Stage - Producing Early Modern London

This book has been a long time in coming, and there have been many helpful interlocutors, readers, critics, editors, and supporters along the way. First, I must thank Carole Levin and Marguerite A. Tassi, the editors of this series, to whom I am exceedingly grateful and for whom I am exceedingly thankful. Alisa Plant at the University of Nebraska Press deserves special recognition for her patience and grace in shepherding me through the publication process. I am also especially grateful to Courtney Ochsner, Ann Baker, and Elaine Otto at UNP for their careful work. Any remaining faults of this book are entirely mine.

This project began under the patient guidance of my friend and mentor Ernest Gilman, to whom I owe far more than any acknowledgment will ever repay. Additional careful reading and support from John Archer were central to the shaping of the project, as was commentary from John Guillory. Opportunities and institutional support to attend seminars, symposiums, and classes have been essential at all stages of this project. A seminar under Roslyn Knutson at the Folger Institute provided an unforgettable introduction to theatrical commerce and the repertory of early modern English theater many years ago. I was also lucky to take a course under Natasha Korda, which proved fundamental to this project and to my scholarly development. A fantastic summer seminar, led by Paul Yachnin and Steven Mullaney, with the Making Publics project (MaPs) and an amazing cohort of scholars, shaped the book in its later development and led to many productive conversations and revisions. Additionally, I am very grateful for support to attend a symposium jointly sponsored by the Folger Institute and the MaPs project, Theatre and the Reformation of Space in 2009. A Shakespeare Association of America seminar led by Rebecca Totaro, as well as Rebeccas meticulous and wonderful feedback, greatly improved important parts of the book. Insights and careful comments from two readers for the University of Nebraska Press have been invaluable in revision.

Over many years, some dedicated souls have seen this book in many different forms. I am forever grateful to Elizabeth Bearden, David Landreth, Nora Martin Peterson, and Julia Schleck for their kindness, intelligence, and advice. They are all excellent scholars but even better friends and readers, and their attention to my work has been a great gift. Conversations with Ray Ball, Stephen Buhler, Jeffrey Doty, Susan Harlan, James Mardock, Meg Pearson, and Amy Rodgers have benefited this project and my sanity over the years. Jacqueline Clark has listened to me talk for more hours than I can count; that she continues to listen has meant the world to me. My brother, Michael Stage, has read more of this book in more different versions than anyone, and his commentary has been sage and true every step of the way. Even more important, he has always been my cheerleader and that has mattered as much as anything. I have subjected Thomas Lange to more talk and pages on early modern literature than he ever bargained for. I am so lucky to have his support, his patience, and his endless coffee-making. I am grateful to my familyHeather, Dad and Kathy, Uncle Jeff and Tori, and Grandmother Barbarafor their many questions, interested conversations, and cheerful encouragement over the years. Finally, and at long last, this book is dedicated to my mother, Pamela R. Stage and my grandfather, Donald J. Russo. Neither of them will get to see this book, but it would not have happened without them. They both taught me to love theater, to read widely, and to work hard. Thank you.