Altri libri che potrebbero interessarti

• 

  Yankee Doodle Dandy - George M...

  Elizabeth Titrington Craft

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Playwright, composer, actor, director, and producer George M. Cohan looms large in musical theater legend. Remembered today for classic tunes like "You're a Grand Old Flag" and "Give My Regards to Broadway," he has been called "the father of musical comedy," and his statue stands in the heart of the New York theater district. Cohan's early twentieth-century shows and songs captured the spirit of an era when staggering social change gave new urgency to efforts to define Americanism. He was an Irish American who had the audacity to represent himself as the Yankee Doodle emblem of the nation, a vaudevillian who had the nerve to unapologetically climb the ranks and package his lower-brow style as Broadway. 
   
   
   
  In Yankee Doodle Dandy, the first book on Cohan in fifty years, author Elizabeth T. Craft situates Cohan as a central figure of his day. Examining his multifaceted contributions and the various sociocultural identities he came to embody, Craft shows how Cohan and his works indelibly shaped the American cultural landscape. Informative and engaging, this book offers rich listening for Broadway musical aficionados as well as scholars of musical theater and American cultural history.

  Mostra libro

• 

  Overture of Nature’s Serene...

  Selena Brooke

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Discover tranquility with Overture of Nature’s Serene Meadow Soundscapes In Tune with Soothing Birdsongs for Deep Calm & Stress Relief. This captivating book invites you to experience the harmonious nature, where each page brings you closer to rejuvenation and emotional healing. Designed for those seeking peace and relaxation, this collection harnesses the power of nature-based relaxation and sound therapy to enhance your well-being. 
   Immerse yourself in the beauty of serene meadows, where gentle birdsongs intertwine with the soft whispers of the breeze, creating a soothing atmosphere that promotes mindfulness and calmness. Each chapter offers practical techniques for incorporating meditative practices into your daily routine, empowering you to cultivate a sense of inner peace and harmony. 
   Through engaging reflections and mindful exercises, you will learn to embrace the stillness of the natural world, allowing it to guide you toward a state of deep relaxation. The gentle rhythms of the meadow serve as a backdrop for your journey, helping you reconnect with your senses and find clarity amidst life’s challenges. 
   Whether you are seeking wellness, emotional balance, or simply a moment of repose, Overture of Nature’s Serene Meadow Soundscapes is your companion for cultivating a calm mind and spirit. Experience the transformative power of nature and embark on a journey of self-discovery, renewal, and tranquility. Let the soothing melodies of birds and the peaceful surroundings lead you to a place of deep calm and stress relief, unlocking the potential for a more harmonious life.

  Mostra libro

• 

  Theatre of the Unimpressed - In...

  Jordan Tannahill

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  How dull plays are killing theatre and what we can do about it.
  		 
  Had I become disenchanted with the form I had once fallen so madly in love with as a pubescent, pimple-faced suburban homo with braces? Maybe theatre was like an all-consuming high school infatuation that now, ten years later, I saw as the closeted balding guy with a beer gut he’d become. There were of course those rare moments of transcendencethat kept me coming back. But why did they come so few and far between?
  		 
  A lot of plays are dull. And one dull play, it seems, can turn us off theatre for good. Playwright and theatre director Jordan Tannahill takes in the spectrum of English-language drama – from the flashiest of Broadway spectacles to productions mounted in scrappy storefront theatres – to consider where lifeless plays come from and why they persist. Having travelled the globe talking to theatre artists, critics, passionate patrons and the theatrically disillusioned, Tannahill addresses what he considers the culture of ‘risk aversion’ paralyzing the form.
  		 
  Theatre of the Unimpressed is Tannahill’s wry and revelatory personal reckoning with the discipline he’s dedicated his life to, and a roadmap for a vital twenty-first-century theatre – one that apprehends the value of ‘liveness’ in our mediated age and the necessity for artistic risk and its attendant failures. In considering dramaturgy, programming and alternative models for producing, Tannahill aims to turn theatre from an obligation to a destination.

  Mostra libro

• 

  The Gothic Cathedral -...

  Harris Ropes

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  The origins of Gothic architecture lie in the transition from the Romanesque style that dominated Europe in the early medieval period. Romanesque churches, with their thick walls, small windows, and rounded arches, provided a sense of solidity but limited natural light and height. By the 12th century, new architectural innovations emerged, driven by a desire for greater verticality, spacious interiors, and an infusion of divine light. These aspirations led to the birth of the Gothic style, first appearing in France before spreading across Europe. 
  One of the key figures in this transition was Abbot Suger of the Abbey of Saint-Denis, near Paris. In the 1130s, he initiated the reconstruction of the abbey church, incorporating pointed arches, ribbed vaults, and extensive stained glass windows. Suger believed that light was a manifestation of the divine, and through these architectural changes, he sought to transform the church into a place of spiritual illumination. His innovations set a precedent for what would become the defining characteristics of Gothic architecture. 
  The pointed arch, a hallmark of the Gothic style, replaced the rounded arch of the Romanesque period. This architectural shift was more than an aesthetic change; it allowed for greater structural efficiency, enabling builders to construct taller and more spacious interiors. The ribbed vault, another significant innovation, helped distribute weight more evenly, allowing for thinner walls and the introduction of expansive stained glass windows. These windows, often adorned with biblical scenes, served both a decorative and didactic function, educating the largely illiterate medieval population about religious narratives.

  Mostra libro

• 

  Woven Tapestry - Art and Practice

  Louise Martin, Ros Bryant

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  Woven Tapestry is an in-depth practical guide to the technique of this unique art form, and to finding creative expression within it.
  Progressive exercises based on the authors' combined 50 years' experience are used to explain technique from making a first sample through to finished pieces. These are illustrated by over 400 specially woven samples and diagrams. The underlying principles are outlined and applied in a contemporary and creative way. Full-page images illustrate the qualities of line, colour, pattern and texture unique to woven tapestry, and the rich and exciting range of yarns available. Exercises in making and interpreting designs guide the developing weaver towards making individually creative work. Woven Tapestry offers the reader the technical skills and understanding needed to make expressive and beautiful work of their own. By working with several weft threads simultaneously, tapestry weaving becomes highly nuanced and is capable of complex imagery. Exercises in design show how to make use of the unique qualities that woven tapestry has to offer. The initial techniques are fundamentally simple and are clearly explained using only basic equipment and readily available yarns. The reader is encouraged to take time in learning, and to look closely whilst working. The continuous slow under over rhythm of weft passing through warp can promote a mental space in which to think and feel more deeply, and ultimately to create.
  Right from the first exercise there are creative choices to be made. By progressing to more advanced techniques, and working with many types and combinations of yarns, the expressive freedom available to the developing weaver soon becomes endless.

  Mostra libro

• 

  Janet Jackson's The Velvet Rope

  Ayanna Dozier

  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

  The question of control for Black women is a costly one. From 1986 onwards, the trajectory of Janet Jackson’s career can be summed up in her desire for control. Control for Janet was never simply just about her desire for economic and creative control over her career but was, rather, an existential question about the desire to control and be in control over her bodily integrity as a Black woman. This book examines Janet’s continuation of her quest for control as heard in her sixth album, The Velvet Rope. Engaging with the album, the promotion, the tour, and its accompanying music videos, this study unpacks how Janet uses Black cultural production as an emancipatory act of self-creation that allows her to reconcile with and, potentially, heal from trauma, pain, and feelings of alienation. The Velvet Rope’s arc moves audiences to imagine the possibility of what emancipation from oppression--from sexual, to internal, to societal--could look like for the singer and for others. The sexually charged content and themes of abuse, including self-harm and domestic violence, were dismissed as “selling points” for Janet at the time of its release. The album stands out as a revelatory expression of emotional vulnerability by the singer, one that many other artists have followed in the 20-plus years since its release.

  Mostra libro