by Robin Kilrain

Editor’s Note: Robin Kilrain will be contributing a monthly column about theatre books. We welcome her to our site and look forward to reading her columns.

Before launching into my first book review for this site, let me address the elephant on the stage: why books here? Believe me, if anyone knows how much—or, as the case may be, how little—actors and other theatre professionals read about their art, it’s me. Having created and run a drama bookstore for years, I realize that time and money often tend to run thin, past perusing an acting edition or two in consideration for a future season.

Yet, someone reads the multitude of theatre-related titles published each year. So I want to say bravo to those of you out there, on both sides of the footlights, who do—and spur the interest of those of you who currently do not.

Turning to such books can only increase appreciation of the craft of theatre. And its rich history. You know what they say about reinventing the wheel. Others’ techniques, triumphs, and tragedies—on and off the boards—are just waiting to be explored.

A favor, though? If I do succeed in engaging your curiosity in a title or two, please consider buying them from independent, brick-and-mortar bookshops. Their number is steadily dwindling, as the passionate purveyors of the written word running these stores lose their battles with bigger businesses (with budgets to match). These indies are actually not so different from small theatres, in several ways. Both are run by people who, through hard work, are sharing their expertise and their love of an art form with the public. And doing so with the heavy knowledge that making much money at the endeavor is—to put it politely—a challenge.

If you’re grappling with such a “challenge” yourself right now, however, perhaps take advantage of your local library instead. Having worked in a couple, including a drama library, I know them to be wonderful, underlauded assets.

Break a leg,
Robin Galen Kilrain
(former owner of The Play’s the Thing Drama Bookstore, may it rest in peace)

For your nearest indie bookstore, go to www.indiebound.org/indie-bookstore-finder.

In a category of their own are the brick-and-mortar Samuel French stores, which offer much more than just acting editions for production use: www.samuelfrench.com/store/bookstores.php.

For your nearest public library, go to www.lapl.org/about/zipcodemaps.html.