14Contemporary Theatre in the United States

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Traditional and Avant-Garde Theatre

• Traditional– Follows the pattern of plays from the past in

structure, theme, and approach• Sam Shepard, David Mamet, Horton Foote

• Avant-garde and experimental– Challenges preconceived ideas about drama

• Happenings• Multimedia• Environmental theatre• Poor theatre

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Postmodernism and Diversity

• Postmodernism– Anti-modern / rebellion against tradition– Deconstruction of classics, El Nogalar, – Mix of styles and traditions in single work

• Wooster Group / Julie Taymor

How would you define postmodernism?

How can diversity benefit from such work?

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What is Diversity?

• Various movements of performance that address multicultural, multiethnic, or gender related issues

• Most of these developed in the 1960s and 1970s to express social and political concerns of marginalized groups

• The development of diversity in performance continues to grow and thrive in American culture

• Still a struggle with established theaters.

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African American Theatre

• Two traditions of African American theatre: – Western theatre traditions– African and Caribbean

performance traditions

• Early barriers for black performers:– Cultural stereotypes

(servant roles)– Minstrel performance

as “black”

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© T Charles Erickson

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African American Theatre

• Early African American theatre companies:– African Grove Theater (William Brown and

James Hewlett)– Lafayette Players (Anita Bush)

• Early African American performers:– Charles Gilpin, Paul Robeson, Ethel Waters– Find achievement in serious drama, aside

from “mammy” roles and comedic musicals

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African American Theatre

• 1930s—Federal Theatre Project– Built the new generation of African American theatre

performers and artists

• One of the key productions in advancing the recognition of African American playwrights and theatre artists:– Lorraine Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun (1959)

• The current voices of African American theatre:– August Wilson – Fences, Joe Turner’s Come & Gone– George C. Wolfe – The Colored Museum– Suzan-Lori Parks, Lynn Nottage, Kia Corthron

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Asian American Theatre

• Rich heritage of performance traditions from three eastern cultures– India– China– Japan

• Background must be acknowledged as formative in developing the American version of Asian theatre

What does your background contribute to your understanding of performance?

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Contemporary Asian American Theatre

• Difficulty of challenging cultural stereotypes• 1960s and 1970s, time

of change in cultural awareness– East West Players /

David Henry Hwang\– Young Jean Lee

Rajiv Joseph– Ayad Akhtar’s Disgraced-– Most produced play

© Sara Kulwich/The NY Times/Reflux

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Hispanic Theatre

• Types of contemporary Hispanic theatre:– Chicano theatre

• West and southwest of the U.S. (El Teatro Campesino—agitprop theatre and Luis Valdéz)

– Cuban American theatre• Nilo Cruz, Eduardo • Machado and

(Maria Irene Fornés)

– Nuyorican theatre• Puerto Rican culture

centered in New York

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© T Charles Erickson

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Native American Theatre

•Ritual tradition and communal celebration as ground for theatre

– Native American Theatre Ensemble– Spiderwoman Theatre, Native Voices at The

Autry

•Still struggling for recognition and acceptance

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Feminist Theatre

• Evolves from the struggle for women’s rights in the 1960s and 1970s

• Early women playwrights: – Hrosvitha (tenth-century nun)– Aphra Behn’s The Rover (1600s)– Rachel Crothers, Susan Glaspell, Sophie

Treadwell, and Lillian Hellman (early twentieth century)

– Alternative American Classics

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Feminist Theatre

• Modern feminist playwrights:– Maria Irene Fornés (Fefu and Her Friends)– Beth Henley (Crimes of the Heart) – Marsha Norman (‘night Mother)– Wendy Wasserstein (The Heidi Chronicles) – Caryl Churchill (Top Girls and Cloud Nine)– Paula Vogel (How I Learned to Drive)– Lynn Nottage, Susan Lori-Parks

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Gay and Lesbian Theatre

• Distinct movement with historical threads• Theatre tradition of cross-dressing in

performance; veiled references to sexual preference – The Children’s Hour (Hellman)

• The Boys in the Band (1968)—connected to the beginning of the modern gay rights movement

• Kushner’s Angels in America• Richard Greenberg’s Take me Out

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Gay and Lesbian Theatre

• Major playwrights: – Terrence McNally (Love! Valor! Compassion!) – Harvey Fierstein (Torch Song Trilogy)– Larry Kramer (The Normal Heart)– Tony Kushner (Angels in America)

• Gender-bending theatre companies

• Social issues such as AIDS and gay rights

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Political Theatre

• Concerns itself with political ideas, causes, and

individuals

• In U.S., increased during time of Vietnam War

– Hair -1970s student struggle

– Ariel Dorfman (Death and the Maiden)

• Other examples:

– Eve Ensler (The Vagina Monologues)

– Heather Raffo (9 Parts of Desire)

– Jessica Blank, Erik Jensen (Exonerated)

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Performance Art

• Common method for diversity theatre to manifest itself, but not tied to a particular diverse population

• Historical influences:– Avant-garde experiments of early twentieth

century – Antonin Artaud and Jerzy Grotowski– Jackson Pollock– Happenings of the 50s and 60s

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Performance Art

• Self-expression with a particular agenda, usually solo pieces tied to expressions of art, dance, theatre, “the body,” etc.

• Spalding Gray / Bill Irwin / Danny Hoch /Anna Deavere Smith / John Leguizamo / Eric Bogosian/Margaret Cho/ Sarah Jones/

• Global, Eclectic and Diverse theatre today.

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