The Margolis Brown Adaptors Company (MBAC) is an internationally touring

physical theatre Physical theatre is a genre of theatrical performance that encompasses storytelling primarily through physical movement. Although several performance theatre disciplines are often described as "physical theatre," the genre's characteristic aspe ...

company that also houses the Margolis Method Training Center now located in Highland, New York. It was established in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in 1984 by Kari Margolis and Tony Brown. As co-artistic directors, Margolis and Brown have thus far co-authored, directed, and sometimes performed in 16 full-length theatrical productions, as well as numerous site-specific works at such places as the

Brooklyn Museum The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum located in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 1.5 million objects. Located near the Prospect Heights, Crown H ...

Coney Island Coney Island is a peninsular neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach and Manhattan Beach, Brooklyn, Manhattan Beach to its east, L ...

, and the historic

John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge The John A. Roebling Suspension Bridge (formerly the Cincinnati-Covington Bridge) is a suspension bridge that spans the Ohio River between Cincinnati, Ohio, and Covington, Kentucky. When opened on December 1, 1866, it was the longest suspension ...

on the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...

. The MBAC were artists in residence at the Brooklyn Arts and Culture Association (BACA) in New York City from 1985 to 1990. In 1987 they established an independent performance space and

multimedia Multimedia is a form of communication that uses a combination of different content forms such as text, audio, images, animations, or video into a single interactive presentation, in contrast to tradition ...

center in Brooklyn and mounted four original productions there. The company has toured nationally and internationally to Barcelona, Berlin, London, Singapore and throughout Canada and Mexico. The company relocated to

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, Minnesota, in 1993. There they continued to create and produce multimedia theater productions and trained actors in the Margolis Method for over 12 years. MBAC established an international training center in

Sullivan County, New York Sullivan County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 78,624. The county seat is Monticello. The county's name honors Major General John Sullivan, who was labeled at the time as a hero in the Am ...

in 2005 and divide their time between New York and Minneapolis. From 2005 thru 2010 the Company divided its time between both sites. In 2011, the Company and Training Center have moved all operations to the Highland NY site.

Performances

MBAC theatrical productions are collaboratively written original performance works produced by the company. Productions are characterized by frequent utilization of multimedia and sparse text, thereby relying on unconventional means of dramatic conveyance. Examples of those alternative dramatic vehicles are projected images, prerecorded or live sound, or an actor's physicality. In addition, the actors often appear in non-representational dramatic situations.

Performance History

::*''Autobahn'' - 1985, BACA, Brooklyn, NY ::*''The Bed Experiment'' - 1987, BACA, Brooklyn, NY ::*''Decodance'' - 1988, BACA, Brooklyn, NY ::*''In Search of Planet Eden or Sodom by the Sea'' - 1989,

, Brooklyn, NY ::*''Suite Sixteen'' - 1990, BACA, Brooklyn, NY ::*''The Dilemma of Desmodus & Dyphilla'' - 1991, Arts Awareness, Lexington, NY ::*''Koppelvision'' - 1992, St Clement's Church, New York, NY ::*''Cafe Paradise'' - 1993, Second Story Theatre, Brooklyn, NY ::*''Vidpires'' - 1995, The Southern Theater, Minneapolis, MN ::*''Vanishing Point'' - 1996, The Southern Theater, Minneapolis, MN ::*''The Time of Your Life'' - 1998, Minnesota Science Museum, Saint Paul, MN ::*''Starry Messenger'' - 1999,

Children's Theatre Company The Children's Theatre Company is a regional theater established in 1965 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, specializing in plays for families, young audiences and the very young. The theater is the largest theater for multigenerational audiences in th ...

, Minneapolis, MN ::*''American Safari'' - 2000, The Red Eye Theater, Minneapolis, MN ::*''Sleepwalkers'' - 2002, O'Shaugnessy Auditorium, St Paul, MN ::*''The Human Show'' - 2005, Intermedia Arts, Minneapolis, MN ::*''Cyclopedia'' - 2008, Illusion Theatre, Minneapolis, MN; Just Off Broadway Theater, Kansas City, MO;

Baltimore Theatre Project The Baltimore Theatre Project is a performing arts center located at 45 Preston Street (Baltimore), West Preston Street in Baltimore, Maryland. Early years The Baltimore Theatre Project was founded in 1971 by Philip Arnoult as an appendage to Ant ...

, Baltimore, MD ::*''In Search of Tonto Blue'' - 2010, 7 Stages, Atlanta, GA;

, Baltimore, MD; Illusion Theatre, Minneapolis, MN

Margolis Method

Margolis has developed a physically based approach to performance called the ''Margolis Method.'' The method, along with 25 years of personal research, takes inspiration from the research of such artists as Etienne Decroux,

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 ...

, and

Jerzy Grotowski Jerzy Marian Grotowski (; 11 August 1933 – 14 January 1999) was a Polish theatre director and theorist whose innovative approaches to acting, training and theatrical production have significantly influenced theatre today. He was born in Rzesz ...

. The method's goal is to analyze and focus the dramatic force and emotion created by an actor's physicality to further the creative and expressive process. It seeks to empower the actor to work simultaneously as a director, playwright and performer. The Margolis Method was developed in response to what Margolis saw as a fragmented and ineffective way of teaching actors in America. Pedagogically, Margolis rejected the notion that actor training could be broken down into separate contexts (''i.e.'': stage "voice" and "movement" classes) and instead suggested that all aspects of actor training are inextricably linked. Rather than focusing primarily on establishing character through developing the character's psychological motivations and emotional states, Margolis sought ways to approach drama and character from a physical perspective as well. To accomplish this, Margolis Method focuses on theatrical notions like conflict, timing, and neutrality and employs concepts borrowed from physics, such as inertia, lines of force and density (as well as concrete manifestations of these principles, such as: pendulums, pulleys and elastics).

Residency and Workshop Sites

* Master teacher for

Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) is a national theatre program dedicated to the improvement of collegiate theatre in the United States. Focused on the celebration of diverse and exciting theatre, KCACTF involves student ...

(2000 -2010) ::* Master teacher for Phoenix Fringe Festival,

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...

::*

Millikin University Millikin University is a private university in Decatur, Illinois. It was founded in 1901 by prominent Decatur businessman James Millikin and is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Media Decaturian The ''Decaturian'', also known as ...

::* Master Teacher for Rocky Mountain Theatre Association Festival ::* Association of Professional Actors and Directors of Catalunya,

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

(2010, 2008, 2006) ::*

Towson University Towson University (TU or Towson) is a public university in Towson, Maryland. Founded in 1866 as Maryland's first training school for teachers, Towson University is a part of the University System of Maryland. Since its founding, the university h ...

MFA Program ::*

University of Maryland, Baltimore County The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is a public research university in Baltimore County, Maryland. It has a fall 2022 enrollment of 13,991 students, 61 undergraduate majors, over 92 graduate programs (38 master, 25 doctoral, ...

::* The University of Missouri Kansas City ::* Master Teacher Cos ’06 International Theatre Festival, Reus, Spain ::*

University of Nevada Las Vegas The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes the ...

::* Luther College, ::* Saint Mary's University, Winona, MN ::* Ringling Brothers Clown College, WI ::* Theatre Mu, Minneapolis, MN ::*

George Mason University George Mason University (George Mason, Mason, or GMU) is a public research university in Fairfax County, Virginia with an independent City of Fairfax, Virginia postal address in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. The university was origin ...

::*

Montclair State University Montclair State University (MSU) is a Public university, public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Little Falls, New Jersey, Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, ...

::* Viterbo University, La Crosse, WI ::* University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point

References

Other Sources

::Barnes, C. “Autobahn: Life in The Fast Lane,” ''New York Post'' December 26, 1986 :: Kriegsman, Alan M. , “Bed Experiment,” ''Washington Post'' November 16, 1987 ::Keating, D. , "Living Poetry, With More Appeal in Expression than Message," ''Philadelphia Inquirer'' June 4, 1993 ::Steele, M. , “Vidpires: A Deftly Done Look at Pop Culture,” ''Minneapolis Star Tribune'' March 24, 1998 ::Sparber, M. , "Lost in America," ''City Pages'' December 6, 2000 ::Potter, N., ed. (2002) ‘’Movement for Actors’’ pp. 173-186 New York: Allworth Press

External links

- Margolis Brown ADAPTORS official website- Margolis Method Center official website
{{authority control Theatre companies in New York (state) Drama schools in the United States Physical theatre Mimes American multimedia artists