Revolutionary Theatre is theatre that explores our expectations of what can be done both on and off the stage, that cries out for a world more just than our own, and that models how to work together as equals for the benefit for all. At least, this is the vision held by many theatremakers in the US 1960s, who responded to that decade’s utopian dreams by inventing new strategies to transform the hearts and minds of audiences. Among these strategies was a collective creation, abandoning top-down leadership by a director/playwright in favor of devising work as a group. Other strategies included meeting audiences on the street and in their communities, using “environmental” stage designs, and crafting mythic or expressionist (rather than realist) dramaturgies.

This seminar will examine the most important of these theatre collectives in order to evaluate their successes and limitations, and to ask how their achievements might be adapted for the twenty-first century. We will pay critical attention to how the politics of gender (esp queer and feminist), race (esp Black and Latinx), and class informed these artists’ work and our reception of them. Collectives we will consider may include the Living Theatre, the Open Theatre, the Performance Group, the Black Arts Movement, the Theatre of the Ridiculous, El Teatro Campesino, At the Foot of the Mountain, the Bread and Puppet Theatre, and the San Francisco Mime Troupe.

Course Requirements:

No prior experience with theatre and performance is necessary. Engaged and open-hearted discussion is required. Assignments will include extensive readings (and some film viewings), twice-weekly discussion posts, two short analytical papers, and a final project that may be creative.