The Wooster Group
Encyclopedia
The Wooster Group is a New York City
-based experimental theater company known for creating numerous original dramatic works. It gradually emerged during 1975-1980 from Richard Schechner
's The Performance Group
(1967-1980) and took its name in 1980 (the 1975-1980 independent productions being retroactively attributed to the Group). The ensemble is since directed by Elizabeth LeCompte
and has launched the careers of many actors, including founding member Willem Dafoe
. The Group's home is the Performing Garage
in SoHo
.
arts and social service institutions since its inception in 2002, and which was made possible through a donation by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg
.
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...
-based experimental theater company known for creating numerous original dramatic works. It gradually emerged during 1975-1980 from Richard Schechner
Richard Schechner
Richard Schechner is Professor of Performance Studies at the Tisch School of the Arts, New York University , editor of TDR: The Drama Review, and artistic director of East Coast Artists. His BA is from Cornell University , MA from the University of Iowa , and PhD from Tulane University...
's The Performance Group
The Performance Group
The Performance Group was a New York City troupe of experimental theater started by Richard Schechner in 1967. TPG's home base was the Performing Garage in the SoHo district...
(1967-1980) and took its name in 1980 (the 1975-1980 independent productions being retroactively attributed to the Group). The ensemble is since directed by Elizabeth LeCompte
Elizabeth LeCompte
Elizabeth LeCompte is a founding member and the theater director of experimental theater collective The Wooster Group .-Biography:...
and has launched the careers of many actors, including founding member Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe is an American film, stage, and voice actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group...
. The Group's home is the Performing Garage
Performing Garage
The Performing Garage is an off-Broadway theater in SoHo, New York City. Established in 1968, it is the permanent home of the experimental theater company originally named The Performance Group that morphed in 1980 into The Wooster Group , and their primary performance venue.Since 1978, it also...
in SoHo
SoHo
SoHo is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City, notable for being the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, and also, more recently, for the wide variety of stores and shops ranging from trendy boutiques to outlets of upscale national and international chain stores...
.
Funding
The Wooster Group is a not-for-profit theater company that relies on grants and donations from supporters. It has received multiple grants from the Carnegie Corporation, which has supported more than 550 New York CityNew 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...
arts and social service institutions since its inception in 2002, and which was made possible through a donation by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
.
Main
- 1975 - A Wing and a Prayer
- 1984 - North Atlantic - also 1999
- 1991 - Brace Up! from ChekhovAnton ChekhovAnton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
's Three SistersThree Sisters (play)Three Sisters is a play by Russian author and playwright Anton Chekhov, perhaps partially inspired by the situation of the three Brontë sisters, but most probably by the three Zimmermann sisters in Perm...
- also 2003 - 1993 - The Emperor JonesThe Emperor JonesThe Emperor Jones is a 1920 play by American dramatist Eugene O'Neill which tells the tale of Brutus Jones, an African-American man who kills a man, goes to prison, escapes to a Caribbean island, and sets himself up as emperor...
by Eugene O'NeillEugene O'NeillEugene Gladstone O'Neill was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into American drama techniques of realism earlier associated with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish...
- also 2005 - 1994 - Fish Story
- 1995 - The Hairy ApeThe Hairy Ape-Plot :The play tells the story of a brutish, unthinking laborer known as Yank, as he searches for a sense of belonging in a world controlled by the rich...
by Eugene O'NeillEugene O'NeillEugene Gladstone O'Neill was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into American drama techniques of realism earlier associated with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish... - 1999 - House / Lights (Olga's House of Shame/Doctor Faustus Lights the LightsDoctor Faustus Lights the LightsDoctor Faustus Lights the Lights is a libretto for an opera by the American modernist playwright and poet Gertrude Stein. For avant-garde theatre artists from the United States, the text has formed something of a rite of passage—the Judson Poets’ Group, the Living Theatre, Richard Foreman, Robert...
) - 2002 - To You, The Birdie! (PhèdrePhèdrePhèdre is a dramatic tragedy in five acts written in alexandrine verse by Jean Racine, first performed in 1677.-Composition and premiere:...
) - 2004 - Poor Theater
- 2006 - Who's Your Dada
- 2007 - HamletHamletThe Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
- 2008 - La Didone (from Cavalli's DidoneDidone (opera)Didone is an opera by Francesco Cavalli, set to a libretto by Giovanni Francesco Busenello . The opera was first performed at Venice's Teatro San Cassiano during 1641....
)
The Road to Immortality
- Frank Dell's The Temptation of St. Antony (1987)
- L.S.D. (...Just the High Points...) (1984)
- Route 1 & 9 (1981)
Three Places in Rhode Island
- Point Judith (an epilogue) (1979)
- Nayatt School (1978)
- Rumstick Road (1977)
- Sakonnet Point (1975)
- Hula (1981) and For the Good Times (1982)(two dance pieces)
- North Atlantic (1984/1999) written for the company by James Strahs
- Miss Universal Happiness (1985) and Symphony of Rats (1988) written for the company & directed by Richard ForemanRichard ForemanRichard Foreman is an American playwright and avant-garde theater pioneer. He is the founder of the Ontological-Hysteric Theater.-Life :...
Radio productions
Each radio piece was a BBC Radio 3 Broadcast for a Festival Radio Production.- The Peggy Carstairs Report (radio play - 2002)
- Racine'sJean RacineJean Racine , baptismal name Jean-Baptiste Racine , was a French dramatist, one of the "Big Three" of 17th-century France , and one of the most important literary figures in the Western tradition...
PhèdrePhèdrePhèdre is a dramatic tragedy in five acts written in alexandrine verse by Jean Racine, first performed in 1677.-Composition and premiere:...
(radio play - 2000) - The Emperor JonesThe Emperor JonesThe Emperor Jones is a 1920 play by American dramatist Eugene O'Neill which tells the tale of Brutus Jones, an African-American man who kills a man, goes to prison, escapes to a Caribbean island, and sets himself up as emperor...
(radio play - 1998)
Audio productions
- Love Songs Songs from The Wooster Group's To You, The Birdie! (PhèdrePhèdrePhèdre is a dramatic tragedy in five acts written in alexandrine verse by Jean Racine, first performed in 1677.-Composition and premiere:...
) written, performed and produced and by drench (CD - 2002)
Film and video productions
- House/Lights (DVD-2004)
- The Wooster Group's The Emperor JonesThe Emperor JonesThe Emperor Jones is a 1920 play by American dramatist Eugene O'Neill which tells the tale of Brutus Jones, an African-American man who kills a man, goes to prison, escapes to a Caribbean island, and sets himself up as emperor...
by Eugene O'Neill (video-1999) - Wrong Guys (film-in progress)
- Rhyme 'Em to Death (video-1994)
- White Homeland Commando (video-1992) written for the company by Michael Kirby
- Flaubert Dreams of Travel but the Illness of His Mother Prevents It (video-1986)
Founding members
The Wooster Group's founding members are:- Jim ClayburghJim ClayburghJim Clayburgh is a founding member of The Wooster Group and serves as the group's resident designer.He is now living in Brussels where he founded Joji inc. with choreographer Johanne Saunier.-External links:*...
- Willem DafoeWillem DafoeWillem Dafoe is an American film, stage, and voice actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group...
- Spalding GraySpalding GraySpalding Rockwell Gray was an American actor, playwright, screenwriter, performance artist and monologuist...
(1941-2004) - Libby Howes
- Elizabeth LeCompteElizabeth LeCompteElizabeth LeCompte is a founding member and the theater director of experimental theater collective The Wooster Group .-Biography:...
- Peyton Smith
- Kate ValkKate ValkKate Valk is a founding member of The Wooster Group, a collective of artists who make new work for the theater. Under the direction of Elizabeth LeCompte and with its associates and staff, the Group has created nineteen theater pieces, four dances, three radio plays, five video/film works and...
- Ron VawterRon VawterRon Vawter was an American actor and a founding member of the experimental theater company, The Wooster Group....
(1948-1994)
Current associates
- Geoff Abbas
- Jo AndresJo AndresJo Andres is a U.S. filmmaker, choreographer, and artist.Andres first became known on the kinetic downtown New York performance scene of the 1980s for her film/dance/light performances, shown at the Performing Garage, La Mama E.T.C., P.S. 122, St...
- Joel Bassin
- Dominique Bousquet
- Steve BuscemiSteve BuscemiSteven Vincent "Steve" Buscemi is an American actor, writer and film director. An associate member of the renowned experimental theater company The Wooster Group, Buscemi has starred and supported in successful Hollywood and indie films including New York Stories, Mystery Train, Reservoir Dogs,...
- Philip Bussmann
- Zbigniew Bzymek
- John CollinsJohn Collins (theater)John Collins is an American director and designer of experimental theatre from New York City.A native of Vidalia, Georgia; he and graduated from Yale University in 1991, cum laude....
- Steve Cuiffo
- Lance DannLance DannLance Dann is an English sound artist, radio producer and writer working for international theatre and radio since 1994.-Life and work:...
- Jim Dawson
- Dennis Dermody
- Viviane de Muynck
- Martin R. Desjardins
- Aron Deyo
- Dan Dobson
- Joby Emmons
- J. Reid Farrington
- Roy Faudree
- Iver Findlay
- Jim Findlay
- Jim Fletcher
- Ari Fliakos
- Yvan Greenberg
- Clay Hapaz
- Cynthia Hedstrom
- Mark Muttt Huang
- Koosil-Ja Hwang
- Shaun Irons
- Elizabeth Jenyon
- James J.J. Johnson
- Bozkurt Bozzy Karasu
- Richard KimmelRichard KimmelRichard Kimmel is a New York-based theatre director, writer, and theatrical producer. He is Executive Director of The Box, a venue for theater, music, and nightlife in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and Artistic Director of Cannon Company, a performing ensemble.-Biography:Kimmel is a graduate of...
- Ken Kobland
- Anna KohlerAnna KohlerAnna Kohler is a German-American theater actress, director and translator. She is currently a Senior Lecturer in Theater Arts at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.- Early life :...
- Christopher Kondek
- Karen Lashinsky
- Fiona Leaning
- David Linton
- John LurieJohn LurieJohn Lurie is an American actor, musician, painter and producer. He is co-founder of The Lounge Lizards, a jazz ensemble. Lurie has acted in 19 films including Stranger than Paradise and Down by Law, composed and performed music for 20 television and film works, and he produced and starred in...
- Margaret Mann
- Gabe Maxson
- Emily McDonnell
- Frances McDormandFrances McDormandFrances Louise McDormand is an American film and stage actress. She has starred in a number of films, including her Academy Award-winning performance as Marge Gunderson in Fargo, in 1996...
- Bobby McElver
- Daniel Pettrow
- Helen Pickett
- Scott Renderer
- Suzzy RocheSuzzy RocheSuzzy Roche , originally from Park Ridge, New Jersey, is best known for her work with the female vocal group The Roches, alongside sisters Maggie and Terre...
- Beatrice Roth
- Matt Schloss
- Andrew Schneider
- Sheena See
- Tanya Selvaratnam
- Dave Shelley
- Scott ShepherdScott ShepherdScott Shepherd is a principal at Piller/Segan/Shepherd, an independent content production company that has produced shows such as Greek, Haven, Wildfire and The Dead Zone.- Piller/Segan/Shepherd :...
- E. Jay Sims
- Ariana Smart
- Casey SpoonerCasey SpoonerCasey Spooner is an American artist and musician. He was born in Athens, Georgia and resides in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Spooner is openly gay. While attending the Art Institute of Chicago he met Warren Fischer. The two went on to cofound Fischerspooner in New York in 1998.Spooner has submitted...
- Michelle Stern
- James Strahs
- Jeff Sugg
- Jennifer TiptonJennifer TiptonJennifer Tipton is a lighting designer. She has designed for dance, theater and opera.In 1958, she graduated from Cornell University...
- Ruud van den Akker
- Tara Webb
- Kim Whitener
- Judson Williams
- Gary Wilmes
- Omar Zubair
See also
- Speculations: An Essay on the TheaterSpeculations: An Essay on the TheaterSpeculations: An Essay on the Theater is a treatise by one of today's major experimental playwrights: Mac Wellman. It was published with the collection of plays entitled The Difficulty of Crossing a Field...
- Mac WellmanMac WellmanMac Wellman is an American playwright, author, and poet. Wellman is best known for his experimental work in the theater which rebels against theatrical conventions, often abandoning such traditional elements as plot and character altogether...
- The Flea TheaterThe Flea TheaterThe Flea Theater, founded in 1996, is a theatre in the TriBeCa section of New York City. It presents primarily new American theatre, and provides a venue for film stars to act on a very small stage. It is the home of "The Bat Theater Company", an Obie Award winning resident acting troupe of...
- Performance artPerformance artIn art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
- Elizabeth LeCompteElizabeth LeCompteElizabeth LeCompte is a founding member and the theater director of experimental theater collective The Wooster Group .-Biography:...
- Ontological-Hysteric TheaterOntological-Hysteric TheaterThe Ontological-Hysteric Theater was founded in 1968 by Richard Foreman. According to his website, his aim was-Total Theater:According to his website,-Production history:...
- Richard ForemanRichard ForemanRichard Foreman is an American playwright and avant-garde theater pioneer. He is the founder of the Ontological-Hysteric Theater.-Life :...
- Richard SchechnerRichard SchechnerRichard Schechner is Professor of Performance Studies at the Tisch School of the Arts, New York University , editor of TDR: The Drama Review, and artistic director of East Coast Artists. His BA is from Cornell University , MA from the University of Iowa , and PhD from Tulane University...
- HappeningHappeningA happening is a performance, event or situation meant to be considered art, usually as performance art. Happenings take place anywhere , are often multi-disciplinary, with a nonlinear narrative and the active participation of the audience...
s - Allan KaprowAllan KaprowAllan Kaprow was an American painter, assemblagist and a pioneer in establishing the concepts of performance art. He helped to develop the "Environment" and "Happening" in the late 1950s and 1960s, as well as their theory. His Happenings - some 200 of them - evolved over the years...
- FluxusFluxusFluxus—a name taken from a Latin word meaning "to flow"—is an international network of artists, composers and designers noted for blending different artistic media and disciplines in the 1960s. They have been active in Neo-Dada noise music and visual art as well as literature, urban planning,...
- IntermediaIntermediaIntermedia was a concept employed in the mid-sixties by Fluxus artist Dick Higgins to describe the ineffable, often confusing, inter-disciplinary activities that occur between genres that became prevalent in the 1960s. Thus, the areas such as those between drawing and poetry, or between painting...
- Dick HigginsDick HigginsDick Higgins was a composer, poet, printer, and early Fluxus artist. Higgins was born in Cambridge, England, but raised in the United States in various parts of New England, including Worcester, Massachusetts, Putney, Vermont, and Concord, New Hampshire.Like other Fluxus artists, Higgins studied...
- Marina AbramovićMarina AbramovicMarina Abramović is a Belgrade-born New York-based Serbian performance artist who began her career in the early 1970s. Active for over three decades, she has recently begun to describe herself as the “grandmother of performance art.” Abramović's work explores the relationship between performer and...
- Experimental theatreExperimental theatreExperimental 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...
- Avant-gardeAvant-gardeAvant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....