Playing with theory in theatre practice /

Alrutz (Univ. of Texas, Austin) and Listengarten and Wood (both, Univ. of Central Florida) have been able to engage a number of eminent theater scholars and practitioners to explore "how theory is at play in the artistic process." The premise of this useful, if perhaps too broadly conceived, collection is that theory and practice need to play better with each other for the benefit of both. The book's three overlapping parts provide contextual framework, a methodological dialogue, and case studies. No single approach dominates, but excellent discussions of media theory (by Sarah Bay-Cheng), cognitive science (John Lutterbie, Bruce McConachie), landscape theory (Listengarten with Christopher Niess; Brook Hanemann), and theories of acting embodiment map the terrain. Perhaps inevitably, the collection speaks with many voices, from the authoritative to the groping. At its most problematic, the book seems to replicate rather than contest what Mark Fortier terms "theoretical bricolage." At its liveliest, it discards boundaries and acknowledges, as Herbert Blau writes, that "there is no theory without practice" and that, in Hanemann's words, one must "bravely and shamelessly" inject theory, established or nascent, into the production process. Summing Up: Recommended. With reservations. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals. R. Remshardt University of Florida