THE LIVING THEATRE
The Living Theatre records, 1929-2013

Restrictions on Access

Special restrictions apply: Use copies have not been made for some audiovisual material in this collection. Researchers must contact the Rose Library in advance for access to this material.

Collection stored off-site. Researchers must contact the Rose Library in advance to access this collection.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

All requests subject to limitations noted in departmental policies on reproduction. Special restrictions also apply: The collection contains some copies of original materials held by other institutions; these copies may not be reproduced without the permission of the owner of the originals.

Related Materials in Other Repositories

The original diaries of Judith Malina exist in the Living Theatre Records, Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

Source

Purchase, 2016

Citation

[after identification of item(s)], The Living Theatre records, Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University.

Processing

Arranged and described at the box level by Meaghan O'Riordan and Taylor Thomas, September 2016.

Historical Note

The Living Theatre was founded in 1947 by Judith Malina, a German-born student of Erwin Piscator, and Julian Beck, an abstract expressionist painter of the New York School, as an imaginative alternative to the commercial theater. The Living Theatre has staged nearly one hundred productions performed in eight languages in 28 countries on five continents.

During the 1950s and early 1960s in New York City, New York, The Living Theatre pioneered the unconventional staging of poetic drama, including the plays of American writers like Gertrude Stein, William Carlos Williams, Paul Goodman, Kenneth Rexroth and John Ashbery, as well as European writers, including Cocteau, Lorca, Brecht and Pirandello.

Many of the venues that the Living Theatre used to stage productions were closed by 1963, so in the mid-1960s, the company became a nomadic, touring ensemble. In Europe, they evolved into a collective, living and working together toward the creation of a new form of nonfictional acting based on the actor’s political and physical commitment to using the theater as a medium for furthering social change.

Following the death of Julian Beck in 1985, cofounder, Judith Malina, and the company’s new director, veteran Hanon Reznikov, opened a new performing space on Third Street in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, producing a steady stream of innovative works. After the closing of the Third Street space in 1993, the company went on to produce shows in other New York City venues. The theater found another permanent home on Clinton Street in 2008.

Shortly after opening on Clinton Street, Hanon Reznikov unexpectedly passed away in May 2008. After having written most of the company's new plays following Julian's death, Hanon left his final work unfinished; Eureka!, based on the poem by Poe (also Poe's last major work). Judith completed the script and opened the play later that year. When the Clinton Street space closed in the spring of 2013, the Living Theatre began a nomadic existence once more.

Biographical Source:This historical note was adapted and condensed from the history written on the Living Theatre's website: http://www.livingtheatre.org/history

Scope and Content Note

The materials consist of subject files, clippings and correspondence relating to the Living Theatre, its productions, business, and its members, including Judith Malina, Julian Beck and Hanon Reznikov. There is a comprehensive set of photocopies of Malina's original, holographic diaries from 1947-1998. The collection also includes original artwork by members of the Living Theatre, including original set designs, costume designs, paintings, posters, drawings, and collages by Julian Beck, Judith Malina, Hanon Reznikov, and Ilion Troya, as well as artwork given to the Living Theatre. Materials also include a comprehensive set of Living Theatre printed material, flyers, posters, programs, tickets, and press photographs, documenting the Living theatre's activities from 1959-2012. The collection also includes press, candid, rehearsal, performance, stage design and street performance photographs.

Arrangement Note

Arranged by record type.