This book provides a brief yet informative evaluation of the variety and complexity of theatrical ventures in the United States It embraces all epochs of theatre history from pre colonial Native American performance rituals and the endeavours of early colonisers in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries to the end of the twentieth century situating American theatre as a lively dynamic and diverse arena Theresa Saxon examines the implications of political manoeuvrings economics both state funded and commercial race and gender and material factors such as technology riot and fire as major forces determining the structure of America s playhouses and productions She investigates critical understandings of the term theatre and assesses ways in which the various values of commerce entertainment education and dramatic production have informed the definition of theatre throughout America s history