Irondale Ensemble Project
Encyclopedia
Irondale Ensemble is an experimental
theatre company founded in New York City
in 1983 by Jim Niesen, Terry Greiss and Barbara Mackenzie-Wood. Since then, they have produced more than forty-five major Off Broadway shows and mounted two international and three domestic tours. In October of 2008 Irondale opened The Irondale Center to the public. A place for experimentation, thought provoking original works, reinterpretations of classic works, vital community events, and a home to ensemble works of all disciplines, the Center has hosted/presented over 100 events in the last two years including 5 pieces by the Ensemble itself. Brooklyn New York, the Irondale Ensemble Project descends from the ensemble movement in American theatre. This movement came out of the Great Depression
and developed throughout the age of progressive politics during the 1960’s.
Irondale Ensemble Project creates theatre that is a voice for social change and has performed in schools, prisons, shelters, and other community settings. Central to their work is the exploration of collaboration, creativity, pedagogy and the process of theatre-making through the long association of theatre artists working as an ensemble.
Irondale is a member of the Theatre Communications Group
, the Network of Ensemble Theatres and ART New York. It is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts
, the New York State Council on the Arts
, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
In 2008, the company moved into the BAM Cultural District in the landmarked Fort Greene area of Brooklyn. Out of the ruins of a nineteenth-Century Sunday school in an abolitionist church, we created the Irondale Center. It is a home for our work, a destination for ensemble artists of all disciplines, a venue for the performing arts, a resource for the community, and a rental facility for performances and events.
Irondale is a group of citizen-artists who work together, and with other artists, educators, and community institutions, to provide the highest quality professional theater, education and community-engagement programs. Through these, we strive to challenge our audiences’ imaginations, provoke discourse, and use the art of theater for teaching and learning. Irondale is a founding member of the Network of Ensemble Theaters, a national consortium of artist-driven performance companies. Between 2000 and 2008, Irondale was the administrative “lead company” of the NET and it is through this association that we became acquainted with the work of Stephen Clapp and Laura Schendlemaer. We helped bring their work to festivals and gatherings that NET sponsored, and developed an appreciation of their talent and an artistic friendship that we always hoped would have the opportunity to develop.
The majority of the company’s work follows two closely related performance styles: the presentation of established texts in unorthodox and often irreverent productions; and the creation of new theater works, often by combining original material with a classic and blending multiple styles of performance, music, dance, design, historical research text. The company has also created significant documentary theater works including “A People’s History of Fort Greene” and “911:Voices Unheard”. In addition to developing and performing its own theatrical pieces, Irondale has conducted extensive programs of educational and community engagement programs. The combination of daily rehearsal and performance work, in conjunction with the para-theatrical use of Irondale techniques as a means of educating and addressing social issues, has done much to shape the politics of Irondale as a company and to determine the nature and direction of its ongoing experiments. The fusion of art and education, to the extent that no separation exists between them, is a considered part of the company’s aesthetic and philosophy. The company’s audience is as diverse as its mission would demand, including students, seniors, a general theater-going public and a broad-based mix of social, educational, ethnic and gender backgrounds. Irondale’s model has been replicated. Irondale, New York has been replicated through the creation of a “sister” ensemble of Canadian theater artists based in Nova Scotia and three NYC based ensembles created by Irondale alumni. They have successfully adapted the model to reach other audiences and accommodate new artistic voices.
Experimental theatre
Experimental theatre is a general term for various movements in Western theatre that began in the late 19th century as a retraction against the dominant vent governing the writing and production of dramatical menstrophy, and age in particular. The term has shifted over time as the mainstream...
theatre company founded in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1983 by Jim Niesen, Terry Greiss and Barbara Mackenzie-Wood. Since then, they have produced more than forty-five major Off Broadway shows and mounted two international and three domestic tours. In October of 2008 Irondale opened The Irondale Center to the public. A place for experimentation, thought provoking original works, reinterpretations of classic works, vital community events, and a home to ensemble works of all disciplines, the Center has hosted/presented over 100 events in the last two years including 5 pieces by the Ensemble itself. Brooklyn New York, the Irondale Ensemble Project descends from the ensemble movement in American theatre. This movement came out of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
and developed throughout the age of progressive politics during the 1960’s.
Irondale Ensemble Project creates theatre that is a voice for social change and has performed in schools, prisons, shelters, and other community settings. Central to their work is the exploration of collaboration, creativity, pedagogy and the process of theatre-making through the long association of theatre artists working as an ensemble.
Irondale is a member of the Theatre Communications Group
Theatre Communications Group
Theatre Communications Group is an organization dedicated to the promotion of non-profit professional theatre in the United States. TCG has over 450 member theatres located in 47 states; 17,000 individual members; and a growing number of University, Funder, Business and Trustee Affiliates...
, the Network of Ensemble Theatres and ART New York. It is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
, the New York State Council on the Arts
New York State Council on the Arts
The New York State Council on the Arts is an arts council serving the U.S. state of New York. It was established in 1960 through a bill introduced in the New York State Legislature by New York State Senator MacNeil Mitchell , with backing from Governor Nelson Rockefeller, and began its work in 1961...
, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
History
The Irondale Ensemble Project was founded in 1983, by Jim Niesen, Terry Greiss and Barbara Mackenzie-Wood as an experimental/research theater to further investigate the performance and education techniques that they had developed at the Long Wharf Theatre in the late 1970s. It exists today as a company dedicated to the exploring the emerging themes in our society with a permanent ensemble of artists that has developed a distinctive body of work and practices.In 2008, the company moved into the BAM Cultural District in the landmarked Fort Greene area of Brooklyn. Out of the ruins of a nineteenth-Century Sunday school in an abolitionist church, we created the Irondale Center. It is a home for our work, a destination for ensemble artists of all disciplines, a venue for the performing arts, a resource for the community, and a rental facility for performances and events.
Irondale is a group of citizen-artists who work together, and with other artists, educators, and community institutions, to provide the highest quality professional theater, education and community-engagement programs. Through these, we strive to challenge our audiences’ imaginations, provoke discourse, and use the art of theater for teaching and learning. Irondale is a founding member of the Network of Ensemble Theaters, a national consortium of artist-driven performance companies. Between 2000 and 2008, Irondale was the administrative “lead company” of the NET and it is through this association that we became acquainted with the work of Stephen Clapp and Laura Schendlemaer. We helped bring their work to festivals and gatherings that NET sponsored, and developed an appreciation of their talent and an artistic friendship that we always hoped would have the opportunity to develop.
The majority of the company’s work follows two closely related performance styles: the presentation of established texts in unorthodox and often irreverent productions; and the creation of new theater works, often by combining original material with a classic and blending multiple styles of performance, music, dance, design, historical research text. The company has also created significant documentary theater works including “A People’s History of Fort Greene” and “911:Voices Unheard”. In addition to developing and performing its own theatrical pieces, Irondale has conducted extensive programs of educational and community engagement programs. The combination of daily rehearsal and performance work, in conjunction with the para-theatrical use of Irondale techniques as a means of educating and addressing social issues, has done much to shape the politics of Irondale as a company and to determine the nature and direction of its ongoing experiments. The fusion of art and education, to the extent that no separation exists between them, is a considered part of the company’s aesthetic and philosophy. The company’s audience is as diverse as its mission would demand, including students, seniors, a general theater-going public and a broad-based mix of social, educational, ethnic and gender backgrounds. Irondale’s model has been replicated. Irondale, New York has been replicated through the creation of a “sister” ensemble of Canadian theater artists based in Nova Scotia and three NYC based ensembles created by Irondale alumni. They have successfully adapted the model to reach other audiences and accommodate new artistic voices.