Theater of All Possibilities

Last updated

Theater of All Possibilities (TOAP), [1] was an artistic practice network and touring theater founded in 1967 by John Allen, Kathelin Gray and Marie Harding in San Francisco, California, United States. [2] The group worked with collaborators from the sciences, technology, history, and ecology, with the Institute of Ecotechnics as a partner organization on many projects.

Contents

History

The Theater of All Possibilities network was based at Synergia Ranch near Santa Fe, New Mexico, [3] [4] [5] from 1969–1980 and again from 2000–2010. Other studios within the network included: Studio 3, the Blue Planet Ensemble, based on the Research Vessel Heraclitus; Studio 6, based at the October Gallery in London; Studio 7, based at the Naga Theatre at the Hotel Vajra in Kathmandu; and Studio 10, which operated until 1994 at the Biosphere 2 laboratory in Oracle, Arizona. [6]

An ensemble from the Theater of All Possibilities toured domestically and internationally from 1968 to 1989. A 1972 18-month world tour by the ensemble Caravan from Dramaturgia included a performance at Ellen Stewart's La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in the East Village, Manhattan, New York City. The Caravan from Dramaturgia presented two pieces at La MaMa, Tamarand and The Caravan, on October 4, 5, 6, and 7. A promotional flyer for the production reads: "Every day we make up and wipe out our sets." [7]

Theater of All Possibilities extended their practice into contributing to the founding of multiple ecological and cultural demonstration and performance projects. These projects included performances in the Australian Outback, the Peruvian Amazon, and the sacred forest in Osogbo, as well as traditional theater spaces.[ citation needed ]

The network was formally disbanded in 2009–2010.[ citation needed ]

Allen and Gray subsequently formed the performance research initiative Theatre for the Reconstitution of Reality (THEATRRR), also based in New Mexico.[ citation needed ] The Spaceship Earth (film) (2020) documentary featured the Theater of All Possibilities. [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biosphere 2</span> Artificial closed ecological system located in Oracle, Arizona

Biosphere 2 is an American Earth system science research facility located in Oracle, Arizona. Its mission is to serve as a center for research, outreach, teaching, and lifelong learning about Earth, its living systems, and its place in the universe. It is a 3.14-acre (1.27-hectare) structure originally built to be an artificial, materially closed ecological system, or vivarium. It remains the largest closed ecological system ever created.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeremy Gable</span> British-born American playwright and game designer

Jeremy Joseph Gable is a British-born American playwright and game designer living in Philadelphia.

The Neo-Futurists are an experimental theater troupe founded by Greg Allen in 1988, based on an aesthetics of honesty, speed and brevity. Neo-Futurist theatre was inspired in part by the Italian Futurist movement from the early 20th century. Originating in Chicago, branches of the Neo-Futurists also exist in New York City, San Francisco, and London.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Patrick Kelly</span> American actor

David Patrick Kelly is an American actor, musician and lyricist who has appeared in numerous films and television series. He is best known for his role as the main antagonist Luther in the cult film The Warriors (1979). Kelly is also known for his collaborations with Spike Lee, in the films Malcolm X (1992), Crooklyn (1994), and Chi-Raq (2015), and with David Lynch, appearing in Wild at Heart (1990) as well as Twin Peaks (1990–91) and its 2017 revival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance</span> Performing arts program at the University of Michigan

The University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance is an undergraduate and graduate institution for the performing arts in the United States. It is part of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. The school was founded in 1880 after Henry Simmons Frieze, founder and president of the Choral Union and the University Musical Society, urged leaders to include music among the school's offerings. The college was known then as the Ann Arbor School of Music. It was later incorporated into the University of Michigan with Calvin Brainerd Cady joining the faculty as the first instructor in music, after already being hired by Frieze to conduct the Choral Union.

<i>Ma Raineys Black Bottom</i> 1982 play by August Wilson

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is a 1982 play – one of the ten-play Century Cycle by August Wilson – that chronicles the 20th-century African-American experience. The play is set in a recording studio in 1920s Chicago, and deals with issues of race, art, religion, and the historic exploitation of Black recording artists by white producers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caravan of Dreams</span> Performing arts center

Caravan of Dreams was a performing arts center in the central business district of Fort Worth, Texas during the 1980s and 1990s. The venue was best known locally as a live music nightclub, though this was only one part of a larger facility. The center also included a multitrack recording studio, a 212-seat theater, two dance studios, and a rooftop garden. The center was at 312 Houston Street, and prefigured the redevelopment of Sundance Square into a dining and entertainment district. Billionaire oil heir Ed Bass, whose family has participated in much of the redevelopment of downtown Fort Worth, financed the project, and Kathelin Hoffman served as its artistic director. The facility consisted of new construction behind two facades from the 1880s.

Saviana Stănescu is a Romanian-American award-winning playwright, ARTivist, and poet based in Ithaca, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Cincinnati – College-Conservatory of Music</span>

The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) is a performing and media arts college of the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio. Initially established as the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music in 1867, CCM is one of the oldest continually operating conservatories in the US.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John P. Allen</span> American systems ecologist

John Polk Allen is a systems ecologist, engineer, metallurgist, adventurer, and writer. Allen is a proponent of the science of biospherics and a pioneer in sustainable co-evolutionary development. He is the founder of Synergia Ranch, and is best known as the inventor and director of research of Biosphere 2, the world's largest vivarium and research facility to study global ecology. Biosphere 2 set multiple records in closed ecological systems work, including degree of sealing tightness, 100% waste and water recycle, and duration of human residence within a closed system. He is also involved with forestry and reforestation in Puerto Rico where he owns a 1000 acre Mahogany tree farm at Patillas.

Geeta Citygirl is an actress, dancer, director, producer and the founder and artistic director of SALAAM, the first South Asian American theatre, arts and film company in the USA. Based in New York City, the theatre company was started in the year 2000. SALAAM Theatre and Geeta Citygirl received the SAMA Award for Excellence in Theater in June 2005. She currently serves as the Artistic Director of SALAAM Theatre and is active on advisory boards as well as board member for several arts organizations.

Habib Azar is an American film, theater and television director based in New York City. He married his wife, Carla Azar, in 2011, and has two children.

The Carpe Diem String Quartet was founded in 2005 and is a classical string quartet based in Columbus, Ohio. The quartet's repertoire ranges from classical to contemporary chamber music. They regularly perform the works of contemporaries like Reza Vali, Richard Danielpour, Jonathan Leshnoff as well as other renowned classical performers including Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven and Felix Mendelssohn. Carpe Diem performs and tours regularly, in the United States, Canada, Japan, China, and Europe. The quartet is a strong proponent for the overlooked Russian composer Sergei Taneyev, and recorded his nine (9) string quartets, as well as his viola quintet, all for the Naxos label. The quartet regularly performs and collaborates with non-classical artists, including Willy Porter and Jayme Stone. A few of the outstanding artists with whom the quartet has played include Yo-Yo Ma, David Krakuaer, Raul Juarena, and Richard Stoltzman.

Synergia Ranch is an ecovillage founded in 1969 by John P. Allen, the inventor of Biosphere 2 and Marie Harding, its present manager. It is located in Santa Fe County, New Mexico, 15 miles south of the city of Santa Fe. Synergia Ranch operates as a private retreat and workshop center for small groups.

Hanay Geiogamah is a Native American playwright, television and movie producer, and artistic director. He is a professor in the school of theater, film, and television at the University of California, Los Angeles. He also served as the director of the UCLA American Indian Studies Center from 2002 to 2009. Geiogamah was born in Oklahoma and is Kiowa and a Delaware Nation descendant. He is a widely known Native American playwright and one of the few Native American producers of both television and film in Hollywood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Nelson (scientist)</span> American ecologist and original crew member of Biosphere 2

Mark Nelson is an American ecologist and author based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. His research focuses on closed ecological system research, ecological engineering, restoration of damaged ecosystems, and wastewater recycling. The founding director of the Institute of Ecotechnics in 1973, Nelson was one of the eight original crew members of Biosphere 2 in 1991 and served as the Director of Earth and Space Applications for the project until 1994.

Kathelin Gray is an American director, writer and curator working across many forms. She has co-founded numerous projects which integrate ecology, science and culture. She writes and speaks on the intersection of art and the sciences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Institute of Ecotechnics</span> Educational, training, and research charity

The Institute of Ecotechnics is an educational, training and research charity with a special interest in ecotechnology, the environment, conservation, and heritage. With its U.K. headquarters in London, England and its U.S. affiliate in Santa Fe, NM, the institute was founded to "develop and practice the discipline of ecotechnics: the ecology of technics, and the technics of ecology."

Rina Yerushalmi is an Israeli theater director and choreographer. Yerushalmi received an honorary doctorate from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in 2001 and the Israel Prize in Theatre in 2008, among other awards and recognition.

Aarohan Theatre Group is a theatre group in Nepal. It produces shows incorporating various cultures, religions and rituals of Nepal. The group has produced 15 TV shows for Nepal Television and produced various radio dramas. One of the radio drama was 136 episodes long. The group has performed its plays in India, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Russia, South Korea, Thailand, Norway, Denmark and United States. It has two theater halls in its Biratnagar premise.

References

  1. Caruso, Steve (1978-08-18). "Theater of All Possibilities, If Your Taste Is Off-Beat..." Contra Costa Times . p. 30. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  2. Broad, William J. (1991-09-24). "As Biosphere Is Sealed, Its Patron Reflects on Life". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  3. "Theatre of All Possibilities Performing 'Faust' in Old Town". Albuquerque Journal . 1971-01-31. p. 26. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  4. Waugh, John C. (1970-08-15). "New Mexico Method: Communal Life For Actors". The Los Angeles Times . p. 27. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  5. Glazer, Fred (1970-04-26). "Theater of All Possibilities Opens South of SF on May 1". The Santa Fe New Mexican . p. 26. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  6. Reider, Rebecca (2009). Dreaming the Biosphere: The Theater of All Possibilities. University of New Mexico Press. ISBN   978-0826346735.
  7. La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, La MaMa's Digital Collections, "Promotional Flyer: 'Tamarand' and 'The Caravan' (1972)".
  8. Knibbs, Kate. "Spaceship Earth and the Value of Utopian Thinking". Wired. ISSN   1059-1028 . Retrieved 2023-02-08.