Open Stages
A Compendium of Open Sources for Theater Educators & Practitioners
Textbooks
You can use and share the following theater textbooks for free without additional permissions
According to UNESCO, Open Educational Resources (OER) are "learning, teaching and research materials in any format and medium that reside in the public domain or are under copyright that have been released under an open license, that permit no-cost access, re-use, re-purpose, adaptation and redistribution by others."
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If the material is in the public domain, it automatically becomes available for use and reuse. Many authors make their content available through open licenses that simplify the use and reuse. Creative Commons (CC) is one of the most influential industry standards in open licensing. Their licenses streamline the process of use and reuse. For more information on Open Education you can visit Creative Commons' page on the topic.​
Introduction and Theater Appreciation
Title: #TheatreAppreciation
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Author: Kiara Pipino, Editor.
Year: 2022
Publisher: SUNY Oneonta
Summary: A Theater 101 textbook that introduces students to the basics of the discipline, including an explanation of the leading roles played by actors, directors, producers, playwrights, set, costumes, lighting, and sound teams. It includes a brief theater history and a short intro to musical and global theater.
Recommended for: High school and freshman college entry courses, such as theater appreciation or introduction to theater, particularly in the United States.
Alternatives: A solid choice because of the simplicity of its approache and the flexibility of its license.
Type of License: CC-BY
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​​​​​​What this means: The Attribution license or “CC-BY” is the least restrictive of all Creative Commons Licenses. It allows people to use and adapt the work for any purpose (even commercially) as long as they give credit to the creator.
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Title: Theatrical Worlds
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Author: Charles Mitchell, Editor.
Year: 2014
Publisher: University of Florida, Gainesville
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Summary: The textbook does not refer to world theater traditions but rather a very anglo-centric and traditional view of theater making. It offers a very general intro to theater followed by intros to acting, directing, set design, costume design, and lighting design. Genre, Shakespeare, the American Musical, and World Theater are the four special topics covered.
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Recommended for: Highschool level and introduction to theater for non-college majors.
Alternatives: #TheatreAppreciation offers a less restrictive license, and it is more succinct.
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Types of License: CC-BY-NC-ND
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​​​​​​​​​​What this means: The Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license or “BY-NC-ND” is the most restrictive license offered by CC. It allows people to use the unadapted work for noncommercial purposes only, and only as long as they give credit to the creator. They may also adapt the work for their own personal use but may not share any adaptations publicly.​​​​​​
Acting
Title: Actors and the Art of Performance: Under Exposure
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Author: Susanne Valerie Granzer. Translated from the German by Laura Radosh with Alice Lagaay
Year: 2016
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Summary: This volume is a monograph in a series dedicated to the correlation between philosophy and performance. The author, Susanne Valerie, is an Austrian actress and professor who uses philosophical musings as a practical inspiration for performers. Her work, as the series it belongs to, is generally centered in Classical North Atlantic traditions.
Recommended for: Graduate and postgraduate acting and directing majors in the North Atlantic. Acting majors outside Europe and the United States who want to learn more about how European classical thinking can be operationalized in today’s theater practice.
Alternatives: Best of kind.
Types of License: CC-BY
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​​​​​​What this means: The Attribution license or “CC-BY” is the least restrictive of all Creative Commons Licenses. It allows people to use and adapt the work for any purpose (even commercially) as long as they give credit to the creator.
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More Theatrical Open Source Textbooks Coming Soon...
We're working on expanding this section.
Technical Stage Arts
Title: Technical Theatre Practicum
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Author: Christopher Boltz
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Year: 2019
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Publisher: College of the Canyons
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Summary: This practical textbook offers not only a general introduction to the different technical disciplines involved in standard, sizeable American theater productions but also practical considerations about how the multidisciplinary work gets documented, coordinated, and communicated. The book includes a detailed discussion with samples of an actor’s scene breakdown, blocking notations, production reports, and cued scripts.
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Recommended for: Any theater majors, any theater introductory classes for disciplines involved in production.
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Alternatives: Best of kind.
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Types of License: CC-BY
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​​​​​​What this means: The Attribution license or “CC-BY” is the least restrictive of all Creative Commons Licenses. It allows people to use and adapt the work for any purpose (even commercially) as long as they give credit to the creator.
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Title: An Introduction to Technical Theatre
Author: Tal Sanders
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Year: 2018
Publisher: Tualatin Book, an imprint of Pacific University Press
Summary: This textbook introduces the supporting technical disciplines involved in live theater, discussing their design, construction, and use. The textbook is concise and covers the basics of organizational structures, production scheduling, types of theater spaces, equipment, stage crews, and production etiquette. The main disciplines covered are set design, props and effects, stage management, costumes, lighting, and sound. The textbook centers on North American ways and practices in commercial and non-profit large houses.
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Recommended for: US students in High School, College Freshmen, and College Sophomores.
Alternatives: Technical Theatre Practicum has more specific examples of practical communication among design teams, and offers a less restrictive license.
Type of License: CC-BY-NC-ND
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​​​​​​​​​​What this means: The Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license or “BY-NC-ND” is the most restrictive license offered by CC. It allows people to use the unadapted work for noncommercial purposes only, and only as long as they give credit to the creator. They may also adapt the work for their own personal use but may not share any adaptations publicly.​​​​​​
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Playwriting
Title:Playwriting
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Author: Nick Garcia
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Year: 2020
Publisher: Los Medanos College/LibreTexts
Summary: This is an entry-level textbook on traditional, realistic playwriting. The author demonstrates an implicit bias towards a so-called “realistic” form of theater writing that resembles commercial novels and mainstream movie-making. For example, the chapter on plot describes only one potential way to approach plotting in theater, one that follows the traditional Aristotelian form, without naming it or acknowledging that some of the most exciting theater ever written was and is in opposition to this archetypical structure.
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Recommended for: High school level or introduction to playwriting for nonmajors.
Alternatives: There is a clear shortage of playwriting books with open lincenses.
Types of License: CC-BY
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​​​​​​What this means: The Attribution license or “CC-BY” is the least restrictive of all Creative Commons Licenses. It allows people to use and adapt the work for any purpose (even commercially) as long as they give credit to the creator.
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