María Irene Fornés
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| María Irene Fornés | |
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| Born | 1930 Havana, Cuba |
| Occupation | playwright |
| Writing period | Contemporary |
| Notable work(s) | Fefu and Her Friends, Sarita |
| Notable award(s) | 9 Obies |
| Domestic partner(s) | Harriet Sohmers, Susan Sontag |
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Influenced
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Maria Irene Fornes (born 1930) is a Cuban-American playwright.
Fornes was born in Havana, Cuba, and emigrated to the United States at the age of 15. She became a naturalized citizen in 1951.
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[edit] Life and career
Her first publicly performed play, Tango Palace, was produced in 1963. She gained prominence in avant-garde circles and was a known friend of figures of 1960s and 1970s culture in New York, including the now deceased Joseph Papp and Susan Sontag, and was later championed by Performing Arts Journal (later PAJ).
She became a pivotal figure in both Hispanic-American and experimental theater, winning nine Obies. Some of her more notable works include Fefu and Her Friends (1977) and Sarita (1984). Fornes's influence in theater is vast, due not only to her unique vision as a writer but also her ongoing role as a teacher. She continues to direct plays and receive fellowships and grants from key foundations. Fornes received an honorary Litt.D. from Bates College in 1992. Playwright Nilo Cruz also studied with Maria Irene Fornes, who recommended him to Paula Vogel.
[edit] Personal Life
People with whom Fornes had relationships included Harriet Sohmers and Susan Sontag.[1][2]
[edit] List of Plays
- The Widow (1961)
- There! You Died (1963) [produced as Tango Palace in 1964, and revised in 1963)
- The Successful life of 3: A skit for Vaudville (1965)
- Promenade (music by Al Carmines) (1965)
- The Office (1966)
- The Annunciation (1967)
- A Vietnamese Wedding (1967)
- Dr. Kheal (1968)
- Molly's Dream (music by Cosmos Savage) (1968)
- The Red Burning Light, or Mission XQ3 (Music by John Vauman) (1968)
- Aurora (music by John Fitzgibbon (composer)) (1972)
- The Curse of the Langston House (1972)
- Cap-a-Pie (music by José Raúl Bernardo) (1975)
- Washing (1976)
- Fefu and Her Friends (1977)
- Lolita in the Garden (1977)
- In Service (1978)
- Eyes on the Harem (1979)
- Evelyn Brown (A Diary) (1980)
- Blood Wedding (adapted from Bodas de Sangre by Federico García Lorca) (1980)
- Life is a Dream (adapted from La vida es sueño by Pedro Calderón de la Barca) (1981)
- A Visit (1981)
- The Danube (1982)
- Mud (1983)
- Sarita (music by Leon Odenz) (1984)
- No Time (1984)
- The Conduct of Life (1985)
- Cold Air (adapted and translated from a play by Virgilio Piñera) (1985)
- A Matter of Faith (1986)
- Lovers and Keepers (music by Tito Puente and Fernando Rivas) (1986)
- Drowning (adapted from a story by Anton Chekhov) 1986
- Art (1986)
- '"The Mothers (1986; revised as Nadine in 1989)
- Abingdon Square (1987)
- Uncle Vanya (adapted from the play by Anton Chekhov) (1987)
- Hunger (1988)
- And What of the Night? (four one-act plays: Hunger, Springtime, Lust, and Nadine) (1989)
- Oscar and Bertha (1992)
- Terra Incognita (music by Roberto Sierra) (1992)
- Summer in Gossensass (1995)
- Manual for a Desperate Crossing (1996)
- Balseros (Rafters) (opera based on Manual for a Desperate Crossing, music by Robert Ashley) (1997)
- Letters from Cuba (2000)
[edit] References
- ^ Field, Edward (2005), The Man Who Would Marry Susan Sontag, Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, ISBN 029921320-X
- ^ Sontag, Susan (2006-09-10), “On Self”, New York Times, <http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/10/magazine/10sontag.html?ex=1184385600&en=33d56f77e73b6b6b&ei=5070>
