Overview

Michelle Hensley, founder of Ten Thousand Things Theater in Minneapolis, shares more than twenty years of her company's nationally unique work bringing professional theatre to those in prisons, homeless shelters, adult education centres, and rural areas, as well as the general public. More than a chronological history, All the Lights On is also about the radiant power of theatre. In this articulate and compelling book, Hensley distils what non-traditional audiences, along with the conditions her artists must perform under to reach them, have taught her about Brecht, the Greeks, Shakespeare, musicals, and the essence of what is necessary to make vibrant and essential theatre. Her experiences lead her to conclude that theatre artists become better and the art form itself much richer when everyone is included in the audience. In Ten Thousand Things productions, people from very different economic classes sit next to each other in the round and often experience unexpected connections with each other. Hensley writes in the introduction, ""Not only do we have a chance to experience the multiple viewpoints of many characters in the play, but with all the lights on, we are able to consider the differing viewpoints of the other audience members seated around the circle. It all serves to increase, just a little, the radiance of our world"".

Full Product Details

Author:   Michelle Hensley
Publisher:   Minnesota Historical Society Press,U.S.
Imprint:   Minnesota Historical Society Press,U.S.
Dimensions:   Width: 18.00cm , Height: 1.20cm , Length: 23.00cm
Weight:   0.438kg
ISBN:  

9780873519830

ISBN 10:   0873519833
Pages:   224
Publication Date:   01 March 2015
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Available To Order  
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Table of Contents

Introduction: A Little Bag of Silver; Radiance: The Heart; Imagining the Audience, Right or Wrong: Beginnings; Fairy Tales-Big Enough Stories: Choosing a Script; Audiences from Life's Extremes-The Greeks: Fairy Tale Group #1; Just Tell the Story -Shakespeare: Fairy Tale Group #2; Abbondanza! The Wealth of Very Few Things: Production Values; Everybody Needs to Sing-American Musicals: Fairy Tale Group #3; Concept-free Directing-Originality from Necessity: Preparation, Rehearsals; No Place to Hide: Performances; The Power of Unexpected Connection-Political Theater: Going into the World; All the Lights On-Facing Misogyny & Reinventing Dead Systems: Organization; Epilogue: What This Book is For: Ending Words, Beginning Words; Appendix: Ten Thousand Things Production History.

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Author Information

Michelle Hensley is founder and artistic director of Ten Thousand Things in Minneapolis, where she has brought over fifty tours of award-winning drama to non-traditional audiences in prisons, shelters, and housing projects, as well as the general public.

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