The Women of Provincetown, 1915–1922
In this fascinating work, Cheryl Black reveals that, in addition to its role in developing an American tradition of non-commercial theatre, Provincetown has another, largely unacknowledged claim to fame as one of the first theatre companies in America in which women achieved prominence in every area of operation. At a time when women playwrights were rare, women directors rarer, and women scenic designers unheard of, Provincetown’s female members excelled in all of these roles.
In addition to the well-known playwright Susan Gaspell, the company’s female membership included luminaries such poets Edna St. Vincent Millay, Mina Loy, and Djuna Barnes; journalists Louise Bryant and Mary Heaton Vorce; novelists Neith Boyce and Evelyn Scott; and painter Marguerite Zorach. Illuminating a fascinating chapter in the history of one of the world's most picturesque and beloved artist colonies, The Women of Provincetown is an engaging work of social history, offering new insights into the relationship between gender and theatre. This work includes 40 images of the key artists in the book.
I found The Women of Provincetown a very valuable and informative work. . . . I know of no one whose research on the Provincetown Players is remotely comparable.’
—Judith Barlow, author of Plays by American Women: The Early Years
‘Black breaks new ground with her detailed study of the creative work the women did as writers, performers, directors, designers, and managers. To the list of notable Provincetown discoveries headed by Susan Glaspell and Eugene O’Neill, Black adds more than a few extraordinarily talented artists. Further, she examines their initial work within the feminist climate of Greenwich Village in the pre–World War I years and follows it through the period of disintegrating radical politics that undermined the group dynamic.’
—Theatre Journal
The Women of Provincetown offers a valuable new assessment of one of the most crucial enterprises in America’s cultural history. Black’s account of early idealism undermined by success is a plot rather like one of O’Neill’s own plays, except that here it is the destiny of women, and not the men whom they support and suffer for, that emerges as the primary animating force in a revolutionary moment which, if short-lived, set an inspiring standard for future women theater artists and collectives, with or without men.
—Eugene O’Neill Review
Cheryl Black is professor of Theatre History, Dramaturgy and Acting at the University of Missouri.
List of Illustrations
List of Graphs
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1. Creating Women
Chapter 2. Managing Women
Chapter 3. Writing Women
Chapter 4. Performing Women
Chapter 5. Staging Women
Chapter 6. Designing Women
Chapter 7. Backlash and Aftermath
Chapter 8. Valedictory
Appendix 1. The Women of Provincetown
Appendix 2. Charter Members of the Provincetown Players, September 1916
Appendix 3. Executive Committee Membership
Appendix 4. Productions of Plays Written or Cowritten by Women
Appendix 5. Provincetown Productions for Which Directing Credit Can Be Reasonably Established
Appendix 6. Provincetown Productions for Which Scenic Design Credit Can Be Reasonably Established
Appendix 7. Provincetown Productions for Which Costume Design Credit Can Be Reasonably Established
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
