San Francisco Mime Troupe

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
San Francisco Mime Troupe at a performance on the Tübingen market square, around 1986

The San Francisco Mime Troupe is a free American street theater company dedicated to political theater . She performs her productions (free of charge) in various parks in the San Francisco Bay Area and across California . The troupe does not perform silent pantomime , but produces a kind of musical every year that combines aspects of the commedia dell'arte , melodrama and farce to depict political issues.

history

The troupe was founded in 1959 by RG Davis to try out various theatrical concepts. She made her debut with Mime and Word (1959) and The 11th Hour Mime Show (1960). As early as 1961, the group changed their style and began to use the means of the Commedia dell'Arte to deal more thoroughly with political repression in the USA, the emerging civil rights movement , the American military and American covert operations in other countries.

In the mid-1960s, the troupe's style continued to develop. She now worked less in the tradition of the Commedia dell'arte and had a wilder, satirical style. She also began to incorporate elements of jazz into her music and eventually a jazz band belonged to the troupe. The group became better known for their performances in Golden Gate Park (which raised funds after the performance) and there were numerous incidents with the police.

In the early 1970s Davis left the group, which was now formed as a collective without a boss. During this time the troupe produced one of their most successful shows, The Independent Female (1970). In the 1980s, the troupe grappled with the Reagan administration in a series of socialist-oriented productions . In Factwino meets The Moral Majority (1981), Factwino, an alcoholized superhero, spread his wisdom through prominent figures like Jerry Falwell . Steel Town (1984) portrayed the plight of the steel workers and the need for union solidarity. For this production, the troupe toured the Midwest, especially industrial cities. In 1987 the troupe won the Tony Award for Excellence in Regional Theater with their guerrilla theater .

Seeing Double, about a two-state solution to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, offshore, about the costs of globalization , Eating It about genetic engineering and profit-driven science is one of the troupe's newer productions . 1600 Transylvania Avenue, about the connection between big business and government and GodFellas, a farce about the dangers of fundamentalism to democracy. The 2007 show Making a Killing is about the war propaganda and the fate of the Iraqis who were contaminated by uranium ammunition .

In addition to their performances in public parks, the troupe also undertakes national and international tours, which have taken them through Europe, Asia and South and Central America and which have brought them various awards. The group also offers community workshops. It is a not for profit organization. The season traditionally begins on a weekend in early July ( Independence Day ) and ends on a weekend in early September ( Labor Day ).

Early members of the troop included Saul Landau (with RG Davis, author of Civil Rights in a Cracker Barrel: A Minstrel Show), Steve Reich , Robert Nelson, William T. Wiley, Sandra Archer, John Connell, Robert Hudson, Walley Hedrick, Judy North.

Later members included Peter Coyote , Luis Valdez , Barry Shabaka Henley , Bruce Barthol , Joan Holden, and Bill Graham .

The San Francisco Mime Troupe collective currently consists of Velina Brown, Ellen Callas, Christian Cagigal, Michael Carreiro, Amos Glick, Ed Holmes, Lisa Hori-Garcia, Pat Moran, Keiko Shimosato, Michael Gene Sullivan, Victor Toman.

Productions

  • 2007: Making a Killing
  • 2006: Godfellas
  • 2005: Doing Good
  • 2004: Showdown at Crawford Gulch
  • 2003: Veronique of the Mounties
  • 2002: Mr. Smith Goes to Obscuristan
  • 2001: 1600 Transylvania Avenue
  • 2000: Eating it
  • 1999: The First Forty Years
  • 1999: City For Sale
  • 1999: Damaged Care
  • 1997: La Hembra Independencia / The Independent Female
  • 1997: Killing Time
  • 1997: Revenger Rat Meets the Merchant of Death
  • 1997: 13 Days / Trece Dias
  • 1997: Teen City
  • 1996: Soul Suckers from Outer Space
  • 1996: Gotta Get A Life
  • 1995: Escape to Cyberia
  • 1995: Coast City Confidential
  • 1994: Big Wind
  • 1993: offshore
  • 1992: Social Work
  • 1991: Back to Normal
  • 1991: I Ain't Yo Uncle
  • 1990: Council
  • 1990: Uncle Tom's Cabin
  • 1989: Seeing Double
  • 1989: Secrets in the Sand
  • 1988: Ripped Van Winkle
  • 1987: The Dragon Lady's Revenge
  • 1986: The Mozamgola Caper
  • 1986: Hotel Universe
  • 1986: Spain / 36
  • 1985: Crossing Borders
  • 1985: Factwino: The Opera
  • 1984: Steeltown
  • 1983: The Uprising At Fuente Ovejuna
  • 1983: Secrets in the Sand
  • 1982: Factwino vs. Armagoddonman
  • 1981: Factwino Meets the Moral Majority
  • 1981: Americans or Last Tango in Huahuatenango (also as: Cacao or Last Tango in Huahuatenango)
  • 1981: Ghosts
  • 1980: Fact Person
  • 1979: We Can't Pay, We Won't Pay after Dario Fo
  • 1979: squash
  • 1979: TV Dinner
  • 1978: Elektrobucks
  • 1977: Hotel Universe
  • 1976: False Promises
  • 1976: Nos Enganaron
  • 1975: Power Play
  • 1975: Frijoles or Beans To You
  • 1974: The Great Air Robbery
  • 1973: The Mother
  • 1973: San Francisco Scandals of 1973
  • 1972: American Dreamer
  • 1972: The Dragon Lady's Revenge
  • 1972: High Rises
  • 1972: Frozen Wages
  • 1971: Clown Show
  • 1971: The Dragon Lady's Revenge
  • 1970: Seize the Time
  • 1970: The Independent Female
  • 1970: Ecoman
  • 1970: Telephone Man or Ripping off Ma Bell
  • 1970: Let's go
  • 1969: The Congress of Whitewashers or Turandot after Bertolt Brecht
  • 1969: The Third Estate
  • 1968: Little Black Panther
  • 1968: Ruzzante or the Veteran Gorilla Marching Band is Formed
  • 1968: Gutter Puppets (Meter Maid)
  • 1967: L'Amant Militaire
  • 1967: The Minstrel Show or Civil Rights in a Cracker Barrel
  • 1967: The Condemned
  • 1967: The Vaudeville Show
  • 1966: The Miser
  • 1966: What's That Ahead?
  • 1966: Jack Off!
  • 1966: Film: Mirage and Centerman
  • 1966: Olive Pits
  • 1966: Search & Seizure
  • 1965: Chronicles of Hell
  • 1965: Civil Rights
  • 1965: Tartuffe to Molière
  • 1965: The Exception and the Rule according to Brecht
  • 1965: Candelaio
  • 1964: chorizos
  • 1964: Mimes and Movie
  • 1964: Event III
  • 1963: Ruzante's maneuvers
  • 1963: King Ubu after Alfred Jarry
  • 1963: Film: Plastic Haircut
  • 1963: Event II
  • 1963: The Root
  • 1962: The Dowry
  • 1961: Event I
  • 1961: Act Without Words
  • 1961: Krapp's Last Tape based on Samuel Beckett
  • 1961: Purgatory
  • 1960: 11th Hour Mime Show
  • 1959: Mime And Word

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : San Francisco Mime Troupe  - collection of images, videos, and audio files