Frontiers of Theatre Studies
FTS, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2026, pp.18-27.
Print ISSN: 3106-8073; Online ISSN: 3106-8081
Journal homepage: https://www.ftsjournal.com
DOI: https://doi.org/10.64058/fts260103crctb
盛 菀（Sheng Yu）
摘要：早期的美国戏剧大致可以分为荒蛮时代、多元化发展与剧场垄断三个时期，在多种族移民、宗教信仰、政治运动等多重因素下，十九世纪末美国戏剧逐渐形成了独特的商业传统。商业运营和资本垄断是戏剧演出蓬勃发展和剧院在全国范围内迅速扩张的重要因素，但同时也成为美国戏剧走上严肃艺术道路的巨大障碍。十九世纪末欧洲小剧场运动兴起，随之席卷美国，剧作家们冲破了商业资本对剧场的垄断、摒弃旧的商业剧俗媚堕落的艺术风气、反对金钱至上的廉价艺术创作，为美国戏剧文学独立做出了重要贡献，为此后美国戏剧的迅速成熟并跻身世界剧坛创造了必需的社会环境,打下了早期的观众基础。美国戏剧史上最伟大的现实主义剧作家尤金. 奥尼尔应运而生，在他的带领下美国戏剧也由此跨入现代戏剧时代。
关键词：美国现代戏剧；商业传统；现实主义戏剧；小剧场运动
作者简介：盛菀，讲师，浙江工业大学外国语学院，研究方向为西方戏剧、比较戏剧、中国现当代戏剧。电子邮箱：shengyu@zjut.edu.cn。
Title: Capital and Rebellion: The Commercial Tradition and the Birth of American Modern Drama
Abstract: Early American theater can be broadly divided into three phases: the frontier era, pluralistic growth, and theatrical monopolies. Against the backdrop of multi-ethnic immigration, religious convictions and political movements, a distinctive business tradition had taken shape in American drama by the late nineteenth century. Commercial operation and capital monopolies fueled the rapid expansion of playhouses across the country, yet they also erected a formidable barrier to the development of serious art. When Europe’s experimental theatre influenced America at the end of 19th century, playwrights broke the grip of commercial capital on the stage, rejected the vulgarity and mammonism of bargain-basement production. Their revolt created the social climate essential for an independent American dramatic literature, cultivated the early-stage audiences for serious native plays and thus paved the way for the swift maturation of American drama on the world stage. Eugene O’Neill, the greatest realist dramatist in American history, emerged in response to the proper time and conditions. Under his leadership the nation’s theatre crossed the threshold into the modern era.
Keywords: American modern theatre; commercial tradition; realistic theatre; experimental theatre
Author Biography: Sheng Yu, Lecturer at the College of Foreign Languages, Zhejiang University of Technology. Research Area: Western drama, Comparative Drama, and Modern and Contemporary Chinese Drama. E-mail: shengyu@zjut.edu.cn.
Received: 28 Dec 2025 / Revised: 05 May 2026 / Accepted: 04 Jun 2026 / Published online: 30 May 2026 / Print published: 30 Jun 2026.
