The Civilians is an investigative theatre company 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 ...

founded in 2001 by Artistic Director,

Steve Cosson Steven Cosson (born August 1968)Tallmer, Jerry"A jewel in the lost and found department,"iVillager (July 12, 2007). is a writer and director specializing in the creation of new theater work inspired by real life. He is the founding Artistic Direc ...

. The Civilians artists pursue their inquiries using interviews, community residencies, research, and other methods. Working with a combination of journalism and art, The Civilians creates theatrical events that seek to promote inquisitions of current issues. 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."Thielman, Sam
“Civilians Take Unique Approach,” ''Variety'' (March 28, 2008).
/ref>

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 The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego is t ...

graduates, as “a breeding ground for new styles of collaboration” Inspiration was taken from the British

Joint Stock Theatre Company The Joint Stock Theatre Company was founded in London 1974 by David Hare, Max Stafford-Clark Paul Kember and David Aukin. The director William Gaskill was also part of the company. It was primarily a company which presented new plays. Joint Stock ...

, 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 goal, the name of the company was derived from a

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

term for those not within the vaudeville community. Since its founding in 2001, The Civilians’ projects have been produced at venues throughout

, including The Public Theater, Joe's Pub,

St. Ann's Warehouse St. Ann's Warehouse is a performing arts institution in Brooklyn, New York City. Formerly the Church of St. Ann and the Holy Trinity on Montague Street, in 1980 the site was converted into a venue for classical music. Initially known as ''Arts a ...

59E59 Theaters 59E59 Theaters is a curated rental venue located in New York City that consists of three theater spaces or stages. It shows both off-Broadway (in Theater A) and off-off-Broadway plays (in Theaters B and C). The complex is owned and operated by ...

, and the Vineyard Theatre, and at theaters nationally, including The Center Theatre Group (at the

Mark Taper Forum The Mark Taper Forum is a 739-seat thrust stage at the Los Angeles Music Center designed by Welton Becket and Associates on the Bunker Hill section of Downtown Los Angeles. Named for real estate developer Mark Taper, the Forum, the neighboring ...

), Studio Theatre, A.R.T., La Jolla Playhouse, HBO's

U.S. Comedy Arts Festival The Comedy Festival, formerly known as the US Comedy Arts Festival, was a comedy festival that ran from 1995 to 2008. The festival included stand-up comedy performances, appearances by the casts of television shows, and has a film component calle ...

, 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 The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

, 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 Dramatists Play Service (also known as The Play Service) is a theatrical-publishing and licensing house, established in 1936 by members of the Dramatists Guild of America and the Society for Authors' Representatives. DPS publishes English-language ...

in 2009, following its inclusion in the publication of ''(I Am) Nobody’s Lunch'' by

Oberon Books Oberon Books is a London-based independent publisher of drama texts and books on theatre. The company publishes around 100 titles per year, many of them plays by new writers. In addition, the list contains a range of titles on theatre studies, act ...

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. Founding Associate Artist Michael Friedman (1975–2017) was the composer and lyricist for ''Canard, Canard, Goose?'', '' Gone Missing'', '' AmNobody's Lunch'', ''

This Beautiful City ''This Beautiful City'' is a 2007 Canadian drama film written, directed, produced, and edited by Ed Gass-Donnelly. It premiered at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival and had a general theatrical release in 2008. The film depicts the l ...

'', ''The Great Immensity'', ''In the Footprint'', ''

Pretty Filthy ''Pretty Filthy'' is a 2015 musical with a book by Bess Wohl and music and lyrics by Michael Friedman developed with director Steve Cosson. The musical is produced by American "investigative" theater company The Civilians. The show is based on Th ...

'', ''

Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play ''Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play'' (stylized ''Mr. Burns, a post-electric play'') is an American black comedy play written by Anne Washburn and featuring music by Michael Friedman. ''Mr. Burns'' tells the story of a group of survivors recalling ...

'', ''Rimbaud in New York'', ''The Abominables'', and co-author of ''Paris Commune''.

Structure

According to The Civilians' website:

Works

''Canard, Canard, Goose?'' (2002)

''Canard, Canard, Goose?'' was the company's first production, premiering in 2002 at HERE Arts Center 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 motion picture that featured Anna Paquin leading geese south in an ultra-light plane."Cote, David
“Reviews: Canard, Canard, Goose?” ''Time Out New York'' (February 7, 2008).
/ref> 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 Anne Washburn is an American playwright. Life Washburn graduated from Reed College and from New York University, with an M.F.A. Her plays have been produced in New York City by Cherry Lane Theatre, Clubbed Thumb, The Civilians, Vineyard Theatre, ...

and directed by Anne Kauffman, both Associate Artists of the company. The play presents the characters of Eva Peron, Imelda Marcos,

Elena Ceausescu Elena may refer to: People * Elena (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name * Joan Ignasi Elena (born 1968), Catalan politician * Francine Elena (born 1986), British poet Geography * Elena (town), a town in Veliko ...

, and Jiang Qing, as well as the artists themselves. It premiered at

Dixon Place Dixon Place is a theater organization in New York City dedicated to the development of works-in-progress from a broad range of performers and artists. It exists to serve the creative needs of artists—emerging, mid-career and established—who a ...

in New York City in 2004.

''Paris Commune'' (2004, 2008)

''Paris Commune'' tells the story of the Parisian uprising of 1871, the first socialist rebellion in Europe. The piece was developed as a part of La Jolla Playhouse’s Page-to-Stage program in 2004,de Poyen, Jennifer
“Rebels with a Cause,” ''San Diego Union-Tribune'' (July 30, 2006).
/ref> 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 The Paris Commune (french: Commune de Paris, ) was a revolutionary government that seized power in Paris, the capital of France, from 18 March to 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard had defended ...

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.

''(I am) Nobody’s Lunch'' (2006)

''(I Am) Nobody's Lunch'' premiered at

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 Performance Space New York, formerly known as Performance Space 122 or P.S. 122, is a non-profitable arts organization founded in 1980 in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan in an abandoned public school building. Origin The former eleme ...

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 (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus ...

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 September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

.” 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.

''Gone Missing'' (2007)

''Gone Missing'' premiered in 2007 at the Barrow Street Theatre 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.

''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 Ensemble. The play is a retelling of the Gilgamesh Epic.

''This Beautiful City'' (2008)

''This Beautiful City'' 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

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

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 Ted Arthur Haggard (; born June 27, 1956) is an American evangelical pastor. Haggard is the founder and former pastor of New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado and is a founder of the Association of Life-Giving Churches. He served as pre ...

, 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 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. They are produced by the League of Off-Broadway Theatre ...

. ''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 Stephen Plunkett (born September 1, 1981) is an American actor. He is best known for his performances in the NBC series, ''Rise,'' and John Magary's '' The Mend,'' which premiered at the 2014 South by Southwest Film Festival.

, and Alison Weller, with music and lyrics by Michael Friedman, and directed by Steve Cosson.''This Beautiful City'' at the Vineyard Theatre website.
/ref>

''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 Yards Pacific Park is a mixed-use commercial and residential development project by Forest City Ratner that will consist of 17 high-rise buildings, under construction in Prospect Heights, adjacent to Downtown Brooklyn, Park Slope, and Fort Greene in ...

Development Project and the quickly changing landscape of

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

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 an account of the parents' marriages and their subsequent divorces. It was directed and co-written by Anne Kauffman, with additional writing credit for Janice Paran 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 Galapagos Art Space was an arts center that moved from Williamsburg to DUMBO in Brooklyn before moving to Detroit, Michigan where planned to operate as Galapagos Detroit. Its status is currently unknown. Robert Elmes founded Galapagos Art Space i ...

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 is the trademark and a set of call letters shared by WNYC (AM) and WNYC-FM, a pair of nonprofit, noncommercial, public radio stations located in New York City. WNYC is owned by New York Public Radio (NYPR), a nonprofit organization that di ...

''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 Center in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, in November 2010, to critical acclaim.Press for In The Footprint
at TheCivilians.org It had its Boston premiere in January 2011 at

Emerson College Emerson College is a private college with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts. It also maintains campuses in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California and Well, Limburg, Netherlands ( Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a ...

's Paramount Center. Civilians artists gathered material about the controversial

development project for several years, interviewing new and old residents,

community activists A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

, developers,

politicians A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, 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'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

''Lyon, Shauna
Top Off-Broadway (And Off-Off-Off-Broadway) Theatre of 2010 (DECEMBER 17, 2010)
/ref> and

Charles Isherwood Charles Isherwood (born 1964/65) is an American theater critic. Education Isherwood is a graduate of Stanford University. Career Isherwood wrote for '' Backstage West'' in Los Angeles. In 1993, he joined the staff of ''Variety'', where he was pr ...

of the ''New York Times''.Isherwood, Charles
"Bright Fodder for Future Revivals" (December 16, 2010)
/ref>

''Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play'' (2012)

"An exploration of how the pop culture of one era might evolve into the mythology of another; "a post-apocalyptic world comforted by ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...

.''" Written by

, music by Michael Friedman, and directed by Steve Cosson.

''The Great Immensity'' (2014)

''The Great Immensity'' is a play with music that addresses the topic of the environment and the future of our planet. The play explores the themes of

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated d ...

, and

extinction Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

in two distinct locations: Barro Colorado Island located in the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...

and the city of

Churchill, Manitoba Churchill is a town in northern Manitoba, Canada, on the west shore of Hudson Bay, roughly from the Manitoba–Nunavut border. It is most famous for the many polar bears that move toward the shore from inland in the autumn, leading to the nickname ...

in arctic Canada. Drawing on interviews with botanists, paleontologists,

climatologists Climatology (from Greek , ''klima'', "place, zone"; and , ''-logia'') or climate science is the scientific study of Earth's climate, typically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of at least 30 years. This modern field of study ...

, indigenous community leaders, wilderness guides, and

trappers Animal trapping, or simply trapping or gin, is the use of a device to remotely catch an animal. Animals may be trapped for a variety of purposes, including food, the fur trade, hunting, pest control, and wildlife management. History Neolithic ...

, ''The Great Immensity'' gives voice to people whose stories make the reality of present crisis tangible and viscerally felt. ''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 is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

with the Princeton Environmental Institute and the Princeton Atelier at the University's

Lewis Center for the Arts Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

on April 17, 2010. The

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.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: An American Li ...

's New Work Now! Festival included a reading of ''The Great Immensity'' on May 12, 2010. ''The Great Immensity'' premiered at the

Kansas City Repertory Theatre Kansas City Repertory Theatre is a professional resident theater company serving the Kansas City metropolitan area, and is the professional theater in residence at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC). The theatre has had four artistic ...

in 2012, and had its New York premiere in April 2014 at The Public Theater. It was reviewed by

for the ''New York Times''.

''Pretty Filthy'' (2015)

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

about

pornography Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults,

. Associate artists in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

and the

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...

talked to directors, performers, and producers about the pornographic movie industry. The "docu-musical" investigates 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'' was developed through a commission from the Center Theatre Group in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Bess Wohl wrote the book, Michael Friedman wrote the music and lyrics, and Steven Cosson directed. Some of the interview material was performed in cabarets at Joe's Pub in New York and the

Kirk Douglas Theatre The Kirk Douglas Theatre is a 317-seat theater located in Culver City, California. Since 2004, it has been operated by the Center Theatre Group. History Built in 1946, as a Streamline Moderne movie palace with a seating capacity of 1,160 (on a s ...

in Los Angeles.

''Another Word for Beauty'' (2016)

A musical about a beauty pageant, but it comes, via the inmates, from inside the women's prison El Buen Pastor in Bogota, Colombia. The show premiered at the Goodman Theatre, with music and lyrics by

Héctor Buitrago Héctor Buitrago is the co-member of the multiple Grammy winning Colombian Latin alternative band Aterciopelados. Buitrago came from a hardcore rock background, heading a group called La Pestilencia, while co-member Andrea Echeverri had been dr ...

, book by José Rivera, and the show was directed by Cosson.

''Rimbaud in New York'' (2016)

Arthur Rimbaud's poems brought to life through song, "interview," and myth. Written and directed by artistic director Steve Cosson, based on poems by Rimbaud, translated by

John Ashbery John Lawrence Ashbery (July 28, 1927 – September 3, 2017) was an American poet and art critic. Ashbery is considered the most influential American poet of his time. Oxford University literary critic John Bayley wrote that Ashbery "sounded, in ...

. Music by, among others, Michael Friedman,

Joseph Keckler Joseph Keckler is an American singer, musician, performing artist and writer. He writes and performs both absurdist operatic monologues and eerie, emotive ballads. He has also created videos and has authored numerous evening-length performance ...

, and

Grace McLean Grace McLean is an American actress, playwright, composer and singer. She is known for her roles in various off-Broadway and Broadway productions such as ''Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812'', '' Bedbugs'', ''Alice by Heart'', and '' In ...

''The Undertaking'' (2016)

"The documentary troupe the Civilians presents this piece exploring mortality and the concept of the land of the dead...." Written and directed by Steve Cosson.

''The Abominables'' (2017)

"Minnesota's first hockey musical" that also features a yeti. The Civilians' first children's production, commissioned and developed through a partnership with the

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 ...

. Written and directed by Steve Cosson. Music and lyrics by Michael Friedman (who died six days before the show premiered).

''Paul Swan is Dead and Gone'' (2019)

A tribute to gay camp icon

Paul Swan Paul Swan (Lakota: Maǧáska, 1838? – September 30, 1900) was a prominent Minneconjou Lakota headman on the Cheyenne River Reservation. Early life Born about 1838, he was the son of the influential headman Chief White Swan, one of six hereditar ...

, written by his great grand niece, playwright Claire Kiechel. Directed by Steve Cosson, choreography by Dan Safer, music by Avi A. Amon.

Awards and recognition

The Civilians has received a number of accolades for their works. The company received The OBIE Grant in 2004, The

Fringe First Award in 2006Eaton, Andrew
“Equals Among Firsts,” ''The Scotsman'' (August 11, 2006).
/ref> for ''(I am) Nobody’s Lunch'', and was nominated for Drama Desk,
Drama League,Broadwayworld.com
2008-2009 75th Annual Drama League Nominations Announced
April 21, 2009 and Lucille Lortel awards for ''This Beautiful City'' in 2009.Lucille Lortel Nominees 2009
The company has been reviewed positively by such publications as ''Time Out: New York'',Cote, David

/ref> ''The Village Voice'',Ng, David
Land of the Lost (Jul 3 2007)
/ref> ''The New York Times'',Soloski, Alexis

/ref> and many others.

Publications

* ''(I am) Nobody's Lunch/Gone Missing'' (Oberon Modern Plays, 2007) * ''Gone Missing: Off-Broadway Premiere Recording'' (Ghostlight Records, 2008) * ''The Civilians: An Anthology of Six Plays'' (Playscripts, Inc., 2009)

List of Associate Artists

* Emily Ackerman * Ernest Adzentoivich * Jim Augustine * Damian Baldet * Sarah Beers *

Neal Bell Neal Bell is an American playwright and screenwriter. Bell has written such plays as the thriller ''Two Small Bodies'', as well as co-writing the screenplay for the ''Two Small Bodies ''Two Small Bodies'' is a 1993 thriller directed by Beth ...

* Quincy Bernstine * Marsha Stephanie Blake * Catherine Bloch * Andy Boroson * Ian Brennan * 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 Friedman *

Jordan Harrison Jordan Harrison (born 1977) is a playwright. He grew up on Bainbridge Island, Washington. His play ''Marjorie Prime'' was a finalist for the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Biography Harrison received a B.A. from Stanford University in 1999 a ...

* Brad Heberlee * Daoud Heidami * Nina Hellman * Richard Huntley *

Daniel Jenkins Daniel H. Jenkins (born January 17, 1963) is an American actor, best known for his stage work on Broadway, including his 1985 role as Huckleberry Finn in Roger Miller's '' Big River'', for which he was nominated for a Tony Award. Personal life ...

* Takeshi Kata * Abigail Katz * Anne Kauffman * Karinne Keithley * Christina Kirk *

Alix Lambert Alix Lambert is an American documentary filmmaker and television writer. She has been nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for her work on ''Deadwood (TV series), Deadwood''. Biography Alix Lambert's feature-length documentary ''The ...

* Jim Lewis * Trey Lyford * Matthew Maher * Melanie Marnich * Brandon Miller * Caitlin Miller * Jennifer R. Morris *

Josh Neufeld Josh Neufeld (born August 9, 1967) 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 Gladsto ...

Michael Premo Michael Premo is an artist who lives in Brooklyn. He played a significant role in Occupy Wall Street and Occupy Sandy's hurricane response effort. Work On October 30, 2012, one day after Hurricane Sandy Effects of Hurricane Sandy in New York, ...

* Shane Rettig *

KJ Sanchez KJ Sanchez (born Karen June Sanchez) is an American theatre actor, director, and playwright. She is currently an associate professor at The University of Texas at Austin, where she serves as head of the MFA Directing program. Sanchez is the found ...

* Jenny Schwartz * Jeanine Serralles * Brian Sgambati * Jeremy Shamos * Robert Signom III * Robbie Sublett * Louisa Thompson * Kenneth Travis *

* Les Waters * Alison Weller * Colleen Werthmann * Sam Wright

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Civilians, The Musical theatre companies Obie Award recipients Off-Broadway theaters Theatre companies in New York City Performing groups established in 2001 2001 establishments in New York City