Theatres of Mind : On the American Modernist Tradition of Psychological Drama
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| Year of publication | 2019 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
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| Description | The early years of the 20th century witnessed a slow transformation of American drama and theatre from a mainly commercial enterprise into a more diverse cultural phenomenon. As part of the process, Modernist dramas were written and “art”, or “small”, theatres began operation. In my paper, I will look into several dramatic pieces that were considered Modernist experiments in psychological drama at the time of their creation, as they replied to current developments in psychology (psychoanalytical therapy) and bogus science (Mesmerism). Plays such as The Witching Hour (1907) by Augustus Thomas and Suppressed Desires (1915) by Susan Glaspell mark the beginning of a long strain of plays in American drama that treat ills of the American society as an expression of neurotic symptoms. |
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