"This book is the first major study of Gertrude Stein's dramatic works within the history of the theatrical and cinematic avant-gardes. Sarah Bay-Cheng offers incisive analyses of Stein's major and minor plays, and the first detailed studies of Stein's screenplays, A Movie (1920) and Film. Deux Soeurs Qui Ne Sont Pas Soeurs (1929).

While addressing the impact of Stein as a major influence on the American avant-garde - in particular, her influence on the Living Theater, Richard Foreman, and Robert Wilson - Bay-Cheng also considers Stein's drama within a larger tradition of avant-garde performance by comparing her plays and dramatic theories to those generated by Dadaists, Surrealists, and Futurists."--Jacket.