The Performance Group


The Performance Group was an experimental theater troupe that Richard Schechner founded in 1967 in New York City. TPG's home base was the Performing Garage in the SoHo district of Lower Manhattan. Known for their use of environmental theater, their 1968 production, Dionysus in 69 won an Obie Award. Tensions led to Schechner's resignation in 1980. The troupe reinvented itself as The Wooster Group under the leadership of director and theatre artist Elizabeth LeCompte.

History

TPG was an "environmental theatre" – meaning that each production took place in an entirely redesigned space. Most of TPG's productions were directed by Schechner, though others including Joan MacIntosh, Stephen Borst, James Griffiths, Leeny Sack, Elizabeth LeCompte, and Spalding Gray either directed their own works or works by others. TPG's designers included Jerry Rojo, Michael Kirby, and Jim Clayburgh. Some of TPG's productions were collages of various texts, other productions were radical deconstructions of classics, and some works were brand new. Schechner resigned as artistic director in 1980. At that time, Elizabeth LeCompte became the artistic director of the company which was renamed The Wooster Group and continued to operate out of the Performing Garage.

Productions

Many TPG works premiered and then were modified over several years. TPG's major works are :
In 1975, some members began to develop their own productions, led by Spalding Gray and Elizabeth LeCompte. The trilogy was performed in the Performing Garage but was not attributed to TPG. Performances include Sakonnet Point, Rumstick Road, Nyatt School, and Point Judith . Eventually this divide led to the change in organization that created The Wooster Group.