UWG News Archive

UWG Instructor writes book

February 10, 2005

CARROLLTON, GA - Dr. Wendell Stone, speech instructor at the University of West Georgia, has made an addition to the historical archives of the radical 1960s with his book, Caffe Cino: The Birthplace of Off-Off-Broadway.

Stone’s book, which will be released in June from Southern Illinois University Press, is a fascinating look into the obscure world of coffeehouse theatres in the 1960s. Stone first became interested in doing research when he read several plays that premiered at Caffe Cino in Greenwich Village, New York between 1958 and 1968. He began to realize that influential actors like Sam Shepard and Lanford Wilson emerged from the stage of Caffe Cino. Stone says that he knew that this was a “really important place that nobody has written about.”

His book explores the social, economic, and political background that Caffe Cino grew up in and the important theatrical institutions it produced. Although the building that once housed Caffe Cino is now the Po Italian restaurant, Caffe Cino is truly the birthplace of gay theatre and off-off-Broadway. Off-off-Broadway theatres like Caffe Cino seat 100 people or less, letting the audience get close enough to spill coffee on the actors. Such an intimate setting allows the actors and playwrights to become more experimental with their craft.

Caffe Cino and places like it were the beginning of experimental theatre, the grandfather of modern controversial theatre. Stone was captivated by the world of Caffe Cino, a world occupied by the hippies, radicals, and beatniks of the 1960s. His book has been a labor of love for seven years, granting him his dissertation and a place among historians of the 1960’s. David Crespy, author of “Off-Off-Broadway Explosion” states, ”Stone’s definitive history provides not only a detailed chronological production history of Joseph Cino’s café theatre, but also broaches the subtle social, economic, political, and theoretical contexts that gave rise to the Off-Off-Broadway world of coffeehouse theatres.” Stone’s new book opens the doorway to a part of American history that deserves a second glance.

Stone’s professional credentials add to his credibility as a historian. Stone has been an instructor at the University of West Georgia since 2002, teaching The Sixties and the Theatre, Public Speaking, and Theatre Appreciation. He earned his PhD in 2001 from Louisiana State University in theatre. Stone also received a masters of arts degree from Georgia State University in 1996.

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