FROM LA VIUDA TO LETTERS FROM CUBA: FAMILY CORRESPONDENCE IN MARÍA IRENE FORNÉS’ THEATER.

Abstract

María Irene Fornés (1930-2018) developed a theatrical career inextricably linked to Off-Off-Broadway for more than forty years. One of her most celebrated techniques for writing springs from the chance operation of opening a text, choosing a phrase, sentence or paragraph, and writing it on the blank page to act as inspiration. In fact, her theater abounds with pieces from many varied sources, multiple references as well as objects found in thrift shops. La Viuda, written in Spanish and published in Havana in 1961, was her first play. In 2000, the curtain falls on her theatrical career with the premiere of Letters from Cuba, her last published play. Texts from both the opening and closing landmarks of this most distinguished playwright draw inspiration from different sets of family correspondence. The coincidence in using personal letters as found objects allows for an analysis that will deal with the adaptation from private written texts to a theatrical medium as a signature feature of her theater, concentrating on how they trigger the conception of the play and how they also condition the performance. The article will analyze the adaptation of letters on the stage by considering both formal and thematic aspects, such as references to time and space, the theatrical actions displayed by different characters, the set and stage design, as well as the tone of each piece