The Living Theatre is an American theatre company founded in 1947 and based in New York City. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Theatre (or theater, see spelling differences) is the branch of the Performing arts defined by Bernard Beckerman as what "occurs when one Year 1947 ( MCMXLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The City of New York It is the oldest experimental theatre group still existing in the U. Experimental theatre is a general term for various movements in Western Theatre that began in the 20th century as a reaction against the then-dominant conventions governing the S. For most of its history it was led by its founders, actor Judith Malina and painter/poet Julian Beck; after Beck's death in 1985, company member Hanon Reznikov became co-director with Malina. An actor, actress, player or thespian (see terminology) is a person who Acts in a Dramatic production and who works Judith Malina (born June 4, 1926) is an American Theater and Film Actor, Writer, and director, who Painting (pān'tīng in Art, is the practice of applying Color to a Surface (support base such as e A poet is a person who writes Poetry. Etymology From the Ancient greek: ποιέω, poieō: "I make or compose" Julian Beck ( May 31, 1925 &ndash September 14, 1985) was an American Actor, director, Poet, and painter Year 1985 ( MCMLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar) Hanon Reznikov (born Howard Reznik in Brooklyn, New York

Julian Beck

Judith Malina

Goals and influences

From its conception, The Living Theatre was dedicated to transforming the organization of power within society from a competitive, hierarchical structure to cooperative and communal expression. Julian Beck ( May 31, 1925 &ndash September 14, 1985) was an American Actor, director, Poet, and painter Judith Malina (born June 4, 1926) is an American Theater and Film Actor, Writer, and director, who The troupe attempts to do so by counteracting complacency in the audience through direct spectacle. They oppose the commercial orientation of Broadway productions and have contributed to the off-Broadway theater movement in New York City, staging poetic dramas written almost exclusively by playwrights not directly affiliated with the troupe.

The primordial text for The Living Theatre is The Theater and Its Double, an anthology of essays written by Antonin Artaud, the French playwright. Antoine Marie Joseph Artaud, better known as Antonin Artaud ( September 4, 1896, in Marseille – March 4, 1948 in It was published in France in 1937 and by the Grove Press in the U. Grove Press is an American publishing imprint that was founded in 1951 S. in 1958. This work deeply influenced Julian Beck, a bisexual and painter of abstract expressionist works. Abstract expressionism was an American post– World War II Art movement. The troupe reflects Artaud's influence by staging multimedia plays designed to exhibit his metaphysical Theatre of Cruelty. This article is about the style of drama For the short story see Theatre of Cruelty (Discworld The Theatre of Cruelty is a concept In these performances, the actors attempt to dissolve the fourth wall between themselves and the spectators.

History

In the 1950s, the group was among the first in the U. The 1950s Decade refers to the years of 1950 to 1959 inclusive S. to produce the work of influential European playwrights such as Bertolt Brecht (In The Jungle of Cities in New York, 1960) and Jean Cocteau, as well as modernist poets such as T. S. Eliot and Gertrude Stein. A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is a person who writes dramatic literature or Drama. (born; 10 February 1898&ndash14 August 1956 was a German Poet, Playwright, and Theatre director. In The Jungle of Cities ( Im Dickicht der Städte) is a play by the Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (5 July 1889 &ndash 11 October 1963 was a French Poet, Novelist, Dramatist, Designer, Boxing Modernism describes an array of Cultural movements rooted in the changes in Western society in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century A poet is a person who writes Poetry. Etymology From the Ancient greek: ποιέω, poieō: "I make or compose" Thomas Stearns Eliot, OM (September 26 1888 – January 4 1965 was a poet Dramatist, and Literary critic. Gertrude Stein ( February 3, 1874 &ndash July 27, 1946) was an American Writer who spent most of her life in France Based in a variety of small New York locations which were frequently closed due to financial problems or conflicts with city authorities, they helped to originate Off-Off-Broadway and Off-Broadway as significant forces in U. Off-Off-Broadway refers to theatrical productions including plays, musicals or Performance art pieces performed in New York City in smaller theatres Off-Broadway plays or musicals are performed in New York City. S. theater. Their work during this period shared some aspects of style and content with Beat generation writers. Also during the 1950s, the American composer Alan Hovhaness worked closely with the Living Theatre, composing music for its productions. Alan Hovhaness (Ալան Հովհանես ( March 8, 1911 &ndash June 21, 2000) was an American Composer of Armenian In 1959, their play The Connection attracted national attention for its harsh portrayal of drug addiction and its equally harsh language. The year 1959 ( MCMLIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Drug addiction is widely considered a pathological state. The disorder of addiction involves the progression of acute Drug use to the development of drug-seeking

The Brig (1963), an anti-authoritarian look at conditions in a Marine prison, was their last major production in New York before a disagreement with the IRS led to the closure of the theatre space and the brief imprisonment of Beck and Malina. Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Authoritarianism describes a Form of government characterized by an emphasis on the Authority of the State in a republic or union The For the rest of the 1960s the group toured chiefly in Europe, and turned to even more politically and formally radical work carrying an anarchist and pacifist message, with the company members creating plays collectively and often living together. The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969 Anarchism is a Political philosophy encompassing theories and attitudes which support the elimination of all compulsory Government, i Major works from this period included the adaptations Antigone and Frankenstein, and Paradise Now, which became their best-known play. Paradise Now, a semi-improvisational piece involving audience participation, was notorious for a scene in which actors recited a list of social taboos that included nudity, while themselves disrobing; this led to multiple arrests for indecent exposure. Improvisational theatre (also known as improv or impro) is a form of Theatre in which the Actors use Improvisational acting techniques A taboo is a strong Social prohibition (or ban) against words objects actions or discussions that are considered undesirable or offensive by a group culture Nudity is the state of wearing no Clothing. The term' "nudity" can also occasionally be used to refer to wearing significantly less clothing than expected See also Public indecency, Exhibitionism Indecent exposure is the deliberate exposure by a person of a portion or portions of his or her own body under

Having returned to the U. S. in 1968 to tour Paradise Now, the group broke apart the next year. Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Malina and Beck toured with the remaining members in Brazil, where they were imprisoned in 1971, then returned to New York to form a new version of the group. |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld Year 1971 ( MCMLXXI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. Former member Joseph Chaikin left to form The Open Theater. Joseph Chaikin ( September 16, 1935 &ndash June 22, 2003) was an American Theatre director, teacher and playwright The Open Theater was an Experimental theatre group active from 1963 to 1973.

The Living Theatre has toured extensively throughout the world, often in non-traditional venues such as streets and prisons. Street theatre is a form of theatrical Performance and presentation in outdoor Public spaces without a specific paying Audience. A prison, penitentiary, or correctional facility is a place in which individuals are physically confined or interned and usually deprived of a range of It has greatly influenced other American experimental theatre companies, notably The Open Theater (founded by Living Theatre member Joseph Chaikin) and Bread and Puppet Theater. The Open Theater was an Experimental theatre group active from 1963 to 1973. Joseph Chaikin ( September 16, 1935 &ndash June 22, 2003) was an American Theatre director, teacher and playwright The Bread and Puppet Theater (often known simply as Bread & Puppet) is a politically radical Puppet theater, active since the 1960s currently based in Glover Its productions have won four Obie Awards: The Connection (1959), The Brig (1963 and 2007), and Frankenstein (1968). The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards bestowed by The Village Voice newspaper to Off-Broadway Theater The year 1959 ( MCMLIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1963 ( MCMLXIII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Though its prominence and resources have diminished considerably in recent decades, The Living Theatre continues to produce new plays in New York City, many with anti-war themes.

Judith Malina playing Maudie in 2008

In 2006, The Living Theatre signed a 10-year lease on the 3500 square foot basement of a new residential building under construction at 21 Clinton Street, between Houston and Stanton Streets on Manhattan's Lower East Side. The Lower East Side is a Neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Clinton Street theater is the company's first permanent home since the closing of The Living Theatre on Third Street at Avenue C in 1993. The company moved into the completed space in early 2007 and opened in April 2007 with a production of The Brig by Kenneth H. Brown, first presented at The Living Theatre at 14th Street and Sixth Avenue in 1963. The re-staging, directed by Judith Malina won Obie Awards for Direction and Ensemble Performance. Judith Malina (born June 4, 1926) is an American Theater and Film Actor, Writer, and director, who The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards bestowed by The Village Voice newspaper to Off-Broadway Theater

In October 2006, the company opened a revival of "Mysteries and Smaller Pieces" the 1964 collective creation that defined the interactive and Artaudian style that the company became famous for.

In late 2007 / early 2008 the company founder Judith Malina performed in "Maudie and Jane" - a stage adaptation, directed by Reznikov, of the Doris Lessing novel, "The Diary of Jane Somers". Doris May Lessing, CH, OBE (née Tayler; born 22 October 1919) is a British Writer, author of works such

In April 2008 Hanon Reznikov suffered a stroke. He died on May 3, 2008. ^[1]

References

• Neff, Renfrew (1970). Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Living Theatre: U. S. A.
• Rostagno, Aldo, with Judith Malina and Julian Beck (1970). Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. We, the Living Theatre. New York: Ballantine Books.
• The Living Theatre (1971). Year 1971 ( MCMLXXI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. Paradise Now. New York: Random House.
• Malina, Judith (1972). Year 1972 ( MCMLXXII) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Enormous Despair. New York: Random House.
• Malina, Judith (1984). Year 1984 ( MCMLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar) The Diaries of Judith Malina, 1947-1957. New York: Grove Press, Inc.
• Mystic Fire Video (1989) Signals Through the Flames. Year 1989 ( MCMLXXXIX) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays 1989 Gregorian calendar) Documentary. Originally released by The Living Theatre in 1983 as a motion picture, produced and directed by Sheldon Rochlin and Maxine Harris.

External links

• The Living Theatre official site
• Living Theatre Records, 1945-1991 from The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
• PARADISE NOW: A COLLECTIVE CREATION OF THE LIVING THEATRE - ANTHOLOGY DVD from Arthur Magazine