2025 Fornés Institute Symposium

The Latinx Theatre Commons (LTC) hosted the 2025 María Irene Fornés Institute Symposium at the Lewis Arts Complex at Princeton University on Saturday, 22 March 2025. This was a one-day convening of scholars, artists, students, advocates, and others invested in the life, work, and legacy of playwright, director and educator, María Irene Fornés (1930-2018).

The 2025 Symposium gathered over 60 attendees to celebrate the pathbreaking publication of Fornés in Context (Cambridge University Press, 2025), a volume featuring the work of more than thirty artists, advocates, and scholars, which is slated for digital and print publication in July 2025.

The Symposium offered a series of plenary readings from Fornés in Context in tandem with a constellation of hosted breakout conversations engaging questions of context, legacy, and engagement around Fornés’s work.

Carla

Della Gatta

Essay

Dramaturgical Marginalia from the 2025 Fornés Institute Symposium

14 August 2025

To understand the impact of the 2025 Fornés Institute Symposium, one must look to both the events on the schedule and the space in-between and on the side—the conversations, reunions, sparks of mentorship. Carla Della Gatta details these various interwoven sites of connection and collaboration.

A man in a blue graduation gown standing in front of a black board.

Anna Dolores

Novak

Essay

Cultivating the Fornésian Garden

16 July 2025

In March 2025, the Latinx Theatre Commons convened a daylong symposium to honor and explore the work of María Irene Fornés. Anna Dolores Novak shares how the day brought together long-time Fornés scholars and newcomers who joined together to cultivate her legacy via infinite transformation of her work.

Four people standing together in front of a large screen.

Benjamin

Gillespie

Essay

Celebrating Legacy and Building Community at the Fornés Institute Symposium

14 July 2025

In March 2025, the Latinx Theatre Commons convened a daylong symposium to honor and explore the work of María Irene Fornés. Benjamin Gillespie reflects on the day, which served as a reaffirmation of the community that continues to grow around Fornés’s influence, even after her passing.

event poster for 2025 fornes institute symposium.

Latinx theatre Commons

Video