Women, Drama, Theatre – from 1900 to the present (GSA 2020)

In the 20^th- and 21^st-century women have received attention as playwrights and performers, and, during recent decades, they made their entrance as stage directors. Whereas today all playwrights face particular challenges since more and more adaptations instead of original plays are being staged, for most of the 20^th-century women had to stand up against a dominantly male market. The panel investigates how women playwrights seek access to the theatre by way of dramatic forms and topics, build connections to standing theatres and directors, and are directing their own plays. How do they negotiate traditional theatre paradigms (e.g. Greek tragedy; European Classicisms, 17^thto 19^thcentury; comedy and tragi-comedy), contemporary topics and intersectionality? How is the audience’s response? Papers presenting case studies of women playwrights and their productions, at the same time addressing aesthetic and institutional paradigms, are particularly welcome. This panel is organized in collaboration with “FrideL – Frauen in der Literaturwissenschaft e.V.”

Abstracts of no more than 350 words and a brief bio should be sent to Annette Bühler-Dietrich (Annette.buehler-dietrich@ilw.uni-stuttgart.de) and Gaby Pailer (pailer@mail.ubc.ca) by February 5, 2020.

The German Studies Association (GSA) will hold its 44th Annual Conference from 1 to 4 October 2020 at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, DC.