Local Acts: Community-Based Performance in the United States

Abstract

Theatre historians and practitioners in the academy have been slow to recognize the validity and significance of the community-based theatre movement in the United States. With the exception of a few books and articles, most of the scholarly literature on community-based theatre remains squirreled away in local reports, unpublished dissertations, and Web sites infrequently visited (at least by theatre academics). Perhaps this should not be surprising; compared to Australia, Latin America, and most of Europe, community-based theatre in the United States is scandalously underfunded and unknown. Among its many virtues, Jan Cohen-Cruz's Local Acts will raise the profile of community-based performance in the academy and perhaps spark more books in the field as well as courses and community-related projects in theatre and performance departments.