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The Theater Offensive records

 Collection
Identifier: M082

Scope and Content Note

The collection documents the artistic and administrative processes of The Theater Offensive. It also documents queer and progressive theater in Boston and nationwide from the 1990s through 2006. The collection is of particular interest to researchers considering the development of theater as a forum for political activism and personal expression, especially in the queer community. Individual productions and festivals are primarily documented by publicity materials, programs, and scripts. Education and outreach programs are documented by correspondence, scripts, surveys, meeting notes, and publicity materials. The Theater Offensive's relationship with the queer performance community is documented by submissions and offers of potential collaborations. Its administrative processes are documented by board minutes, financial reports, extensive grant files, strategic planning documents, and newsletters. Of particular interest is Series 10: Photographs, which includes portraits, publicity photographs, and performance photographs. Series 9: General Press contains press materials from a later addition to the collection.

Dates

  • Creation: 1977-2012
  • Creation: Majority of material found within 1989-2011

Creator

Language of Materials

The majority of the materials are in English. Some materials are in Spanish.

Conditions Governing Access:

Personnel records (box 8, folder 9 and 32; box 9, folder 7, 18 and 19; box 10, folder 28; box 11, folder 2, 15, 23, 29 and 39; box 12, folder 9 and 42; box 14, folder 14-17, 19-20, and 47; and box 15, folder 36 and 77, box 16, folder 10, and box 18, folder 56) are restricted for 75 years from their date of creation. Special copyright restrictions may apply.

Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use:

Copyright restrictions may apply.

Historical Note

The Theater Offensive was founded in 1989 by Abe Rybeck “to form and present the diverse realities of queer lives in art so bold it breaks through personal isolation and political orthodoxy to help build an honest, progressive community.” The Theater Offensive grew out of Rybeck's involvement with the United Fruit Company, a guerrilla street theater company based in Boston. The United Fruit Company was created out of the desire for “no more boring demonstrations!” The company protested apathy towards AIDS, rampant consumerism, homophobia and homophobic social policy, the war in Nicaragua, and other right-wing political positions with comedic musical sketches. Rybeck saw further potential for activist theater beyond the scope of what the United Fruit Company was able to produce, and founded The Theater Offensive.

The Theater Offensive seasons initially centered around the OUT on the Edge festival and performance pieces developed by Abe Rybeck himself. OUT on the Edge was conceived as a showcase for current queer theater, and each festival included a number of local, national, and international performers. From the beginning, The Theater Offensive has mixed in-house productions with works by nationally-known queer performers. The Theater Offensive has become the leading queer theater in New England, and has hosted a number of regional and world premieres.

The Theater Offensive has a strong commitment to fostering the creation of new work by underserved and marginalized groups. Through programs like the annual Plays At Work festival, The Theater Offensive has provided workshop environments for promising playwrights and performers to see their developing work from inception to performance. In addition to serving as a political force within and without the queer community, The Theater Offensive also conducts outreach and educational programs, such as their youth troupe “True Colors.” Its programs and collaborations have been recognized by artists, activists, and local leaders as models of community organizing through artistic expression.

The Theater Offensive is a resident theater company at the Boston Center for the Arts.

Chronology of Out on the Edge Productions 2000-2009

2000
“Rice Room”“Anne Frank Superstar”“Psychosemitic”“Innocent Heat”“Garden Variety Show”“Usual Suspects”“Glory Box”
2001
“Dr. Frockrocket”“I Remember Mapa”“Opera for Dummies”“Crouching Cabico, Hidden Cho”“P.S. 69”“A Fairy Tale”“Holy Shit”
2002
“Resident Alien”“Dirty Stuff”“By Tooth or by Tongue”“D.R.E.D. Daring Reality Every Day”“Around The World with Miss Thang”“Unitard: Now More Than Ever”
2003
“B4T: Before Testosterone”“Master of the (Miss) Universe”“Surviving the Nian”“Last Rites”“Queer Theory: a Musical Travesty”
2004
“Black Folks Guide to Black Folks”“Louge-Zilla: Asian Sings the Blues”“Turned Up Volume” (True Colors)“US”“Shackles and Sugar”“Murder at Gallaudet”“Surviving the Nian”“Oedipus at Palm Springs”
2005
“Fringe and Fringe Ability”“Girl With the Pearl Necklace”“The Kvetching Continues”
2006
“Queer Theory: a Musical Travesty”“Los Big Names”“Beakman in Person”“Nut/Cracked”“The Mother of All Enemies”
2007
“Oedipus At Palm Springs”“Paved Paradise: The Songs of Joni Mitchell”“Hello, Goodbye, Peace”“Blue Fire on the Water”All the Kings Men, “Out of the Box/Twisted Tales”“Nut/Cracked”
2008
“Nut/Cracked”“Varla Jean Merman Loves a Foreign Tongue”“Miss America”“Wake the F**k Up America”“Birds Do It!”
2009
“On Men, Women, and the Rest of Us”“Come as You Are: Celebrate Queer Sex!”“SINsation”“Womb-Words, Thirsting”“Lay of the Land”“Birth of a nAsian”“Dirty Sex-Ecology or How to Make Love with the Earth”

Extent

18.87 cubic feet (20 containers, 53 flat file folders, 4 tubes, 1 art file)

Overview

The Theater Offensive was founded in 1989 by Abraham Rybeck “to form and present the diverse realities of queer lives in art so bold it breaks through personal isolation and political orthodoxy to help build an honest, progressive community.” The Theater Offensive mounts and produces festivals and individual productions by national and local queer performers, and also serves as a development environment for new theatrical work. In addition, The Theater Offensive works to build community through education, outreach, and political activism.

Overview

The collection documents the artistic and administrative processes of The Theater Offensive. Individual productions and festivals are documented by publicity materials, programs, and scripts. Education and outreach programs are documented by correspondence, scripts, surveys, meeting notes, and publicity materials. The Theater Offensive's relationship with the queer performance community is documented by submissions and offers of potential collaborations. Administrative processes are documented by board minutes, financial reports, extensive grant files, strategic planning records, and newsletters. Of particular interest is Series 10: Photographs, which includes portraits, publicity photographs, and performance photographs.

System of Arrangement:

Organized into 11 series: 1. Administration; 2. Early and In-House Productions; 3. Education and Outreach; 4. Grants; 5. OUT on the Edge; 6. Other Festivals and Productions; 7. Plays At Work; 8. Submissions and Potential Collaborations; 9. General Press; 10. Photographs; and 11. Memorabilia.

Technical Access:

One 3.5 floppy disk in box 10, folder 15 will not open. Two DVDs (box 15, folder 58 and 75) are Mac formatted.

Physical Location

64/3-4, 56/2, 55/4, 37/3, FF5/D3, FF4/D4, Art File 19, RS9/S2

Immediate Source of Acquisition:

Received from The Theater Offensive.

Accruals:

Further accruals are expected.

Related Archival Materials:

The Archives and Special Collections Department capture the website content of the The Theater Offensive, which is accessible at: http://wayback.archive-it.org/1747/*/http://www.thetheateroffensive.org/

Bibliography

  • The Theater Offensive. http://www.thetheateroffensive.org
Title
Finding aid for The Theater Offensive Records
Author
Finding aid prepared by Molly Overholt; updated by Cynthia Rufo; updated by Migyeong Geum; updated by Kieran McGhee
Date
2005, 2009, 2012, July 2015
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Snell Library
360 Huntington Avenue
Boston MA 02115 US