Preface Xvii // Introduction 1 // Part One the Audience // 1 the Role of the Audience 11 // 2 the Imagination of the Audience 25 // 3 Background and Expectations of the Audience 43 // 4 The Critic and the Audience 63 // Part Two Purpose and Perspective: Theatrical Genres // 5 Purpose and Point of View 79 // 6 Tragedy and Other Serious Drama 95 // 7 Comedy and Tragicomedy 115 // Part Three the Playwright: Dramatic Structure and Dramatic Characters // 8 Conventions of Dramatic Structure 139 // 9 Dramatic Structure: Climactic and Episodic 155 // 10 Dramatic Structure: Other Forms 177 // 11 Musical Theater: History and Structure 193 // 12 Dramatic Characters 213 // Part Four the Performers and the Director // 13 Acting: Offstage and On 235 // 14 Stage Acting 249 // 15 The Director 275 // Part Five the Designers: Environment and Visual Elements // 16 Stage Spaces 303 // 17 Scenery 329 // 18 Stage Costumes 357 // 19 Lighting and Sound 377 // Part Six the Total Experience // 20 Bringing the Elements Together 399 // Appendixes // 1 Realism and Nonrealism 425 // 2 Theories of Tragedy and Comedy 429 // 3 Technical Terms 435 // 4 Major Theatrical Forms and Movements 443 // 5 Historical Outline 453 // Notes 4?9 // Select Bibliography 4gy // Index 491