A collection of essays that sets out practical and theoretical principles of dramatic art, arguing that the theater rests on enduring laws and shared conventions while remaining shaped by actors, playhouses, and audiences. It discusses the economy of attention and the dramatic demand for conflict, reviews how dramatists and critics have treated technique, and surveys performance history and criticism. Individual pieces examine playwrights and novelists in relation to the stage, consider stage humor and theatrical organization, and close with personal memories and observations about actors and production.