Louise Peacock Books

The narrative intertwines the journey of a modern girl exploring Ellis Island, reflecting on her great-great-grandmother's arrival and the multitude of immigrant stories that shaped America. As she walks through the historic site, she contemplates the hopes, dreams, and challenges faced by those who sought freedom, creating a poignant connection between past and present. The book captures the essence of immigration and the enduring legacy of those who passed through Ellis Island.

Slapstick comedy is the primary mode of performance for clowns, and in Serious Play, drama scholar Louise Peacock explores the evolution  over the past fifty years of this unique brand of physical comedy. Though an analysis of clowning in a range of settings—theaters, circuses, hospitals, refugee camps, and churches—Peacock offers a framework for the evaluation of clowning, and she examines the therapeutic potential of the comedic performance. This is the first book to consider clowning venues and styles in light of play theory, including comparisons of traditional clown comedy and contemporary circuses like Cirque du Soleil. A distinctive study, Serious Play also provides authoritative definitions of clowns and clown performance styles that establishes a critical vocabulary for clowning performance.