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Period: to
Modernism - America (1950-1980)
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New York Shakespeare Festival
Joseph Papp (1921–1991) founded the New York Shakespeare Festival Theatre (Brockett pg. 211). It stages the works of William Shakespeare on an ongoing basis. It was first Held at the Central Park in New York, and then once the Declacorte Theatre was built it continues to happen there. -
Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation supports organizations that address the underlying drivers of inequality and align with our programmatic work around the world. The Ford Foundation made large grants to several companies that had succeeded in winning local support. Thus, the impetus for decentralization in America came from individuals supported by private rather than governmental subsidy through the Ford Foundation. -
Lincoln Center
Plans were announced for the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, with venues for ballet, opera, concerts, and theatre. The theatre portion was initially envisioned as a pseudo-National Theatre with a permanent repertory company. This Theatre went through many financial difficulties but they ran by the motto "Good plays, popular prices" and eventually reestablished in 1985 with a better financial standing. Now it's one of New York's most popular producing theatre's. (Brockett. 211) -
Theatre Communication Group
These companies are linked through the Theatre Communications Group (TCG), which was created in 1961 with funds supplied by the Ford Foundation. TCG serves as a centralized source of information for more than 500 not-for-profit professional theatre and provides a forum where common problems can be discussed and solutions sought (Brockett 208). When problems or questions arose of new trends in theatre, this group significant in its support for the modernizing of theatre. -
La Mama Theatre Club
Of the early Off-Off-Broadway groups, one of the most important was the La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, founded by Ellen Stewart (1919–2011). La MaMa empha-sized new plays and provided a place free from restrictions (except those imposed by its limited funds) where dramatists could see their plays performed. By 1970, La MaMa was presenting more plays each season than all of the Broadway theatre's combined (Brockett. 210). This place was essential to help modernize theatre. -
Declacorte Theatre
The Shakespeare festival created by Joseph Papp became so popular that he persuaded the municipal authorities to build the Declacorte Theater in the Central Park where the Shakespeare festival was always held free of charge (Brockett 211). This theatre was the home for many new modern plays. Notably, the Shakespeare Festival and its performances included modernized styles of performances that contributed to the modernization of theatre in America during this era. -
Bread and Puppet Theatre
The Bread and Puppet Theater was founded in New York City. It used both actors and giant puppets to enact parables that denounced war and was often based on the Bible. It challenged societies beliefs and was one of the main factors in modernizing theatre in this time (Brockett. 215). This theatre challenged the theatre standards by holding performances that were aimed to change societies way of thinking and the standards they hold for what is "acceptable" for theatre. -
Living Theatre
The living theatre is radical and the birth home for many theatre trends, but In this year, The Living Theatre was closed for failure to pay taxes. The Living Theatre left the United States and until 1968 toured Europe. In 1968, the Living Theatre returned to the United States with the repertory it had created during its exile. (Brockett pg. 214) After the theatre returned, it was heavily influencing in changing society through theatre; thus it being important for modernizing American Theatre. -
National Endowment for the Arts
This is the year of the establishment in Congress of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The NEA is a federal independent agency that's main role is to provide grants to arts and arts education ("What is NEA?"). Such grants and subsidies made it feasible for resident theatre's to be established throughout the country. The NEA is the largest funder of art in the United States by dispensing federally appropriated funds to arts groups throughout the United States.(Brockett. 206) -
Francisco Mime Troupe
Fransisco Mime Troupe promoted civil rights, equality for women, and many other causes. It had divergent theatre concepts and used mime and medium for communication. (Brockett pg. 215) -
Public Theatre
Joseph Papp acquired the former Astor Library in Greenwich Village and transformed it into the Public Theater with five performance spaces. This theatre was the home of many broadway hits, Shakespeare performances, revivals, and more. It maintained a heavy performance schedule. Due to its part in the New York Shakespeare Festival, it remains an influential force in New York.(Brockett pg. 211) -
Nudity in Broadway
The Living Theatre was one of the first to support this late 1960's theatre trend. After a change in the law, nudity and obscenity first came to Broadway in 1968 in the musical Hair, a plea for tolerance of alter-native lifestyle. Hair had a great run on broadway and is still produced today. (Brockett pg. 215) This theatre was an essential asset to the change and acceptance of modern trends. Without its support this modernization may have never been accepted. -
Paradise Now
The most "extreme" of the Living Theatre’s pieces was Paradise Now. It began with actors circulating among the spectators denouncing strictures on freedom (to smoke marijuana, travel without a passport, to go nude in public, and the like). This performance style challenged the boundary between art and life, thus giving the Living Theatre much notoriety (Brockett. 214). The public was more modest in these times and did not accept behavior like this in theatre, but Paradise Now helped change that. -
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
By the 1970's almost any subject, behavior, and manner was accepted in theatre. Modernization was in full effect. This play, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, crossed into mainstream theatre and included obscenity. This is significant because it is one of the first plays that was just produced for entertainment, and not with the motive to change or modernize society, because it had already been done. This was a milestone for modernization. -
A Chorus Line
October 9th, 1975, A Chorus Line hit Broadway at the Sam S. Shubert Theatre and quickly won two Tony Awards. This show was originally produced at the Public Theatre, and it is significant because it is one of their most notable productions (Brockett 211). When the production left broadway on April 29th, 1990 it was broadways longest running performance, today it ranks in 7th place (Playbill).