Feminist Rehearsals: Gender at the Theatre in Early Twentieth-Century Argentina and Mexico - Paperback

by May Summer Farnsworth (Author)

2024 ATHE Outstanding Book Award, Shortlisted
2023 George Freedley Memorial Award, Finalist
As feminism gained prominence in twentieth-century popular culture, dramatic conventions progressed accordingly, offering larger and more diverse roles for women characters. Feminist Rehearsals documents the early stages of feminist theatre in Argentina and Mexico, revealing how various aspects of performance culture--spectator formation, playwriting, professional acting and directing, and dramatic techniques--paralleled political activism and championed the goals of the women's rights movement. Through performance and protest, feminists enacted new identities and pushed for myriad social and legislative reforms during a time when women were denied suffrage and full citizenship status. Together, feminist theatre and demonstrations politicized women spectators' collective presence and promoted women's rights in the public sphere.

Author Biography

May Summer Farnsworth is professor of Spanish and Hispanic studies at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. She is coeditor of a two-volume anthology of feminist plays by women in Latin America, Escrito por Mujeres. She lives in Geneva, New York.