And was bitter he didn't get it.
   
   Yet, he played Carnegie Hall to great success. Carson was an admirer, Bergmann says, advising Shepherd to "get out of that damned medium [radio]." But radio was made for Shepherd and he for it. Bergmann writes that U.S. Poet Laureate Billy Collins grew up a regular listener and acknowledged being influenced by Shepherd. When Shep was "on," it was magic. Regretfully, talk radio was withering in Shepherd's best years. And he knew it.
   
   This is the first book-length work that gives real shape to the man that was Jean Shepherd and the genius behind the voice.



5. Forget "A Christmas Story" for a moment. Even this long love letter to Jean Shepherd only covers it to the extent of two pages. This book attempts to document the body of work Mr. Shepherd produced, within its contemporary context, and relate it to the present-day descendants. At least, that's where I think the author intended to go.
   
   What ended up happening, from what I can tell, is that there was a great deal of research done 'breadth-wise' and not enough 'depth-wise'. Mr. Shepherd had two children who he disowned, which was a bit of a shock considering his on-air persona. This alone merited an entire chapter of material, analysis, interviews, anything. It barely made it into the book, except to lightly underscore some mild point about Mr. Shepherd being a bit of an SOB. There are all these interesting inflection points throughout, but no attempt is made to root out anything other than a mere mention or two. Instead, the author chooses to use radio transcripts to either demonstrate some thinly-connected theme (Shep as a jazz talk-radio guy, Shep as an anti-corporate loner, Shep as a 'realist'). The transcripts are hit and miss on the coverage of the point being proposed as well. Yes, it's great to read some Shep transcripts, but what's the point being made here?
   
   As a full spectral coverage of Mr. Shepherd's work, it fails to catalog along some consistent continuum all of the work, in its proper context. The author could've used a timeline structure to place all of the known media, which would have made an extremely useful supplementary guide for the book as well as a nice 'wish list' for fans. I feel as though this review could easily turn into the kind of editorial feedback the author needed *before* he submitted his final galleys.
   
   For all the heft of this hardcover, I expected far more analysis or even a somewhat cogent thesis. Even as a comprehensive biographical reference book, it falls far short in the editing department. Still, it merited three stars because it does bring much to the table. It never really organizes it, though.
   
   -Fred

2 comments about Three Plays: Absurd Person Singular; Absent Friends; Bedroom Farce.

1. In our opinion " Absurd person singular " is worth four stars. The relationships of the three couples are presented in a very funny way. The main characters are exaggerated very much. That's why the comedy is funny as well as critical. There is Marion for example who behaves in avery theatrical way, and Jane who is obsessed with cleaning. The reader is disillusioned about marriages and friendships because he realizes that marriages and even friendships aren't always as positive and easy as they first appear to be. Eva's saying:" My existence ended the day he married me " shows this fact in a very clear way. Another aspect is that the reader doesn't really identify with those characters because only types are presented which makes us see the characters critically.



2. In our opinion " Absurd person singular " is worth four stars. The relationships of the three couples are presented in a very funny way. The main characters are exaggerated very much. That's why the comedy is funny as well as critical. There is Marion for example who behaves in avery theatrical way, and Jane who is obsessed with cleaning. The reader is disillusioned about marriages and friendships because he realizes that marriages and even friendships aren't always as positive and easy as they first appear to be. Eva's saying:" My existence ended the day he married me " shows this fact in a very clear way. Another aspect is that the reader doesn't really identify with those characters because only types are presented which makes us see the characters critically.

No comments about Drama: Classical to Contemporary.

2 comments about The Blacks: A Clown Show.

1. The single star is for this edition, not the play itself, which is Genet's only true theatrical masterpiece--as his true masterpieces are otherwise his novels. PAGE 120 OF THE BOOK IS BLANK! That's right, so stay away from this one until a new printing comes out. I contacted the publisher personally, and all current copies share the defect. No date has been set for a reprint. I would commend the original French to able readers. The play contains notable amounts of prose poetry that translations tend to butcher--as they also, for some mysterious reason, tend to do the play's emotional impact; the French is much more touching.



2. Let me start off by saying that Jean Genet's "The Blacks" isn't for everyone. It's a very abstract work that demands patience from the reader. It's a play within a play so there are lots of times when you are not sure when the characters are addressing themselves or the audience. That being said Genet originally wrote the play (In French) as an assault against French Colonialism in Africa in the 1950's.....However "The Blacks" most famous production came in New York in 1961. Directed by Gene Frankel and starring Roscoe Lee Browne, James Earl Jones, Lou Gossett Jr., Cicely Tyson, and Maya Angelou "The Blacks" ushered in a whole new era of black actors in America. This version of the play contains between 10 and 15 pictures of that New York production. The pictures alone are more than worth the price of the book!

No comments about The Cambridge Companion to August Wilson (Cambridge Companions to Literature).

2 comments about Educator's Survival Guide for Television Production and Activities: Second Edition.

1. This is really good if you are starting a school news show from scratch. It has great project ideas!



2. This is a good book if you are looking to start a school TV program, or improve the program you've got. I am a school media specialist, and we do a lot these days - librarian, web-master, research teacher, TV producer. This book helped me improve my school TV program. It described a lot of equipment that was previously unfamiliar to me. It also told me what to look for in various equipment (audio mixer, video mixer, etc.) My next purchase is probably a video editor, and this book tells me what features to look for. My students have created several of the video projects enclosed, and students and teachers like them alot. Buy this book if you want to improve your school tv studio.