Scope and Contents
The collection consists of general files, correspondence, subject files, publicity files, scripts, journals, writings, personal papers, photographs, audiovisual material, and born digital materials relating to The Living Theatre, its founders, Julian Beck and Judith Malina, and its co-director, Hanon Reznikov. The collection documents the adminstration of the theater, its stage productions, and its relationship to other avant-garde and radical cultural and political movements in the United States and Europe during the time period from the 1960s to the present. Also included are extensive diaries and journals of Judith Malina and Julian Beck, as well as their personal papers and writings. The photographs and audio-visual material largely document specific productions.
Dates
- 1815-2012
- Majority of material found within circa 1947-2012
Creator
Conditions Governing Use
The Living Theatre Records is the physical property of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the appropriate curator.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Morgan & Rosenthal on the Alfred Z. Baker, Jr. Fund and Edwin J. Beinecke Book Fund, 2008, and from Boo-Hooray on the Edwin J. Beinecke Book Fund and the Adele Gutman Nathan Theatrical Collection Fund, 2013.
Extent
55 Linear Feet (44 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Abstract
The collection consists of general files, correspondence, subject files, publicity files, scripts, journals, writings, personal papers, photographs, audiovisual material, and born digital materials relating to The Living Theatre, its founders, Julian Beck and Judith Malina, and its co-director, Hanon Reznikov. The collection documents the adminstration of the theater, its stage productions, and its relationship to other avant-garde and radical cultural and political movements in the United States and Europe during the time period from the 1960s to the present. Also included are extensive diaries and journals of Judith Malina and Julian Beck, as well as their personal papers and writings. The photographs and audio-visual material largely document specific productions.
The Living Theatre
The Living Theatre was founded in 1947 by Julian Beck and Judith Malina in New York City. The company performed politically charged plays commenting on war, Wall Street, and income inequality even being arrested during some of their public performances. The group produced experimental and little-known plays by writers including Gertrude Stein, William Carlos Williams, and John Ashbery. In 1961, the company toured Europe with one of its biggest successes, “The Connection” and other plays including Paradise Now and The Legacy of Cain. The Living Theatre left New York in 1964 after failing to pay $23,000 in back taxes. Malina and Beck represented themselves in the trial. The theatre company focused on avant garde productions including The Connection and The Brig. Theatre productions often broke the fourth wall and included audience participation. Theatre company members were also arrested for various acts of civil disobedience. The theatre company performed all over the world in public and unique spaces. The theatre returned to New York City in the 1980s. After Julian Beck’s death in 1985, Hanon Reznikov was named codirector. Reznikov died in 2008 and Malina in 2015. The Living Theatre continues with artistic director Brad Burgess to conduct workshops and perform in the United States and abroad.
Processing Information
This finding aid will be revised as additional parts of the collection are processed and revisions in arrangement or description are made by staff.
- Audiovisual materials
- Beck, Julian, 1925-1985
- Born digital
- Experimental theater -- United States -- 20th Century
- Experimental theater -- United States -- 21st century
- Living Theatre (New York, N.Y.)
- Malina, Judith, 1926-2015
- Reznikov, Hanon
- Theater -- New York (State) -- New York
- Theater -- United States -- 20th century
- Theater -- United States -- 21st century
- Title
- Guide to the Living Theatre Records
- Author
- by Leigh Golden and Jennifer Meehan
- Date
- 2008
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Repository
Location
121 Wall Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Opening Hours
Access Information
The Beinecke Library is open to all Yale University students and faculty, and visiting researchers whose work requires use of its special collections. You will need to bring appropriate photo ID the first time you register. Beinecke is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Paging is done by library staff during business hours. You can request collection material online at least two business days in advance of your visit, using the request links in Archives at Yale. For more information, please see Planning Your Research Visit and consult the Reading Room Policies prior to visiting the library.