CAMBRIDGE COMPANION TO SAM SHEPARD, THE

Few American playwrights have exerted as much influence on the contemporary stage as Sam Shepard. His plays are performed "on" and "off" Broadway as well as in all the major regional American theaters. They are also widely performed and studied in Europe, particularly in Britain, Germany and France, finding both a popular and a scholarly audience. This companion explores the various aspects of Shepard's career, providing fascinating first-hand accounts and substantial critical chapters on the plays, poetry, music, fiction, acting, directing and film work.

Contents - Notes on contributors; Acknowledgements; Chronology; Introduction Matthew Roudané; 1. Born injured: the theatre of Sam Shepard Christopher Bigsby; 2. Shepard and Off-Off Broadway: the unseen hand of Theatre Genesis Stephen J. Bottoms; 3. Shepard on Shepard: an interview Matthew Roudané; 4. On Sam Shepard Joseph Chaikin; 5. Joseph Chaikin and Sam Shepard in Collaboration Marc Robinson; 6. Repetition and regression in Curse of the Starving Class and Buried Child Thomas P. Adler; 7. Shepard writes about writing Brenda Murphy; 8. Reflections of the past in True West and A Lie of the Mind Leslie Kane; 9. Patriarchal pathology from The Holy Ghostly to Silent Tongue Carla J. McDonough; 10. The classic Western and Sam Shepard’s family sagas John Clum; 11. European textures: adapting Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus Johan Callens; 12. Sam Shepard and the cinema Kimball King; 13. Sam Shepard as musical experimenter David DeRose; 14. Sam Shepard’s non-dramatic writings Ann C. Hall; 15. States of Shock, Simpatico, and Eyes for Consuela: Sam Shepard’s plays of the 1990s Leslie Wade; 16. Sam Shepard’s The Late Henry Moss Matthew Roudané; 17. Sam Shepard: a bibliographic essay and production overview Susan Abbotson; Index.