My Annotated Bibliography
Jester, JuliaGrace. "A Feminist Social Psychological Study Utilizing Theatre of the Oppressed Methods to Explore Issues of Women’s Voices." Electronic Thesis or Dissertation. Miami University, 2003. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. 04 Mar 2015.
This was a project done by a grad student who used methods of Theatre of the Oppressed to talk about women's issues. She details the exercises that she conducted with a group of women and then includes their reactions to each portion of the project. These reactions can be helpful for my play because I can use it as feedback to inform what kind of images/topics/words were seen as impactful and effective
West-Pavlov, Russell. Bodies and Their Spaces: System, Crisis and Transformation in Early Modern Theatre. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2006. Print.
This book has a lot of interesting information about how gender plays a role in theatre. Sections of the book are specifically dedicated to the women's role. A specific chapter entitled "Women's Worlds: Women in the Public Sphere: Space, Community, Language" is very pertinent to my topic because it talks about how women communicate and exist in the public sphere. It also stresses the importance of how females communicate with each other and perceive each other/themselves. This is very important because I do not want my play to exist through a male lens or even a general lens. I want to emphasize the female experience and give power to the women who have experienced domestic abuse.
Frank, Marcie. Gender, Theatre, and the Origins of Criticism: From Dryden to Manley. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UP, 2002. Print.
This book talks about the history behind female playwrights who used theatre to speak out against sexism and other issues. One particularly interesting person that the book talks about is Delarivier Manley who wrote The New Atlantis. She used political satire to call attention to sexual abuse. Her work was very successful and it would be good for me to look more into it and see if there are ways that I can also use subtlety and allegories in my play.
The Yellow Dress. Deana's Educational Theater, 17 Apr. 2013. Web. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i9QhVKMuz8 (clip 1), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Hb_nm5vDlA&spfreload=10 (clip 2), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtnqOFAlW3M&spfreload=10 (clip 3),
These YouTube links are of a performance of The Yellow Dress which I watched because I could not find a written version of the piece. It was created by a company called Deana's Education Theater. The show tours around to different high schools and colleges and performs a one-woman show about a girl who was killed by her ex-boyfriend. This play centers around a striking image of the girl coming out in a blood soaked dress, the dress that she was wearing when she was murdered. This visual is shocking and emotional for the audience and begins to touch on this idea that I want to explore further.
Eve Ensler: Happiness in Body and Soul. Perf. Eve Ensler. Eve Ensler: Happiness in Body and Soul. Ted.com, Feb. 2004. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.
This is a Ted Talk in which Eve Ensler talks about her play The Vagina Monologues and the impact it had on different women. She talked to numerous different women and found that every woman had her own unique story. She details how the play was able to reach so many different women. As she told the stories of some women, others came forward and were inspired to tell their stories. This led to different movements and different communities performing The Vagina Monologues. Ensure raises the important point that when faced with so much disturbing information about the violence against women, we can often feel powerless and lost. She argues that the telling of stories is actually revolutionary an effects the most change. Something that I would like to explore is how I can tell stories through a different lens. I want to use images, sounds, symbols, and ideas to also convert satires as well as monologue pieces as Eve Ensler did.
Goodman, Lizbeth. Contemporary Feminist Theatres: To Each Her Own. London: Routledge, 1993. Print.
This book is a great resource for me. Goodman writes all about feminist theatre and what it consists of. She talks about the history of the movement, specific theatre companies, and topics that are addressed. This will give me more information about the different methods used in theatre to discuss women's issues. From here I can also find lots of specific feminist theatre companies and read about the work that they've done.
Women in Theatre: Guerrilla Girls on Tour. Women in Theatre, 7 June 2011. Web. 17 Mar. 2015. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6wipNq40nU&spfreload=10
This is an interview on an online series called "Women in Theatre" where the host, Linda Winer, talks to three women from The Guerrilla Girls. These women are anonymous activists dedicated to exposing sexism and discrimination in art and educating people about different influential female artists. They tour around and discuss the many obstacles that female artists face and speak up about the lack of representation of females in theatre. The women talk about how important it is to recognize who's voice is being represented and when there is a lack of a female perspective (which is often the case), they look for different ways for that voice to be heard.
This was a project done by a grad student who used methods of Theatre of the Oppressed to talk about women's issues. She details the exercises that she conducted with a group of women and then includes their reactions to each portion of the project. These reactions can be helpful for my play because I can use it as feedback to inform what kind of images/topics/words were seen as impactful and effective
West-Pavlov, Russell. Bodies and Their Spaces: System, Crisis and Transformation in Early Modern Theatre. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2006. Print.
This book has a lot of interesting information about how gender plays a role in theatre. Sections of the book are specifically dedicated to the women's role. A specific chapter entitled "Women's Worlds: Women in the Public Sphere: Space, Community, Language" is very pertinent to my topic because it talks about how women communicate and exist in the public sphere. It also stresses the importance of how females communicate with each other and perceive each other/themselves. This is very important because I do not want my play to exist through a male lens or even a general lens. I want to emphasize the female experience and give power to the women who have experienced domestic abuse.
Frank, Marcie. Gender, Theatre, and the Origins of Criticism: From Dryden to Manley. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UP, 2002. Print.
This book talks about the history behind female playwrights who used theatre to speak out against sexism and other issues. One particularly interesting person that the book talks about is Delarivier Manley who wrote The New Atlantis. She used political satire to call attention to sexual abuse. Her work was very successful and it would be good for me to look more into it and see if there are ways that I can also use subtlety and allegories in my play.
The Yellow Dress. Deana's Educational Theater, 17 Apr. 2013. Web. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i9QhVKMuz8 (clip 1), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Hb_nm5vDlA&spfreload=10 (clip 2), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtnqOFAlW3M&spfreload=10 (clip 3),
These YouTube links are of a performance of The Yellow Dress which I watched because I could not find a written version of the piece. It was created by a company called Deana's Education Theater. The show tours around to different high schools and colleges and performs a one-woman show about a girl who was killed by her ex-boyfriend. This play centers around a striking image of the girl coming out in a blood soaked dress, the dress that she was wearing when she was murdered. This visual is shocking and emotional for the audience and begins to touch on this idea that I want to explore further.
Eve Ensler: Happiness in Body and Soul. Perf. Eve Ensler. Eve Ensler: Happiness in Body and Soul. Ted.com, Feb. 2004. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.
This is a Ted Talk in which Eve Ensler talks about her play The Vagina Monologues and the impact it had on different women. She talked to numerous different women and found that every woman had her own unique story. She details how the play was able to reach so many different women. As she told the stories of some women, others came forward and were inspired to tell their stories. This led to different movements and different communities performing The Vagina Monologues. Ensure raises the important point that when faced with so much disturbing information about the violence against women, we can often feel powerless and lost. She argues that the telling of stories is actually revolutionary an effects the most change. Something that I would like to explore is how I can tell stories through a different lens. I want to use images, sounds, symbols, and ideas to also convert satires as well as monologue pieces as Eve Ensler did.
Goodman, Lizbeth. Contemporary Feminist Theatres: To Each Her Own. London: Routledge, 1993. Print.
This book is a great resource for me. Goodman writes all about feminist theatre and what it consists of. She talks about the history of the movement, specific theatre companies, and topics that are addressed. This will give me more information about the different methods used in theatre to discuss women's issues. From here I can also find lots of specific feminist theatre companies and read about the work that they've done.
Women in Theatre: Guerrilla Girls on Tour. Women in Theatre, 7 June 2011. Web. 17 Mar. 2015. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6wipNq40nU&spfreload=10
This is an interview on an online series called "Women in Theatre" where the host, Linda Winer, talks to three women from The Guerrilla Girls. These women are anonymous activists dedicated to exposing sexism and discrimination in art and educating people about different influential female artists. They tour around and discuss the many obstacles that female artists face and speak up about the lack of representation of females in theatre. The women talk about how important it is to recognize who's voice is being represented and when there is a lack of a female perspective (which is often the case), they look for different ways for that voice to be heard.