American Avant-Garde Theatre: A History

This stunning contribution to the field of theatre history is the first in-depth look at avant-garde theatre in the United States between the mid-1950's and the mid 1980's.American Avant-garde Theatreoffers a definition of the avant-garde, and looks at its origins and theoretical foundations by examining: Gertrude Stein * John Cage * The Beat writers * Avant-garde cinema * Abstract Expressionism * Minimalism. There are fascinating discussions and illustrations of the productions of Living Theatre, the Wooster Group, Open Theatre and Performance Group, among many others. Aronson also examines why avant-garde theatre declined and virtually disappeared at the end of the twentieth century.