Women and Minority Theater Makers 🎭

Introduction

• Focus on influential female-identifying and minority theater makers
• Examined their contributions to theater and their unique styles

Contemporary Female Theater Makers

Wendy Wasserstein

• Known for realistic portrayals of women
• Famous play: The Heidi Chronicles (1989)
• Won Pulitzer and Tony awards

Ann Bogart and Tina Lando

• Developed the acting style Viewpoints
• Emphasizes choreography, movement, and ensemble building

Mary Zimmerman

• Directed Metamorphoses based on Greek and Roman myths
• Innovative use of a swimming pool on stage
• Won 2002 Tony for Best Director

Julie Taymor

• Directed The Lion King and adapted Bunraku for stage
• Won 1998 Tony for The Lion King
• Faced controversy with Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark

Susan Strowman

• Broadway director and choreographer
• First female to win Tony for Director and Choreographer in the same production

Black American Theater Makers

Zora Neale Hurston

• Known for contributions to black theater tradition

August Wilson

• Created the Century Cycle of ten plays
• Plays based in a black American neighborhood in Pittsburgh
• Notable works: Fences (adapted into a film)

Lorraine Hansberry

• Famous for A Raisin in the Sun
• Play based on her family's real experiences with segregation

Black Arts Movement

• Artists like Amir Baraka and Adrienne Kennedy
• Celebrated black culture during the Civil Rights Movement

Suzanne Lori Parks

• Won 2002 Pulitzer for Top Dog/Underdog
• Explores American identity from a black female perspective

Lynn Nottage

• Only female playwright with two Pulitzer Prizes
• Known for plays like Ruined and Sweat

Asian American Theater Makers

Frank Chin

• Pioneered Asian culture on American stage with the play Chicken Coop

David Henry Hwang

• Won 1988 Tony for M. Butterfly
• Wrote controversial play Yellowface

B.D. Wong

• Successful theatrical actor, won a Tony for M. Butterfly

Robert Lopez

• EGOT winner; wrote music for Frozen and Avenue Q

Latinx Theater Makers

Maria Irene Fornes

• Known for innovative off-Broadway works
• Created interactive play structures

Nilo Cruz

• Won 2003 Pulitzer for Anna in the Tropics

Jose Rivera

• Blends magical realism with real-world issues

Quiara Alegría Hudes

• Won 2012 Pulitzer for Water by the Spoonful
• Wrote book for In the Heights

Lin-Manuel Miranda

• Famous for Hamilton and In the Heights
• Works with Disney on films like Encanto and Moana

Indigenous Theater Makers

William S. Yellow Robe Jr.

• Created plays focusing on Native American life and culture

Spiderwoman Theater

• Group of six indigenous women
• Produce theater, poetry, and music
• Known for Power Pipes

LeAnne Howe

• Creator of Indian Radio Days
• Work focuses on passing down traditions through theater

LGBTQ+ Theater Makers

Historical Context

• Many LGBTQ+ playwrights had to keep identities hidden
• Example: Tennessee Williams

Holly Hughes

• Solo performance artist dealing with LGBTQ+ themes
• Faced obscenity trials in Congress

Tony Kushner

• Wrote Angels in America, focusing on the AIDS epidemic
• Successful in both theater and film

Jonathan Larson

• Created the musical Rent

The Laramie Project

• Verbatim theater about the Matthew Shepard tragedy

Terrence McNally

• Comedic playwright addressing LGBTQ+ themes

Discussion Questions

1. How does cultural identity affect and determine an artist's work?
2. How does cultural identity affect our own implicit biases as audience members?
3. How does cultural identity relate to Aristotle's six elements of theater?