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Richard Schechner. Performance Studies: An Introduction. New York. Routledge. 2002. vii + 288 pages. $80 ($27.95 paper). ISBN 0-415-14620-8 (14621-6 paper)
RICHARD SCHECHNER, one of the architects of performance studies as a discipline and the highly respected author of TDR: A joiirnnl of Performance at New York University, has written an invaluable guide to this interdisciplinary scholarly area. A vibrant and emergent field (developed within the last two to three decades), performance studies combines the inquiries and insights of anthropology, art, dance, ethnology, music, philosophy, theater, theology, and a host of other subjects. According to Schechner, performance refers to a "broad continuum of human actions ranging from ritual, play, sports, pop entertainment, performing arts . . . everyday life performance . . . healing, the media, and the Internet." Illustrating the hybridity of performance worldwide, Schechner surveys everything from Shakespeare to chimpanzee theater, urban happenings, Kamlila (or the play of Ramal, which takes thirty-one days...