Focusing on the collaborative and creative processes that go into productions, The Creative Spirit: An Introduction to Theatre introduces students to the theatre through the plays themselves and people who write them, create them, and act in them. The book provides a rich context for each play with a discussion of the playwright's other works, sources for the play, timelines that present historical and cultural background, and a section on a particular production of the play to give students a sense of the theatre industry at close hand. The Creative Spirit includes complete scripts of five plays: August Wilson's and Joe Turner's Come and Gone, Wakako Yamauchi's And the Soul Shall Dance, Tony Kushner's Angels in America, Milcha Sanchez-Scott's Dog Lady, and Nilo Cruz's Anna in the Tropics.

Author Biography

Stephanie Arnold received her B.A. degree in English from Stanford University and then continued her studies at the University of Wisconsin where she received an M.F.A. degree in directing and a Ph.D. in dramatic literature and theory. Before joining the Lewis & Clark College faculty in 1986, she taught at Mills College and the University of California, Riverside. Stephanie Arnold teaches acting, directing, and dramatic literature including a special topics course in Latino Theatre. The productions she has directed include works by classical and contemporary playwrights as well as musicals and opera. She is currently at work on the fifth edition of her textbook, The Creative Spirit: An Introduction to Theatre, which is published by McGraw-Hill and in use at colleges and universities around the country. She has recently returned from leading the Lewis & Clark College off campus study program to New York City.