An Edition of The Diaries of American Actress, Writer, and Director Judith Malina, 1947-2015

FAIN: FT-254429-17

Kate Bredeson
Reed College (Portland, OR 97202-8138)

Research and digital preservation of documents leading to the publication of a scholarly edition of the diaries and papers of Judith Malina (1926-2015), co-founder and director of The Living Theater.

My book is an edited collection of Living Theatre co-founder and director Judith Malina’s diaries, accompanied by my critical introduction that situates Malina in theater history. This book provides an in depth historical account of Malina’s over sixty years as a director, performer, manager, radical activist, and woman. Because it is the aspect of her life least touched by scholars, my book focuses on revealing Malina’s work as a director—her approach with her actors, artistic vision, and rehearsal techniques. While two versions (1947-57 and 1968-69) of Malina’s diaries have been published to great acclaim, the rest of her papers remain unpublished. In her writings, Malina’s wit, passion, and vivacious observations about her life’s work and her political and social milieux are made abundantly clear. This book appeals to theater scholars, artists, students, and cultural historians. I apply for NEH support to work with the 2008-2015 diaries, which are in a storage locker in NYC.

Associated Products

The Diaries of Judith Malina, 1958-1971 (Book)
Title: The Diaries of Judith Malina, 1958-1971
Author: Kate Bredeson
Abstract: The Diaries of Judith Malina, 1958–1971 collects the diaries of Judith Malina—artist, activist, and lifelong diarist—from a seismic period of her life and a formative era for her company with The Living Theatre. This book is part of scholar Kate Bredeson’s larger project to gather, edit, and introduce Malina’s unpublished diaries. This volume covers 13 years as Malina records her days, beginning in New York and ending in Ouro Preto, Brazil. During this decade-plus, Malina experienced profound transformation as she co-led The Living Theatre while it opened its first theatre space in New York, saw her theatre seized by the IRS, lived and toured in Europe, travelled to Morocco to discuss a split of the company, and relocated to Brazil to launch a new phase of personal and professional work. Malina’s scrupulous diaries record The Living’s extraordinary activities, illustrate the thinking of a key figure in late-twentieth-century theatre, and paint a dazzling portrait of the times in which she lived. Bredeson includes a significant critical introduction that situates Malina’s legacy in theatre history, discusses the influence of her theatre, examines the genre of diary-keeping, and spotlights Malina’s work as an artist, activist, and diarist.
Year: 2022
Secondary URL: https://www.routledge.com/The-Diaries-of-Judith-Malina-1958-1971/Bredeson/p/book/9781032217925
Publisher: Routledge
Type: Other
ISBN: 9781032217925
Copy sent to NEH?: No

Web page about Malina book project (Web Resource)
Title: Web page about Malina book project
Author: Kate Bredeson
Abstract: Web page about Kate Bredeson's Judith Malina diaries multi-book project.
Year: 2021
Primary URL: https://www.reed.edu/theatre/bredeson/diaries-of-judith-malina/index.html

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