Mama Dada: Gertrude Stein's Avant-Garde Theatre / Edition 1

by Sarah Bay-Cheng

Overview

Mama Dada is the first book to examine Gertrude Stein's drama within the history of the theatrical and cinematic avant-gardes. Since the publication of Stein's major writings by the Library of America in 1998, interest in her dramatic writing has escalated, particularly in American avant-garde theaters. This book addresses the growing interest in Stein's theater by offering the first detailed analyses of her major plays, and by considering them within a larger history of avant-garde performance. In addition to comparing Stein's plays and theories to those generated by Dadaists, Surrealists, and Futurists, this study further explores the uniqueness of Stein via these theatrical movements, including discussions of her interest in American life and drama, which argues that a significant and heretofore unrecognized relationship exists among the histories of avant-garde drama, cinema, and homosexuality. By examining and explaining the relationship among these three histories, the dramatic writings of Stein can best be understood, not only as examples of literary modernism, but also as influential dramatic works that have had a lasting effect on the American theatrical avant-

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415977234
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	09/29/2005
Series:	Studies in Modern Drama
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	220
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Sarah Bay-Cheng is Assistant Professor of English and Theater at Colgate University. She received her Ph.D. with distinction from the University of Michigan. She is in the process of relocating to SUNY, Buffalo. Her co-edited anthology with Bert Cardullo, The Fallen Staff: An Anthology of Falstaff Plays (2003) is forthcoming this year.

Table of Contents

General Editor's Note Acknowledgments Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION Chapter 2 EYES ARE A SURPRISE: THE ORIGINS OF GERTRUDE STEIN'S DRAMA IN CINEMA Chapter 3 LISTEN TO ME: STEIN AND AVANT-GARDE THEATER Chapter 4 ATOM AND EVE: DOCTOR FAUSTUS LIGHTS THE LIGHTS Chapter 5 MY LONG LIFE: FINAL WORKS Chapter 6: AMERICA IS MY COUNTRY: GERTRUDE STEIN AND THE AMERICAN AVANT-GARDE Appendix A A Chronological List of Gertrude Stein's Plays Appendix B A Chronological List of Professional Productions Appendix C A Chronological List of Dramatic Adaptations Notes Bibliography Index