Whether you are a theatre major looking forward to a career in the arts or a non-major interested in an overview to increase your appreciation as an audience member, THE ESSENTIAL THEATRE, 11th Edition, provides an engaging, insightful, and informative resource that will enrich your theatre experience throughout your life. Written by highly respected teachers and theatre historians, the text has earned its reputation as one of the most comprehensive, authoritative surveys of the theatre. Its vibrant treatment of theatre practice--past and present--catalogs the origins of theatre through postmodernism and performance art. The Eleventh Edition includes an all-new chapter devoted to musical theatre, new "Then and Now" boxes that link theatre history to present-day, and numerous new photos--including photos of actors you will quickly recognize from film and television.