Terms of Access and Use:
With the exception of closed tapes and transcripts, the material is open to research according to the rules of the Sophia Smith Collection.
Access to the tapes and unedited transcripts varies. There are signed agreements from 28 of the 30 playwrights regarding access to their tapes and unedited transcripts, and 20 of the 30 are open for use. The 2 for which no agreements were received have been closed. The release forms are found with the unedited transcripts, and copies of the agreements from those 8 women who wanted their unedited transcripts closed are also filed with their edited ones. This collection contains numerous unpublished plays for which copyright restrictions apply particularly in relation to photocopying.
Access to audiovisual materials may first require production of research copies.
The Sophia Smith Collection does not own the literary rights to this material. Rights to the edited transcripts are owned by Kathleen Betsko and Rachel Koenig, and rights to the tapes, unedited transcripts, and plays are owned by the individual playwrights. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights. Permission to publish reproductions or quotations beyond "fair use" must also be obtained from the Sophia Smith Collection as owners of the physical property.
The Betsko-Koenig Women Playwrights Collection consists of 8 linear feet of audio tapes, edited and unedited transcripts, and related material on 30 women playwrights. The edited transcripts were published as Interviews with Contemporary Women Playwrights compiled by Kathleen Betsko and Rachel Koenig (Beech Tree Books, 1987). The inclusive dates are 1955 to 1986. The papers are arranged by individual playwright including co-author Kathleen Betsko. The authors collected related material, which includes plays, reviews, clippings, other interviews, programs, flyers, and correspondence. All related material follows each transcript. Material specifically related to the publication of the book, including photographs of the subjects, is located with Kathleen Betsko's file. The audio tapes and those transcripts that are closed to research have been separated and are in the first and last boxes, respectively.
With the exception of closed tapes and transcripts, the material is open to research according to the rules of the Sophia Smith Collection.
Access to the tapes and unedited transcripts varies. There are signed agreements from 28 of the 30 playwrights regarding access to their tapes and unedited transcripts, and 20 of the 30 are open for use. The 2 for which no agreements were received have been closed. The release forms are found with the unedited transcripts, and copies of the agreements from those 8 women who wanted their unedited transcripts closed are also filed with their edited ones. This collection contains numerous unpublished plays for which copyright restrictions apply particularly in relation to photocopying.
Access to audiovisual materials may first require production of research copies.
The Sophia Smith Collection does not own the literary rights to this material. Rights to the edited transcripts are owned by Kathleen Betsko and Rachel Koenig, and rights to the tapes, unedited transcripts, and plays are owned by the individual playwrights. It is the responsibility of the researcher to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyrights. Permission to publish reproductions or quotations beyond "fair use" must also be obtained from the Sophia Smith Collection as owners of the physical property.
Please use the following format when citing materials from this collection:
Betsko-Koenig Women Playwrights Collection, Sophia Smith Collection, Smith College, Northampton, Mass.
The Betsko-Koenig Women Playwrights Collection was received from Kathleen Betsko and Rachel Koenig in 1986 and 1988 with several small additions in 1989.
Processed by Susan Boone, 1990
Contact Information |
Smith College Special Collections Young Library 4 Tyler Drive Northampton, MA 01063 Phone: (413) 585-2970 Fax: (413) 585-2886 Email: specialcollections@smith.edu URL: https://www.smith.edu/libraries/special-collections |
Oral history tapes (90) | Box
1 | ||
Liliane Atlan | Box
2 | ||
Edited transcript | Box 2: folder 1 | ||
Biographical and miscellaneous material, | n.d. | Box 2: folder 2 | |
Correspondence, interviews, | 1984, n.d. | Box 2: folder 3 | |
Plays | |||
Les Musiciens les emigrants: scripts, | 1976, n.d. | Box 2: folder 4 | |
L'Amour elementaire: scripts, | 1979, n.d. | Box 2: folder 5 | |
Carriage of Flames and Voices: script (in French and English), | 1971, 1981 | Box 2: folder 6 | |
The Messiahs or Earth Sick: script, | 1983 | Box 2: folder 7 | |
Mister Fugue or Earth Sick: script, | 1983 | Box 2: folder 8 | |
Other works | |||
Un opera pour Terezen, Le reve des animaux rongeurs, La lapsus, | 1971, 1985, n.d. | Box 2: folder 9 | |
Alice Childress | |||
Unedited transcript | Box 2: folder 10 | ||
Biographical material, | 1967-88 | Box 2: folder 11 | |
Plays | |||
Wine in the Wilderness, Mojo, String: scripts, | 1969, 1971 | Box 2: folder 12 | |
Miscellaneous reviews, | 1955-84 | Box 2: folder 13 | |
Caryl Churchill | |||
Edited transcript | Box 2: folder 14 | ||
Biographical material, correspondence, | 1965, n.d. | Box 2: folder 15 | |
Plays | |||
Cloud 9: reviews, program, | 1980, 1983 | Box 2: folder 16 | |
Fen: script, reviews, | 1983-84 | Box 2: folder 17 | |
Top Girls: script, reviews, program, | 1982-83 | Box 2: folder 18 | |
Owners: script, reviews, | 1972-77 | Box 2: folder 19 | |
Miscellaneous reviews, | 1975-88 | Box 2: folder 20 | |
Anne Commire | |||
Biographical material, | 1979, n.d. | Box 2: folder 21 | |
Plays | |||
Melody Sisters: script, | 1983 | Box 2: folder 22 | |
Put Them All Together: programs, script, reviews, | 1978-80 | Box 2: folder 23 | |
Shay: script, reviews, | 1972-78 | Box 2: folder 24 | |
Gretchen Cryer | |||
Transcript | Box
2 | ||
Edited | Box 2: folder 25 | ||
Unedited | Box 2: folder 26 | ||
Biographical material, | 1980-87 | Box 2: folder 27 | |
Plays | |||
I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road: script, reviews, | 1976-80 | Box 2: folder 28 | |
Miscellaneous reviews, | 1970 | Box 2: folder 29 | |
Donna de Matteo | |||
Edited transcript | Box 2: folder 30 | ||
Biographical material, | n.d. | Box 2: folder 31 | |
Plays | |||
Flipside: script, | n.d. | Box 2: folder 32 | |
Rocky Road: script, | n.d. | Box 2: folder 33 | |
Animal Lovers: script, | 1977 | Box 2: folder 34 | |
Lord Richard: script, | n.d. | Box 2: folder 35 | |
Silver Fox: programs, | 1987, n.d. | Box 2: folder 36 | |
Miscellaneous reviews, | 1975-1979 | Box 2: folder 37 | |
Rosalyn Drexler | |||
Transcript | Box
2 | ||
Edited | Box 3: folder 1 | ||
Unedited | Box 3: folder 2 | ||
Biographical material, interviews, | 1979-83 | Box 3: folder 3 | |
Plays | |||
Lobby: script, , | 1983 | Box 3: folder 4 | |
Graven Image: script, reviews, | 1979 | Box 3: folder 5 | |
She Who Was He: script, | 1974 | Box 3: folder 6 | |
Skywriting: script, review, | 1968 | Box 3: folder 7 | |
Utopia Parkway: script, | 1983 | Box 3: folder 8 | |
The Line of Least Existence and Other Plays (includes Home Movers, The Investigations, Hot Buttered Roll, Softly and Consider the Learners, The Bed Was Full): published book of plays, reviews of the book and individual plays), | 1964-68 | Box 3: folder 9 | |
Miscellaneous reviews, programs, flyers, | 1964-83 | Box 3: folder 10 | |
Novel: I Am the beautiful stranger excerpted in The Bold New Woman, | 1970 | Box 3: folder 11 | |
Laura Farabough | |||
Transcript | Box
3 | ||
Edited | Box 3: folder 12 | ||
Unedited | Box 3: folder 13 | ||
Biographical material, | n.d. | Box 3: folder 14 | |
Plays | |||
Obedience School: "Notebook," reviews, | 1982-83 | Box 3: folder 15 | |
Under Construction: reviews, | 1985-86 | Box 3: folder 16 | |
Sea of Heartbreak: "Notebook", | 1983 | Box 3: folder 17 | |
Snake Theatre: articles, | 1979, n.d. | Box 3: folder 18 | |
Bai Fengxi | |||
Edited transcript | Box 3: folder 19 | ||
Biographical material and correspondence (some in Chinese), | 1981-85 | Box 3: folder 20 | |
Maria Irene Fornes | |||
Transcript | Box
3 | ||
Edited | Box 3: folder 21 | ||
Unedited | Box 3: folder 22 | ||
Biographical material, interviews, | 1966-86 | Box 3: folder 23 | |
Plays | |||
Fefu and Her Friends: script, reviews, | 1978 | Box 3: folder 24 | |
Promenade: script, | n.d. | Box 3: folder 25 | |
Miscellaneous reviews, | 1969-88 | Box 3: folder 26 | |
Mary Gallagher | |||
Edited transcript | Box 3: folder 27 | ||
Biographical and miscellaneous material, | 1983-86 | Box 3: folder 28 | |
Plays | |||
Win/Lose/Draw: script, reviews, | 1981, 1983 | Box 3: folder 29 | |
Dog Eat Dog: script, reviews, | 1982-83 | Box 3: folder 30 | |
Little Bird: script, | 1983 | Box 3: folder 31 | |
Miscellaneous reviews, | 1981-82 | Box 3: folder 32 | |
Book: Quicksilver, | 1982 | Box 3: folder 33 | |
Griselda Gambaro | |||
Unedited transcript | Box 3: folder 34 | ||
Biographical and miscellaneous material, correspondence, | 1970-83 | Box 3: folder 35 | |
Plays | Box
3 | ||
In the Country: reviews, | 1983 | Box 3: folder 36 | |
Teatro 1: script, , | 1984 | Box 3: folder 37 | |
Pam Gems | |||
Transcript | Box
3 | ||
Edited | Box 3: folder 38 | ||
Unedited | Box 3: folder 39 | ||
Biographical and miscellaneous material, correspondence, | 1973-74 | Box 3: folder 40 | |
Plays | |||
Piaf: script, reviews, program, | 1978-81 | Box 3: folder 41 | |
Queen Christina: script, reviews, | 1982, n.d. | Box 3: folder 42 | |
Dusa, Fish, Stas & Vi: script, reviews, | 1977-80 | Box 3: folder 43 | |
Miscellaneous reviews, | 1972-84 | Box 3: folder 44 | |
Beth Henley | |||
Transcript | Box
3 | ||
Edited | Box 4: folder 1 | ||
Unedited | Box 4: folder 2 | ||
Biographical material, correspondence, | 1981-83 | Box 4: folder 3 | |
Plays | |||
Crimes of the Heart: script, reviews, | 1980-82 | Box 4: folder 4 | |
The Wake of Jamey Foster: script, reviews, program, | 1982-83 | Box 4: folder 5 | |
Am I Blue: script, reviews, | 1981-82 | Box 4: folder 6 | |
The Miss Firecracker Contest: script, reviews, | 1979, n.d. | Box 4: folder 7 | |
Confluence: reviews, | 1982 | Box 4: folder 8 | |
Tina Howe | |||
Edited transcript | Box 4: folder 9 | ||
Biographical and miscellaneous material, correspondence, | 1984-88 | Box 4: folder 10 | |
Plays | |||
Painting Churches: script, reviews, program, | 1982-84 | Box 4: folder 11 | |
Museum: script, reviews, | 1978-79 | Box 4: folder 12 | |
Art of Dining: script, reviews, | 1978-80 | Box 4: folder 13 | |
Birth and After Birth: script, | 1973 | Box 4: folder 14 | |
Nest: reviews, | 1970 | Box 4: folder 15 | |
Corinne Jacker | |||
Transcript | Box
4 | ||
Edited | Box 4: folder 16 | ||
Unedited | Box 4: folder 17 | ||
Biographical material, | 1979, n.d. | Box 4: folder 18 | |
Plays | |||
Domestic Issues: script, reviews, | 1983 | Box 4: folder 19 | |
My Life: script, reviews, | 1977 | Box 4: folder 20 | |
Harry Outside: script, reviews, | 1975 | Box 4: folder 21 | |
Later: script, reviews, | 1979 | Box 4: folder 22 | |
In Place, The Chinese Restaurant Syndrome, Bits and Pieces: scripts, | 1975-83 | Box 4: folder 23 | |
Miscellaneous reviews, | 1976 | Box 4: folder 24 | |
Adrienne Kennedy | |||
Transcript | Box
4 | ||
Edited | Box 4: folder 25 | ||
Unedited | Box 4: folder 26 | ||
Biographical material, | 1977, n.d. | Box 4: folder 27 | |
Plays | |||
Funnyhouse of a Negro: script, reviews, | 1964-79 | Box 4: folder 28 | |
A Rat's Nest, Cities in Bezique (The Owls Answers, A Beast Story): scripts, | n.d. | Box 4: folder 29 | |
An Evening with Dead Essex: script, reviews, | 1973-74, n.d. | Box 4: folder 30 | |
Karen Malpede | |||
Unedited transcript | Box 4: folder 31 | ||
Biographical and miscellaneous material, correspondence, | 1976-83, n.d. | Box 4: folder 32 | |
Plays | |||
The End of the War: script, reviews, | 1977-82 | Box 4: folder 33 | |
Sappho and Aphrodite: script, reviews, | 1982-83 | Box 4: folder 34 | |
A Lament for Three Women: script, | 1974 | Box 4: folder 35 | |
A Monster Has Stolen the Sun: script, reviews, | 1980-81 | Box 4: folder 36 | |
Making Peace: script, review, | 1979 | Box 4: folder 37 | |
Miscellaneous reviews and programs, | 1976-88 | Box 4: folder 38 | |
Three Works by the Open Theatre, ed. by K. Malpede, | 1974 | Box 4: folder 39 | |
Emily Mann | |||
Edited transcript | Box 5: folder 1 | ||
Biographical and miscellaneous material, correspondence, | 1985, 1987, n.d. | Box 5: folder 2 | |
Plays | |||
Execution of Justice: script, reviews, | 1983-86 | Box 5: folder 3 | |
Still Life: reviews, program, | 1981-83 | Box 5: folder 4 | |
Eve Merriam | |||
Transcript | Box
5 | ||
Edited | Box 5: folder 5 | ||
Unedited | Box 5: folder 6 | ||
Biographical and miscellaneous material, correspondence, | n.d. | Box 5: folder 7 | |
Plays/Musicals | |||
At Her Age: script, program, reviews, | 1979 | Box 5: folder 8 | |
The Inner City: reviews, | 1971-81 | Box 5: folder 9 | |
The Good Life: Lady MacBeth of Westport: script, | n.d. | Box 5: folder 10 | |
A Husband's Notes about Her: script, | n.d. | Box 5: folder 11 | |
Plagues for Our Time: script, review, | 1983 | Box 5: folder 12 | |
The Club: reviews, | 1976-77 | Box 5: folder 13 | |
And I Ain't Finished Yet: script, | 1982 | Box 5: folder 14 | |
Janet Neipris | |||
Transcript | Box
5 | ||
Edited | Box 5: folder 15 | ||
Unedited | Box 5: folder 16 | ||
Biographical material, | 1977-81, n.d. | Box 5: folder 17 | |
Plays | |||
Exhibition, Statues, and The Bridge at Belharbour: 3 One-Act Plays: script, reviews, | 1976, n.d. | Box 5: folder 18 | |
The Agreement, Out of Order: scripts, | 1981, 1983 | Box 5: folder 19 | |
Marsha Norman | |||
Transcript | Box
5 | ||
Edited | Box 5: folder 20 | ||
Unedited | Box 5: folder 21 | ||
Biographical material, articles, | 1981-84 | Box 5: folder 22 | |
Plays | |||
Getting Out: publicity, reviews, script, | 1978-79 | Box 5: folder 23 | |
'night Mother: reviews, publicity, script, | 1982-83 | Box 5: folder 24 | |
Traveler in the Dark: script, review, | 1983-85 | Box 5: folder 25 | |
Third and Oak: The Laundromat: script, reviews, | 1978-85 | Box 5: folder 26 | |
Rochelle Owens | |||
Transcript | Box
5 | ||
Edited | Box 6: folder 1 | ||
Unedited | Box 6: folder 2 | ||
Biographical material, correspondence, | 1975-84 | Box 6: folder 3 | |
Plays | |||
Chunky's Hunch: reviews, script, | 1981 | Box 6: folder 4 | |
Emma Instigated Me: script, | n.d. | Box 6: folder 5 | |
Miscellaneous reviews, | 1968-78 | Box 6: folder 6 | |
Louise Page | |||
Edited transcript | Box 6: folder 7 | ||
Biographical material, | n.d. | Box 6: folder 8 | |
Plays: Salonika: review, script, publicity, | 1983-85 | Box 6: folder 9 | |
Ntozake Shange | |||
Transcript | Box
6 | ||
Edited | Box 6: folder 10 | ||
Unedited | Box 6: folder 11 | ||
Biographical material, correspondence, | 1984-85 | Box 6: folder 12 | |
Works | |||
Betsey Brown (the opera and the novel): script, reviews, publicity, | 1985, 1987 | Box 6: folder 13 | |
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf: reviews, script, program, | 1975-83 | Box 6: folder 14 | |
Three Pieces: script, review, | 1981, n.d. | Box 6: folder 15 | |
A Daughter's Geography, See No Evil, Sassafrass, Cypress and Indigo, | 1982, 1983, 1986 | Box 6: folder 16 | |
Miscellaneous reviews, | 1970 | Box 6: folder 17 | |
Megan Terry | |||
Transcript | Box
6 | ||
Edited | Box 6: folder 18 | ||
Unedited | Box 6: folder 19 | ||
Biographical material, correspondence, | 1967-84 | Box 6: folder 20 | |
Scripts | |||
American Kings English for Queens, Approaching Simone, Attempted Rescue of Avenue B, | 1973-82 | Box 6: folder 21 | |
Babes in the Big House, Brazil Fado, The Gloaming Oh My Darling, Calm Down Mother, | 1966-78 | Box 6: folder 22 | |
Katmandu, Massachusetts Trust, Pro-Game, The Pioneer, | 1968-82 | Box 6: folder 23 | |
Three One-Act Plays (Sanibel and Captiva, The Magic Realists, One More Little Dunkie), The Tommy Allen Show, The Trees Blew Down, | 1970-80 | Box 6: folder 24 | |
Reviews, | 1966-83 | Box 6: folder 25 | |
Omaha Magic Theatre: articles, | 1979-83 | Box 6: folder 26 | |
Michelene Wandor | |||
Transcript | Box
6 | ||
Edited | Box 6: folder 27 | ||
Unedited | Box 6: folder 28 | ||
Biographical material, | n.d. | Box 6: folder 29 | |
Work | |||
Plays: 5 Plays, Sink Songs: scripts, | 1975, 1984 | Box 6: folder 30 | |
Poetry: Up Beat Poems and Stories, | 1982 | Box 6: folder 31 | |
Editor | |||
Cutlasses and Earrings, On Gender and Writing, Strike While the Iron is Hot, | 1977-83 | Box 6: folder 32 | |
Plays by Women, Volumes 1-4, | 1982-85 | Box 6: folder 33 | |
Wendy Wasserstein | |||
Transcript | Box
6 | ||
Edited | Box 6: folder 34 | ||
Unedited | Box 6: folder 35-6 | ||
Biographical and miscellaneous material, articles, | 1981-86, n.d. | Box 6: folder 37 | |
Plays | |||
Uncommon Women and Others: script, reviews, | 1977-84 | Box 6: folder 38 | |
Isn't It Romantic: script, reviews, | 1981-84 | Box 6: folder 39 | |
Miscellaneous reviews and programs, | 1979-83 | Box 6: folder 40 | |
Susan Yankowitz | |||
Edited transcript | Box 7: folder 1 | ||
Biographical and miscellaneous material, correspondence, | 1985, n.d. | Box 7: folder 2 | |
Plays | |||
The Amnesiac: script (screenplay), | 1981 | Box 7: folder 3 | |
The Forerunner: Charlotte Perkins Gilman: script, | n.d. | Box 7: folder 4 | |
The Land of Milk and Funny or Portrait of a Scientist as a Dumb Broad; Slaughterhouse, Play; Who Done It?: scripts, | 1968, 1969, n.d. | Box 7: folder 5 | |
The Ha-Ha Play: script, | n.d. | Box 7: folder 6 | |
A Knife in the Heart: script, program, | 1982-83 | Box 7: folder 7 | |
Miscellaneous reviews, | 1970, 1983 | Box 7: folder 8 | |
Novel: Silent Witness, | 1976 | Box 7: folder 9 | |
Kathleen Betsko | |||
Biographical material, | 1982-85 | Box 7: folder 10 | |
Plays | |||
Johnny Bull: review, program, | 1982-86 | Box 7: folder 11 | |
Johnny Bull: scripts, | 1980-84 | Box 7: folder 12 | |
Stitchers and Starlight Talkers: script, reviews, publicity, | 1986, n.d. | Box 7: folder 13 | |
Book: Interviews with Contemporary Women Playwrights | Box
7 | ||
Correspondence, proposal, publicity, miscellaneous material, | 1982-86 | Box 7: folder 14 | |
Photographs | Box 7: folder 15 | ||
International Women Playwrights Conference: correspondence, publicity, | 1988 | Box 7: folder 16 | |
CLOSED (unedited transcripts) | |||
Liliane Atlan | Box 8: folder 1 | ||
Caryl Churchill | Box 8: folder 2 | ||
Anne Commire | Box 8: folder 3 | ||
Donna de Matteo | Box 8: folder 4 | ||
Mary Gallagher | Box 8: folder 5 | ||
Tina Howe | Box 8: folder 6 | ||
Bai Fengxi | Box 8: folder 7 | ||
Emily Mann | Box 8: folder 8 | ||
Louise Page | Box 8: folder 9 | ||
Susan Yankowitz | Box 8: folder 10 | ||