The Civilians
Encyclopedia
The Civilians is an investigative theatre company in New York City
founded in 2001 by Artistic Director Steve Cosson
. The Civilians artists pursue their inquiries using interviews, community residencies, research, and other methods. Working with this dynamic combination of journalism and art, The Civilians creates theatrical events that promote an inquisitive curiosity about the world and an engagement with the most vital questions of the present. The company has utilized this method of diligent research in the creation of each of their seven original plays. According to Variety Magazine, The Civilians "travels far and wide researching a piece around a given subject, conducting interviews and comparing notes along the way, sometimes for years."
, Cosson having studied under director and Joint Stock member Les Waters
at UCSD. Cosson has said “I wanted to create a theatre that would engage with larger social, cultural, and political realities through the eyes of real, ordinary people, or 'civilians.'” In keeping with this desire, the name of the company is derived from the old vaudeville
term for those not within the vaudeville community. The Civilians both operates outside of the typical show-business world as well as looks out into the populace, the world of “civilians” for the inspiration and content of their work.
Since its founding in 2001, The Civilians’ projects have been produced at venues throughout New York, including The Public Theatre, Joe's Pub
, St. Ann's Warehouse
, 59E59 Theaters
, and the Vineyard Theatre
among others, and at theaters nationally, including The Center Theatre Group
(at the Mark Taper Forum
), Studio Theatre, A.R.T., La Jolla Playhouse
, HBO’s U.S. Comedy Arts Festival
, and Actors Theatre of Louisville
. Works by the company have also toured nationally and internationally to universities, arts presenters and festivals.
The Civilians made its UK debut with Gone Missing in 2004 at the Gate Theatre
, and (I Am) Nobody’s Lunch was a Fringe First Award winner at the 2006 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, leading to a London production at the Soho Theatre
. The Civilians’ commercial run of Gone Missing at the Barrow Street Theatre
ran for seven months and was included in several Top 10 of 2007 lists in the New York press, including critic Charles Isherwood’s list in The New York Times.
In addition to the successful productions, The Civilians’ work has been published in a number of formats. Gone Missing was published by Dramatists Play Service
in 2009, following its inclusion in the publication of (I Am) Nobody’s Lunch by Oberon Books
in 2007. In 2009, Playscripts, Inc.
published an anthology of all of the Civilians' works to date, excluding This Beautiful City, which was still running at The Vineyard Theater. Additionally, an original cast recording of Gone Missing was released by Ghostlight Records in 2008.
in New York City. The play was devised and created by the company, directed by Steve Cosson, with music and lyrics by Michael Friedman
. The play deals with "rumors of maltreated geese during the making of Fly Away Home
, the sentimental 1996 Disney flick that featured Anna Paquin
leading geese south in an ultra-light plane." According to Time Out: New York, "The middle part of the show includes funny but affectionate impersonations of the eccentric and lonely folks who live in that remote hamlet. After two days of interviews, however, the group discovers that Fly Away Home was actually filmed in Ontario. Songs and silly dances are interspersed among the members' increasingly desperate updates on their deteriorating investigation."
, Imelda Marcos
, Elena Ceausescu
, and Jiang Qing
, as well as the artists themselves. It premiered at Dixon Place
in New York City in 2004.
’s Page-to-Stage program in 2004, and further expanded in 2008 as a part of the Public Lab Series Workshop at the Public Theater. The piece is unique among The Civilians’ early repertoire in that it was not developed through first-person interviews with those directly affected by the topic of the play, but rather through extensive historical research into the actual "Paris Commune
" that had its genesis in the 1871 rebellion. The play was written by Steve Cosson and all of the music was written or adapted by Michael Friedman
.
premiered at 59E59 Theaters
in New York City in 2006 and received its London premiere at the Soho Theatre later that same year. An earlier draft of the piece was first performed in 2004 as PS 122 in New York City. According to Charles Isherwood of The New York Times “How and why we come to believe what we believe is the large question being explored with a wink in this collage of material culled from interviews with an odd assortment of Americans, ranging from soldiers standing vigil at Grand Central Terminal
to a fellow who believes his body is inhabited by a celestial being who has useful tips on dispelling the fog of fear that has enveloped the country since 9/11.” The piece received a coveted Fringe First award at the 2006 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. (I am) Nobody’s Lunch was written and directed by Steve Cosson based on interviews conducted by the cast, with music and lyrics by Michael Friedman
.
in New York City. It is composed of extensive interviews by the company, all focused on the idea of loss, in many of its myriad forms. According to The New York Times review of the production, "Underneath its wry surface lies a mournful acknowledgment of the transience of life’s pleasures, symbolized here by any number of cherished possessions that somehow fell into a black hole, leaving behind an aching void in the shape of a bit of jewelry, a PalmPilot
or a stuffed animal. . . . Even the most mundane and functional items can be a source of strange comfort, a talisman of achievement, a thing to cling to when life gets you down," Gone Missing was written and directed by Steve Cosson based on interviews conducted by the company, with music and lyrics written by Michael Friedman
, and additional text from "Interview with Dr. Palinurus" by Peter Morris.
. The play is a retelling of the Gilgamesh Epic.
movement in Colorado Springs" as well as the growing gulf between the secular and Evangelical communities. In addition to illustrating the daily interactions between the members of the community of Colorado Springs, the play also brings to the stage the fall of New Life Church
founder Ted Haggard
, the scandal about whom broke while the Civilians were in Colorado Springs already actively researching for the play. The piece received nominations for Drama Desk
, Drama League
, and Lucille Lortel Awards
. This Beautiful City was written by Steve Cosson and Jim Lewis from interviews conducted by Associate Artists Emily Ackerman, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Brad Heberlee, Brandon Miller, Stephen Plunkett, and Alison Weller, with music and lyrics by Michael Friedman
, and directed by Steve Cosson.
Development Project and the quickly changing landscape of Brooklyn
as a unique performance of theater, dance, and music created from interviews with the real life players in the story of Brooklyn.
Brooklyn at Eye Level was produced by The Civilians in December 2008 at the Brooklyn Lyceum. It was directed by Steven Cosson. It is the first phase of a larger exploration of urban development in Brooklyn.
and David Barlow as well as the actor/writers Matthew Maher, Caitlin Miller, Jennifer R. Morris, and Robbie Collier Sublett.
The show was first performed at Galapagos Art Space in December 2009. The performances were filmed by Park Pictures, and the footage has been released in short clips with interactive content through The Civilians' partnership with WNYC
.
The evening explores each couple's first meeting, the ups and downs of their marriage, their split, and the surprising perspectives on life after divorce. In these alternately funny, devastating and revelatory performances, the four actors are the conduits of their parents' stories and, inevitably though sometimes inadvertently, also of their own experiences of family division. This provocative show reveals the stories behind the statistics of one of the most prominent social phenomena of our time.
in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, in November 2010, to critical acclaim. It had its Boston premiere in January 2011 at Emerson College
's Paramount Center.
Civilians artists gathered material about the controversial Atlantic Yards
development project for several years, interviewing residents
both old and new, community activists
, developers, politicians
, and others. By using the actual words of the players involved, In The Footprint aims to show all sides of this multifaceted issue and tries to examine how the conflicts erupted, where the process went wrong, what is at the heart of Brooklyn communities, and what can be learned from all parties in these debates.
In The Footprint appeared on several best of 2010 lists, including those of The New Yorker
and Charles Isherwood
of the New York Times
(BCI) in the Panama Canal
and the city of Churchill
in arctic Canada. Drawing on interviews with myriad individuals such as botanists, paleontologists, climatologists, indigenous community leaders, Polar Bear Tour guides and trappers, The Great Immensity gives voice to real people whose stories make the reality of present crisis tangible and viscerally felt, inspiring us all to make the profound changes this moment demands.
The Great Immensity had two work-in-progress showings at the Berlind Theatre as part of The Civilians' cross-departmental residency at Princeton University
with the Princeton Environmental Institute and the Princeton Atelier at the University's Lewis Center for the Arts on April 17, 2010. The Public Theater
's New Work Now! Festival included a reading of The Great Immensity on May 12, 2010.
. Our artists are out in Vegas and the Cali valley talking to directors, performers, and producers about the ins and outs of the dirty movie biz: how they do it and what it takes to make it. The Civilians are getting to the bottom of how people got into the industry, how stars rose to fame, and how technological advancements have affected the sustainability and commercial viability of the genre.
Pretty Filthy is in development through a commission from the Center Theatre Group
in Los Angeles
. Bess Wohl is writing the book, Michael Friedman
is writing the music and lyrics, and Steven Cosson is directing. Some of the interview material has been performed in cabarets at Joe's Pub
in New York and the Kirk Douglas Theatre
in Los Angeles.
in 2004, The Edinburgh Fringe Festival Fringe First Award in 2006 for (I am) Nobody’s Lunch, and was nominated for Drama Desk, Drama League, and Lucille Lortel awards for This Beautiful City in 2009.
The company has been reviewed positively by such publications as Time Out: New York, The Village Voice, The New York Times, and many others.
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...
founded in 2001 by Artistic Director Steve Cosson
Steve Cosson
Steve Cosson is a writer and director specializing in the creation of new theatre work inspired by real life, as well as a free-lance director of new plays, musicals, and classics. He is the founding Artistic Director of the New York-based investigative theater company The Civilians...
. The Civilians artists pursue their inquiries using interviews, community residencies, research, and other methods. Working with this dynamic combination of journalism and art, The Civilians creates theatrical events that promote an inquisitive curiosity about the world and an engagement with the most vital questions of the present. The company has utilized this method of diligent research in the creation of each of their seven original plays. According to Variety Magazine, The Civilians "travels far and wide researching a piece around a given subject, conducting interviews and comparing notes along the way, sometimes for years."
Company history
Artistic Director Steve Cosson founded the company in 2001, with a multi-disciplinary group of artists including some fellow University of California-San Diego graduates, as “a breeding ground for new styles of collaboration” Inspiration was taken from the British Joint Stock Theatre CompanyJoint Stock Theatre Company
The Joint Stock Theatre Company was founded in London 1974 by David Hare, Max Stafford-Clark and David Aukin. The director William Gaskill was also an important part of the company. It was primarily a new work company....
, Cosson having studied under director and Joint Stock member Les Waters
Les Waters
Les Waters is a notable British theatre director. He has served as associate artistic director of Berkeley Repertory Theatre for the last six years.-Career:...
at UCSD. Cosson has said “I wanted to create a theatre that would engage with larger social, cultural, and political realities through the eyes of real, ordinary people, or 'civilians.'” In keeping with this desire, the name of the company is derived from the old vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
term for those not within the vaudeville community. The Civilians both operates outside of the typical show-business world as well as looks out into the populace, the world of “civilians” for the inspiration and content of their work.
Since its founding in 2001, The Civilians’ projects have been produced at venues throughout New York, including The Public Theatre, Joe's Pub
Joe's Pub
Joe's Pub at Public Theater is a nightclub that hosts live performances regularly. The venue, which is a non-profit operation, is located at 425 Lafayette Street near Astor Place in Manhattan, New York City...
, St. Ann's Warehouse
St. Ann's Warehouse
St. Ann's Warehouse is a performing arts institution in Brooklyn, New York.History: 1980-2001The original home of Arts at St. Ann's was the National Historic Landmark Church of St. Ann and the Holy Trinity on Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights. For twenty-one years, St...
, 59E59 Theaters
59E59 Theaters
59E59 Theaters is an Off Broadway theater complex located in New York City, USA. Comprising three theater spaces, the complex is owned and operated by the Elysabeth Kleinhans Theatrical Foundation, a not-for-profit foundation that is dedicated to bringing innovative and experimental work to the...
, and the Vineyard Theatre
Vineyard Theatre
The Vineyard Theatre is an Off-Broadway non-profit theatre company, located at 108 East 15th Street in Manhattan, New York City, near Union Square. Its first production was in 1981...
among others, and at theaters nationally, including The Center Theatre Group
Center Theatre Group
Center Theatre Group is a non-profit arts organization located in Los Angeles, California. It is one of the largest theatre companies in the nation, programming subscription seasons year-round at the Mark Taper Forum, the Ahmanson Theatre and the Kirk Douglas Theatre...
(at the Mark Taper Forum
Mark Taper Forum
The Mark Taper Forum is a 739 seat thrust stage at the Los Angeles Music Center built by Welton Becket and Associates on the Bunker Hill section of downtown Los Angeles...
), Studio Theatre, A.R.T., La Jolla Playhouse
La Jolla Playhouse
La Jolla Playhouse is a not-for-profit, professional theatre-in-residence on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. -Background:...
, HBO’s U.S. Comedy Arts Festival
U.S. Comedy Arts Festival
The Comedy Festival, formerly known as the US Comedy Arts Festival, is a comedy festival held each year in Las Vegas, Nevada. From its 1985 inception to 2007, it was held annually at the Wheeler Opera House in Aspen, Colorado...
, and Actors Theatre of Louisville
Actors Theatre of Louisville
Actors Theatre of Louisville is a performing arts theater located in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. It was founded in 1964 by Louisville native Ewel Cornett, local producer Richard Block and actor Ken Jenkins of Scrubs fame, and was designated the "State Theater of Kentucky" in 1974. It is run as a...
. Works by the company have also toured nationally and internationally to universities, arts presenters and festivals.
The Civilians made its UK debut with Gone Missing in 2004 at the Gate Theatre
Gate Theatre
The Gate Theatre, in Dublin, was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál Mac Liammóir, initially using the Abbey Theatre's Peacock studio theatre space to stage important works by European and American dramatists...
, and (I Am) Nobody’s Lunch was a Fringe First Award winner at the 2006 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, leading to a London production at the Soho Theatre
Soho Theatre
Soho Theatre is a theatre in the eponymous Soho district of the City of Westminster. It presents new works of theatre, together with comedy and cabaret....
. The Civilians’ commercial run of Gone Missing at the Barrow Street Theatre
Barrow Street Theatre
Barrow Street Theatre is an Off Broadway theatre venue located in New York City's historic Greenwich House. Previously home to Drama Dept. the space was leased to Barrow Street Theatre in 2003 and has been home to long-running Off-Broadway hits, Bug by Tracy Letts and Orson's Shadow by Austin...
ran for seven months and was included in several Top 10 of 2007 lists in the New York press, including critic Charles Isherwood’s list in The New York Times.
In addition to the successful productions, The Civilians’ work has been published in a number of formats. Gone Missing was published by Dramatists Play Service
Dramatists Play Service
Established in 1936 by members of the Dramatists Guild and the Society for Authors' Representatives, Dramatists Play Service, Inc. is a theatrical publishing and licensing house...
in 2009, following its inclusion in the publication of (I Am) Nobody’s Lunch by Oberon Books
Oberon Books
Oberon Books is an independent publisher which specialises in drama and the performing arts. Whilst the majority of Oberon's catalogue is made up of play texts, in recent years it has begun to publish theatrical biographies as well as books on ballet, opera, illustration, photography and...
in 2007. In 2009, Playscripts, Inc.
Playscripts, Inc.
Playscripts, Inc. is a New York City-based publisher of new plays and musicals, founded by brothers and playwrights Doug and Jonathan Rand. Included in the exclusive Playscripts catalog are over 1,600 plays and musicals by over 800 authors....
published an anthology of all of the Civilians' works to date, excluding This Beautiful City, which was still running at The Vineyard Theater. Additionally, an original cast recording of Gone Missing was released by Ghostlight Records in 2008.
Structure
According to The Civilians' website:Canard, Canard, Goose? (2002)
Canard, Canard, Goose? was the company’s first production, premiering in 2002 at HERE Arts CenterHERE Arts Center
HERE Arts Center is a New York City based off-off broadway presenting house, founded in 1993, with two stages specializing in hybrid performance, dance, theater, multi-media and puppetry. From 1993-2009, HERE supported over 12,000 artists and served approximately 950,000 audience members...
in New York City. The play was devised and created by the company, directed by Steve Cosson, with music and lyrics by Michael Friedman
Michael Friedman (composer)
Michael Friedman is an American composer and lyricist. He is a founding Associate Artist of The Civilians and an Artistic Associate at New York Theatre Workshop. He received a 2007 Obie award for sustained excellence. His musical Saved earned him a Lucille Lortel Award nomination for Best Musical...
. The play deals with "rumors of maltreated geese during the making of Fly Away Home
Fly Away Home
Fly Away Home is a 1996 drama and comedy film directed by Carroll Ballard, the director of The Black Stallion . The film stars Anna Paquin, Jeff Daniels and Dana Delany. The story follows a young girl from New Zealand who survives a car crash that results in the death of her mother...
, the sentimental 1996 Disney flick that featured Anna Paquin
Anna Paquin
Anna Helene Paquin is a Canadian-born New Zealand actress. Paquin's first critically successful film was The Piano, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1994 at the age of 11 – the second youngest winner in history...
leading geese south in an ultra-light plane." According to Time Out: New York, "The middle part of the show includes funny but affectionate impersonations of the eccentric and lonely folks who live in that remote hamlet. After two days of interviews, however, the group discovers that Fly Away Home was actually filmed in Ontario. Songs and silly dances are interspersed among the members' increasingly desperate updates on their deteriorating investigation."
The Ladies (2004)
The Ladies was written by Anne Washburn and directed by Anne Kauffman, both Associate Artists of the company. The play presents the characters of Eva PeronEva Perón
María Eva Duarte de Perón was the second wife of President Juan Perón and served as the First Lady of Argentina from 1946 until her death in 1952. She is often referred to as simply Eva Perón, or by the affectionate Spanish language diminutive Evita.She was born in the village of Los Toldos in...
, Imelda Marcos
Imelda Marcos
Imelda R. Marcos is a Filipino politician and widow of 10th Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos. Upon the ascension of her husband to political power, she held various positions to the government until 1986...
, Elena Ceausescu
Elena Ceausescu
Elena Ceaușescu was the wife of Romania's Communist leader Nicolae Ceaușescu, and Deputy Prime Minister of Romania.-Background:She was born Elena Petrescu into a peasant family in Petrești commune, Dâmboviţa County, in the informal region of Wallachia. Her family was supported by her father's job...
, and Jiang Qing
Jiang Qing
Jiang Qing was the pseudonym that was used by Chinese leader Mao Zedong's last wife and major Communist Party of China power figure. She went by the stage name Lan Ping during her acting career, and was known by various other names during her life...
, as well as the artists themselves. It premiered at Dixon Place
Dixon Place
Dixon Place is an Obie Award winning, Off-Off Broadway New York City theater devoted exclusively to presenting original pieces of theater, dance, performance art and literature that are works in progress.-History:...
in New York City in 2004.
Paris Commune (2004, 2008)
Paris Commune illustrates the story of the Parisian uprising of 1871, the first socialist rebellion in Europe. The piece was developed as a part of La Jolla PlayhouseLa Jolla Playhouse
La Jolla Playhouse is a not-for-profit, professional theatre-in-residence on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. -Background:...
’s Page-to-Stage program in 2004, and further expanded in 2008 as a part of the Public Lab Series Workshop at the Public Theater. The piece is unique among The Civilians’ early repertoire in that it was not developed through first-person interviews with those directly affected by the topic of the play, but rather through extensive historical research into the actual "Paris Commune
Paris Commune
The Paris Commune was a government that briefly ruled Paris from March 18 to May 28, 1871. It existed before the split between anarchists and Marxists had taken place, and it is hailed by both groups as the first assumption of power by the working class during the Industrial Revolution...
" that had its genesis in the 1871 rebellion. The play was written by Steve Cosson and all of the music was written or adapted by Michael Friedman
Michael Friedman (composer)
Michael Friedman is an American composer and lyricist. He is a founding Associate Artist of The Civilians and an Artistic Associate at New York Theatre Workshop. He received a 2007 Obie award for sustained excellence. His musical Saved earned him a Lucille Lortel Award nomination for Best Musical...
.
(I am) Nobody’s Lunch (2006)
(I Am) Nobody's Lunch(I Am) Nobody's Lunch
Nobody's Lunch is a 2006 play with music produced by The Civilians, an investigative theater company in New York City. Based on interviews conducted in 2003, the play explores the compromised issues of trust and truth that arose between the American government and its people during the lead-up to...
premiered at 59E59 Theaters
59E59 Theaters
59E59 Theaters is an Off Broadway theater complex located in New York City, USA. Comprising three theater spaces, the complex is owned and operated by the Elysabeth Kleinhans Theatrical Foundation, a not-for-profit foundation that is dedicated to bringing innovative and experimental work to the...
in New York City in 2006 and received its London premiere at the Soho Theatre later that same year. An earlier draft of the piece was first performed in 2004 as PS 122 in New York City. According to Charles Isherwood of The New York Times “How and why we come to believe what we believe is the large question being explored with a wink in this collage of material culled from interviews with an odd assortment of Americans, ranging from soldiers standing vigil at Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal
Grand Central Terminal —often incorrectly called Grand Central Station, or shortened to simply Grand Central—is a terminal station at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States...
to a fellow who believes his body is inhabited by a celestial being who has useful tips on dispelling the fog of fear that has enveloped the country since 9/11.” The piece received a coveted Fringe First award at the 2006 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. (I am) Nobody’s Lunch was written and directed by Steve Cosson based on interviews conducted by the cast, with music and lyrics by Michael Friedman
Michael Friedman (composer)
Michael Friedman is an American composer and lyricist. He is a founding Associate Artist of The Civilians and an Artistic Associate at New York Theatre Workshop. He received a 2007 Obie award for sustained excellence. His musical Saved earned him a Lucille Lortel Award nomination for Best Musical...
.
Gone Missing (2007)
Gone Missing premiered in 2007 at the Barrow Street TheatreBarrow Street Theatre
Barrow Street Theatre is an Off Broadway theatre venue located in New York City's historic Greenwich House. Previously home to Drama Dept. the space was leased to Barrow Street Theatre in 2003 and has been home to long-running Off-Broadway hits, Bug by Tracy Letts and Orson's Shadow by Austin...
in New York City. It is composed of extensive interviews by the company, all focused on the idea of loss, in many of its myriad forms. According to The New York Times review of the production, "Underneath its wry surface lies a mournful acknowledgment of the transience of life’s pleasures, symbolized here by any number of cherished possessions that somehow fell into a black hole, leaving behind an aching void in the shape of a bit of jewelry, a PalmPilot
PalmPilot
The PalmPilot Personal and PalmPilot Professional are the second generation of Palm PDA devices produced by Palm Inc...
or a stuffed animal. . . . Even the most mundane and functional items can be a source of strange comfort, a talisman of achievement, a thing to cling to when life gets you down," Gone Missing was written and directed by Steve Cosson based on interviews conducted by the company, with music and lyrics written by Michael Friedman
Michael Friedman (composer)
Michael Friedman is an American composer and lyricist. He is a founding Associate Artist of The Civilians and an Artistic Associate at New York Theatre Workshop. He received a 2007 Obie award for sustained excellence. His musical Saved earned him a Lucille Lortel Award nomination for Best Musical...
, and additional text from "Interview with Dr. Palinurus" by Peter Morris.
Shadow of Himself (2008)
Shadow of Himself was written in 2008 by playwright Neal Bell. He wrote the play by commission from The Civilians, with the support of The Public Theater and The Orchard Project, collaborating with the actors and taking inspiration from interviews done by the company. The piece opened at the Access Theatre in New York City in January 2009, produced by Rabbit Hole EnsembleRabbit Hole Ensemble
Rabbit Hole Ensemble is a Brooklyn, NY based not-for-profit, Off-off Broadway theatre company. Under the Artistic Direction of Edward Elefterion, the ensemble has produced seven original works throughout Brooklyn and Manhattan, and is currently in its third season.-Mission statement:Rabbit Hole...
. The play is a retelling of the Gilgamesh Epic.
This Beautiful City (2008)
This Beautiful City The Civilians’ first premiered the Actors Theatre of Louisville Humana Festival of New American Plays in March 2008, followed by runs at Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C. and Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles, California, and a New York premiere at the Vineyard Theatre in winter 2009. The piece engaged with "the expansion of the EvangelicalEvangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
movement in Colorado Springs" as well as the growing gulf between the secular and Evangelical communities. In addition to illustrating the daily interactions between the members of the community of Colorado Springs, the play also brings to the stage the fall of New Life Church
New Life Church (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
New Life Church is a non-denominational charismatic Evangelical Christian megachurch located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States. New Life Church has more than 10,000 members and is pastored by Brady Boyd.-History:...
founder Ted Haggard
Ted Haggard
Ted Arthur Haggard is an American evangelical pastor. Known as Pastor Ted to the congregation he served, he was the founder and former pastor of the New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado; a founder of the Association of Life-Giving Churches; and was leader of the National Association of...
, the scandal about whom broke while the Civilians were in Colorado Springs already actively researching for the play. The piece received nominations for Drama Desk
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
, Drama League
Drama League Award
The Drama League Awards, created in 1935, honor distinguished productions and performances both on Broadway and Off-Broadway, in addition to recognizing exemplary career achievements in theatre, musical theatre, and directing...
, and Lucille Lortel Awards
Lucille Lortel Awards
The Lucille Lortel Awards recognize excellence in New York Off-Broadway theatre. The Awards are named for Lucille Lortel, an actress and theater producer, and have been awarded since 1986...
. This Beautiful City was written by Steve Cosson and Jim Lewis from interviews conducted by Associate Artists Emily Ackerman, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Brad Heberlee, Brandon Miller, Stephen Plunkett, and Alison Weller, with music and lyrics by Michael Friedman
Michael Friedman (composer)
Michael Friedman is an American composer and lyricist. He is a founding Associate Artist of The Civilians and an Artistic Associate at New York Theatre Workshop. He received a 2007 Obie award for sustained excellence. His musical Saved earned him a Lucille Lortel Award nomination for Best Musical...
, and directed by Steve Cosson.
Brooklyn at Eye Level (2008)
Brooklyn at Eye Level was the first phase of a creative investigation into the heart of neighborhood, community change, and development. The project was conceived in light of the Atlantic YardsAtlantic Yards
The Atlantic Yards is a mixed-use commercial and residential development project of 16 high-rise buildings, under construction in Prospect Heights, adjacent to Downtown Brooklyn and Fort Greene in Brooklyn, New York City...
Development Project and the quickly changing landscape of Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
as a unique performance of theater, dance, and music created from interviews with the real life players in the story of Brooklyn.
Brooklyn at Eye Level was produced by The Civilians in December 2008 at the Brooklyn Lyceum. It was directed by Steven Cosson. It is the first phase of a larger exploration of urban development in Brooklyn.
You Better Sit Down: Tales from my Parents' Divorce (2009)
Crafted from interviews between the cast and their own parents, YOU BETTER SIT DOWN is a heartbreaking and hilarious account of the parents' marriages and their subsequent divorces. It was directed and co-written by Anne Kauffman, with additional writing credit for Janice Paranand David Barlow as well as the actor/writers Matthew Maher, Caitlin Miller, Jennifer R. Morris, and Robbie Collier Sublett.
The show was first performed at Galapagos Art Space in December 2009. The performances were filmed by Park Pictures, and the footage has been released in short clips with interactive content through The Civilians' partnership with WNYC
WNYC
WNYC is a set of call letters shared by a pair of co-owned, non-profit, public radio stations located in New York City.WNYC broadcasts on the AM band at 820 kHz, and WNYC-FM is at 93.9 MHz. Both stations are members of National Public Radio and carry distinct, but similar news/talk programs...
.
The evening explores each couple's first meeting, the ups and downs of their marriage, their split, and the surprising perspectives on life after divorce. In these alternately funny, devastating and revelatory performances, the four actors are the conduits of their parents' stories and, inevitably though sometimes inadvertently, also of their own experiences of family division. This provocative show reveals the stories behind the statistics of one of the most prominent social phenomena of our time.
In The Footprint (2010)
In The Footprint, a play with music, is the culmination of the investigative work begun for Brooklyn at Eye Level. It was directed by Steve Cosson, with a book by Cosson and Jocelyn Clarke and music & lyrics by Michael Friedman. It premiered at the Irondale CenterIrondale Center
The Irondale Center for Theater, Education, and Outreach is a performance space in Brooklyn, New York. It was established in 2008 by the Irondale Ensemble Project in a space that had previously housed Sunday school classes for the Layfayette Church....
in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, in November 2010, to critical acclaim. It had its Boston premiere in January 2011 at Emerson College
Emerson College
Emerson College is a private coeducational university located in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a "school of oratory," Emerson is "the only comprehensive college or university in America dedicated exclusively to communication and the arts in a liberal arts...
's Paramount Center.
Civilians artists gathered material about the controversial Atlantic Yards
Atlantic Yards
The Atlantic Yards is a mixed-use commercial and residential development project of 16 high-rise buildings, under construction in Prospect Heights, adjacent to Downtown Brooklyn and Fort Greene in Brooklyn, New York City...
development project for several years, interviewing residents
Jonathan Lethem
Jonathan Allen Lethem is an American novelist, essayist and short story writer. His first novel, Gun, with Occasional Music, a genre work that mixed elements of science fiction and detective fiction, was published in 1994. It was followed by three more science fiction novels...
both old and new, community activists
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn is a volunteer-run and community-funded 5013 non-profit organization founded in February 2004 to oppose Forest City Ratner's 8 million square foot "Atlantic Yards" development proposal for an arena and 16 high-rises in Prospect Heights and Park Slope, Brooklyn...
, developers, politicians
Marty Markowitz
Marty Markowitz is the Borough President of Brooklyn, New York City, the most populous borough in New York City with nearly 2.6 million residents. Markowitz was first elected borough president in 2001 after serving 23 years as a New York State Senator...
, and others. By using the actual words of the players involved, In The Footprint aims to show all sides of this multifaceted issue and tries to examine how the conflicts erupted, where the process went wrong, what is at the heart of Brooklyn communities, and what can be learned from all parties in these debates.
In The Footprint appeared on several best of 2010 lists, including those of The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
and Charles Isherwood
Charles Isherwood
-External Links:* at The New York Times* at Variety...
of the New York Times
The Great Immensity
The Great Immensity is a new play with music that tackles the monumental topic of the environment and the future of our planet. The play explores the themes of climate change, deforestation and extinction in two distinct locations: Barro Colorado IslandBarro Colorado Island
Barro Colorado Island is located in the man-made Gatun Lake in the middle of the Panama Canal. The island was formed when the waters of the Chagres River were dammed to form the lake. When the waters rose, they covered a significant part of the existing rainforest, and the hilltops remained as...
(BCI) in the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
and the city of Churchill
Churchill, Manitoba
Churchill is a town on the shore of Hudson Bay in Manitoba, Canada. It is most famous for the many polar bears that move toward the shore from inland in the autumn, leading to the nickname "Polar Bear Capital of the World" that has helped its growing tourism industry.-History:A variety of nomadic...
in arctic Canada. Drawing on interviews with myriad individuals such as botanists, paleontologists, climatologists, indigenous community leaders, Polar Bear Tour guides and trappers, The Great Immensity gives voice to real people whose stories make the reality of present crisis tangible and viscerally felt, inspiring us all to make the profound changes this moment demands.
The Great Immensity had two work-in-progress showings at the Berlind Theatre as part of The Civilians' cross-departmental residency at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
with the Princeton Environmental Institute and the Princeton Atelier at the University's Lewis Center for the Arts on April 17, 2010. The Public Theater
Public Theater
The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as The Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers. It is headquartered at 425 Lafayette Street in the former Astor Library in the East Village...
's New Work Now! Festival included a reading of The Great Immensity on May 12, 2010.
Pretty Filthy
The Civilians is taking a long, hard look at the adult entertainment industry to create the first major musical about pornPORN
Porn is a common short form for pornography. It may also refer to:* Progressive outer retinal necrosis, a disease of the retina* PORN, a French industrial rock band...
. Our artists are out in Vegas and the Cali valley talking to directors, performers, and producers about the ins and outs of the dirty movie biz: how they do it and what it takes to make it. The Civilians are getting to the bottom of how people got into the industry, how stars rose to fame, and how technological advancements have affected the sustainability and commercial viability of the genre.
Pretty Filthy is in development through a commission from the Center Theatre Group
Center Theatre Group
Center Theatre Group is a non-profit arts organization located in Los Angeles, California. It is one of the largest theatre companies in the nation, programming subscription seasons year-round at the Mark Taper Forum, the Ahmanson Theatre and the Kirk Douglas Theatre...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. Bess Wohl is writing the book, Michael Friedman
Michael Friedman (composer)
Michael Friedman is an American composer and lyricist. He is a founding Associate Artist of The Civilians and an Artistic Associate at New York Theatre Workshop. He received a 2007 Obie award for sustained excellence. His musical Saved earned him a Lucille Lortel Award nomination for Best Musical...
is writing the music and lyrics, and Steven Cosson is directing. Some of the interview material has been performed in cabarets at Joe's Pub
Joe's Pub
Joe's Pub at Public Theater is a nightclub that hosts live performances regularly. The venue, which is a non-profit operation, is located at 425 Lafayette Street near Astor Place in Manhattan, New York City...
in New York and the Kirk Douglas Theatre
Kirk Douglas Theatre
The Kirk Douglas Theatre is located in Culver City, California and in 2004, was acquired by the famed Center Theatre Group. The theatre is the most intimate of the group's three stages and seats 317 patrons at max occupancy.- History :...
in Los Angeles.
List of Associate Artists
- Emily Ackerman
- Ernest Adzentoivich
- Jim Augustine
- Damian Baldet
- Sarah Beers
- Neal Bell
- Quincy Bernstine
- Marsha Stephanie Blake
- Catherine Bloch
- Andy Boroson
- Ian BrennanIan BrennanIan G. Brennan is the official sculptor to the Most Noble Order of the Garter and Honourable Order of the Bath. Brennan has received over ninety-five commissions for the Royal Household, these include over seventy-five carved and painted crowns, coronets and crests. Those of the Garter knights...
- Lucrecia Briceño
- Kate Buddeke
- Aysan Çelik
- Andromache Chalfant
- Jocelyn Clarke
- Matthew Dellapina
- Terence Dale
- Maria Dizzia
- Alexander Dodge
- Marcus Doshi
- Thomas Dunn
- Michael Esper
- Gibson Frazier
- Lexy Fridell
- Michael FriedmanMichael Friedman (composer)Michael Friedman is an American composer and lyricist. He is a founding Associate Artist of The Civilians and an Artistic Associate at New York Theatre Workshop. He received a 2007 Obie award for sustained excellence. His musical Saved earned him a Lucille Lortel Award nomination for Best Musical...
- Jordan Harrison
- Brad Heberlee
- Daoud Heidami
- Nina Hellman
- Richard Huntley
- Takeshi Kata
- Abigail Katz
- Anne Kauffman
- Karinne Keithley
- Christina Kirk
- Alix Lambert
- Jim Lewis
- Trey Lyford
- Matthew MaherMatthew MaherMatthew Maher was an American soccer defender.-Youth:Maher grew up in Cape May, New Jersey, playing youth soccer with the Cape Express Soccer Club. He attended Middle Township High School where he was First Team All-South Jersey and Third Team All-State his junior year having tallied thirty-two...
- Melanie Marnich
- Brandon Miller
- Caitlin Miller
- Jennifer R. Morris
- Josh NeufeldJosh NeufeldJosh Neufeld is an alternative cartoonist known for his nonfiction comics on subjects like Hurricane Katrina, international travel, and finance, as well as his collaborations with writers like Harvey Pekar and Brooke Gladstone...
- Stephen Plunkett
- Michael Premo
- Shane Rettig
- KJ Sanchez
- Jenny Schwartz
- Jeanine Serralles
- Brian Sgambati
- Jeremy Shamos
- Robert Signom III
- Robbie Sublett
- Louisa Thompson
- Kenneth Travis
- Anne Washburn
- Les WatersLes WatersLes Waters is a notable British theatre director. He has served as associate artistic director of Berkeley Repertory Theatre for the last six years.-Career:...
- Alison Weller
- Colleen Werthmann
- Sam Wright
Awards and recognition
The Civilians has received a number of accolades for their works. The company received The OBIE GrantObie Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City...
in 2004, The Edinburgh Fringe Festival Fringe First Award in 2006 for (I am) Nobody’s Lunch, and was nominated for Drama Desk, Drama League, and Lucille Lortel awards for This Beautiful City in 2009.
The company has been reviewed positively by such publications as Time Out: New York, The Village Voice, The New York Times, and many others.
Publications
- (I am) Nobody's Lunch/Gone Missing (Oberon Modern Plays, 2007) ISBN 978-1840026931
- The Civilians: An Anthology of Six Plays (Playscripts, Inc.Playscripts, Inc.Playscripts, Inc. is a New York City-based publisher of new plays and musicals, founded by brothers and playwrights Doug and Jonathan Rand. Included in the exclusive Playscripts catalog are over 1,600 plays and musicals by over 800 authors....
, 2009) ISBN 978-0-9819099-0-5 - Gone Missing: Off-Broadway Premiere Recording (Ghostlight Records, 2008)