What constitutes dramatic performance? Is it make-up, set, intention? Juxtaposing the performer's craft as it is understood in the Occident and Orient--in the context of plays, combat, religion and ritual--A Dictionary of Theatre Anthropology elucidates the nature of dramatic action and the actor's craft by examining the dramatic event cross-culturally.

The result of ten years' research, The Dictionary of Theatre Anthropology include practical discussions of balance, opposition, and montage among other techniques, and addresses such issues as The Text and the Stage, The Dilated Body, and Energetic Language. Lavishly illustrated with photographic essays as well as drawings and diagrams, this sourcebook on global theatre is an inspiring tribute to the secret art of the performer.