Book Celebration: The Diaries of Judith Malina with NOW! Judith Malina and the Living Theatre

Book Celebration: The Diaries of Judith Malina with NOW! Judith Malina and the Living Theatre

Thursday, Oct 22nd, 6:30 pm

The Diaries of Judith Malina, volumes 1-4 compiles the personal writings of radical theatre director, actor, and activist Judith Malina, spanning 1947 through 1971—the most influential period of her remarkable and storied career. A committed anarchist and pacifist, Malina made theatre as a way to engage in revolutionary action. Her diaries showcase her political and social observations, cultural commentary, self-reflection, and wit. This expertly prepared set is compiled and edited by theater historian Kate Bredeson, who worked for over eleven years on the project. Bredeson invites us to recognize Malina for her accomplishments not only as an artist and an activist, but as one of the great literary diarists.

In addition, German theatre historian Anna Opel from Berlin will discuss her 2026 Malina biography NOW! Judith Malina und das Living Theater (NOW! Judith Malina and the Living Theatre). In her book Opel explored archival material and followed Malina's footsteps, conducting research with artists in New York, Berlin, and southern Italy.

With Kate Bredeson, Anna Opel, Alisa Solomon, Cindy Rosenthal, and others. Moderated by Frank Hentschker.

Bios

Kate Bredeson is a theatre historian, translator, dramaturg, and director. Her project as a scholar/artist is to research, document, and practice the ways in which performance can be a tool for radical activism and protest.Her books are published by Northwestern University Press: Occupying the Stage: The Theater of May '68 (2018; finalist, TLA George Freedley Award); The Inheritor: A Play (translator, 2024); The Diaries of Judith Malina, volumes 1-4 (general editor 1-4, editor 2 and 4, 2026; winner, ADE Lyman H. Butterfield Award), and Lamp Back: Plays and Other Grievances by Anthony Hudson (editor, 2026).

Anna Opel has worked as a dramaturg at the Deutsches Theater Berlin and as a curator and director in independent theatre groups in Berlin for several years. She now translates playwrights including Tracy Letts and Tennessee Williams for S. Fischer and other theatre publishers, and teaches literary translation at the Berlin University of the Arts. Besides her work as a journalist and translator, she writes novels and biographies, published mostly by independent publishing houses in Berlin. Her focus is on female art and feminist writing, and the cultural history of the twentieth century. She holds a PhD in Theatre Studies from the Freie Universität Berlin. When she was asked to collaborate on translating Julian Beck’s The Life of the Theatre by former director of the Berliner Festspiele, Thomas Oberender, she immersed herself in the world and ideas of The Living Theatre. In early 2022, Opel was researching in New York City and met several members of the Living Theatre, scholars, and friends of Judith Malina. Those fascinating conversations were an important and vivid source for her biography.

Penny Arcade (aka Susana Ventura) is an international cultural icon, celebrated as a performer, poet, writer, and actress who speaks truth to power. Since debuting at 18 in John Vaccaro’s Play-House of the Ridiculous and appearing in Andy Warhol’s Women in Revolt, she has been a pioneering force in experimental theater, performance art, and spoken word. Over five decades, she has created 18 full-length works and hundreds of solo performances, blending humor, social critique, and a focus on outsiders, cultural memory, and community building. Since 1992, she has collaborated with architect and designer Steve Zehentner to transform performance spaces, presenting over 900 performances in 80 cities worldwide. She has championed artists through mentorship, residencies, and archiving projects, preserving the legacies of Jack Smith, Holly Woodlawn, and others. Arcade and Zehentner also co-founded The Lower East Side Biography Project, a pioneering oral history initiative documenting New York’s avant-garde. Her work has been featured in numerous films, publications, and collections, including Bad Reputation (Semiotext(e)/MIT Press). She has received the Bessie Award for Sustained Achievement, Ruthie Award, Edinburgh Fringe First, and residencies at MacDowell, Yaddo, and the New York Theatre Workshop.

Cindy Rosenthal is Professor of Drama at Hofstra University. She has authored/edited six books on the avant-garde, radical ensembles, playwriting, and directing and contributed essays to The New York Times, Performance Research, Theatre Survey and TDR. Her monograph, Ellen Stewart Presents: Fifty Years of La MaMa Experimental Theatre won the 2017 George Freedley Prize.

Alisa Solomon Longtime theater critic and journalist, Alisa Solomon is a professor at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. She is the author of Wonder of Wonders: A Cultural History of Fiddler on the Roof and of Re-Dressing the Canon: Essays on Theater and Gender.  She has (co-)edited  several books, among them, The Struggle Continues: Robbie McCauley: Scripts, Essays, & Reflections (with Elin Diamond and Cynthia Carr); The Reverent Billy Project: From Rehearsal Hall to Super Mall With the Church of Life After Shopping (by Bill Talen and Savitri D); The Queerest Art: Essays on Lesbian and Gay Theater (with Framji Minwalla); and Wrestling with Zion: Progressive Jewish-Americans Responses to the Israeli Palestinian Conflict (with Tony Kushner). She is a Contributing Writer at Jewish Currents. As a dramaturg, she has worked most recently with Anna Deavere Smith.

The Diaries of Judith Malina, volumes 1-4 is published by Northwestern University Press.

NOW! Judith Malina and the Living Theatre is published by Aviva Verlag.