Technical Theater for Nontechnical People

July 1, 1999
Two under-appreciated theatrical specialties, technical production for the novice and audience development, take center stage in these two thorough works. With hundreds of production/design/technical credits behind him, Campbell has written what will certainly become a standard introductory text on technical theater. All facets of production are clearly explained in jargon-free prose, and unfamiliar terms are highlighted and defined in an appended glossary. In addition to separate chapters on the more traditional elements of technical theater (lights, sound, scenery, properties), Campbell gives equal weight to the venue, design, stage management, corporate theater, and checklists. As valuable as this comprehensive manual is for the neophyte, experienced techies will also benefit from its common sense. Everyone involved with theater should have acces to this most welcome text. Stage Directions, "the practical magazine of theater," is to the theater community what the U*N*A*B*A*S*H*E*D Librarian is to librarians. This guide to cultivating and retaining an audience, the most perplexing and financially significant problem facing every theater, is the latest entry in Heinemann's "Stage Directions" series, compiled mostly from previously published articles in the magazine. This practical compendium, arranged in three sections, addresses how to attract and retain a constituency and profiles several theaters that have been successful in both areas. A more focused and audience-specific work, this title will be of value to theater administrators and marketers as well as smaller theater groups seeking practical and empirically tested ideas and solutions.--Barry X. Miller, Austin P.L., TX

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