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A unique account of the way architects, dramatists, and philosophers transformed theatre space in the eighteenth century.
List of contents
Introduction: the 'first frame' of Enlightenment theatre space; 1. The divided scene of theatre space in the Neo-classical era; 2. The theatrical frame in French Neo-classical dramatic theory; 3. Enlightenment spectators and the theatre of experiment; 4. Theatre architecture reform and the spectator as sense function; 5. Optics and stage space in Enlightenment theatre design; Epilogue: modern spectatorial consciousness; Appendix: dedicated public theatres built in France, 1752-90.
About the author
Pannill Camp is Assistant Professor of Drama at Washington University, St Louis. His research examines points of intersection between theatre history and the history of philosophy, especially in eighteenth-century France. Before joining the faculty of Washington University, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Humanities Center at Harvard University, Massachusetts and taught in Harvard's Department of the History of Art and Architecture. At Brown University, Rhode Island, he won the Joukowski Family Foundation's Award for Outstanding Dissertation in the Humanities, and the Weston Award for theatre directing. His work has been published in journals including Theatre Journal, Performance Research, the Journal for Eighteenth-Century Studies, and the Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism.
Summary
Drawing on philosophy, dramatic theory, and architecture, this is the only book in English about the modernisation of French playhouses before the Revolution. Exploring theatre architecture reform in France as part of a broader cultural phenomenon, it will be of interest to students of theatre, architecture, and the Enlightenment.
