MY debts of gratitude, which this acknowledgment can hardly
hope to pay, are especially due to Professors Oscar J. Camp-
bell, S. F. Johnson, and Dr. John Cranford Adams, President of
Hofstra College. To detail the extent of Professor Campbell's
assistance would be futile. I merely count myself fortunate in
having enjoyed his guidance and encouragement. From Professor
Johnson this study received a careful and perceptive scrutiny,
to the excellence of which I trust these pages testify. In support-
ing my work as Director of the Hofstra College Shakespeare
Festival, Dr. Adams provided me with the opportunity not only
to explore the authentic staging of Shakespeare's plays but also
to draw upon his knowledge and advice. Although my present
views of Shakespearean staging differ from his, nonetheless they
owe much to the initial stimulus he gave and the rigorous schol-
arship he exemplified. In addition, I have benefited from the
indulgence of various friends and scholars. Dr. Raymond W.
Short read and criticized the original draft of the chapter on
dramaturgy. Dr. James G. McManaway and Irwin Smith offered
valuable suggestions for the entire manuscript, and Mr. Smith,
together with Dr. Robert De Maria, Howard Siegman, and my
wife, Gloria, has assisted me in the final preparation of the book.

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