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Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1988 New Female Playwrights in the American Theatre, 1973-1983: a Critical Analysis of Thought in Selected Plays. Joyce Williams O'rourke Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation O'rourke, Joyce Williams, "New Female Playwrights in the American Theatre, 1973-1983: a Critical Analysis of Thought in Selected Plays." (1988). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 4525. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/4525 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS The most advanced technology has been used to photo­ graph and reproduce this manuscript from the microfilm master. UMI films the original texl directly from the copy submitted. Thus, some dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from a computer printer. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyrighted material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are re­ produced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand corner and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each oversize page is available as one exposure on a standard 35 mm slide or as a 17" x 23" black and white photographic print for an additional charge. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. 35 mm slides or 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. ■UMIAccessing the World’s Information since 1938 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA Order Number 8819966 New female playwrights in the American theatre, 1973-83: A critical analysis of thought in selected plays O’Rourke, Joyce Williams, Ph.D. The Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical Col., 1988 Copyright ©1989 by O’Rourke, Joyce Williams. All rights reserved. UMI 300 N. Zeeb Rd. Ann Arbor, MI 48106 NEW FEMALE PLAYWRIGHTS IN THE AMERICAN THEATRE, 1973-83: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THOUGHT IN SELECTED PLAYS A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Speech Communication, Theatre, and Communication Disorders by Joyce Williams O'Rourke B.A., Talladega College, 1962 M.A., University of Alabama, 1968 May 1988 ©1989 JOYCE WILLIAMS O'ROURKE All Rights Reserved ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Special appreciation is extended to Dr. Bill Harbin, my advisor, for his invaluable guidance, inspiration and patience in directing this dissertation. For their encouragement and scholarly example, I offer thanks to several LSU professors: Drs. Gresdna Doty, Harold Mixon, Mary Frances HopKins, Francine Merz'itt, Fabian Gudas, Owen Peterson, and H. B. Rothschild. Among the many supportive friends, I am particularly grateful to Dr. Anway Jones, Joe Harvey, and Paula Thompson. Special thanks to Dr. John Pennybacker for "giving me the chance." I owe a profound debt of gratitude to my family: to my mother, Mrs. Rheuhama F. Williams, who never lost sight of my dream; to my own children, Yolanda, Sancerie and Kenneth Jr., who constantly inspired me to become an appropriate role model; and finally to my dear husband, Kenneth, for all that he is, all that he has been and all that he has given me. Many thanks are due, but I humbly dedicate this dissertation to Dr. Waldo Braden, my adopted mentor. CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................ ii ABSTRACT...... ............................ iv INTRODUCTION.............................. 1 CHAPTER ONE: A LINK WITH THE PAST: Rosalyn Drexler---- 26 Rose Goldemberg, Mary Gallagher, and Tina Howe CHAPTER TWO: THREE VARIED VISIONS OF THE PRESENT...... 83 IMPULSE: Lavonne Mueller, Adele Shank, and Wendy Wasserstein CHAPTER THREE: TOWARD UNIVERSAL FEMALE TYPES:...........171 Ntozake Shange and Others CHAPTER FOUR: TWO PULITZER PRIZE RECIPIENTS:...... 212 Beth Henley and Marsha Norman CONCLUSION: PROJECTIONS, PATTERNS, AND NEW DIRECTIONS................................250 APPENDIX A. ................. 260 LIST OF WORKS CONSULTED.................................... 262 VITA........................................................ 270 ABSTRACT Historically, the female playwright has been plagued by a lack of visibility. Long hindered by a limited number of women writers as role models, by the few receptive stages on which to mount or test their works, and by a public accustomed to a male dominated stage practice, female playwrights nevertheless in the last two decades have produced an extraordinary body of work, signifying a new thrust in the American theatre. Ten playwrights have been selected as representatives of this movement: Tina Howe, Rosalyn Drexler, Rose Goldemberg, Mary Gallagher, Adele Shank, Lavonne Mueller, Wendy Wasserstein, Ntozake Shange, Beth Henley and Marsha Norman. These innovative and prolific writers have invigorated the American stage and influenced their contemporaries, both male and female; two of them received Pulitzer Prizes. Since these playwrights were themselves influenced by preceding pioneers, their predecessors are examined to indicate the continuity of a phenomenal movement in drama. Similarly, the study acknowledges lesser known writers of their own era. As a collective, the ten female writers represent the creative impulse of the 80's. Each has a distinctive body of plays, has had works produced in a major theatre setting, and was significantly productive during the decade of 1973- 83. iv The individual plays of the ten writers have been examined in terms of thought, as delineated among Aristotle's six elements of drama and interpreted further by Oscar Brockett. My objective has been to focus upon ideas, themes, objectives, and trends peculiar to these particular writers or applicable to an even larger collective of contemporary female playwrights. Each playwright has her unique vision, concerns, and style, presenting varying interpretations of human action and of the female in particular in her social, political, and artistic roles. The quest for familial bonds and individual autonomy emerge as constant themes among the selected plays. Despite the diversity, this study clearly celebrates the onset of a growing number of female playwrights in the mainstream of American theatre, and, as such, it adds to the scant critical dialogue available on American women dramatists who significantly contributed to the evolving drama during 1973- 1983. v NEW FEMALE PLAYWRIGHTS IN THE AMERICAN THEATRE, 1973-83: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THOUGHT IN SELECTED PLAYS Introduction Male dominance in our American culture and in the theatre has perpetuated a "venerable tradition of prejudice against women in the theatre."1 Female playwrights have had limited representation in traditional anthologies; their plays, compared to works by male playwrights, have been less likely to be produced. Critics, most of whom are male, often have expressed difficulty in understanding the feminine point of view. Moreover, for centuries, women have tended to view themselves as less creative in the arts, less powerful and less important than men in seats of influence.2 Margaret Lamb aptly has said: "The theatre has always been mired in the swamp of particular social, political, and psychological circumstance; and it has often been closely associated with sex, one way or another."3 The proliferation of American female dramatists during the decade of 1973-83 challenges the tradition of female impotency in playwriting; indeed, it provides, as critic Mel Gussow notes, one of "the most encouraging and auspicious" developments in current American drama.4 What has generated the new wave of female writers? Their emergence in remarkable number can be attributed to several exceptional circumstances, most of which resulted from the revolutionary 1 2 feminist movement that gathered strength in the 1960s. Over the last decade, women have steadily assumed more roles of authority and creativity in all areas of the theatre;8 women writers, performers, producers, directors, costume and lighting designers have met less resistance and become more prominently visible. Playwrights' workshops and grant- awarding foundations have aided the women's cause; and influential companies, such as the American Place Theatre and the Actors' Theatre of Louisville, have actively solicited and produced plays by women.6 Although many of the practicing women writers have not yet achieved a high level of critical and public acceptance, nor, in some cases, fulfilled their early promise, "the talent is there, as is the commitment to playwriting."7 Another factor encouraging the new generation of female playwrights is the growing strength of feminist theatre. Michele Wandor believes that "women surface as playwrights when conditions are right; when there

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