{"product_id":"in-the-lurch-verbatim-theater-and-the-crisis-of-democratic-deliberation-9780472055746","title":"In the Lurch: Verbatim Theater and the Crisis of Democratic Deliberation","description":"Some of theater's most powerful works in the past thirty years fall into the category of \"verbatim theater,\" socially engaged performances whose texts rely on word-for-word testimony. Performances such as \u003ci\u003eFires in the Mirror\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Laramie Project, \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eThe Vagina Monologues \u003c\/i\u003ehave at their best demonstrated how to hold hard conversations about explosive subjects in a liberal democracy. But in this moment of what author Ryan Claycomb terms the \"rightward lurch\" of western democracies, does this idealized space of democratic deliberation remain effective? \u003ci\u003eIn the Lurch\u003c\/i\u003e asks that question in a pointed and self-reflexive way, tracing the history of this branch of documentary theater with particular attention to the political outcomes and stances these performances seem to seek. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e But this is not just a disinterested history--Claycomb reflects on his own participation in that political fantasy, including earlier scholarly writing that articulated with breathless hopefulness the potential of verbatim theater, and on his own theatrical attendance, imbued with a belief that witnessing this idealized public sphere was a substitute for actual public participation. \u003ci\u003eIn the Lurch\u003c\/i\u003e also recounts the bumpy path towards its completion, two years marked by presidential impeachments, an insurrection, a national reckoning with racism, and a global pandemic. At the heart of the book is a central question: is verbatim theater any longer an effective cultural response to what can look like the possible end of democracy?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=AUTH-6705483\"\u003eRyan Claycomb\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Michigan Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/18\/2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 172\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.30lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.90h x 5.91w x 0.39d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780472055746\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0472055747\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBISAC Categories:\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-PER\"\u003ePerforming Arts\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-PER011020\"\u003eTheater | History \u0026amp; Criticism\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e- \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=CAT-POL\"\u003ePolitical Science\u003c\/a\u003e | \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/sureshotbooks-com.myshopify.com\/search?type=product%2Carticle%2Cpage\u0026amp;q=BISAC-POL007000\"\u003ePolitical Ideologies | Democracy\u003c\/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eRyan Claycomb \u003c\/b\u003eis Professor of English and Theater and Associate Dean in the College of Liberal Arts at Colorado State University.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"University of Michigan Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44545216872685,"sku":"9780472055746","price":49.92,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0550\/8097\/6621\/products\/img_d7f33f39-2395-43e1-b7c5-bde492530ec3.jpg?v=1701570852","url":"https:\/\/sureshotbooks.com\/products\/in-the-lurch-verbatim-theater-and-the-crisis-of-democratic-deliberation-9780472055746","provider":"SureShot Books Publishing LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}