Book, Composing Ourselves: The Little Theatre Movement and the American Audience

Composing Ourselves: The Little Theatre Movement and the American Audience (Theater in the Americas), by Dorothy Chansky. Southern Illinois University Press, Chicago, 2004. Hard cover, approximately 6 1/4 by 9 1/4 inches, 293 pages, bibliography, indexed. Pre-owned item in good condition, no handwriting, no markings, no tears. Dust jacket with normal wear, light soiling, no tears. "When movies replaced theatre as popular entertainment in the years 1910-20, the world of live drama was wide open for reform. American advocates and practitioners founded theatres in a spirit of anti-commercialism, seeking to develop an American audience for serious theatre, mounting plays in what would today be called alternative spaces, and uniting for the cause an eclectic group of professors, social workers, members of women's clubs, bohemians, artists, students, and immigrants. This rebellion, called the Little Theatre Movement, also prompted and promoted the college theatre major, the inclusion of theatre pedagogy in K-12 education, prototypes for the nonprofit model, and the notion that theatre is a valuable form of self-expression."