Robert Viagas's Books

Right This Way

A History of the Audience

By: Robert Viagas

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Right This Way

A History of the Audience

By: Robert Viagas

When you sit down at a play, movie, or concert—or even just watch TV or scroll on your phone—you are taking part in one of the oldest and most meaningful forms of behavior. Being part of an audience is a universal experience, one that has remained a constant feature of human societies even as it has evolved from colosseums to tiny glowing screens. Right This Way is a pop history of audiences through the ages. Delving into the distinctive aspects of what he calls “audiencing,” former Playbill editor Robert Viagas renders the view from the cheap seats in energetic prose. He walks us through the different types of audiences and the history of their changing behaviors, what science has to say about how our brains respond to our experiences, how technology will continue to shape audiences, and why, during COVID-19, people risked a deadly virus to be part of a crowd. Drawing on perspectives from critics, performers, scholars, and many others, Right This Way is a lively, thought-provoking meditation on the audience experience. You’ll never sit and watch something the same way again.

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Page Count

305

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield

Published Date

ISBN 10

1493064568

ISBN 13

9781493064564

At This Theatre

Revised and Updated Edition

By: Louis Botto,Robert Viagas

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At This Theatre

Revised and Updated Edition

By: Louis Botto,Robert Viagas

(Applause Books). Theatregoers' favorite history of Broadway is back in an updated and expanded 2010 edition including more than 500 color production photos, vintage archival photos, and Playbill covers from all forty currently operating Broadway theatres. Thirty-eight of the original chapters have been expanded to cover all the shows that have opened in the ten years since the popular 2000 edition, with two new chapters added to include Broadway theatres recently refurbished and returned to life. This unique chronicle is the first work to present a detailed theatre-by-theatre roundup of players and productions that have enchanted audiences at Broadway's great playhouses from 1900 to 2010. The work is an expanded treatment of "At This Theatre," the popular feature in Playbill's Broadway theatre programs. "At This Theatre" offers playgoers instant nostalgia by listing notable hits (and some famed fiascos) that have played through the years in the theatre that they are attending. The book also pays tribute to the distinguished impresarios who built and managed these houses, and the brilliant architects and interior designers who created them. The original 1984 edition was created by Playbill senior editor Louis Botto. Botto worked with editor Robert Viagas on the 2000 update. With the third edition, Botto has passed the author torch to Viagas, who founded Playbill.com and the acclaimed Playbill Broadway Yearbook series, and who has written the updates in Botto's style.

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Page Count

1163

Publisher

Hal Leonard Corporation

Published Date

ISBN 10

1476850275

ISBN 13

9781476850276

The Amazing Story of The Fantasticks

America's Longest-running Play

By: Donald C. Farber,Robert Viagas

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The Amazing Story of The Fantasticks

America's Longest-running Play

By: Donald C. Farber,Robert Viagas

The Amazing Story of the Fantasticks is the detailed history of how this fabulously successful show by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt came into being and how and why it succeeded. In tracing the evolution of the show from an idea to a cultural phenomenon, the book takes readers through the countless auditions to attract backers, the search for theaters to hold tryouts (which indicated disaster), and eventual popular success. Among the actors who have performed in the musical are Anna Maria Alberghetti, Richard Chamberlain, Elliott Gould, Bert Lahr, Liza Minnelli, Robert Goulet, and Glenn Close."--Jacket.

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Page Count

300

Publisher

Hal Leonard Corporation

Published Date

ISBN 10

0879103132

ISBN 13

9780879103132

On the Line

The Creation of A Chorus Line

By: Robert Viagas

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On the Line

The Creation of A Chorus Line

By: Robert Viagas

A Chorus Line, the biggest Broadway hit of its generation, is based on a remarkable series of taped discussions made in the mid 1970s with some of the top “gypsies” (veteran Broadway dancers), many of whom went on to play characters based on themselves in the Tony- and Pulitzer-winning musical. In many ways, On the Line: The Creation of “A Chorus Line” is a continuation of the show itself. In this collective oral history, the 19 original cast members tell how they got involved with the project, how they labored through the months of workshops that shaped it, and what its success has meant for their lives and careers. They paint intimate and frank portraits of co-creators Michael Bennett, Joseph Papp, Ed Kleban – and each other. Originally published in 1990, the book has been updated to continue telling their stories until 2006. Wayne Cilento (“I Can Do That”) has become a Tony-winning choreographer of shows like Wicked and Aida; Kelly Bishop (“Can the adults smoke?”) has become a TV star; Trish Garland has become a California fitness guru, and so forth.

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Page Count

497

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield

Published Date

ISBN 10

0879106972

ISBN 13

9780879106973

The Alchemy of Theatre: The Divine Science

Essays on Theatre and the Art of Collaboration

By: Robert Viagas

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The Alchemy of Theatre: The Divine Science

Essays on Theatre and the Art of Collaboration

By: Robert Viagas

The editor of Playbill's At This Theatre and founding editor of the new Playbill Broadway Yearbook offers a collection of 26 essays on theatre by the top professionals in their fields. Includes contributions by two recently departed leading lights: playwright Wendy Wasserstein and songwriter Cy Coleman. Also, featured are Chita Rivera and Edward Albee; costume designer William Ivey Long; set designer Robin Wagner, and director and choreographer Susan Stroman.

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Page Count

345

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield

Published Date

ISBN 10

1476849498

ISBN 13

9781476849492

The Alchemy of Theatre: The Divine Science

Essays on Theatre and the Art of Collaboration

By: Robert Viagas

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The Alchemy of Theatre: The Divine Science

Essays on Theatre and the Art of Collaboration

By: Robert Viagas

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345

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Rowman & Littlefield

Published Date

ISBN 10

1476849498

ISBN 13

9781476849492

Introduction to Production

Creating Theatre Onstage, Backstage, & Offstage

By: Robert I. Sutherland-Cohen

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Introduction to Production

Creating Theatre Onstage, Backstage, & Offstage

By: Robert I. Sutherland-Cohen

Introduction to Production: Creating Theatre Onstage, Backstage, & Offstage defines the collaborative art of making theatre and the various job positions that go into realizing a production. Beginning with an overview of the art and industry of theatre, the book shows how theatre has evolved through history. The book then breaks down the nuts and bolts of the industry by looking at each professional role within it: from the topmost position of the producer down to the gopher, or production assistant. Each of these positions are defined along with their respective duties, rules, and resources that figure in obtaining these jobs. Each chapter offers exercises, links to videos and websites, review quizzes, and suggested readings to learn more about the creation and production of theatre.

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Page Count

292

Publisher

Taylor & Francis

Published Date

ISBN 10

1317211766

ISBN 13

9781317211761

Working Together in Theatre

Collaboration and Leadership

By: Robert Cohen,Joel Veenstra

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Working Together in Theatre

Collaboration and Leadership

By: Robert Cohen,Joel Veenstra

This book explores how theater artistry melds the forces of collaboration and leadership, igniting creativity from the first spark of an idea to the climactic curtain call. It throws the spotlight on the dynamic interplay of roles, covering the collaboration between producer, director, playwright, actor, designer, stage manager, dramaturg, and stage crew. Each chapter illuminates various strategies and insights, revealing how you can harness these transformative techniques on your own journey, crafting spellbinding productions through the power of collective creativity. In this new edition, Joel Veenstra builds upon, updates, and expands on Robert Cohen's original concepts in the following ways: - Updated case studies and examples drawn from the combined 75 years of professional theatre-making experience of Cohen and Veenstra, as well as insights from their extensive network of collaborators - Revised flow and scope to include the collaborator's worldview, specific practices for creating collaborative milieu from the start, and conflict resolution tools - Modernized with new research, perspectives, and insights from leadership experts like Brené Brown and Simon Sinek, and team-based organizations like Google and The Second City - Refreshed exercises to enhance practical understanding and application of the concepts - Expanded lens for applications beyond the realm of theatre-making to any collaboration - Revised appendices with recommended digital resources

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Page Count

265

Publisher

Bloomsbury Publishing

Published Date

ISBN 10

135033362X

ISBN 13

9781350333628

Broadway, the Golden Years

Jerome Robbins and the Great Choreographer-Directors, 1940 to the Present

By: Robert Emmet Long

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Broadway, the Golden Years

Jerome Robbins and the Great Choreographer-Directors, 1940 to the Present

By: Robert Emmet Long

Broadway, the Golden Years, is a wonderfully readable group portrait of the great Broadway choreographers from the mid-20th century to our own time: Jerome Robbins, Agnes de Mille, Gower Champion, Bob Fosse, Michael Bennett, Tommy Tune, Graciela Daniele, and Susan Stroman. The hits generated by two generations of choreographer-directors define the Broadway stage: Oklahoma!; On the Town; West Side Story; Hello, Dolly!; Fiddler on the Roof; A Chorus Line; Dancin'; Dream Girls; The Producers; and many more

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Page Count

324

Publisher

A&C Black

Published Date

ISBN 10

0826414621

ISBN 13

9780826414625

Cultural Evolution and its Discontents

Cognitive Overload, Parasitic Cultures, and the Humanistic Cure

By: Robert Watson

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Cultural Evolution and its Discontents

Cognitive Overload, Parasitic Cultures, and the Humanistic Cure

By: Robert Watson

People worry that computers, robots, interstellar aliens, or Satan himself – brilliant, stealthy, ruthless creatures – may seize control of our world and destroy what’s uniquely valuable about the human race. Cultural Evolution and its Discontents shows that our cultural systems – especially those whose last names are "ism" – are already doing that, and doing it so adeptly that we seldom even notice. Like other parasites, they’ve blindly evolved to exploit us for their own survival. Creative arts and humanistic scholarship are our best tools for diagnosis and cure. The assemblages of ideas that have survived, like the assemblages of biological cells that have survived, are the ones good at protecting and reproducing themselves. They aren’t necessarily the ones that guide us toward our most admirable selves or our healthiest future. Relying so heavily on culture to protect our uniquely open minds from cognitive overload makes us vulnerable to hijacking by the systems that co-evolve with us. Recognizing the selfish Darwinian functions of these systems makes sense of many aspects of history, politics, economics, and popular culture. What drove the Protestant Reformation? Why have the Beatles, The Hunger Games, and paranoid science-fiction thrived, and how was hip-hop co-opted? What alliances helped neoliberalism out-compete Communism, and what alliances might enable environmentalism to overcome consumerism? Why are multiculturalism and university-trained elites provoking working-class nationalist backlash? In a digital age, how can we use numbers without having them use us instead? Anyone who has wondered how our species can be so brilliant and so stupid at the same time may find an answer here: human mentalities are so complex that we crave the simplifications provided by our cultures, but the cultures that thrive are the ones that blind us to any interests that don’t correspond to their own.

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Page Count

485

Publisher

Routledge

Published Date

ISBN 10

0429670877

ISBN 13

9780429670879

Good Morning, Olive

Haunted Theatres of Broadway and Beyond

By: Robert Viagas

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Good Morning, Olive

Haunted Theatres of Broadway and Beyond

By: Robert Viagas

GOOD MORNING, OLIVE: HAUNTED THEATRES OF BOADWAY AND BEYOND

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Page Count

285

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield

Published Date

ISBN 10

1493064541

ISBN 13

9781493064540

Leading Edge Polymer Research

By: Robert K. Bregg

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Leading Edge Polymer Research

By: Robert K. Bregg

Polymers are substances containing a large number of structural units joined by the same type of linkage. These substances often form into a chain-like structure. Starch, cellulose, and rubber all possess polymeric properties. Today, the polymer industry has grown to be larger than the aluminium, copper and steel industries combined. Polymers already have a range of applications that far exceeds that of any other class of material available to man. Current applications extend from adhesives, coatings, foams, and packaging materials to textile and industrial fibres, elastomers, and structural plastics. Polymers are also used for most composites, electronic devices, biomedical devices, optical devices, and precursors for many newly developed high-tech ceramics. This book presents leading-edge research in this rapidly-changing and evolving field.

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Page Count

316

Publisher

Nova Publishers

Published Date

ISBN 10

1594544352

ISBN 13

9781594544354

Book's by Robert Viagas

Right This Way

Right This Way

At This Theatre

At This Theatre

The Amazing Story of The Fantasticks

The Amazing Story of The Fantasticks

On the Line

On the Line

The Alchemy of Theatre: The Divine Science

The Alchemy of Theatre: The Divine Science

The Alchemy of Theatre: The Divine Science

The Alchemy of Theatre: The Divine Science

Introduction to Production

Introduction to Production

Working Together in Theatre

Working Together in Theatre

Broadway, the Golden Years

Broadway, the Golden Years

Cultural Evolution and its Discontents

Cultural Evolution and its Discontents

Good Morning, Olive

Good Morning, Olive

Leading Edge Polymer Research

Leading Edge Polymer Research

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