Helen Krich Chinoy (September 25, 1922 – May 24, 2010) was an American theater historian who documented the role of women in United States theater.

Biography

Helen Krich was born on September 25, 1922, in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

, where she majored in English. She later earned her doctorate, also in English, from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. Together with Toby Cole, she co-authored the 1949 book ''Actors on Acting'' in 1949 which was a collection of pieces about the theater from

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...

to the modern stage. She wrote an essay to introduce the book, which has been used over the years as a college textbook. She and Cole wrote the 1953 compilation ''Directors on Directing'' as a followup to their first book, providing a historical perspective on the director's craft, primarily using their own writings.Weber, Bruce
"Helen Chinoy, A Historian of Theater, Dies at 87"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', June 13, 2010. Accessed August 26, 2010. These two books on acting and directing, which have remained in print since their first publication, were described as "her most influential work".Staff
"Helen Krich Chinoy Was Leading Theatre Historian"
'' Martha's Vineyard Gazette'', May 28, 2010. Accessed August 26, 2010. Before joining the faculty of

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...

in 1953, Chinoy taught at

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

from 1944 to 1948 and

Queens College Queens College (QC) is a public college in the Queens borough of New York City. It is part of the City University of New York system. Its 80-acre campus is primarily located in Flushing, Queens. It has a student body representing more than 170 ...

and spent time teaching at the

University of Leicester , mottoeng = So that they may have life , established = , type = public research university , endowment = £20.0 million , budget = £326 million , chancellor = David Willetts , vice_chancellor = Nishan Canagarajah , head_labe ...

from 1963 to 1964 during a five-year break while she was working on her doctorate. Chinoy spent some 30 years at Smith College, serving as chairwoman of the school's theater department from 1968 to 1971. Ar Smith, Chinoy lectured on acting, directing, the history of theater,

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

and the contributions of women on the stage.Staff
"Helen Chinoy, longtime Smith professor"
''

Daily Hampshire Gazette The ''Daily Hampshire Gazette'' is a six-day morning daily newspaper based in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States, and covering all of Hampshire County, southern towns of Franklin County, and Holyoke. The newspaper prints Monday through S ...

'', May 25, 2010. Accessed August 26, 2010. Her 1976 book ''Reunion: A Self-Portrait of the Group Theater'' focused on the founders of the Group Theatre, and its role in the development of

method acting Method acting, informally known as The Method, is a range of training and rehearsal techniques, as formulated by a number of different theatre practitioners, that seeks to encourage sincere and expressive performances through identifying with, u ...

. Together with Linda Walsh Jenkins, Chinoy published the 1981 collection ''Women in American Theater'', which focused on women such as

Cheryl Crawford Cheryl Crawford (September 24, 1902 – October 7, 1986) was an American theatre producer and director. Biography Born in Akron, Ohio, Crawford majored in drama at Smith College. Following graduation in 1925, she moved to New York City and ...

Ruth Draper Ruth Draper (December 2, 1884December 30, 1956) was an American actress, dramatist and noted diseuse who specialized in character-driven monologues and monodrama. Her best-known pieces include ''The Italian Lesson'', ''Three Women and Mr. Cliff ...

and

Susan Glaspell Susan Keating Glaspell (July 1, 1876 – July 28, 1948) was an American playwright, novelist, journalist and actress. With her husband George Cram Cook, she founded the Provincetown Players, the first modern American theatre company. First known ...

, with a revised edition of the book issued in 2005. She was working on a second book about the Group Theatre before her death.

Personal life and legacy

She was married to the sociologist Ely Chinoy, who died in 1975; they had a daughter and a son. Chinoy died at age 87 on May 24, 2010, in

Turners Falls, Massachusetts Turners Falls is an unincorporated village and census-designated place in the town of Montague in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 4,512 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropoli ...

, of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

and

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

. Her final book, ''The Group Theatre, Passion, Politics, and Performance in the Depression Era'', was completed posthumously by colleagues Don Wilmeth and Milly Barrenger and published by Palgrave Macmillan in their Palgrave Studies in Theatre and Performance History series. The Helen Krich Chinoy Papers, c1923–2010, are held in th
Sophia Smith Collection
Smith College.

Awards and honors

She shared an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

for her work as academic adviser on ''Broadway's Dreamers: The Legacy of the Group Theatre'', a

Public Broadcasting System The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educati ...

documentary that aired on ''

Masterpiece Theatre ''Masterpiece'' (formerly known as ''Masterpiece Theatre'') is a drama anthology television series produced by WGBH-TV, WGBH Boston. It premiered on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) on January 10, 1971. The series has presented numerous acclaim ...

'' in 1989.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chinoy, Helen Krich 1922 births 2010 deaths Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni American non-fiction writers Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Deaths from pneumonia in Massachusetts Emmy Award winners New York University alumni Writers from Newark, New Jersey Queens College, City University of New York faculty Rutgers University faculty Smith College faculty Writers from Massachusetts Writers from New York City Neurological disease deaths in Massachusetts