Andrew Sofer is Assistant Professor of English at Boston College. He has directed many new and classic plays.
"Profound, illuminating and original, The Stage Life of Props is
not only an excellent introduction into a wide range of modern work
in cultural analysis, but also an extremely thought-provoking and
impressive piece of work. Nothing has yet been written as
comprehensive and evocative as this on the stage property, but
beyond that specific concern, Sofer sees how a consideration of
certain key stage properties can serve to open up some of the most
basic intellectual and spiritual concerns of an era. The result is
. . . an important contribution to the field not only of theatre
studies in particular but of cultural studies in general."
--Marvin Carlson, Sidney E. Cohn Distinguished Professor of Theater
and Comparative Literature, City University of New York
--Marvin Carlson, Sidney E. Cohn Distinguished Professor of Theater
and Comparativ (3/31/2003 12:00:00 AM)
"This ambitious book on stage properties in the western European
theater provides a framework for a scholarly project already well
under way."
--Douglas Bruster, Modern Philology--Douglas Bruster, University of
Texas at Austin "Modern Philology" (2/1/2006 12:00:00 AM)
". . . a superb examination of the prop on the Western stage. . . .
Sofer writes elegantly, possesses an eye for detail, and displays a
brimming theatrical understanding. . . . Throughout the book, Sofer
convincingly demonstrates that it is on the stage, and not the
page, that the prop, and the ensuing interpretation of drama, comes
to life. His clever jousting with literary scholars emerges
repeatedly. . . . This book contributes to the debate between
literary and performative studies as interpretive indicators of
drama. Literary critics would be wise to heed Sofer's original
insights and provocative assertions."
--David Krasner, Theatre Journal
--David Krasner, Yale University "Theatre Journal"
". . . a timely and fascinating discourse for theatre devotees and
a welcome addition to Theatre Department reference collections and
supplemental reading lists for aspiring playwrights."
--Bookwatch, December 2003
-- "Bookwatch" (12/19/2003 12:00:00 AM)
". . . a witty, entertaining and--above all--thought-provoking
study of a neglected subject. It is not a history of properties on
the stage or a comprehensive overview of their deployment. It is,
rather, a selective analysis of how meaning attaches to theatrical
properties, a hermeneutics of their use. . . . Witty and insightful
to the end . . . Sofer demonstrates time and again the inadequacy
of complacent or formulaic responses to stage properties. Even the
most familiar of them are indeed 'characters in their own right'
and this book will have succeeded in its purpose if from now on we
treat them with the careful attention such a status deserves and
requires."
--Text Presentation, 2004
--Richard Dutton, Ohio State University "Text & Presentation,
2004"
". . . comes as close as any history to realizing a comprehensive
and comprehensible study of physical objects in the theatre that
eschews master narratives in favor of a more fungoid methodology.
In so doing, Sofer has created a convincing text that does for the
history of stage properties what Joseph Roach's ThePlayer's Passion
(1985) did for the history of acting: set the stage, as it were,
for a revitalized look at one of the market zones of theatre
history as useful for students of props in general as it is to
period specialists looking for new approaches to old mysteries. . .
. All in all, Sofer's writing is undeniably insightful and full of
worthwhile ideas. His contextualized analysis of The Croxton Play
of the Sacrament, for instance, is worth the cover price alone. As
a precision tool for research, The Stage Life of Props has uses
both broad and deep, and would be an excellent resource for any
upper-division graduate course touching any of the five historical
periods. For a perspicacious professor, it might form the core of a
course on the multifarious identities of stage props themselves; an
underexplored territory, and one that may shed particular light on
how, as Sofer puts it, 'theatre colonizes reality for its own
ends.'"
--Theatre Survey
--Michael M. Chemers, Carnegie Mellon University "Theatre Survey"
(2/8/2005 12:00:00 AM)
". . . seeks to 'make visible' performative aspects of the prop
that 'text-based critics are trained not to see.'"
--Chronicle of Higher Education
--Nina C. Ayoub "Chronicle of Higher Education" (6/10/2004 12:00:00
AM)
"Andrew Sofer has produced a splendid book which deserves to be
thought of alongside the very best of American theatre history and
criticism. The book is written with a wit and a lightness of touch
all too often absent in dealings with vexed questions of presence
and representation, and in returning the object to the stage Sofer
makes a compelling case for the material reality of the theatrical
event."
--Martin Welton, Contemporary Theatre Review 15
--Martin Welton "Contemporary Theatre Review 15" (2/23/2006
12:00:00 AM)
"Andrew Sofer's The Stage Life of Props is an important and
fruitful book that reflects its author's intellectual acumen,
scholarly knowledge, and deep, exuberant knowledge of and feeling
for theatrical production."
--John Hollander, Sterling Professor Emeritus of English, Yale
University
--John Hollander, Sterling Professor Emeritus of English, Yale
University (3/31/2003 12:00:00 AM)
"By focusing on props as the temporal signs of social meaning, The
Stage Life of Props makes a remarkable contribution to theatre
history, and whets our appetite for even more inclusive studies on
the nature of objects in performance."
--TDR, The Drama Review
--John Bell, Emerson College "TDR: The Drama Review" (7/25/2005
12:00:00 AM)
"Sofer tends to concentrate on the prop's theoretical and practical
possibilities in performance. One particularly illuminating aspect
of his study is the way in which props gather associations as they
progress from play to play. . . . A stale convention can take on
new life; we gain pleasure 'seeing the relic revived, the dead
metaphoro made to speak again."
--Times Literary Supplement
--Lucy Munro "Times Literary Supplement" (11/21/2003 12:00:00
AM)
"The book is an excellent study, and anyone who claims an interest
in performance needs to own it."
--Comparative Drama, Frances Teague, University of Georgia
--Frances Teague "Comparative Drama" (7/12/2005 12:00:00 AM)
"This book takes an important first step in highlighting the role
props play in establishing and challenging theatrical
conventions."-- Theatre Research International-- "Theatre Research
International" (4/2/2009 12:00:00 AM)
"This book takes an important first stop in highlighting the role
props play in establishing and challenging theatrical
conventions."
--Theatre Research International
--Heather May, Indiana University "Theatre Research International"
(2/8/2005 12:00:00 AM)
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