Michel Saint-Denis and the Shaping of the Modern Actor

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By Jane Baldwin

ISBN: 0-313-30566-8

ISBN-13: 978-0-313-30566-5

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240 pages

Praeger Publishers

Publication: 9/30/2003

List Price: $62.95 (UK Sterling Price: £43.95)

Discount Price: $31.48 Sale Price for U.S. Customers Only. Save 50%. Ends 12/31/2009.

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Media Type: Hardcover

Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4

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Series Title: Contributions in Drama and Theatre Studies: Lives of the Theatre

Reviews:

This valuable, well-written volume documents the work and influence of French director and teacher Michel Saint-Denis through detailed accounts of his productions in France and England and of the theater-training programs he established in England, France, Canada, and the US....Essential. Students, actors, directors, and teachers of 20th-century theater.
—Choice April 2004

Description: In a career that spanned more then four decades and four countries, Michel Saint-Denis-actor, director, teacher, and theorist-was a major force in twentieth-century theatre. Baldwin chronicles his life and career, which was characterized by frequent beginnings, triumphs, and disasters. Although the times, the artistic currents, and the places changed, Saint-Denis's ambition remained consistent: to create a permanent company dedicated to theatrical experiment coupled with school. While this aspiration was never fully realized, the result of his failure was to have a more lasting effect on the theatre. Always on the move, he implanted his theatre practice internationally through the creation of innovative drama schools and his own teaching. In this long-overdue assessment, Saint-Denis's contribution to the stage is brought to light in vivid detail.

In a career that spanned more then four decades and four countries, Michel Saint-Denis-actor, director, teacher, and theorist-was a major force in twentieth-century theatre. Baldwin chronicles his life and career, which was characterized by frequent beginnings, triumphs, and disasters. Although the times, the artistic currents, and the places changed, Saint-Denis's ambition remained consistent: to create a permanent company dedicated to theatrical experiment coupled with school. While this aspiration was never fully realized, the result of his failure was to have a more lasting effect on the theatre. Always on the move, he implanted his theatre practice internationally through the creation of innovative drama schools and his own teaching. In this long-overdue assessment, Saint-Denis's contribution to the stage is brought to light in vivid detail.

Making the case that the Saint-Denis's innovations, ideas, and vision are present in current theatrical practice, Baldwin resurrects this important figure and examines a life and career that had almost been forgotten. Thirty-five years after his death, the author contends his influence can still be seen in the drama schools he created-the London Theatre Studio, the Old Vic School, the Ecole Superieure d'Art Dramatique, the National Theatre School of Canada, the Juilliard Drama Division-and in the spirit behind much that was accomplished at England's National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, and Royal Court. This consideration casts new light on this important figure and reveals the extent of his role in the shaping of modern theatre and dramatic arts.

Table of Contents:

Series Foreword by D. G. Beer, Simon Williams, and Christopher Innes
Acknowledgements
Chronology
(Re)claiming Michel Saint-Denis's Place in the Theatre
A Call to the Theatre
Burgundy: Working with Actors
The Compagnie des Quinze and the Emergence of Michel Saint-Denis the Director
Linking Theatrical Cultures: The London Theatre Studio
Chekhov,the Rediscovery of Realism: Saint-Denis's Productions of Three Sisters and The Cherry Orchard
Michel Saint-Denis/Jacques Duchesne at the BBC
Saint-Denis's Oedipus
Triumph and Disaster: The Old Vic Theatre Centre
Strasbourg and the Centre de l'Est
Extending the Influence: The Juilliard Drama Division
Epilogue
Appendix: Actor Training
Select Bibliography
Index

LCC Class: 792


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