Size: 9x6x1; 1997 Cambridge University Press (New York), 6 1/4 x 9 1/4 inches

Size: 9x6x1; 1997 Cambridge University Press (New York), 6 1/4 x 9 1/4 inches tall black cloth hardcover in publisher's unclipped dust jacket, gilt lettering to spine, xii, 348 pp. On the half title page, ink signature of the prior owner, Leonard Pronko (1927-2019), an American theatre scholar best known for introducing the Japanese dance drama kabuki to the West, beginning in the 1960s. Otherwise, a fine copy-clean, bright and unmarked-in a like dust jacket which is nicely preserved and displayed in a clear archival Brodart sleeve. ~WW~ [2.5P] This work gives an 'inside' view of Chinese theater and the actor in performance for the first time. It challenges Western theater artists such as Brecht, Grotowski, Barba and Schechner, who have extracted from Chinese theater elements that might enrich their own theaters. It is based on personal observations of and dialogue with Chinese actors, experiences that were impossible before 1980. Riley's study is well illustrated with photographs and diagrams and is accessible to anyone interested in theater, even those with no knowledge of Chinese or Chinese theater.