About the Book:

HARD TO FIND BOOK, only a very limited number of copies are still available.

Some of the best-known names in Canadian theatre are featured in Playwriting Women.

The six playwrights discussed in the volume Playwriting Women are Carol Bolt, Erica Ritter, Sharon Pollack, Margaret Hollingsworth, Anne Chislett, and Judith Thompson. Getting their start during the heady days of the 1970s, these six dramatists have since enjoyed considerable success, gaining national and sometimes international recognition. Each has produced a substantial body of work, greatly enriching Canadian theatre. In this lively study, Cynthia Zimmerman shows how the experience of being female Canadian dramatists shaped their careers and their plays.

The Introduction sets the general context for playwriting women raising the issues pertinent to the craft. Cynthia Zimmerman then focuses on each of the playwrights in turn, with brief biographies, highlighting family, socio-cultural and geographic influences; discussion of their work with theatre companies, and the evolution of their scripts; and analysis of the major plays. Interviews and quotes from reviews and from the plays enliven the text and give insight into the creative process.

As Cynthia Zimmerman recounts, one summer, during the years Judith Thompson was completing a B.A. in drama at Queen's, she had a job working with mentally handicapped adults. Thompson's first written character developed when she was studying acting at the National Theatre School of Canada (Canada's Julliard). During a mask class, she started to develop a character based on memories of a mentally deficient woman she had worked with. The character emerged as Theresa, in The Crackwalker, Thompson's first full-length play.

With sensitivity to the perils of the profession, Playwriting Women remains essentially optimistic about the prospect of women who take to the stage.

About the Author:

Cynthia Zimmerman is associate professor of English, Glendon College, York University. Her articles and essays on Canadian drama have been published in a wide range of publications.