Performing Garage
Encyclopedia
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
(under Richard Schechner
) that morphed in 1980 into The Wooster Group
(under Elizabeth LeCompte
), and their primary performance venue.
Since 1978, it also hosts their annual "Visiting Artist Series" or "Emerging Artist Series". Located at 33 Wooster Street, it can seat between 99 and 120 maximum. Actors such as Willem Dafoe
debuted in earnest here and regularly come back.
was an empty warehouse district being colonized by artists. It was acquired in 1968 by its first artistic
and theater director, Richard Schechner
.
The Performing Garage was established there in 1968 as a home for Schechner's company The Performance Group
(1967-1980), starting with Dionysus in 69 (1968). Because of the group's name, the theater is sometimes erroneously called the Performance Garage.
In 1975, some members began to develop their own productions and perform them at the Performing Garage but not under the name of The Performance Group, starting with Sakonnet Point (1975).
In 1980, Richard Schechner resigned as director and the Performing Garage became home to the troupe renamed The Wooster Group
under Elizabeth LeCompte
, with their 1975-1980 independent works being retroactively considered productions of the new Group.
The Performing Garage can seat between 99 and 120 maximum. It is owned and operated by the Wooster Group as a shareholder in the Grand Street Artists Co-op (originally established as part of the Fluxus
art movement in the 1960s).
Located at 33 Wooster Street, it is one block north of Canal Street
and one block east of West Broadway
in SoHo
, New York. The closest subway stations are the Canal Street stops of the #1; the #6; the R, N, or Q; the J, M, or Z; and the A, C, or E lines.
In 1999, they started an "Emerging Artist Series", a three-week program intended to spotlight up-and-coming multimedia performers by granting three individuals or groups a week of rehearsal time and a weekend of performances in the Performing Garage. Selected among 20 candidates, the first series featured:
1999
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
theater 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...
, 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...
. Established in 1968, it is the permanent home of the experimental theater company originally named 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...
(under 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...
) that morphed in 1980 into The Wooster Group
The Wooster Group
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 and took its name in 1980...
(under Elizabeth LeCompte
Elizabeth LeCompte
Elizabeth LeCompte is a founding member and the theater director of experimental theater collective The Wooster Group .-Biography:...
), and their primary performance venue.
Since 1978, it also hosts their annual "Visiting Artist Series" or "Emerging Artist Series". Located at 33 Wooster Street, it can seat between 99 and 120 maximum. Actors such as 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...
debuted in earnest here and regularly come back.
History
The location was originally not a garage but a metal stamping/flatware factory, back when SoHoSoHo
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...
was an empty warehouse district being colonized by artists. It was acquired in 1968 by its first artistic
Artistic director
An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company, that handles the organization's artistic direction. He or she is generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the organization is generally a non-profit organization...
and theater director, 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...
.
The Performing Garage was established there in 1968 as a home for Schechner's company 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), starting with Dionysus in 69 (1968). Because of the group's name, the theater is sometimes erroneously called the Performance Garage.
In 1975, some members began to develop their own productions and perform them at the Performing Garage but not under the name of The Performance Group, starting with Sakonnet Point (1975).
In 1980, Richard Schechner resigned as director and the Performing Garage became home to the troupe renamed The Wooster Group
The Wooster Group
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 and took its name in 1980...
under Elizabeth LeCompte
Elizabeth LeCompte
Elizabeth LeCompte is a founding member and the theater director of experimental theater collective The Wooster Group .-Biography:...
, with their 1975-1980 independent works being retroactively considered productions of the new Group.
The Performing Garage can seat between 99 and 120 maximum. It is owned and operated by the Wooster Group as a shareholder in the Grand Street Artists Co-op (originally established as part of the Fluxus
Fluxus
Fluxus—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,...
art movement in the 1960s).
Located at 33 Wooster Street, it is one block north of Canal Street
Canal Street (Manhattan)
Canal Street is a major street in New York City, crossing lower Manhattan to join New Jersey in the west to Brooklyn in the east . It forms the main spine of Chinatown, and separates it from Little Italy...
and one block east of West Broadway
West Broadway (Manhattan)
West Broadway, not to be confused with Broadway, is a north-south street in the New York City borough of Manhattan separated into two parts by a park. The northern part begins at TriBeCa Park, near the intersection of Sixth Avenue, Walker Street and Beach Street in TriBeCa...
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...
, New York. The closest subway stations are the Canal Street stops of the #1; the #6; the R, N, or Q; the J, M, or Z; and the A, C, or E lines.
Artist series
Since 1978, the Performing Garage has hosted an annual "Visiting Artist Series".In 1999, they started an "Emerging Artist Series", a three-week program intended to spotlight up-and-coming multimedia performers by granting three individuals or groups a week of rehearsal time and a weekend of performances in the Performing Garage. Selected among 20 candidates, the first series featured:
1999
- Elliott Earls, Eye Sling Shot Lions
- Radiant Pig (country mystic folk-art band)
- Radiohole, A History of Heen: Not Francis E. Dec, Esq. — about Francis E. DecFrancis E. DecFrancis E. Dec was a U.S. lawyer from Hempstead Village, New York, disbarred for fraud in 1959, and later known for the bizarre socio-political tracts of conspiracy theories he mass-mailed to the media...
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:...
- The Wooster GroupThe Wooster GroupThe 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 and took its name in 1980...
- 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....
External links
- The Performing Garage's page
Sources
- CitysearchCitysearchCitysearch is an online city guide that provides information about businesses in the categories of dining, entertainment, retail, travel, and professional services in cities throughout the United States. Visitors to each of Citysearch's local city guides will find contact information, maps, driving...
. "The Performing Garage" (editor's review), consulted in March 2009 - Village VoiceThe Village VoiceThe Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
(1999). "Garage Music", The Village VoiceThe Village VoiceThe Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
, July 13, 1999. - Wooster GroupThe Wooster GroupThe 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 and took its name in 1980...
. "The Performing Garage", consulted in March 2009 - Wooster GroupThe Wooster GroupThe 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 and took its name in 1980...
. "Production History since 1975", consulted in March 2009