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Emily Mann: Rebel Artist of the American Theater
Emily Mann: Rebel Artist of the American Theater is the story of a remarkable American playwright, director, and artistic director. It is the story of a woman who defied the American theater's sexism, a traumatic assault, and illness to create unique documentary plays and to lead the McCarter Theatre Center, for thirty seasons, to a place of national recognition.
The book traces and describes Emily Mann's family life; her coming-of-age in Chicago during the exuberant, rebellious, and often violent 1960s; how sexual violence touched her personally; and how she fell in love with theater and began learning her craft at the Loeb Drama Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, while a student at Radcliffe.
Mann's evolution as a professional director and playwright is explored, first at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, where she received an MFA from the University of Minnesota, then on and off Broadway and at regional theaters. Mann's leadership of the McCarter is examined, along with her battles to overcome multiple sclerosis and to conquer--personally and artistically--the memories of the violence she experienced when a teenager.
Finally, the book discusses her retirement from the McCarter, while amplifying her ongoing journey as a theater artist of sensitivity and originality.
Mann's many awards include the 2015 Margo Jones Award, the 2019 Visionary Leadership Award from Theatre Communications Group, and the 2020 Lilly Award for Lifetime Achievement. In 2019, she was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame for Lifetime Achievement in the American Theater.
The book traces and describes Emily Mann's family life; her coming-of-age in Chicago during the exuberant, rebellious, and often violent 1960s; how sexual violence touched her personally; and how she fell in love with theater and began learning her craft at the Loeb Drama Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, while a student at Radcliffe.
Mann's evolution as a professional director and playwright is explored, first at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, where she received an MFA from the University of Minnesota, then on and off Broadway and at regional theaters. Mann's leadership of the McCarter is examined, along with her battles to overcome multiple sclerosis and to conquer--personally and artistically--the memories of the violence she experienced when a teenager.
Finally, the book discusses her retirement from the McCarter, while amplifying her ongoing journey as a theater artist of sensitivity and originality.
Mann's many awards include the 2015 Margo Jones Award, the 2019 Visionary Leadership Award from Theatre Communications Group, and the 2020 Lilly Award for Lifetime Achievement. In 2019, she was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame for Lifetime Achievement in the American Theater.
372 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 1, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 8, 2022
A readable and important biography of a seminal voice in 20th century American Theatre, offering fresh insights into the challenges and rewards of playwriting, directing, and running a not-for-profit theatre, nuanced by Ms. Mann’s long struggle with MS, and the resistance she faced as a ground-breaking woman in a profession that had been so long dominated by men.
On a more personal level, from one who worked with Emily as a set designer in our early days in New York, I read this as a tale of bravery, determination, and the making of a singular artistic vision, a story that needed another smart woman to tell it as it needed to be told.
On a more personal level, from one who worked with Emily as a set designer in our early days in New York, I read this as a tale of bravery, determination, and the making of a singular artistic vision, a story that needed another smart woman to tell it as it needed to be told.
February 10, 2022
This book is a perfect read for Women's History Month, and any theater buff will appreciate the details of what it means to work in this industry as a writer and director. The author covered a lot of territory. Emily Mann has a fascinating life and I'm grateful that I will get to discuss her with Alexis Greene on Friday, March 11, 7PM at Theodore's Books in Oyster Bay, NY. It's going to be a treat!
February 1, 2022
I have little objectivity. Emily is an old and valued friend, and Alexis is an esteemed colleague. I learned a lot of stuff I didn't know, which set me to musing how little we sometimes know the people we love. (I've known her since, 40 years ago, she directed the premiere of my play THE VALUE OF NAMES.) If you're trying to understand contemporary American theater, knowing the principal players is a good idea, and Emily certainly is one of those -- someone who not only did terrific work as a writer, director and producer (three quite distinct talents), but also forged a path that helped give others direction.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews