Rice, Elmer (1892–1967)
Born Elmer Reizenstein in New York City on September 28, 1892, Elmer Rice’s career spanned nearly fifty years. He wrote over fifty plays, including collaborations…
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Robins, Elizabeth (1862–1952)
Born in Louisville, Kentucky in 1862, Elizabeth Robins established herself in the American theater and then relocated to London in 1888. She epitomizes the grasp…
Agitprop Theatre
Now widely used as a catchall term to describe politically combative or oppositional art, “agitprop” originated from the early Soviet conjunction of propaganda (raising awareness…
al-`Ayni, Yusuf (1927–)
A playwright, actor, and director, Yusuf al-`Ayni was instrumental in the development of Iraqi theater from the 1950s through the 1970s. His three-decades-long career coincides…
Craig, Edward Gordon (1872–1966)
Edward Gordon Craig was one of the leading figures of modernist theater. His books, stage designs, manifestos, and collaborations all contributed to an understanding of…
Acting
Acting on the modern stage ranges from the psychological realism of Konstantin Stanislavsky (1863–1938) to the sensory assault of Antonin Artaud (1896–1948) to the didactic…
Ryan, Oscar (1904–1989)
The leading cultural activist in the Canadian Communist Party in the 1930s, Oscar Ryan was the formative figure in the Workers’ Theatre movement in Canada…
Reinhardt, Max (1873–1943)
Born Max Goldmann to Jewish parents in Baden, Austria and nicknamed “the Magician” by the press, Max Reinhardt was pivotal in establishing theater directing as…
The Pioneer Players (1911–25)
Led by director Edith Craig, with her mother Ellen Terry as president, the Pioneer Players theater society was founded on May 11, 1911 in London…
Lynching Drama
Lynching dramas reflect the brutal history of racial violence in which black individuals, primarily black men, were murdered by a white mob with no repercussions…
Rakesh, Mohan (1925–1972)
Mohan Rakesh was a leading twentieth-century Indian author whose drama, fiction, and criticism played a pivotal role in the Indian modernist movement after independence (1947–),…
Abe Kōbō (1924–1993)
Abe Kōbō (1924–1993) was a pivotal shingeki playwright and director as Japanese contemporary theatre matured after World War II. Known also as a novelist, Abe…
Odets, Clifford (1906–1963)
One of the foremost American playwrights of the first half of the twentieth century, Clifford Odets is best known for his social realist plays and…
Persona
Ingmar Bergman’s Persona (Sweden, 1966) is often described as an intense drama about the relationship between a famous actress and the inexperienced nurse assigned to…
Kawakami, Otojirō (1864–1911)
Kawakami Otojirō was an actor, comedian, and impresario during Japan’s early modern period and was the first to take Japanese performances on tour, albeit in…
Ichikawa, Sadanji II (1880–1940)
Ichikawa, Sadanji was Japan’s most popular actor from the 1910s to the 1930s, and is unique in having contributed to the modernist movement in both…
Wannus, Saadallah (1941–1997)
Saadallah Wannus, Syria’s best known and most respected contemporary playwright, was born in Tartous province. His plays were deeply critical of Arab power structures and…
Williams, Tennessee (1911–1983)
At the height of his powers, in the 1940s and 1950s, Tennessee Williams not only courted the commercial success afforded by Broadway, but also sought…
Strindberg, August (1849–1912)
August Strindberg is Sweden’s most important writer and one of the most influential dramatists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Along with Henrik…
Little Theater Movement
The Little Theater Movement comprised a web of amateur theater activities undertaken across much of the United States between 1912 and 1925. Little Theater opposed…
Hamilton, Cicely (1872–1952)
Cicely Hamilton, lesbian actor, author, and women’s suffrage activist, is best known for her plays Diana of Dobson’s (1908), exposing exploitation in the retail trade,…
Ichikawa, Ennosuke II (1888–1963)
Ichikawa Ennosuke II was a kabuki actor in the Meiji, Taishō, and Shōwa eras who collaborated with artists in the modern drama movement and was…
Shingeki
Shingeki (literally “new theater”) is a word coined in late Meiji period Japan (1868–1912) referring to dramatic works and theater performance styles imported and adapted…
Katsureki-mono
“Living history” plays were historical kabuki plays produced during the Meiji period 10s and 20s (1868–1888) in an attempt to reform the practices associated with…
O’Casey, Sean (1880–1964)
Born into Dublin tenement life in 1880, Sean O’Casey (originally John O’Casey) went on to become one of Ireland’s most important playwrights, best known for…