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Creator
Malina, Judith, 1926-2015
Call number
*T-Mss 1990-001
Physical description
2.6 linear feet (46 diaries in 7 boxes); 3 rolls of microfilm
Preferred Citation

Judith Malina Diaries, *T-Mss 1990-001, Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts

Repository
Billy Rose Theatre Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.Restrictions apply

The diaries of Judith Malina include personal reflections, a history of many aspects of The Living Theatre, and a view of the avant-garde cultural life of New York in the 1940's and 1950's. Malina documents her own struggles as a young woman and artist and also the struggle, together with Julian Beck, to create The Living Theatre. Among their contemporaries and collaborators were James Agee, John Cage, Joseph Campbell, Merce Cunningham, Dorothy Day, Richard Edelman, Paul Goodman, Lou Harrison, Alan Hovhaness, Lester Schwartz and Philip Smith. Malina discusses her work on various productions including: THE AGE OF ANXIETY, DR. FAUSTUS LIGHTS THE LIGHTS, THE IDIOT KING, PHEDRE, AND TONIGHT WE IMPROVISE. Personally, Malina discusses her relationships, her family, her views of the world of the 1950's and her commitment to pacifism. Her involvement as a pacifist, and her imprisonment with Dorothy Day and others, is described in some detail. The final years of the diary (Feb. 1956-June 1959) are incomplete. They relate to the search for and renovation of the 14th Street theater, which opened in 1959. These entries are written by several people who are not identified.

Biographical/historical information

Judith Malina, actress, director, producer and poet, was one of the founding members of the experimental theater group The Living Theatre. Born in Keil, Germany in 1926, Malina came to the United States before World War II. In 1948 she married painter Julian Beck and with the collaboration of Merce Cunningham, James Agee, John Cage and others formed a company that would challenge traditional theater norms. Their "living" theater reflected the hope of creating a non-commercial, community theater that invited audience participation.

The first performances of the Living Theatre were held in the Becks' New York apartment in 1951. Later that same year they moved to the Cherry Lane Theatre and opened their inaugural season with works by Gertrude Stein, Paul Goodman and Kenneth Rexroth. In 1954, the Living Theatre again relocated and was performing in a loft at 100th Street and Broadway.

By 1957, Malina and Beck were searching for a third location, found a vacant department store at 14th Street and Sixth Avenue, and began renovation. The diaries end at this point in the history of the Living Theatre.

Scope and arrangement

Judith Malina's diaries are a reflection of both her personal and professional life. It is a story of New York happenings in the artistic, avant-garde circles in the late 1940s and 1950s. The diaries document Malina's efforts with Julian Beck to create the Living Theatre and detail the work they put into early productions. Malina discloses relationships she had with family, friends and fellow artists. Her arrest and imprisonment with Dorothy Day is described in depth.

There are two less personal diaries for the later years (February 1956-June 1959) and their focus is on the Living Theatre. Some entries are incomplete and most are written by both Julian Beck and Judith Malina. A typewritten page explains the reason for ending the journals in 1959--"no time."

The Judith Malina diaries are arranged in two series:

Administrative information

Custodial history

Judith Malina's diaries were donated to the Billy Rose Theatre Division in August 1992 by Judith Malina. These diaries formed the basis of Malina's book The Diaries of Judith Malina: 1947-1957, published in 1984.

Source of acquisition

Gift, Judith Malina

Processing information

Processed by Rodney Hoffner.

The diaries were microfilmed and the originals were placed in acid-free folders and boxes.

Bibliography

Diaries 1947-1957 published in: The Diaries of Judith Malina 1947-1957. New York: Grove Press, 1984

Using the collection

Location

Billy Rose Theatre Division
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-7498
Third Floor

Conditions Governing Use

For permission to publish, contact the Curator, Billy Rose Theatre Division.

Access restrictions

Researchers must use the microfilm copy.

Alternative form available

Collection available on microfilm; New York Public Library; call number *ZC-312