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9780809336005

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This book charts the development of aquatic spectacle performances from the 1939 World's Fair to the recent death of a trainer at Sea World, discussing the performances in terms of an 'aesthetics of descension.' While the 1939 Fair has received much scholarly attention, the broader story of aquatic spectacles has not. This book brings its diverse examples together in a lively and original manner. --Michael Peterson, author, Straight White Male: Performance Art Monologues <p/> Swim Pretty argues that aquatic spectacles perform ideological positions around race, gender, and ecology. With rigorous historical analysis and keen contemporary observations, Kokai constructs an acute understanding of the uneasy cohabitations of capitalism and nature; animal and human; and tourism, pedagogy, and entertainment. She dives beneath the surface of unexplored cultural waters and comes up with a treasure trove of information and insights about these ubiquitous spectacles. Readable and fascinating. --Jill Dolan, author of Utopia in Performance: Finding Hope at the Theater

This book charts the development of aquatic spectacle performances from the 1939 World's Fair to the recent death of a trainer at Sea World, discussing the performances in terms of an 'aesthetics of descension.' While the 1939 Fair has received much scholarly attention, the broader story of aquatic spectacles has not. This book brings its diverse examples together in a lively and original manner. --Michael Peterson, author, Straight White Male: Performance Art Monologues Swim Pretty argues that aquatic spectacles perform ideological positions around race, gender, and ecology. With rigorous historical analysis and keen contemporary observations, Kokai constructs an acute understanding of the uneasy cohabitations of capitalism and nature; animal and human; and tourism, pedagogy, and entertainment. She dives beneath the surface of unexplored cultural waters and comes up with a treasure trove of information and insights about these ubiquitous spectacles. Readable and fascinating. --Jill Dolan, author of Utopia in Performance: Finding Hope at the Theater

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Jennifer A. Kokai is an assistant professor and theatre program coordinator at Weber State University. She has published articles in the Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism, Theatre History Studies, the Journal of American Drama and Theatre, and other journals and anthologies.

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