In an American suburb in the early 1980s, students at a highly competitive performing arts high school struggle and thrive in a rarified bubble, ambitiously pursuing music, movement, Shakespeare, and, particularly, their acting classes. When within this striving "Brotherhood of the Arts," two freshmen, David and Sarah, fall headlong into love, their passion does not go unnoticed--or untoyed with--by anyone, especially not by their charismatic acting...

"Like many others on the autism spectrum, 20-something stand-up comic Michael McCreary has been told by more than a few well-meaning folks that he doesn't "look" autistic. But, as he's quick to point out in this memoir, autism "looks" different for just about everyone with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Diagnosed with ASD at age five, McCreary got hit with the performance bug not much later. During a difficult time in junior high, he started journaling,...

Scarlett has never left the tiny island where she and her beloved sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett's father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval, the far-away, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show, are over.But this year, Scarlett's long-dreamt of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett...

This volume represents one of the first efforts to harvest the rapidly emerging scholarship in the field of American rural history. Building on the insights and methodologies that social historians have directed toward urban life, the contributors explore the past as it unfolded in the rural settings in which most Americans have lived during most of American history. The essays cover a broad range of topics: the character and consequences of manufacturing...

If you're like most performing artists, you're not in it for the money. Whether you're a musician, a dancer, or an actor, you've spent years mastering your craft. But to make it your career-you need to figure out how to get paid. Jobs are scarce and talent alone no longer assures success. Today's performers need to hone their entrepreneurial skills and create their own careers. Inspired by the celebrated Juilliard course, The World's Your Stage explains...

Directed by Elizabeth LeCompte, TO YOU, THE BIRDIE! (Phèdre) is The Wooster Group's **OBIE**-winning production of Paul Schmidt's version of Racine's Phèdre, re-set in a mobile modernist landscape of sliding plexiglass panels, omnipresent monitors, and hidden cameras. Winner of 2002 **OBIE** and **BESSIE** awards for Best Production and Best Performer (Kate Valk)! *An "exhilarating dissection of Racine’s tragedy"* - **The New York Times**

Award winning comedian, actor, screenwriter and presenter Simon Amstell puts his emotions on the line in this very special performance of his stand-up show, Numb, which he has toured round the UK and taken to New York. Recorded at the famous BBC TV Centre, it’s a stripped-down, intimate performance, as he reflects on his inability to connect with people, including family and lovers. Amstell attempts to heal himself in public in a raw and honest...

Rimas Tuminas' adaptation of two novels by Grigory Kanovich, is a dreamy, ruminative, comedic road trip, centering around the parlous fortunes of Eastern European Jews at the start of the 20th century. A period piece that carries a modern conscious, Smile Upon Us, is a Becket-like "Waiting for Jehovah" featuring three towering figures from the Russian stage, Viktor Sukhorukov, Aleksei Guskov and Vladimir Simonov.

Roman Kocherzhevsky’s endlessly inventive reimagining of Gogol’s classic Russian poem shakes off a layer of dust from the revered work to help us answer questions we all face today. It doesn’t matter whether Kocherzhevsky has dressed his actors in waterproof trench coats or embroidered tailcoats, furnished the stage with delicate antiquities or Danish modern. In the end, as Gogol himself asks of us, “Isn’t there some part of Chichikov in...

From his massive 2012 tour ‘What’s Happening White People?’ join Paul Chowdhry live and uncensored from his huge sell-out show at the legendary Hammersmith Apollo. Paul dissects all the issues of growing up and living in multicultural Britain with his own brand of edgy and highly charged comedy. From reusing margarine tubs to passive racism to breaking down racial barriers, there are no holds barred and nothing is left unturned as Paul tackles...