The Road Company
Encyclopedia
The Road Company was an improvisation
al touring theater company, based in Johnson City, Tennessee
, and active from 1972-1998. Robert H. Leonard, the founder and artistic director
of the Road Company originally envisioned it as a political theater presenting an alternative historical and political vision of the American Bicentennial.
Under Leonard's leadership from 1972-1998, The Road Company ensemble created more than two dozen original plays reflecting the history, culture, and concerns of the Upper Tennessee Valley and Central Appalachia. These plays include: Mountain Whispers, The Flying Lemon Cirque, Horsepower, Blind Desire, and Echoes & Postcards.
He also co-authored the book, Performing Communities: Grassroots Ensemble Theaters Deeply Rooted in Eight U.S. Communities published by New Village Press
.
Improvisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
al touring theater company, based in Johnson City, Tennessee
Johnson City, Tennessee
Johnson City is a city in Carter, Sullivan, and Washington counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, with most of the city being in Washington County...
, and active from 1972-1998. Robert H. Leonard, the founder and artistic director
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...
of the Road Company originally envisioned it as a political theater presenting an alternative historical and political vision of the American Bicentennial.
Under Leonard's leadership from 1972-1998, The Road Company ensemble created more than two dozen original plays reflecting the history, culture, and concerns of the Upper Tennessee Valley and Central Appalachia. These plays include: Mountain Whispers, The Flying Lemon Cirque, Horsepower, Blind Desire, and Echoes & Postcards.
Robert H. Leonard
An arts organizer with a career-long commitment to the development of strong networks of community-based professional performing organizations, Leonard is a founding member of Alternate ROOTS, and the Network of Ensemble Theaters. He is co-director of the Community Arts Network (CAN), an information and communication resource for the field of community art. Leonard is a trainer/consultant with the CAPP Resources for Social Change Institute, organized and implemented by Alternate ROOTS. Leonard is currently on the board of directors of the Theatre Communications Group, the national service organization for professional, not-for-profit theater.He also co-authored the book, Performing Communities: Grassroots Ensemble Theaters Deeply Rooted in Eight U.S. Communities published by New Village Press
New Village Press
New Village Press is a not-for-profit book publisher based in Oakland, CA. It is a national publishing project of Architects/ Designers/ Planners for Social Responsibility ADPSR, an educational non-profit organization founded in 1982...
.