The lively young artists of the Surrealist Movement shocked Paris in the 1920's with the first strong statement of many tendencies which still drive the avant-garde today. They centered art in the artist's identity while including spectators in the act of creation; denied distinctions between life and art, sense and nonsense; and conceived not only drama and film, but also painting, poetry, and music as theatrical performance. CHAPTERS: Historical Background; Dada and Surrealism; The Artist; The Art; The Audience. ILLUSTRATIONS: paintings and sculpture, performance photos, film stills. Bibliography, appendices. Original translation of Surrealist play.