theater
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...
company located in
Houston, Texas
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
, formed in 1993 and dissolved in 2007. IBP garnered national attention when it was featured on the cover of
American Theatre
Theater in the United States is part of the old European theatrical tradition and has been heavily influenced by the British theater. The central hub of the American theater scene is Manhattan, with its divisions of Broadway, Off-Broadway, and ...
in September, 2002, for its original play, ''We Have Some Planes'', by Brian Jucha, about the events of September 11. The theater's name is taken from a line in one of its first productions, ''In the Jungle of Cities'' by
Bertolt Brecht
Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...
. The line reads, "In my dreams I call him my infernal bridegroom." IBP produced over 60 plays, many of them world premieres.
About the company
The
Houston Theater District
The Houston Theater District, a 17-block area in the heart of Downtown Houston, Texas, United States, is home to Houston's nine professional performing arts organizations, the Bayou Place entertainment complex, restaurants, movies, plazas, and ...
is the second largest in the United States, after New York, New York, boasting theaters of all sizes, from the
LORT
The League of Resident Theatres (LORT) is the largest professional theater association of its kind in the United States, with 75 member theaters located in every major market in the U.S., including 29 states and the District of Columbia. LORT me ...
Stages Repertory Theatre
Stages (Houston) is a theatre company in the city of Houston, Texas formerly known as Stages Repertory Theatre. It produces performances at The Gordy, the company's three-stage venue that opened in 2020 in Houston's Montrose, Houston, Montrose neig ...
and
Main Street Theater Main Street Theater is a theatre company in the city of Houston, Texas. It consistently produces a repertoire of classic and contemporary plays, and its seasons generally run throughout the entire year.
History
Main Street was the first of several ...
, and small nomadic theaters such a Mildred's Umbrella
Infernal Bridegroom Productions ceased operations in July 2007 due to insurmountable financial difficulties.
Founded in 1993 by Jason Nodler and Jim Parsons, IBP produced 68 plays and was recognized locally and nationally for its provocative new work, its talented ensemble and its success in attracting non-traditional audiences. Nodler was artistic director until 2003 when he left to travel the country. Associate artistic director Anthony Barilla became artistic director until moving out of the country in 2007. Nodler returned to Houston to found The Catastrophic Theatre with Tamarie Cooper later in that year.
The company's 2006 world premiere rock opera '' Speeding Motorcycle'', created in collaboration with acclaimed artist and songwriter Daniel Johnston, received favorable coverage in
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
,{{Cite news, url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/14/arts/music/14spee.html, title=Infernal Bridegroom Has a Hit with 'Speeding Motorcycle', newspaper=The New York Times, date=14 June 2006, last1=Murphy, first1=Kate
Art in America
''Art in America'' is an illustrated monthly, international magazine concentrating on the contemporary art world in the United States, including profiles of artists and genres, updates about art movements, show reviews and event schedules. It i ...
Stage Directions
In theatre, blocking is the precise staging of actors to facilitate the performance of a play, ballet, film or opera. Historically, the expectations of staging/blocking have changed substantially over time in Western theater. Prior to the movemen ...
and the
Dallas Morning News
''The Dallas Morning News'' is a daily newspaper serving the Dallas–Fort Worth area of Texas, with an average print circulation of 65,369. It was founded on October 1, 1885 by Alfred Horatio Belo as a satellite publication of the ''Galvesto ...
.
IBP appeared regularly in the annual Houston Press "Best of Houston" issue, receiving awards for Best Theater Company, New Play, Original Show, Director, Actor, Actress, Set Design, Light Design, Costume Design, Special Effects, Christmas Show and Rock and Roll Theater. And the
Houston Chronicle
The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...
called IBP Houston's best experimental theater.
IBP enjoyed a large and loyal audience as well as regularly attracting out-of-towners that travelled to Houston specifically to see the company's work.
The company was acclaimed for its productions of rarely produced plays by
Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic expe ...
,
Eugène Ionesco
Eugène Ionesco (; born Eugen Ionescu, ; 26 November 1909 – 28 March 1994) was a Romanian-French playwright who wrote mostly in French, and was one of the foremost figures of the French avant-garde theatre in the 20th century. Ionesco inst ...
,
Bertolt Brecht
Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...
,
Georg Büchner
Karl Georg Büchner (17 October 1813 – 19 February 1837) was a German dramatist and writer of poetry and prose, considered part of the Young Germany movement. He was also a revolutionary and the brother of physician and philosopher Ludwig Büchn ...
,
Jean Genet
Jean Genet (; – ) was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. In his early life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later became a writer and playwright. His major works include the novels ''The Thief's ...
,
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...
Sarah Kane
Sarah Kane (3 February 1971 – 20 February 1999) was an English playwright, screenwriter and theatre director. She is known for her plays that deal with themes of redemptive love, sexual desire, pain, torture—both physical and psychological ...
Mac Wellman
Mac Wellman, born John McDowell Wellman on March 7, 1945, in Cleveland, Ohio, is an American playwright, author, and poet.Bernard-Marie Koltès. IBP also attracted national attention for the theatrical premiere of A Soap Opera by Ray Davies and The Kinks and was lauded for its hit production of Broadway musical Guys and Dolls.
But IBP was perhaps best known for the new work it created. Highlights included ''Fucking A'', commissioned by IBP and DiverseWorks Artspace and written and directed by
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
winner Suzan-Lori Parks; ''We Have Some Planes'' and ''Last Rites'', conceived and directed by renowned theater artist Brian Jucha; ''Hide Town'', commissioned by the NEA and TCG and written by Lisa D'Amour; ''Speeding Motorcycle'', commissioned by the
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...
and conceived and directed by IBP founding artistic director
Jason Nodler
Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He was ...
in collaboration with Daniel Johnston and the IBP company; Nodler's original plays ''In the Under Thunderloo'', ''King Ubu is King'' and ''Meatbar''; company member
Troy Schulze
Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Çan ...
's ''Me-sci-ah'', ''Jerry's World'' (adapted from the radio shows of cult figure Joe Frank) and ''Actual Air'' (adapted from the poetry and music of Silver Jews frontman David Berman); founding company member Tamarie Cooper's ''20 Love Songs'' and the wildly popular ''Tamalalia'' series created and directed by Cooper.
Although IBP was in residence at the legendary punk club The Axiom for five years, it spent nine years as a homeless company, performing in warehouses, bars, restaurants, aboard a moving school bus, in an abandoned outdoor shopping center and occasionally in traditional theater spaces such as Stages Repertory Theatre and DiverseWorks.
Music composed and recorded by IBP's resident orchestra, under the direction of former artistic director Anthony Barilla, has enjoyed regular radio play on college stations around the country and on NPR's '' This American Life''. The orchestra also recorded original music for IBP.
Plays performed
1993
* ''In the Under Thunderloo'' (World Premiere) by
Jason Nodler
Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He was ...
1994
* ''In the Jungle of Cities'' by
Bertolt Brecht
Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...
* ''Rhinoceros'' by
Eugène Ionesco
Eugène Ionesco (; born Eugen Ionescu, ; 26 November 1909 – 28 March 1994) was a Romanian-French playwright who wrote mostly in French, and was one of the foremost figures of the French avant-garde theatre in the 20th century. Ionesco inst ...
Jean Genet
Jean Genet (; – ) was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. In his early life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later became a writer and playwright. His major works include the novels ''The Thief's ...
* ''
Endgame
Endgame, Endgames, End Game, End Games, or similar variations may refer to:
Film
* ''The End of the Game'' (1919 film)
* ''The End of the Game'' (1975 film), short documentary U.S. film
* ''Endgame'' (1983 film), 1983 Italian post-apocalyptic f ...
'' by
Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic expe ...
Othello
''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...
The Future is in Eggs
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in E ...
'' by
Eugène Ionesco
Eugène Ionesco (; born Eugen Ionescu, ; 26 November 1909 – 28 March 1994) was a Romanian-French playwright who wrote mostly in French, and was one of the foremost figures of the French avant-garde theatre in the 20th century. Ionesco inst ...
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...
Camino Real
Camino may refer to:
Places
*Camino, California, United States, a census-designated place
*Camino, Piedmont, Italy, a town
*Camino, Veneto, Italy, a town
People
*Jaime Camino (1936–2015), Spanish film director and screenwriter
*Renae Camino ...
Threepenny Opera
''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a "play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, ''The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François Villon, with music b ...
'' by
Bertolt Brecht
Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...
/
Kurt Weill
Kurt Julian Weill (March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for his fru ...
* ''In The Jungle of Cities'' by Bertolt Brecht
* ''Tamalalia 3: The Cocktail Party'' (World Premiere) by Tamarie Cooper
* ''Harm's Way'' by
Mac Wellman
Mac Wellman, born John McDowell Wellman on March 7, 1945, in Cleveland, Ohio, is an American playwright, author, and poet.Wallace Shawn
* ''Tamalalia 4: The Campout'' (World Premiere) by Tamarie Cooper
* ''Roberto Zucco'' by Bernard-Marie Koltès
* ''Edmond'' by David Mamet
2000
* ''Fucking A'' (World Premiere) by Suzan-Lori Parks
* ''Tamalalia 2000: The Time Machine'' (World Premiere) by Tamarie Cooper
* ''The Danube'' by Maria Irene Fornes
* '' Happy Days'' by Samuel Beckett
2001
* ''Action and Chicago'' by Sam Shepard
* ''Tamalalia 6'' (World Premiere) by Tamarie Cooper
* ''MUD'' by Maria Irene Fornes
2002
* ''In the Under Thunderloo'' by Jason Nodler
* ''We Have Some Planes'' (World Premiere) by Brian Jucha
* ''Tamalalia 7: The Love Show'' (World Premiere) by Tamarie Cooper
* ''Phaedra's Love'' by
Sarah Kane
Sarah Kane (3 February 1971 – 20 February 1999) was an English playwright, screenwriter and theatre director. She is known for her plays that deal with themes of redemptive love, sexual desire, pain, torture—both physical and psychological ...
* ''Actual Air'' (world premiere) adapted from the poetry of David Berman by Troy Schulze
* ''The Noblest of Drugs'' (World Premiere) by Joel Orr
* ''Meat/BAR'' (World Premiere) by Jason Nodler
* ''Tamalalia 8'' (World Premiere) by Tamarie Cooper
* ''Jerry's World'' (World Premiere) adapted from the radio programs of Joe Frank by Troy Schulze
* ''Rhinoceros'' by Eugène Ionesco
2004
* ''Symphony of Rats'' by Richard Foreman
* ''The Hotel Play'' by Wallace Shawn
* ''Tamalalia 9'' (World Premiere) by Tamarie Cooper
* ''Trappakeepa & Girth And Topical'' by Lindsay Kayser: a co-production with Gypsy Baby Theater
* ''Me-sci-ah'' (World Premiere) by Troy Schulze
* ''BAAL'' by Bertolt Brecht
2005
* ''Me-sci-ah'' (The Second Coming) by Troy Schulze
* '' Medea'' by Euripides, adapted by Charlie Scott
* ''Night Just Before the Forests'' by Bernard-Marie Koltès
* ''Tamalalia X: The Greatest Hits Show'' (World Premiere) by Tamarie Cooper
* ''What You've Done'' by Aaron Landsman: a co-production with DiverseWorks Artspace and
Project Row Houses
Project Row Houses is a development in the Third Ward area of Houston, Texas. Project Row Houses includes a group of shotgun houses restored in the 1990s. Eight houses serve as studios for visiting artists. Those houses are art studios for ar ...
* ''Full Circle'' by
Charles L. Mee
Charles L. Mee (born September 15, 1938) is an American playwright, historian and author known for his collage-like style of playwriting, which makes use of radical reconstructions of found texts. He is also a Special Lecturer of theater at Colu ...
2006
* '' Uncle Vanya'' by Anton Chekhov
* ''Speeding Motorcycle'' by Daniel Johnston, adapted & directed by Jason Nodler
* ''Microscope Maintenance & Repair'' by Lindsay Kayser
* ''Speeding Motorcycle'' by Daniel Johnston, adapted & directed by Jason Nodler (encore)
* ''Hide Town ''by Lisa D'Amour
2007
* ''365 Days/365 Plays'' by Suzan Lori-Parks
* ''20 Love Songs'' (World Premier) by Tamarie Cooper
Awards
2000
* ''Houston Press'': Best Designer: Devlin Browning, for ''Edmond''
* ''Houston Press'': Best Director:
Jason Nodler
Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He was ...
for ''Edmond''
* ''Houston Press'': Best Christmas Show: ''Edmond''
2001
* ''Houston Press'': Best Designer: Steven K. Barnett for ''The Danube''
2002
* ''Houston Press'': Best Director: Brian Jucha for ''We Have Some Planes''
* ''Houston Press'': Best Actress (Readers' Choice): Tamarie Cooper
* ''Houston Press'': Best Actor (Readers' Choice):
Troy Schulze
Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Çan ...
* ''Houston Press'': Best Original Show: ''We Have Some Planes''
2003
* ''Houston Press'': Best Rock and Roll Theater: ''A Soap Opera''
2004
*
Houston Chronicle
The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...
: Best Experimental Theater
* ''Houston Press'': Best Set Design: ''Symphony of Rats''
* ''Houston Press'': Best Original Show: '' Jerry's World''
2005
*
Houston Chronicle
The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...
: Best Rebel with a Cause:
Troy Schulze
Troy ( el, Τροία and Latin: Troia, Hittite: 𒋫𒊒𒄿𒊭 ''Truwiša'') or Ilion ( el, Ίλιον and Latin: Ilium, Hittite: 𒃾𒇻𒊭 ''Wiluša'') was an ancient city located at Hisarlik in present-day Turkey, south-west of Çan ...
* ''Houston Press'': Best Original Show: ''Tamalalia X: The Greatest Hist Show''
* ''Houston Press'': Best Performance Space: The Axiom
* ''Houston Press'': Best Director: Charlie Scott for ''Medea''
* ''Houston Press'': Best Production: ''Medea''
2006
* ''Houston Press'': Best Original Show: ''Speeding Motorcycle''