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The Little-Told Story of Elizabeth Keckley and Mary Todd Lincoln
Cross posted at Ms. As the DVD of Spielberg’s latest epic, Lincoln, hit shelves last week, the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. was telling a different Lincoln story: that of Mary Todd Lincoln and her dressmaker, former slave Elizabeth Keckley. Keckley, author of Behind the Scenes, or, Thirty years a Slave, and Four Years in…
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Race on Stage and in the Rehearsal Room: Tazewell Thompson’s Mary T. and Lizzy K.
What made you want to write a play about Elizabeth Keckly and Mary Todd Lincoln? Thompson: I was actually commissioned to write play in 2001 and the only stipulation was that it be set in Washington. When Molly Smith, artistic director of Arena, said “Washington” I immediately thought political and I thought Lincoln. The idea…
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Feminism, the Internet, and the Imagination
To think it thinkable shortcuts no work and shields one from no responsibility. Quite the contrary, it may be a necessary prerequisite to assuming responsibility, and it invites the honorable work of radical imagination. — “On Being White,” by Marilyn Frye This paper was originally presented as part of WAM! LA’s 2013 Conference. 30 years…
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Dammit Mamet
Warning: This post contains language which may be considered profane, sexist, ironic, feminist and/or totally quotidian. Oh Mamet. Mamet Mamet Mamet Mamet Mamet. Fuuuuucking Mamet.”Who knows not where a wasp does wear his sting. In his tail? In his tongue.” Ask almost any theater practitioner what they like about David Mamet and they’ll tell you:…
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Feminist Face-Off: Beautiful Creatures vs. Twilight
It’s hard not to make the comparison: two supernatural teen romances, both adapted from Young Adult novels, both involving a Romeo and Juliet-like attraction between a human and a superhuman. For feminist spectators, the popularity of such genre films warrants an investigation of their depiction of gender roles. So how do the two films stack…
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Internet Dating: A Play, Part Four
Part Four (see here and scroll down for Parts One – Three) Lights up on a bar. Woman has revealed the contents of her baggage, the suitcases, travel bags, makeup kits, gym bags, hat boxes, and a trunk on wheels. They were all full of books. Except the hat box. The hat box contained a…
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Internet Dating: A Play, Part Three
Part Three Lights up on a bar. A Woman enters carrying suitcases, travel bags, makeup kits, gym bags, and hat boxes, and pulling a trunk on wheels. She situates herself and her baggage at the bar. Bartender appears. Bartender: What can I get for you? Woman: New screen name. Bartender: No more TK421? Woman: Nope.…
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Guillermo del Toro’s Mythical Mamas
Cross posted at Ms. For horror fans, January is both a blessing and a curse. Christened “Hollywood’s dumping ground,” January is where movies go to die. With everyone’s attention focused on awards season, or so the thinking goes, studios can afford to release films from which they do not expect much profit, many of which…
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this whole idea of “internet plays”
So this whole idea of “internet plays” is evolving in ways that bear explanation. The posts I have written in dramatic rather than narrative form, such as “Internet Dating: A Play,” and older posts like “A Woman and Her Doctor,” are intended to serve the same function as a “creative non-fiction” blog post. My hope…
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Internet Dating: A Play, Part Two
Part Two A Woman leans against a bar, drink in hand (gin martini, dirty, extra olives). Other Women and Men mill about, flirting. Man wearing fedora approaches. Man: Hi there … (peering at nametag) … TK421. Want to get a drink sometime? Woman: (Toasting.) Well, I’ve got a drink. Thanks. Man: WHY DON’T YOU JUST…
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Holly L. Derr 