Articles and other references on Theatre and Ecology

This limited bibliography will acquaint students, teachers and others interested in ecocriticism in theatre studies, and the intersections of performance and ecology.

Some articles listed are available in PDF.  Others may be included in journals with electronic access. 
Those marked with an asterisk are Reserve in the University of Oregon’s Knight Library under “Ecodrama Festival.”

We update this list frequently.
If you are familiar with articles that we should include in this list, please email the reference to: ecodrama@uoregon.edu.

Links:         Green Theatre Practice 

Books:

• Chaudhuri, Una. Staging Place: The Geography of Modern Drama (1995) *
• Chaudhuri, Una and Elinor Fuchs, eds. Land/Scape/Theater (2002)
• Fried, Larry and Theresa J. May. Greening Up Our Houses: A Guide to a More Ecologically Sound Theatre, with New York: Drama Book Publishers, 1994. *
• Giannachi, Gabriella and Stewart Nigel, eds. Performing Nature:  Explorations in Ecology and the Arts. Bern, Switzerland: Peter Lang, 2005.
• Sullivan, Garrett. The Drama of Landscape. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1998.
• Szerszynski, Bronislaw, Wallace Heim and Claire Waterton, eds. Nature Performed: Environment, Culture and Performance (2004).

Journal issues dedicated to ecocriticism in theatre:

• Theater 25:1 (Summer 1994). Erika Monk, ed. Una Chaudhuri, guest editor. *
• Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism (supplemental section).  Spring 2006. John Gronbeck Tedesco, ed.
• Theatre Topics. Fall 2007. Johanthan Chambers, ed. Wendy Arons, guest editor.  *

Articles

• Chaudhuri, Una. “Animal Rites: Performing beyond the Human.” Critical Theory and Performance. Janelle G. Reinelt and Joseph R. Roach, eds. U of Michigan P (2007): 506-520.  *
• Chadhuri, Una. “’There Must Be A Lot of Fish in that Lake’: Toward and Ecological Theater.” Theater 25:1 (Spring/Summer, 1994): 23-31.  *
• Chadhuri, Una. “Animal Acts for Changing Times,” American Theater, October 2004.
• Chadhuri, Una. “Zoo Stories: ‘Boundary-Work’ in Theatre History,” Redefining Theatre History. Ed. W.B. Worthen and Peter Holland. Palgrave, 2004.
• Chadhuri, Una. “Animal Geographies: Zooësis and the Space of Modern Drama,” Modern Drama XLVI:4 (Winter 2003): 646-662.
• Cless, Downing.  "Ecology vs. Economy in Robert Schenkkan's The Kentucky Cycle." The Journal of American Drama and Theatre 8:2 (Spring, 1996): 59-72.
• Cless, Downing.“Eco-Theatre, USA: The Grassroots Is Greener.” TDR 40:2  (Summer 1996): 79-102. *
• May, Theresa J. “Beyond Bambi: Toward a Dangerous Ecocriticism.” Theatre Topics 17:2 (September 2007): 95-110.   *
• May, Theresa J. “’Consequences unforeseen . . .’ in Raisin in the Sun and Caroline, or Change.” Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism XX.2 (Spring 2006).  *
• May, Theresa J. “Greening the Theatre: Taking Ecocriticism from Page to Stage,” Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies. Fall 2005: 84-103. *
• May, Theresa J. “The Ecology of Willy Loman.” New England Theatre Journal 14 (2004): 63-76. *
• May, Theresa J. “Frontiers: Environmental History, Ecocriticism and The Kentucky Cycle.” Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism 14:1 (Spring 1999): 159-178.
• Standing, Sarah.  “From the Redwood Forest.” American Theater, February 2005. *
• Sweeting, Adam and Thomas C. Crochunis. "Performing the Wild: Rethinking Wilderness and Theater Spaces." Beyond Nature Writing: Expanding the Boundaries of Ecocriticism. Ed. Karla Armbruster and Kathleen R. Wallace. 325-340.

 Key Critical Animal Studies Articles by Una Chaudhuri

“Animal Acts for Changing Times,” American Theater, October 2004. 

“Zoo Stories: ‘Boundary-Work’ in Theatre History,” Redefining Theatre History ed. W.B. Worthen and Peter Holland (Palgrave, 2004).

 

“Animal Geographies: Zooësis and the Space of Modern Drama,”  Modern Drama  (Volume XLVI, Number 4, Winter 2003) 646-662.

 

“Different Hats,” Theater, 2004.

 

“AWK!” Extremity, Animality and the Aesthetic of Awkwardness,” in The Undiscovered Country: The Later Plays of Tennessee Williams ed. Philip Kolin, (New York: Peter Lang, 2002) 54-67.

 

“Sniff Art.” Review of “On the Scent,” presented at the Performance Studies Pre-Conference, Association for Theatre in Higher Education Annual Conference, Summer 2004.  TDR, Summer 2004