A Primer on Theatre and Aesthetics

“This book is for anyone who wants to know how theatre has evolved from the ancients to the moderns including Aeschylus, Samuel Beckett, and Eugene O’Neill. Lauren Friesen unpacks the many aspects of the aesthetic experience in trenchant ways. He includes insights from Aristotle, Plato, Kant, Langer, and recent critics. The book’s broad scope includes discussion of works of the Greeks, Shakespeare, Christo, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and many others.”


—David Schmidt, assistant professor of informatics, Fort Hays State University





“Lauren Friesen’s approach to aesthetics strikes a balance that Plato could admire, presenting a wide ranging, circuitous subject with logical precision and callbacks for the reader. Even as a primer, it feels weighty and charged for a constructive debate. From the ancient philosophers to twenty-first-century playwrights, Dr. Friesen spotlights the major actors while leaving room for thoughtful reflection, disagreement, and applause. Bravo!”


—Jason Dake, director of education, Edsel and Eleanor Ford House





“Lauren Friesen has written a timely book that explores where theatre came from and its aesthetic value. The author takes a critical look at theatre in its historical and contemporary context in the development of ‘what we know as theatre.’ The most outstanding takeaway is realized as we trek through the braided stream of influences from many epistemologies. Thus, asking where theatre comes from deserves a multilayered and appropriately complicated answer.”


—Clayton Funk, associate professor of teaching, Ohio State University