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, Louisa Pregerson, 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.

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.