Richard Kostelanetz, who edited The New American Arts …, has also written or edited several other books on literature and the arts. In [The Theatre of Mixed Means] he defines "mixed means" as various noises and sights—people shuffling along the street, electronic beams, even the noise of many butterflies being released from a bag—which constitute a special kind of theater when these accompany some sort of dramatic happening, no matter where it may be presented, in a street, field, hall, or theater…. The mixed means Mr. Kostelanetz describes are often used, or are happening, at the same time as the plot (if there is one), apparently distracting the audience. The modern mind seems to need to be splintered in many artistic directions at once in order to feel involved. To an old theatergoer who wants to find some meaning in a dramatic action that has a beginning...