Theater has always been the site of visionary hopes for a reformed national future and a space
for propagating ideas both cultural and political and such a conceptualization of the
histrionic art is all the more valuable in the post-9 11 era. The essays in this volume address
the concept of Americanness and the perceptions of the alien - as ethnic class or gendered
minorities - as dealt with in the work of American playwrights from Anna Cora Mowatt through
Rachel Crothers or Susan Glaspell and on to Sam Shepard David Mamet Nilo Cruz or Wallace
Shawn. The authors of the essays come from a multi-national university background that includes
the United States the United Arab Emirates and various countries of the European Community. In
recognition of the multiple components of drama the essays for the volume were selected in
order to exemplify different aspects and theories of theater studies: the playwright the play
the audience and the actor are all examined as part of the theatrical experience that serves to
formulate American national identity.
