critically about a play. Rush also provides samples of how his questions can reveal possible meanings by using plays that are frequently anthologized. Although in his introduction he states that a play can have multiple meanings, the examples are asserted in a fairly authoritative manner and may lead students to believe that Rush’s analysis is the de¤nitive interpretation. Perhaps the greatest weakness of this work is that Rush does not provide a summary chapter that might help readers understand how these different analytic tools might work together. Should students follow the order of Rush’s chapters, addressing structure, then proceeding to character, language, genre, and style? The text does not fully explain how these different dramatic components might in®uence each other or how students might decide relative signi¤cance . That Rush does not treat production as the ultimate goal of analysis may also make it dif¤cult for students to grasp connections between analyzing the text and bringing it to life onstage. The greatest bene¤t of Rush’s work is that he has assembled a great deal of information in one text. Additionally, his approach of “questioning the play” seems to be helpful in teaching students how to begin the analytic process. Given the differing opinions about literary and production-based approaches to script analysis, it is probably not possible for one text to treat both adequately. Instructors willing to supplement aspects not addressed in Rush’s text would likely ¤nd it a valuable resource. —KATE SINNETT St. Cloud State University \ Words at Play: Creative Writing and Dramaturgy. By Felicia Hardison Londré. Carbondale : Southern Illinois University Press, 2005. 249 pp. $28.50 cloth. As Mark Bly notes in his introduction to the second volume of the Production Notebooks: Theatre in Process (New York: Theatre Communications Group, 2001), there is an “astonishing dearth of documentation of the artistic process in contemporary American theatre” (xiii). Felicia Hardison Londré examines that artistic process and serves the theatre community well by adding to their resources with her Words at Play: Creative Writing and Dramaturgy. Readers will¤nd a wealth of useful, practical, and insightful material about the art and craft of the dramaturgical essay, as well as invaluable archival material about theatre in the Midwest. BOOK REVIEWS { 172 } In her introduction, Londré systematically and concisely sets out three purposes for her book: ¤rst, she draws together “short pieces about plays and playwrights that have intrinsic interest”; second, through those short pieces she seeks to help “creative writers and dramaturges . . . hone their skills”; third, she provides a “survey . . . [of] the production histories of three regional not-forpro ¤t theatre companies”: Missouri Repertory Theatre, the Nebraska Shakespeare Festival, and the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival (12). This survey brings to light the concerns and values of those speci¤c audiences at the speci¤c time of her writing. At the heart of these goals is “the dramaturg’s terrible responsibility ”: the program essay. As a matter of principle, Londré makes a persuasive argument for the program essay as an art form in its own right as well as an integral part of a production . She notes that her dream for the book is for the program essay “to win acceptance . . . as an art form to be held to ever higher standards, as is the work of any maturing artist” (10). Londré insists that the essay is not intended to explain the director’s concept to an audience or to be a marketing tool to sell tickets to the production; rather, it can “challenge, provoke, delight, or otherwise stand alongside the experience of watching a play”(3). It is just one of the many options audiences have for entering into the theatrical experience. The book is divided chronologically into ¤ve sections of essays. In parts 1 and 2, Londré reveals a cultural pro¤le of the Missouri Repertory Theatre under the artistic leadership of both Patricia McIlrath and George Keathley spanning the years 1979 to 2000. Part 3 provides a sampling of essays for the Nebraska Shakespeare Festival from 1991 to 2004. Part 4 includes essays for the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival from 1993 to 2003. In part 5, she concludes with...