Theatre X was an American
theater company based in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Until its demise in 2004, it was one of the oldest operating
experimental theater
Experimental theatre (also known as avant-garde theatre), inspired largely by Wagner's concept of Gesamtkunstwerk, began in Western theatre in the late 19th century with Alfred Jarry and his Ubu plays as a rejection of both the age in particular ...
ensembles in the U.S.
History
The company formed in 1969 as an informal workshop by a group of
UW–Milwaukee faculty and students. It became a professional company by 1971, touring throughout the United States and to Europe and Japan. It was named for the algebraic symbol x, which means an unknown quantity, thus implying a theater of unlimited possibility. The ensemble was a resident company at the
Water Street Art Center in
Milwaukee, where they rehearsed, performed and hosted traveling productions from other theater companies. The site soon included an art gallery and small press bookstore that years later became
Woodland Pattern Book Center, as well as a grass roots outreach company,
Friends Mime Theatre
The Milwaukee Public Theatre was theatre based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwauke ...
, which evolved into the
Milwaukee Public Theatre
The Milwaukee Public Theatre was theatre based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwauke ...
. Finally, it moved into offices in the Broadway Theater Center in Milwaukee's Historic Third Ward and remained there until its collapse.
Much of its early work was created
improvisationally as an
ensemble, with influences including
The Living Theatre and
Jerzy Grotowski. The company created over 60 new plays among its 180 productions. In its last two years, Theatre X's
board of directors
A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...
gave then producing director
David Ravel and artistic director
John Schneider control over play selection and casting, which had previously involved the entire group, and then dissolved the acting company. This move away from an ensemble structure led to a public dispute when the board gave ensemble members
John Kishline,
Deborah Clifton and
Marcie Hoffmann a forced leave of absence from acting in hopes of re-structuring the company, leaving only Schneider and Flora Coker as the remaining founding members. Though litigation was proposed, the lawsuit was dropped after it became too costly. Theatre X continued for 2 seasons but chose to turn off the lights in 2004.
Willem Dafoe was an early member of the ensemble and, when he stayed in New York to eventually join the
Wooster Group, was replaced by
Victor DeLorenzo, who later was one of the founders of
Violent Femmes. Delorenzo was later replaced by
David Rommel
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
. John Sobczak,
Cate Woodruff
Cate is a feminine given name. It is a variant of Kate. The name comes from Latin, French, English, and Welsh origins. The name literally means either 'pure' or 'blessed', used in different context. The name Catherine is popular in Christian coun ...
(then Pamela C. Woodruff) and Wesley Savick were also long-time members of Theatre X. Lory Lazarus, a member of Theatre X in the mid 1970s, went on to become a writer for Cartoon Network's "Courage, the Cowardly Dog" and a songwriter for "Barney & Friends" on PBS. Two of Theatre X's founding members, Conrad Bishop and Elizabeth Fuller, went on to form
The Independent Eye
The Independent Eye is an American theatre company currently based in Sebastopol, California.
The group was founded in 1974 by Conrad Bishop and Elizabeth Fuller, who were then performing with Theatre X in Milwaukee and had helped to found that ...
.
Theatre X won a 1978
Obie Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the A ...
for the
set design and
lighting design for the
New York City production of their original play ''A Fierce Longing'', based on the life of
Yukio Mishima.
References
*
Theatre X ends 35-year history. ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'', November 20, 2004.
*
Theatre X schedule exposes rift in troupe. ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'', August 29, 2002.
* excerpt of Theatre X work in Mike Figgis film of Mickery Theatre production of "Rembrandt and Hitler or Me." 1985 at: http://www.levenlangtheater.nl/Ritsaert%20ten%20Cate/Video/5049.html
* http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1989-10-15/entertainment/8901220775_1_vernon-handley-trevor-pinnock-
Emerson String Quartet
Culture of Milwaukee
Theatre companies in Milwaukee