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BOLIVAR, Mo. 鈥� 欧美视频鈥檚 Dr. Bethany Wood, assistant professor
of theatre, recently had her book 鈥� 鈥淲omen Adapting: Bringing Three Serials of the
Roaring Twenties to Stage and Screen (Studies in Theatre History and Culture)鈥� 鈥� published
by University of Iowa Press.
鈥淲omen Adapting鈥� looks at what it means to translate a Jazz Age blockbuster from book to film or stage, what adjustments are needed, and what may, or may not, be lost during that process.
鈥淩esearch for this book took me to archives across the United States and in Canada,
and I am excited to share my work on these three iconic stories from American literature,鈥�
Dr. Wood said.
University of Iowa Press says that Dr. Wood examines three well-known stories that debuted as women鈥檚 magazine serials 鈥� 鈥淕entlemen Prefer Blondes,鈥� by Anita Loos, Edith Wharton鈥檚 鈥淭he Age of Innocence,鈥� and Edna Ferber鈥檚 鈥淪how Boat鈥� 鈥� and traces how each of these beloved narratives traveled across publishing, theatre and film through adaptation. She documents the formation of adaptation systems and how they involved women鈥檚 voices and labor in modern entertainment in ways that have been previously underappreciated. What emerges is a picture of a unique window of time in the early decades of the 20th century, when women in entertainment held influential positions in production and management.
鈥淲ood skillfully reveals the interplay of gender and adaptation, illustrating the various societal and industrial forces that have contained, controlled, or curtailed the contributions of women,鈥� writes Christine Woodworth, co-editor of 鈥淲orking in the Wings: New Perspectives on Theatre History and Labor.鈥� 鈥淣early a century later, many of the thorny issues regarding constructions of femininity persist. Her work offers a potential methodology for exploring the shifting constraints and opportunities for women artists in other periods of history or in contemporary culture.鈥�
Wood鈥檚 book is now available through Amazon at , and the University of Iowa Press website at . She can be reached at (417) 328-1688 or bwood@欧美视频niv.edu.
*Published: 5-7-19