This introductory text encourages readers to be more active theatre-goers as they learn about all of the elements at work in a theatre production. This edition comes with a theatregoer's guide.

Introduction Theater: The Art Form. Part 1: The Audience. Chapter 1: The Audience: Its Role and Imagination. Chapter 2: Background and Expectations of the Audience. Chapter 3: The Critic and the Audience. Part 2: The Performers and the Director. Chapter 4: Acting: Offstage and in the Past. Chapter 5: Stage Acting Today. Chapter 6: The Director and the Producer. Part 3: The Play: Types of Theater. Chapter 7: Subject, Purpose and Perspective. Chapter 8: Tragedy and Other Serious Drama. Chapter 9: Comedy and Tragicomedy. Chapter 10: Musical Theater. Chapter 11: Theater of Diversity. Part 4: The Playwright: Dramatic Structure and Dramatic Characters. Chapter 12: Conventions of Dramatic Structure. Chapter 13: Dramatic Structure: Climatic, Episodic and Other Forms. Chapter 14: Dramatic Characters. Chapter 15: Stage Spaces. Chapter 16: Scenery. Chapter 17: Stage Costumes. Chapter 18: Lighting and Sound. Epilogue. Appendix A: Technical Terms. Appendix B: Major Theatrical Forms and Movements. Appendix C: Historical Outline. List of Synopses of Plays.