Gorillatheatre: A Practical Guide to Performing Outdoor Theater Anytime, Anywhere FROM THE PUBLISHER
Featured in The New York Times, Gorilla Rep productions are praised both for their acting and for the startling ingenuity of the concept. In Gorilla Theatre, Gorilla Rep founder Christopher Carter Sanderson explains how theatre can be made to work in any free space. Here he provides specific and practical advice for any performer or director and relates stories from his own Gorilla Rep experience that show what the most unorthodox of theatrical techniques can achieve - without a theatre, without a stage, and without a ticket to be sold. Stripping the theatrical experience down to its barest essentials, Gorilla Theatre demonstrates that real theatre isn't about buildings and curtains, but about what happens between actors and audience.
FROM THE CRITICS
Library Journal
As founding artistic director of the Gorilla Repertory Theatre Company, Sanderson knows a thing or two about staging a play in Mother Nature's midst. Since 1989, his company has performed A Midsummer Night's Dream in New York City's Washington Square Park to wide acclaim. Here, he shares his expertise, guiding directors on choosing the piece and location, set designers, casting, permissions and permits, and organizational details such as mission statements, sponsorships, publicity, running effective meetings, and working with volunteers and interns. Known for his modern takes on classical theater, Sanderson calls for the actors and audience to move to a new location for each scene, so he includes a section on directing and dealing with the attendees. In addition, he offers rehearsal guidelines detailing his experiences in scheduling, communicating techniques, and exercises with actors. Sanderson's "paratheatric rehearsal"-a physical technique named in homage of theatre pioneer Jerzy Grotowski-outlines a three-day schedule that requires the cast to live and rehearse in a rural setting while exploring environmental improvisations. Woven into each chapter are guidelines on safety and responsibility as well as the necessary qualities to produce excellence in "gorilla" theater. Recommended for all libraries with active outdoor theater groups.-Elizabeth Stifter, Brooklyn, NY Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
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