Lines of business

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The tradition of «lines of business» – the possession of a part by an actor – had its genesis on the English-speaking stage in Elizabethan times and was well established by the mid-eighteenth century. In this highly original study, James Burge investigates the use of «lines» in eight major American theatre companies. Burge sees in the impact of lines of business on the chief dramatic form of the nineteenth century – the melodrama – a demonstration of the power of this incipient trade unionism in casting and in the choice of repertory. With the rise of the director at the end of the century, lines of business ceased to be a controlling factor in casting practice and policy in the American theatre.