Feminist Rehearsals

Gender at the Theatre in Early Twentieth-Century Argentina and Mexico

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Pub Date 29 Mar 2023 | Archive Date 29 Mar 2023
University of Iowa Press | University Of Iowa Press

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Description

THEATRE / LATIN AMERICAN HISTORY

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.
 

THEATRE / LATIN AMERICAN HISTORY

As feminism gained prominence in twentieth-century popular culture, dramatic conventions progressed accordingly, offering larger and more diverse roles for women...


Advance Praise

“This study provides a deserved platform for female artists and activists who continue to exert influence over our understanding of the role of the arts in inspiring a questioning of dominant patriarchal values. Most importantly, it will update everyone’s ideas of what constitutes a theatre history in the dynamic field that is Latin American theatre, especially as it relates to feminist movements across the Americas.”—Analola Santana, author, Freak Performances: Dissidence in Latin American Theater

“Feminist Rehearsals is an impressive study of the political, sociocultural, and intellectual struggles women playwrights, actresses, and activist pioneers experienced during the early twentieth century in Argentina and Mexico. With a fresh look at feminist theory and practice, Farnsworth offers a crucial analysis regarding the role women had in the public sphere through the lens of theatre and performance studies.”—Paola Hernández, author, Staging Lives in Latin American Theater: Bodies, Objects, Archives

“An authoritative, nuanced, and thoughtful analysis of the role of feminist political and aesthetic movements in Argentina and Mexico, Feminist Rehearsals offers new insights into how women in the Americas create space for feminist spectatorship in the twentieth century. This book is for anyone engaged in feminist performance scholarship.”—E. J. Westlake, Ohio State University

“This study provides a deserved platform for female artists and activists who continue to exert influence over our understanding of the role of the arts in inspiring a questioning of dominant...


Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9781609388799
PRICE $95.00 (USD)
PAGES 304

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Featured Reviews

In Feminist Rehearsals, May Summer Farnsworth explores early feminist theater and theater productions in Argentina and Mexico in the early twentieth century. Examining and exploring the gendered contexts and messages of these productions, Farnsworth discusses the role that performance culture and industry played in the development of the women’s rights movements in Mexico and Argentina. Farnsworth particularly highlights the role that theater and the performing arts played in the publicization and politicization of these women’s rights movements. Farnsworth discusses various gendered concepts, language, and cultural norms in her examination of feminist theater productions, and she also notes the ways in which these feminist theater productions (and the show’s message) challenged standing socio-cultural beliefs about gender. Farnsworth clearly provides an analysis and summary of the various productions, demonstrating her knowledge and familiarity with the subject material, and her ability to understand the cultural implications and criticisms of the shows allows the reader to understand her larger point about these productions and their position within the cultural contexts of Argentina and Mexico. Farnsworth, in Feminist Rehearsals, encourages a further discussion of similar productions across the world in relation to their women’s rights movements and their changes (or lack thereof) in gendered beliefs, behaviors, and ideas.

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Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc. This was definitely a scholarly read, and I was able to learn more from it. I would highly recommend it to everyone, because there are so many important points the author brings up throughout their writing.

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