Betty Bernhard

Abstract

Betty Bernhard’s legacy in Asian theatre is due primarily to her extraordinary insight into discovering and promoting aspects of Indian performance—including Gujarati folk drama and issues of gender/sexuality—that were traditionally marginalized or overlooked; to her fundraising prowess and advocacy on behalf of Indian artists and colleagues, enabling international travel to pursue their own research and/or attend otherwise unavailable conferences and workshops; to working with those artists in training students for classic Sanskrit play productions at Pomona College; and to her own research resulting in seven crucial films/videos as well as both scholarly and practical presentations at international conferences. These efforts marked her as an important influencer well before that concept became a social media meme.