Ebook: Maria Irene Fornes

Maria Irene Fornes is the most influential female American dramatist of the 20th century. That is the argument of this important new study, the first to assess Fornes's complete body of work. Scott T. Cummings considers comic sketches, opera libretti and unpublished pieces, as well as her best-known plays, in order to trace the evolution of her dramaturgy from the whimsical Off-Off Broadway plays of the 1960s to the sober, meditative work of the 1990s. The book also reflects on her practice as an inspirational teacher of playwriting and the primary director of her own plays;Overview -- The 1960s. Getting started -- Off-off Broadway: the good scene -- Key play: Promenade (the apotheosis of Judson) -- The 1970s. Finding a way -- Key play: Fefu and her friends (turning over the stone) -- The 1980s. Found -- The PAJ plays -- Key play: Abingdon Square (conquering the vagueness) -- The 1990s. The night plays -- Coming to an end