The First Actresses

The First Actresses PDF Author: Gillian Perry
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781855144118
Category : Actresses
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Featuring a range of large-scale, public and more intimate portraits of actresses, The First Actresses provides a vivid spectacle of femininity, fashion and theatricality from Nell Gwyn to Sarah Siddons. Ranging from oil paint to porcelain, these portraits illustrate the enduring popularity of portraits of women performers. Crucially the book seeks to reassess the traditional association between actress and'prostitute', and the moral ambiguity of women playing male roles. Portraiture became an important vehicle for the expression of concerns about female sexuality, social status, decorum, gender and celebrity. The authors also chart the commercialisation of the spectacle of the actress, as well as the connections between the eighteenth-century 'star system' and modern celebrity culture. Organised thematically, sections include: 'Painting Acresses' Lives', 'Nell Gwyn and Covent Garden Goddesses', 'Divas, Dancing and the Rage for Music: Painting Women in Musical Performance', 'Beauty, Ageing and the Body Politic of the Eighteenth-Century Actress' and 'Star Systems'. Illustrated with remarkable paintings by major artists of the period, a fascinating and lucid text reveals the many ways in which women performers enabled artistic innovation and creativity, provoked intellectual debate and contributed to the popularity and visibility of the theatre. Accompanies an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, London, 20 October 2011 - 8 January 2012

The First Actresses

The First Actresses PDF Author: Gillian Perry
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781855144118
Category : Actresses
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
Featuring a range of large-scale, public and more intimate portraits of actresses, The First Actresses provides a vivid spectacle of femininity, fashion and theatricality from Nell Gwyn to Sarah Siddons. Ranging from oil paint to porcelain, these portraits illustrate the enduring popularity of portraits of women performers. Crucially the book seeks to reassess the traditional association between actress and'prostitute', and the moral ambiguity of women playing male roles. Portraiture became an important vehicle for the expression of concerns about female sexuality, social status, decorum, gender and celebrity. The authors also chart the commercialisation of the spectacle of the actress, as well as the connections between the eighteenth-century 'star system' and modern celebrity culture. Organised thematically, sections include: 'Painting Acresses' Lives', 'Nell Gwyn and Covent Garden Goddesses', 'Divas, Dancing and the Rage for Music: Painting Women in Musical Performance', 'Beauty, Ageing and the Body Politic of the Eighteenth-Century Actress' and 'Star Systems'. Illustrated with remarkable paintings by major artists of the period, a fascinating and lucid text reveals the many ways in which women performers enabled artistic innovation and creativity, provoked intellectual debate and contributed to the popularity and visibility of the theatre. Accompanies an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, London, 20 October 2011 - 8 January 2012

The First English Actresses

The First English Actresses PDF Author: Elizabeth Howe
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521422109
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 248

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Book Description
This book describes how and why women were permitted to act on the public stage after 1660 in England.

The First Actress

The First Actress PDF Author: C. W. Gortner
Publisher: Ballantine Books
ISBN: 0525620907
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 448

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Book Description
“This novel about Sarah Bernhardt, the iconic French actress, is both a riveting portrait of the artist as a passionate young woman and a luscious historical novel full of period detail.”—Melanie Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author of Mistress of the Ritz and The Aviator’s Wife From her beginnings as the daughter of a courtesan to her extraordinary transformation into the most celebrated actress of her era, Sarah Bernhardt is brought to life by an internationally bestselling author praised for his historical novels featuring famous women. Sarah’s highly dramatic life starts when she returns to Paris after her convent schooling and is confronted by her mother’s demand to follow in the family trade as a courtesan. To escape this fate, Sarah pursues a career onstage at the esteemed Comédie-Française, until her rebellious acting style leads to her scandalous dismissal. Only nineteen years old and unemployed, Sarah is forced to submit to her mother’s wishes. But her seductive ease as a courtesan comes to an abrupt end when she discovers she is pregnant. Unwilling to give up her child, Sarah defies social condemnation and is cast adrift, penniless and alone. With her striking beauty and innovative performances in a bohemian theater, Sarah catapults to unexpected success; suddenly, audiences clamor to see this controversial young actress. But her world is torn asunder by the brutal 1870 siege of Paris. Sarah refuses to abandon the ravaged city, nursing wounded soldiers and risking her life. Her return to the Comédie and her tempestuous affair with her leading man plunge Sarah into a fierce quest for independence. Undeterred, she risks everything to become France’s most acclaimed actress, enthralling audiences with her shocking portrayals of female and male characters. Sarah’s daring talent and outrageous London engagement pave her path to worldwide celebrity, with sold-out tours in Europe and America. Told in her own voice, this is Sarah Bernhardt’s incandescent story—a fascinating, intimate account of a woman whose unrivaled talent and indomitable spirit has enshrined her in history as the Divine Sarah.

Enter the Actress

Enter the Actress PDF Author: Rosamond Gilder
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Actors
Languages : en
Pages : 362

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Book Description


The First English Actresses

The First English Actresses PDF Author: Henry Wysham Lanier
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Actresses
Languages : en
Pages : 196

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Book Description


Carrying All Before Her

Carrying All Before Her PDF Author: Chelsea Phillips
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
ISBN: 1644532484
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
Carrying All Before Her recovers the stories of six eighteenth-century celebrity actresses who performed during pregnancy, melding public and private, persona and person, domestic and professional labor and helping to shape wider social, medical, and political conversations about gender, sexuality, pregnancy, and motherhood. Their stories deepen our understanding of celebrity, repertory, and theatre's connection to a wider social world, and challenge notions of women's agency and power in and beyond the professional theatre.

Women on the Stage in Early Modern France

Women on the Stage in Early Modern France PDF Author: Virginia Scott
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1139491644
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Focusing on actresses in France during the early modern period, Virginia Scott examines how the stereotype of the actress has been constructed. The study then moves beyond that stereotype to detail the reality of the personal and artistic lives of women on the French stage, from the almost unknown Marie Ferré - who signed a contract for 12 livres a year in 1545 to perform the 'antiquailles de Rome or other histories, moralities, farces, and acrobatics' in the provinces - to the queens of the eighteenth-century Paris stage, whose 'adventures' have overshadowed their artistic triumphs. The book also investigates the ways in which actresses made invaluable contributions to the development of the French theatre in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and looks at the 'afterlives' of such women as Armande Béjart, Marquise Du Parc, Charlotte Desmares, Adrienne Lecouvreur, and Hippolyte Clairon in biographies, plays, and films.

Actresses of a Certain Character

Actresses of a Certain Character PDF Author: Axel Nissen
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786427469
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
"Information presented regarding birth, death, film credits and analyzes each player's unique talents, signature roles and career development. Representative range of backgrounds, character types and career experiences including actresses such as Agnes Moorehead, Thelma Ritter, Beulah Bondi, Sara Allgood, and Jessie Ralph, among others. A fascinating tour through Hollywood's big studio era and the lives of its characters"--Provided by publisher.

London's West End Actresses and the Origins of Celebrity Charity, 1880-1920

London's West End Actresses and the Origins of Celebrity Charity, 1880-1920 PDF Author: Catherine Hindson
Publisher: University of Iowa Press
ISBN: 1609384253
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 261

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Book Description
Chapter 6. "Killing Kruger with Your Mouth" | The Actress, Charity Recitations, and the Second Anglo Boer War -- Chapter 7. The "Comforteers" | Actresses and Charity Activity during the First World War -- Conclusion | "Get an Actress First. If You Can't Get an Actress Then Get a Duchess."--Notes -- Bibliography -- Index

Plays for Actresses

Plays for Actresses PDF Author: Eric Lane
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0679772812
Category : Drama
Languages : en
Pages : 643

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Book Description
Gather any group of actresses, from students to stars, and someone will inevitably ask, "Where are all the great roles for women?" The roles are right here, in this unprecedented and magnificently diverse collection of plays with all-female casts. The seven full-length and ten one-act selections range in tone from the unabashed theatricality of Edward Albee's Pulitzer Prize-winning Three Tall Women to the blistering black comedy of Laura Cunningham's Beautiful Bodies. Their characters include uprooted Japanese war brides, outrageously liberated Shakespearean heroines, an avenging African American housewife, and nuns who double as Catholic schoolgirls. Whether you're looking for a script to produce or a scene for an acting class, this book will provide you with a wealth of juicy, challenging female roles as it introduces you to some of the finest playwrights at work today.