Maria Ley Piscator
Encyclopedia
Maria Ley-Piscator is best known as the wife of Erwin Piscator
(1893-1966), Germany's famous left-wing theater director. Born on August 1, 1898 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary (now Austria), Maria Ley sought to create a theatrical career for herself as a dancer in Paris
and Berlin
. Later, she turned to choreography
and helped in several stage productions with Max Reinhardt
, including A Midsummer Night's Dream
.
Maria Ley also studied literature at the Sorbonne
, where she met Erwin Piscator (her third husband) during his exile in 1936. After marrying in Paris, the couple moved to Manhattan in 1939, where they founded the Dramatic Workshop
at the New School for Social Research
. Their students included Harry Belafonte
, Marlon Brando
and Tony Randall
. Ley-Piscator directed several theatrical productions off Broadway.
During the 1970s she worked as a teacher at the Southern Illinois University Carbondale
and at Stony Brook University. Ley-Piscator died in New York in 1999 at the age of 101.
Erwin Piscator
Erwin Friedrich Maximilian Piscator was a German theatre director and producer and, with Bertolt Brecht, the foremost exponent of epic theatre, a form that emphasizes the socio-political content of drama, rather than its emotional manipulation of the audience or on the production's formal...
(1893-1966), Germany's famous left-wing theater director. Born on August 1, 1898 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary (now Austria), Maria Ley sought to create a theatrical career for herself as a dancer in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. Later, she turned to choreography
Choreography
Choreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...
and helped in several stage productions with Max Reinhardt
Max Reinhardt
----Max Reinhardt was an Austrian theater and film director and actor.-Biography:...
, including A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
.
Maria Ley also studied literature at the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
, where she met Erwin Piscator (her third husband) during his exile in 1936. After marrying in Paris, the couple moved to Manhattan in 1939, where they founded the Dramatic Workshop
Dramatic Workshop
Dramatic Workshop was the name of a drama and acting school associated with the New School for Social Research in New York City. It was launched in 1940 by German expatriate stage director Erwin Piscator. Among the faculty were Lee Strasberg and Stella Adler, among the students Marlon Brando, Tony...
at the New School for Social Research
The New School
The New School is a university in New York City, located mostly in Greenwich Village. From its founding in 1919 by progressive New York academics, and for most of its history, the university was known as the New School for Social Research. Between 1997 and 2005 it was known as New School University...
. Their students included Harry Belafonte
Harry Belafonte
Harold George "Harry" Belafonte, Jr. is an American singer, songwriter, actor and social activist. He was dubbed the "King of Calypso" for popularizing the Caribbean musical style with an international audience in the 1950s...
, Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...
and Tony Randall
Tony Randall
Tony Randall was a U.S. actor, comic, producer and director.-Early years:Randall was born Arthur Leonard Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Julia and Mogscha Rosenberg, an art and antiques dealer...
. Ley-Piscator directed several theatrical productions off Broadway.
During the 1970s she worked as a teacher at the Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Southern Illinois University Carbondale is a public research university located in Carbondale, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1869, SIUC is the flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system...
and at Stony Brook University. Ley-Piscator died in New York in 1999 at the age of 101.
Works
- Ley-Piscator, Maria. 1954. Lot's Wife. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill.
- Ley-Piscator, Maria. 1967. The Piscator Experiment: The Political Theatre. New York: Heineman. Revised edition. Carbondale: Southern Illinois U P, 1970. ISBN 0809304589.
Other Sources
- Rutkoff, Peter M. 1986. "Politics on Stage. Piscator and the Dramatic Workshop." New School: a History of the New School for Social Research. Ed. Peter M. Rutkoff and William B. Scott. New York: Macmillan. 172–195. ISBN 0684863715.