From Book News, Inc.
A successor to Brown's 1979 Feminist drama, analyzes ten recent feminist plays in terms of their depiction of women and society in general, and the theories that underlie them. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.

Book Description
Successor to the author's ground-breaking Feminist Drama (1979), this book describes the evolution of contemporary American feminist thought since that volume appeared and traces its themes in a cross-section of contemporary plays.

About the Author
Janet Brown (PhD, speech and dramatic arts, University of Missouri) is the author of "Feminist Drama" (Scarecrow, 1979) as well as numerous articles published in journals and anthologies. She directed the University of Hartford theatre arts program for six years before becoming the founding director of the Greater Hartford Academy of Performing Arts, a successful magnet program for the region's public high schools. She is a produced playwright and an educational consultant for the Hartford Stage Company, the Capitol Region Education Council, and public and private schools.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Successor to the author's ground-breaking "Feminist Drama" (1979; hailed by CHOICE as "... an admirable example of the new feminist scholarship"), this new book describes the evolution of contemporary American feminist thought since that volume appeared and traces its themes in a cross-section of contemporary plays. Brown develops new and more encompassing definitions of feminism and feminist drama applicable to the wealth of theory and drama that has appeared since 1979. Giving voice to silenced women, glorifying those defined by the patriarchy as marginal, and propounding a feminist ethic based on respect for the environmental context and for the concrete, everyday world are among the central concerns of the new feminist drama. Plays by Jane Chambers, Caryl Churchill, Darrah Cloud, Kathleen Collins, Holly Hughes, Marsha Norman, David Rabe, Ntozake Shange, and Jane Wagner receive close textual analysis in the book.

Author Biography: Janet Brown (PhD, speech and dramatic arts, University of Missouri) is the author of "Feminist Drama" (Scarecrow, 1979) as well as numerous articles published in journals and anthologies. She directed the University of Hartford theatre arts program for six years before becoming the founding director of the Greater Hartford Academy of Performing Arts, a successful magnet program for the region's public high schools. She is a produced playwright and an educational consultant for the Hartford Stage Company, the Capitol Region Education Council, and public and private schools.

FROM THE CRITICS

Choice

...impressive in readability and clarity, and in a thoroughness that belies its small size. This slim text is itself worthy of taking center stage..

Women Library Workers Journal

A smashing second act for Brown..

Booknews