Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway Off-Broadway : Developed in NYC in 1950s Response to belief that financial conditions forced Broadway producers to cater almost exclusively to mass audiences Theatrical groups found alternative performance spaces to produce non- Broadway fare Working in spaces not intended for theatrical performance, groups were forced to experiment with spatial arrangements and with the relationship between performers and audience Size of spaces and safety provisions meant that theatres served small audiences

Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway Off-Broadway : Popularity of Off-Broadway: 50 groups performed Off-Broadway during the 1950s Increased popularity resulted in intervention by theatrical unions ; production costs climbed

Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway Off-Off-Broadway : Since most of the advantages of Off-Broadway disappeared with the intervention of theatrical unions, Off-Off-Broadway developed Like Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway used out-of-the-way spaces and tried to keep production costs down Continues as the most flexible and diverse venue for productions in NYC

Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway Off-Off-Broadway : Most important early Off-Off-Broadway group = LaMama organization Founded 1961 by Ellen Stewart By 1970, LaMama was producing more plays per season than all Broadway theatres combined No restrictions for playwrights By 1970, the distinctions between Off-Broadway and Off-Off- Broadway were so eroded they were often indistinguishable

Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway Off-Off-Broadway : Other influential organizations Manhattan Theatre Club Playwrights Horizon New York Shakespeare Festival The Public Theatre

Alternative Theatre Groups Some Off-Off-Broadway theatres were formed as a means for provoking social, political, or artistic change The Living Theatre (1960s) Epitomized rebellion against established authority Most extreme piece = Paradise Now Included nudity, obscene language, provocation of audience Blurred the boundaries between fiction and reality Company gained notoriety Tested limits of permissibility

Alternative Theatre Groups The Bread and Puppet Theatre (1961) Used both actors and giant puppets to enact parables denouncing war and materialism The San Francisco Mime Theatre (1966) Performed satirical pieces promoting civil rights and other causes Open Theatre (1963) Founded by Joseph Chaikin Concerned with the performer’s “ transformation ”

Poor and Environmental Theatres “Poor” Theatres Jerzy Grotowski, director of the Polish Lab Theatre  Eliminated all theatrical elements considered unessential  Hoped such elimination would lead to the rediscovery of theatre  Concluded that only 2 elements are essential : actor and audience  Known for methods of actor training  Experimented with spatial relationships between actors and audience  Theatre = Modern Tribal Ceremony

Poor and Environmental Theatres Environmental Theatre Richard Schechner  Defined Environmental Theatre:  Should take place in a transformed or found space  The use of space is flexible  Performance takes precedence over text  Focus is flexible and variable  Blends categories long treated as distinct:  Acting space and non-acting space  Performer and spectator  Text and performance  Sequence and simultaneity of focus and action

Multimedia, Happenings, and Performance Art Some theatre chose to emphasize the very things poor theatres were trying to eliminate - technology Multimedia Joseph Svoboda Czech designer Best-known multimedia experimenter Polyekran = “multiple screen” Laterna Magika = use of motion pictures in combination with actors

Multimedia, Happenings, and Performance Art Multimedia Joseph Svoboda Multimedia experimentation popularized: Projected still images on multiple screens as scenic background Interjecting filmed sequences into dramatic action Manipulating volume, direction, quality of stereophonic sound Use of closed-circuit television

Multimedia, Happenings, and Performance Art Happenings Allan Kaprow Painter who pioneered happenings Argued that in addition to the art objects on display, the space and those who attend must be considered essential parts of the total artistic experience

Multimedia, Happenings, and Performance Art Characteristics of Happenings: 1. Multimedia events that broke down the barriers between the arts and mingled elements 2. Shifted emphasis away from creating a product and onto participating in a process 3. Sought to provide an experience rather than present a message or a single meaning 4. Shifted emphasis from artist’s intention to participant’s awareness 5. Often made each participant a partial creator of the event

Multimedia, Happenings, and Performance Art Performance Art  May intermingle borrowings from any or all of the visual arts, dance, music, video, and theatre  May be scripted or improvised  May or may not use costumes and props  Frequently solo performance  May be highly personal or confrontational  Often explores issues of sexuality, violence, power

Multimedia, Happenings, and Performance Art Performance Artists originally came from the visual arts, dance, and music Appeal of Performance Art: disregards boundaries among the arts, thereby expanding means of expression The essence of performance art is that there are no rules about what is allowed.

Broadway and Musicals after Subsidization Prior to decentralization and subsidization, Broadway was the primary producer of new plays in America Shift from new works to works that had been successful in regional, Off-Broadway, Off-Off- Broadway, and British venues Musicals remained Broadway’s favorite fare, both revivals and new musicals

Broadway and Musicals after Subsidization In 1968, musicals underwent a significant changes: Rock Music Hair (1968) Godspell (1970) Presentational Style A Chorus Line (1976) Experimentation with various approaches Stephen Sondheim

Broadway and Musicals after Subsidization Stephen Sondheim: Considered the most influential writer of musicals for contemporary theatre Works depart from upbeat optimism of earlier musicals Works offer ironic and melancholic views of human behavior Works avoid happy endings Key works include: Company Sweeney Todd Into the Woods

Broadway and Musicals after Subsidization Stephen Sondheim: Songs and music much more complex in both function and musical expression Filled with inner tensions Subtext is a significant element The American musical is said to have lost its vitality after 1970 The most popular musicals were imported from England

A New Generation of American Playwrights Key writers: Edward Albee Uses biting dialogue and experimental forms Lanford Wilson Masterful treatment of character relationships David Mamet Themes: materialism, distrust, political corruption Sam Shepard Characters caught between dreams and an insubstantial reality Christopher Durang Writes about serious subjects in a ridiculous manner