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{{Short description|Political satire theater group}}
{{More citations needed|date=September 2020}}[[File:Godfellas San Francisco Mime Troupe 2006 b.jpg|thumb|300px|2006 performance of ''Godfellas'']]
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2023}}
'''The San Francisco Mime Troupe''' is a theatre of [[political satire]] which performs free shows in various parks in the [[San Francisco]] Bay Area {{Coord|37.7565|-112.4131|display=title|name=SF Mime Troupe HQ}} and around [[California]]. The Troupe does not, however, perform silent [[mime artist|mime]], but each year creates an original musical comedy that combines aspects of [[Commedia dell'Arte]], [[melodrama]], and broad [[farce]] with topical political themes. The group was awarded the [[Regional Theatre Award]] at the [[41st Tony Awards]].
{{Infobox theatre group
| name = San Francisco Mime Troupe
| image = San Francisco Mime Troupe logo.png
| imagesize = 180px
| caption =
| formed = 1959
| location = [[San Francisco]], [[California]], United States
| disbanded =
| notable = {{ubl|[[Peter Coyote]]|[[Saul Landau]]|[[Bill Graham (promoter)|Bill Graham]]}}
| homepage = {{URL|https://www.sfmt.org}}
| genre = {{ubl|Comedy|Political satire|Melodrama}}
}}


'''The San Francisco Mime Troupe''' is a theatre of [[political satire]] which performs free shows in various parks in the [[San Francisco Bay Area]] and around [[California]], founded in 1959. Despite its name, the group does not perform silent [[mime artist|mime]], but each year creates an original musical comedy that combines aspects of ''[[commedia dell'arte]]'', [[melodrama]], and broad [[farce]] with topical political themes. In 1987, the group was awarded the [[Regional Theatre Award]] at the [[41st Tony Awards]].
==History==


===Origins===
==Origins==
The group was founded in 1959 by R. G. Davis as a medium of expression of his divergent theatrical concepts.{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}} The group debuted with ''Mime and Word'' (1959) and ''The 11th Hour Mime Show'' (1960).<ref>Performed at the Encore Theater after shows by the Actors Workshop of San Francisco, where "Ronnie" Davis was working on the staff.</ref> However, by 1961, the group transitioned to the Commedia dell'Arte format to more thoroughly comment on perceived political repression in the [[United States of America]], the growing [[American Civil Rights Movement]] and military and covert intervention abroad. In the mid-1960s the group started to rely less on the direct Commedia dell'Arte format and transitioned into a more rambunctious, satirical style.{{Citation needed|date=January 2011}} It also began integrating elements of Jazz into its musical composition, eventually leading to the inclusion of a jazz band within the troupe. The group gained significant notoriety for its free performances in [[Golden Gate Park]] and numerous altercations with law enforcement.
The group was founded in 1959 by R. G. Davis as a medium of expression of his divergent theatrical concepts.{{sfn|Davis|1975|page=18}} The group debuted on October 29, 1959, with ''Games—3 Sets'', and two other plays.{{sfn|Davis|1975|page=18}} By 1961, the group transitioned to the commedia dell'arte format to more thoroughly comment on perceived political repression in the United States, the growing [[civil rights movement]] and military and covert intervention abroad.<ref name="independent"/>


In the mid-1960s the group started to rely less on the direct commedia dell'arte format and transitioned into having an objective of "teaching, directing towards change and to be an example of change".{{sfn|Davis|1975|page=70}} It also began integrating elements of jazz into its musical composition, eventually leading to the inclusion of a jazz band within the troupe. Their first outdoor performance was in May 1962 at [[Golden Gate Park]].{{sfn|Davis|1975|page=35}} The group also gained notoriety for its numerous altercations with law enforcement, which resulted in performing at benefits to raise money for legal fees.{{sfn|Davis|1975|pages=65–70}} In 1967, a benefit called "Appeal IV" featured the bands [[the Grateful Dead]], [[Jefferson Airplane]], [[Quicksilver Messenger Service]] and [[Moby Grape]].{{sfn|Davis|1975|page=80}}
By the early 1970s, the Troupe had earned a reputation for opposing capitalism, sexism, and war.<ref name=Bernstein>{{cite book |last1=Bernstein |first1=Lee |title=America is the Prison: Arts and Politics in Prison in the 1970s |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a3yRlKxxDtkC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false |accessdate=July 12, 2011 |year=2010 |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |location=Chapel Hill, North Carolina |isbn=9780807871171 |page=52|chapter=The Age of Jackson: George Jackson and the Radical Critique of Incarceration |chapterurl=https://books.google.com/books?id=a3yRlKxxDtkC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA51#v=onepage&q&f=false }}</ref>


[[File:San Francisco Mime Troupe documentary film ad, 1968.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Advertisement for a documentary film about the San Francisco Mime Troupe, Seattle, 1968]]
===Post-Davis history===
They also traveled to Canada and played at Simon Fraser University in 1966 with ''A Minstrel Show or Civil Rights in a Cracker Barrel'' by Gary Davis and Saul Landau.{{sfn|Davis|1975|pages=73–77}}
In the early '70s Davis left the Troupe when it re-formed as a [[collective]], the members of which operate as the [[Artistic Director]], at which time the Troupe produced one of its most successful shows, ''The Independent Female'' (1970). In the 1980s, the group's productions retaliated against the [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan]] administration.


The music for ''Minstrel Show'' was composed and performed by [[Steve Reich]], who worked with the troupe for at least two seasons. The troupe has always been known to employ the best composers and musicians in the area, who work intimately with the actors, writers, and whole theatrical operation.<ref name="Bernstein" /> By the early 1970s, the troupe had earned a reputation for opposing capitalism, sexism, and war.<ref name="Bernstein" />
Some of the Troupe's popular shows include:


==Post-Davis history==
* ''Factwino meets The Moral Majority'' (1981), in which Factwino, an alcoholic superhero that became a recurring protagonist, bestowed wisdom upon prominent icons, such as [[Jerry Falwell]]
In the early 1970s Davis left the troupe when it re-formed as a [[collective]], the members of which operate as the [[artistic director]], at which time the troupe produced one of its most successful shows, ''The Independent Female'' (1970). In the 1980s, the group's productions retaliated against the [[Presidency of Ronald Reagan|Reagan administration]].
* ''Steel Town'' (1984) characterized the plight of steel workers and the decline of steel manufacture in the U.S. For this production, the troupe toured the Midwest, primarily in factory cities.
* ''The Minstrel Show or Civil Rights in a Cracker Barrel,'' which satirized entrenched attitudes among liberals and bigots during the Civil Rights Struggle<ref>Which, when professor Keith Fowler booked it into Massachusetts' Williams College in 1968, elicited comments from the opening night crowd of "I've been raped!" The next day a panel discussion was held in which professor Paul Gray of Bennington College thrust a KKK hood over his head and shouted, "If any of them M--F--s comes near my wife, I'll kill him!"</ref>
* ''Seeing Double,'' about a two-state solution in the Israeli/Palestinian conflict
* ''Ripped VanWinkle'' which explores the gap between the optimism of 1968 and the 1988 reality.
* ''Offshore,'' about the real cost of [[globalization]]
* ''Eating It,'' about [[genetic engineering]] and profit driven science
* ''1600 Transylvania Avenue,'' about corporate government feeding on public wealth
* ''GodFellas,'' a farce exposing the dangers of [[fundamentalism]] to democracy
* ''Making a Killing,'' about war propaganda and the plight of Iraqis contaminated by [[depleted uranium]]
* ''{{lang|es|Posibilidad}}, or Death of the Worker'', which juxtaposes the stories of workers taking over two factories - one in Argentina and one in the U.S. - and poses the question: why are American workers fighting for a seat at the table? Why not fight for the whole table?


[[File:Tübingen-Festival-San Francisco Mime Troupe028.jpg|thumb|Performing at the Club-Voltaire-Festival in [[Tübingen]], [[Germany]], circa 1980s]]
As well as the park-based shows, the Mime Troupe also tours nationally and internationally, having performed throughout Europe, Asia, South and Central America, and has won several awards. The group also facilitates community workshops. They are a [[nonprofit organization]]. The season traditionally starts on [[Fourth of July]] weekend and ends on [[Labor Day]] weekend.
As well as the park-based shows, the Mime Troupe also tours nationally and internationally, having performed throughout Europe, Asia, South and Central America.<ref name="wisconsin"/> The group also facilitates community workshops. They are a [[nonprofit organization]]. The season traditionally starts on [[Fourth of July]] weekend and ends on [[Labor Day]] weekend.<ref name="wisconsin"/>


Notable members include: [[Saul Landau]],<ref name="nyt"/> [[Nina Serrano]],<ref name="nyt"/> [[Steve Reich]],<ref name="wapo"/> [[John Connell (artist)|John Connell]],<ref name="askart"/> [[William T. Wiley]],<ref name="weber"/> [[Wally Hedrick]],<ref name="solnit"/> [[Victoria Hochberg]],<ref name="feferman"/> [[John Broderick (producer)|John Broderick]],<ref name="exam"/> [[Peter Coyote]],<ref name="wisconsin"/> [[Luis Valdez]],<ref name="exam"/> [[Barry Shabaka Henley]],<ref name="sullivan"/> [[Bruce Barthol]],<ref name="gussow"/> [[Joan Mankin]],<ref name="exam"/> [[Emmett Grogan]],<ref name="koch"/> [[Bill Graham (promoter)|Bill Graham]],<ref name="wisconsin"/> and [[Bishop Joey|Ed Holmes]].<ref name="exam"/>
Early Mime Troupers include Joe Bellan, [[Saul Landau]], [[Arthur Holden]], [[Nina Serrano]], [[Steve Reich]], [[John Connell]], Robert Nelson, [[William T. Wiley]], Sandra Archer, Robert Hudson, [[Wally Hedrick]], Judy North, Jerry Jump, Fred Hayden,
[[Victoria Hochberg]], Joaquin Aranda, Esteban Oropezo and [[John Broderick (producer)|John Broderick]]. Posters for several of the 1970s productions were designed by [[Jane Norling]], and are accessible online.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sfmt.org/company/archives/|title=Show Archive - San Francisco Mime Troupe - America's Theater of Political Comedy|website=www.sfmt.org|language=en|access-date=2017-03-25}}</ref>


Posters for several of the 1970s productions were designed by [[Jane Norling]], and are accessible online.<ref name="sfmt" />
Later veterans include [[Arthur Holden]], Sharon Lockwood, [[Peter Coyote]], [[Luis Valdez]], [[Barry Shabaka Henley]], [[Bruce Barthol]], Joan Holden, [[Joan Mankin]], Melody James, Andrea Snow, Daniel Chumley, Marie Acosta, Jael Weisman, Jim Haynie, John Robb, [[Emmett Grogan]], [[Bill Graham (promoter)|Bill Graham]], and [[Bishop Joey|Ed Holmes]].

The current San Francisco Mime Troupe Collective comprises Rotimi Agbabiaka, Michael Bello, Velina Brown, Ellen Callas, Hugo E Carbajal, Michael Carreiro, Marie Cartier, Lisa Hori-Garcia, Taylor Gonzalez, Keiko Shimosato Carreiro, Daniel Savio, Michael Gene Sullivan.


==Awards==
==Awards==
The Troupe has won three [[Obie Award|OBIEs]],<ref name="martin"/> and in 1987, the troupe's [[Brechtian]] style of [[guerrilla theatre]] earned them a special [[Regional Theatre Tony Award|Tony Award for Excellence in Regional Theater]].<ref name="arkatov"/> ''Red State,'' the troupe's 2008 fable about a small [[American Midwest|Midwest]] town that, after years of being ignored, demands accountability for their tax dollars, was nominated for a San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award for Best New Script, as was their 2009 production, ''Too Big to Fail'', which detailed how credit and the philosophy of profit at all costs trap mesmerized citizens in a cycle of debt, while endlessly enriching the [[capitalists]] who cast the spell.<ref name="martin"/>

In 1987, the troupe's [[Brechtian]] style of [[guerrilla theatre]] earned them a special [[Regional Theatre Tony Award|Tony Award for Excellence in Regional Theater]]. ''Red State,'' the Troupe's 2008 fable about a small [[American Midwest|Midwest]] town that, after years of being ignored, demands accountability for their tax dollars, was nominated for a San Francisco Bay Area Theater Critic's Award for Best New Script, as was their 2009 production, ''Too Big to Fail'', which detailed how credit and the philosophy of profit at all costs trap mesmerized citizens in a cycle of debt, while endlessly enriching the [[capitalists]] who cast the spell.


==Productions==
==Productions==
===1950s & 1960s===
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* 1959: ''Mime And Word
*1959: ''Games—3 Sets''{{sfn|Davis|1975|page=18}}
* 1960: ''11th Hour Mime Show''
* 1959: ''Mime And Word''
* 1960: ''11th Hour Mime Show''{{sfn|Davis|1975|page=18}}
* 1961: ''[[Act Without Words I|Act without Words]]''
* 1961: ''[[Act Without Words I|Act without Words]]''
* 1961: ''Event I''
* 1961: ''Event I''
* 1961: ''Purgatory and [[Krapp's Last Tape]]''
* 1961: ''Purgatory and [[Krapp's Last Tape]]''
* 1962: ''The Dowry''
* 1962: ''The Dowry''{{sfn|Davis|1975|page=33}}
* 1963: ''[[Ubu Roi|Ubu King]]''
* 1963: ''[[Ubu Roi|Ubu King]]''{{sfn|Davis|1975|page=27}}
* 1963: ''Event II''
* 1963: ''Event II''
* 1963: ''Film: Plastic Haircut''
* 1963: ''Film: Plastic Haircut''
* 1963: ''Ruzante's Maneuvers''
* 1963: ''Ruzante's Maneuvers''
* 1963: ''The Root''
* 1963: ''The Root''{{sfn|Davis|1975|page=65}}
* 1964: ''Chorizos''
* 1964: ''Chorizos''{{sfn|Davis|1975|page=41}}
* 1964: ''Event III''
* 1964: ''Event III''
* 1964: ''Mimes and Movie''
* 1964: ''Mimes and Movie''
* 1965: ''[[Tartuffe]]''
* 1964: ''[[Tartuffe]]''{{sfn|Davis|1975|page=36}}
* 1965: ''[[The Exception and the Rule]]''
* 1965: ''[[The Exception and the Rule]]''
* 1965: ''Candelaio''
* 1965: ''Candelaio''
* 1965: ''Chronicles of Hell''
* 1965: ''Chronicles of Hell''{{sfn|Davis|1975|page=74}}
* 1965: ''Civil Rights''
* * 1965: ''The Minstrel Show or Civil Rights in a Cracker Barrel''{{sfn|Davis|1975|page=48}}
* 1965: ''Jim Crow in a Cracker Barrel''
* 1965: ''Jim Crow in a Cracker Barrel''
* 1966: ''[[The Miser]]''
* 1966: ''[[The Miser]]''{{sfn|Davis|1975|page=67}}
* 1966: ''Film: Mirage And Centerman''
* 1966: ''Film: Mirage And Centerman''
* 1966: ''Jack Off!''
* 1966: ''Jack Off!''
Line 68: Line 70:
* 1966: ''What's That Ahead?''
* 1966: ''What's That Ahead?''
* 1967: ''L'Amant Militaire''
* 1967: ''L'Amant Militaire''
* 1967: ''The Condemned''
* 1967: ''The Condemned''{{sfn|Davis|1975|page=75}}
* 1967: ''The Minstrel Show or Civil Rights in a Cracker Barrel''
* 1967: ''The Vaudeville Show''
* 1967: ''The Vaudeville Show''
* 1968: ''Gutter Puppets (Meter Maid)''
* 1968: ''Gutter Puppets (Meter Maid)''
Line 76: Line 77:
* 1969: ''[[Turandot (Brecht)|The Congress of Whitewashers or Turandot]]''
* 1969: ''[[Turandot (Brecht)|The Congress of Whitewashers or Turandot]]''
* 1969: ''The Third Estate''
* 1969: ''The Third Estate''
{{div col end}}
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Source<ref name="showlist"/>
|-
|}

===1970s===
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* 1970: ''Ecoman''
* 1970: ''Ecoman''
* 1970: ''Los Siete''
* 1970: ''Los Siete''
Line 86: Line 95:
* 1972: ''Frozen Wages''
* 1972: ''Frozen Wages''
* 1972: ''High Rises''
* 1972: ''High Rises''
* 1972: ''The Dragon Lady's Revenge''
* 1973: ''[[The Mother (Brecht play)|The Mother]]''
* 1973: ''[[The Mother (Brecht play)|The Mother]]''
* 1973: ''San Francisco Scandals of 1973''
* 1973: ''San Francisco Scandals of 1973''
Line 92: Line 100:
* 1975: ''Frijoles or Beans To You''
* 1975: ''Frijoles or Beans To You''
* 1975: ''Power Play''
* 1975: ''Power Play''
* 1976: ''False Promises''
* 1976: ''False Promises/Nos Engañaron''
* 1976: ''Nos Enganaron''
* 1977: ''Hotel Universe''
* 1977: ''Hotel Universe''
* 1978: ''Elektrobucks''
* 1978: ''Elektrobucks''
* 1979: ''Can't Pay? Won't Pay! (play)|We Can't Pay, We Won't Pay''
* 1979: ''We Can't Pay, We Won't Pay''
* 1979: ''Squash''
* 1979: ''Squash''
* 1979: ''T.V. Dinner''
* 1979: ''T.V. Dinner''
{{div col end}}
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Source<ref name="showlist"/>
|-
|}

===1980s===
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* 1980: ''Fact Person''
* 1980: ''Fact Person''
* 1981: ''Americans or Last Tango in Huahuatenango''
* 1981: ''Americans or Last Tango in Huahuatenango''
Line 104: Line 119:
* 1981: ''Ghosts''
* 1981: ''Ghosts''
* 1982: ''Factwino vs. Armagoddonman''
* 1982: ''Factwino vs. Armagoddonman''
* 1982: ''Hotel Universe''
* 1983: ''Secrets in the Sand''
* 1983: ''Secrets in the Sand''
* 1983: ''The Uprising At Fuente Ovejuna''
* 1983: ''The Uprising At Fuente Ovejuna''
Line 109: Line 125:
* 1985: ''Crossing Borders''
* 1985: ''Crossing Borders''
* 1985: ''Factwino: The Opera''
* 1985: ''Factwino: The Opera''
* 1986: ''Hotel Universe''
* 1986: ''Spain/36''
* 1986: ''Spain/36''
* 1986: ''The Mozamgola Caper''
* 1986: ''The Mozamgola Caper''
* 1987: ''The Dragon Lady's Revenge''
* 1987: ''The Dragon Lady's Revenge''
* 1988: ''Ripped Van Winkle''
* 1988: ''Ripped Van Winkle''
* 1989: ''Secrets in the Sand''
* 1989: ''Seeing Double''
* 1989: ''Seeing Double''
{{div col end}}
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Source<ref name="showlist"/>
|-
|}

===1990s===
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* 1990: ''Rats''
* 1990: ''Rats''
* 1990: ''Uncle Tom's Cabin''
* 1990: ''Uncle Tom's Cabin''
Line 123: Line 145:
* 1993: ''Offshore''
* 1993: ''Offshore''
* 1994: ''Big Wind''
* 1994: ''Big Wind''
* 1994: ''Escape to Cyberia''
* 1994: ''Revenger Rat Meets the Merchant of Death''
* 1995: ''Coast City Confidential''
* 1995: ''Coast City Confidential''
* 1995: ''Escape to Cyberia''
* 1996: ''Gotta Get A Life''
* 1996: ''Gotta Get A Life''
* 1996: ''Soul Suckers from Outer Space''
* 1996: ''Soul Suckers from Outer Space''
* 1997: ''13 Days / Trece Dias''
* 1996: ''13 Days''
* 1997: ''Killing Time''
* 1997: ''Killing Time''
* 1997: ''La Hembra Independencia / The Independent Female''
* 1997: ''Inside Out''
* 1997: ''Revenger Rat Meets the Merchant of Death''
* 1997: ''The Independent Female''
* 1997: ''Teen City''
* 1997: ''Teen City''
* 1998: ''The Artist Must Take Sides''
* 1998: ''The Artist Must Take Sides''
* 1998: ''Damaged Care''
* 1999: ''City For Sale''
* 1999: ''City For Sale''
* 1999: ''Damaged Care''
* 1999: ''40th Retrospective''
{{div col end}}
* 1999: ''The First Forty Years''
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Source<ref name="showlist"/>
|-
|}

===2000s===
[[File:Godfellas San Francisco Mime Troupe 2006 b.jpg|thumb|300px|2006 performance of ''Godfellas'']]
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* 2000: ''Eating it''
* 2000: ''Eating it''
* 2001: ''1600 Transylvania Avenue''
* 2001: ''1600 Transylvania Avenue''
Line 146: Line 178:
* 2008: ''Red State''
* 2008: ''Red State''
* 2009: ''Too Big to Fail''
* 2009: ''Too Big to Fail''
{| class="wikitable"
* 2010: ''Posibilidad or Death of the Worker''
|+ Source<ref name="showlist"/>
* 2011: ''2012 - The Musical!''
|-
* 2012: ''For the Greater Good, or The Last Election''
|}
* 2013: ''Oil & Water''
{{div col end}}
* 2014: ''Ripple Effect''

* 2015: ''Freedomland''
===2010s===
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* 2010: ''Posibilidad or Death of the Worker''<ref name="showlist"/>
* 2011: ''2012 - The Musical!''<ref name="showlist"/>
* 2012: ''For the Greater Good, or The Last Election''<ref name="showlist"/>
* 2013: ''Oil & Water''<ref name="showlist"/>
* 2014: ''Ripple Effect''<ref name="showlist"/>
* 2015: ''Freedomland''<ref name="showlist"/>
* 2016: ''Schooled''
* 2016: ''Schooled''
* 2017: ''Walls''
* 2017: ''Walls''
* 2018: ''Seeing Red''
* 2018: ''Seeing Red''
* 2019: ''Treasure Island''
* 2019: ''Treasure Island''<ref name="paloa" />
{{div col end}}
{{div col end}}
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Source<ref name="showlist"/>
|-
|}

===2020s===
* 2020: ''Tales of the Resistance: Volume 1''{{refn|group=note|name=covid|Radio play due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]]}}
* 2021: ''Tales of the Resistance: Volume 2''{{refn|group=note|name=covid|Radio play due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]]}}
* 2022: ''Back to the Way Things Were''
* 2023: ''Breakdown''<ref name="sfmt3" />
* 2024: ''American Dreams''<ref name="sfmt2024" />

==Albums==
*1972: ''Fillmore – The Last Days''<ref name="fillmore"/>
*1983: ''The Album''<ref name="album"/>
*1984: ''Steel Town''<ref name="steel"/>


==See also==
==See also==
{{portal|Comedy|San Francisco Bay Area|The arts|Theatre}}
*[[Living Theater]]
*[[Living Theater]]
*[[Bread & Puppet]]
*[[Bread & Puppet]]
*[[Teatro Campesino]]
*[[Teatro Campesino]]
*[[Political theatre]]
*[[Political drama]]
*[[St. Stupid's Day]]
*[[St. Stupid's Day]]
*[[Beach Blanket Babylon]] - another long-running San Francisco theatre satire group
*''[[Beach Blanket Babylon]]''

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist|refs=

<ref name="album">{{cite web |author1=San Francisco Mime Troupe |title=The Album |url=https://archive.org/details/lp_the-album_san-francisco-mime-troupe |publisher=Flying Fish |date=1983}}</ref>

<ref name="arkatov">{{cite news |last1=Arkatov |first1=Janice |title=Brave New World for San Francisco Mime Troupe |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=December 16, 1988 |page=14}}</ref>

<ref name="askart">{{cite web |title=John Connell - Biography |url=https://www.askart.com/artist/John_Connell/11275297/John_Connell.aspx |website=AskArt}}</ref>

<ref name="Bernstein">{{cite book |last1=Bernstein |first1=Lee |title=America is the Prison: Arts and Politics in Prison in the 1970s |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a3yRlKxxDtkC |access-date=July 12, 2011 |year=2010 |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |location=Chapel Hill, North Carolina |isbn=9780807871171 |page=52|chapter=The Age of Jackson: George Jackson and the Radical Critique of Incarceration |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a3yRlKxxDtkC&pg=PA51}}</ref>

<ref name="exam">{{cite news |author1=San Francisco Examiner |title=After 40 years, the San Francisco Mime Troupe is still alive and kicking |work=San Francisco Examiner |date=November 21, 1999 |page=M54}}</ref>

<ref name="feferman">{{cite web |last1=Feferman |first1=Linda |title=Visual History with Victoria Hochberg |url=https://www.dga.org/Craft/VisualHistory/Interviews/Victoria-Hochberg.aspx |website=Directors Guild of America |date=2023}}</ref>

<ref name="fillmore">{{cite web |author1=[[Bill Graham (promoter)|Bill Graham]]; [[Boz Scaggs]]; [[Cold Blood (band)|Cold Blood]]; [[Elvin Bishop]]; [[Grateful Dead]]; [[Hot Tuna]]; [[It's a Beautiful Day]]; [[John Walker (musician)|John Walker]]; [[Lamb (rock band)|Lamb]]; [[Malo (band)|Malo]]; [[New Riders of the Purple Sage]]; [[Quicksilver Messenger Service]]; [[Santana (band)|Santana]]; [[Stoneground]]; [[Taj Mahal (musician)|Taj Mahal]]; [[Sons of Champlin]]; [[Tower Of Power]] |title=Fillmore - The Last Days |url=https://archive.org/details/lp_fillmore-the-last-days_various-bill-graham-boz-scaggs-cold-blo |publisher=Fillmore Records |date=1972}}</ref>

<ref name="gussow">{{cite news |last1=Gussow |first1=Mel |title=Theater: San Francisco Mime Troupe |work=The New York Times |date=May 19, 1982 |page=C21}}</ref>

<ref name="koch">{{cite news |last1=Koch |first1=John |title=Memories of a Heroic Rogue |work=Boston Globe |date=August 26, 1990 |page=B25}}</ref>

<ref name="independent">{{cite news |title=San Francisco Mime Troupe at the Arena Theatre |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/independent-coast-observer-mime-troupe/138431499/ |work=Independent Coast Observer |date=July 11, 2003 |location=Gualala, California |page=9}}</ref>

<ref name="martin">{{cite news |last1=Martin |first1=Millicent |title=Mime troupe vocal about social activism |work=Palladium–Item |publisher=Gannett |date=October 23, 2001 |page=A3}}</ref>

<ref name="nyt">{{cite news |last1=Martin |first1=Douglas |title=Saul Landau, 77, Maker of Films With Leftist Edge, Dies |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=September 12, 2013 |page=B19}}</ref>

<ref name="paloa">{{cite news |last1=Kane |first1=Karla |title=SF Mime Troupe takes on 'Treasure Island' |url=https://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2019/07/30/sf-mime-troupe-takes-on-treasure-island |work=Palo Alto Weekly |date=July 30, 2019}}</ref>

<ref name="showlist">{{cite web |title=SFMT Complete Show List |url=http://www.sfmt.org/company/archives/SFMTcompleteshowlist.php |website=SFMT|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161204205354/http://www.sfmt.org/company/archives/SFMTcompleteshowlist.php |archive-date=December 4, 2016 }}</ref>

<ref name="solnit">{{cite journal |last1=Solnit |first1=Rebecca |title=A real estate history of the avant-garde |journal=Design Book Review |date=Winter 2001 |issue=44–45 |page=6}}</ref>

<ref name="sfmt">{{Cite web|url=http://www.sfmt.org/company/archives/|title=Show Archive - San Francisco Mime Troupe - America's Theater of Political Comedy|website=SFMT|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160707214517/http://www.sfmt.org/company/archives/ |access-date=2017-03-25|archive-date=July 7, 2016 }}</ref>

<ref name="sfmt3">{{cite web | url=https://www.sfmt.org/show-archive/Breakdown | title=2023 Breakdown|website=SFMT}}</ref>

<ref name="sfmt2024">{{cite web | url=https://www.sfmt.org/show-archive/american-dreams | title=American Dreams|website=SFMT}}</ref>

<ref name="steel">{{cite web |author1=San Francisco Mime Troupe |title=Steel Town |url=https://archive.org/details/lp_steel-town_san-francisco-mime-troupe |publisher=Flying Fish |date=1984}}</ref>

<ref name="sullivan">{{cite news |last1=Sullivan |first1=Dan |title=Stage Review 'Elisabeth' A Slice of Fo With American Twist |work=Los Angeles Times |date=October 19, 1987 |page=1}}</ref>

<ref name="wapo">{{cite news |last1=Page |first1=Tim |title=Phase the Music; Steve Reich's Explorations in a 10-CD Box |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=June 29, 1997 |pages=G1; G4}}</ref>

<ref name="weber">{{cite news |last1=Weber |first1=Bruce |title=Robert Nelson, an Experimental Filmmaker, Is Dead at 81 |work=The New York Times |date=January 22, 2012 |page=A24}}</ref>

<ref name="wisconsin">{{cite news |last1=Thomas |first1=Rob |title=Spotlight: San Francisco Mime Troupe |work=Wisconsin State Journal |date=October 7, 1999 |page=10}}</ref>

}}


==Sources==
==Sources==
*{{cite book | last=Mason | first=Susan Vaneta | title=The San Francisco Mime Troupe Reader|url=https://www.press.umich.edu/11869/san_francisco_mime_troupe_reader | location=Ann Arbor | publisher=University of Michigan Press | year=2005 | isbn=0-472-09842-X}}
*{{cite book | last=Davis | first=R.G. | title=The San Francisco Mime Troupe: The First Ten Years | url=https://archive.org/details/sanfranciscomime00davi | url-access=registration | location=Palo Alto, CA | publisher=[[Ramparts Press]] | year=1975 | isbn=0-87867-059-9}}
*{{cite book | last=Davis | first=R.G. | title=The San Francisco Mime Troupe: The First Ten Years | url=https://archive.org/details/sanfranciscomime00davi | url-access=registration | location=Palo Alto, CA | publisher=[[Ramparts Press]] | year=1975 | isbn=0-87867-059-9}}

*{{cite book | last=Orenstein | first=Claudia | title=Festive Revolutions: The Politics of Popular Theater and the San Francisco Mime Troupe | location=Jackson, MS | publisher=University Press of Mississippi | year=1998 | isbn=1-57806-079-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WllcGyASp-sC | accessdate=2008-05-30}}
==Further reading==
*{{cite book |last1=Doyle |first1=Michael William |title=Imagine Nation: The American Counterculture of the 1960s and '70s |date=2002 |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |chapter-url=http://www.diggers.org/guerrilla_theater.htm |chapter=Staging the Revolution: Guerrilla Theater as a Countercultural Practice, 1965-1968}}
*{{cite book | last=Mason | first=Susan Vaneta | title=The San Francisco Mime Troupe Reader|url=https://archive.org/details/sanfranciscomime0000unse/page/n1/mode/2up | location=Ann Arbor | publisher=University of Michigan Press | year=2005 |url-access=registration| isbn=0-472-09842-X}}
*{{cite book | last=Orenstein | first=Claudia | title=Festive Revolutions: The Politics of Popular Theater and the San Francisco Mime Troupe | location=Jackson, MS | publisher=University Press of Mississippi | year=1998 | isbn=1-57806-079-6 |url=https://archive.org/details/festiverevolutio0000oren/mode/2up |url-access=registration}}
*{{cite book |last1=Schechter |first1=Joel |title=Durov's Pig: Clowns, Politics, and the Theatre |date=1985 |publisher=Theatre Communications Group |isbn=978-0-930452-51-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/durovspigclownsp00sche/page/n5/mode/2up |url-access=registration}}
*{{cite book |last1=Shank |first1=Theodore |title=Beyond the Boundaries: American Alternative Theatre |date=2002 |publisher=University of Michigan Press |isbn=978-0-472-11166-4 |url=https://archive.org/details/beyondboundaries0000shan/page/n7/mode/2up |url-access=registration}}


==External links==
==External links==
Line 178: Line 291:
*[https://www.sfmt.org The San Francisco Mime Troupe official website]
*[https://www.sfmt.org The San Francisco Mime Troupe official website]
*{{IBDB name}}
*{{IBDB name}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100612091922/http://www.lib.ucdavis.edu/dept/specol/collections/manuscripts/index.php?collection=287 San Francisco Mime Troupe Archives] at Special Collections, University Library, University of California,
*[http://www.diggers.org/guerrilla_theater.htm "Staging the Revolution: Guerrilla Theater as a Countercultural Practice, 1965-1968"]
*[http://www.lib.ucdavis.edu/dept/specol/collections/manuscripts/index.php?collection=287 San Francisco Mime Troupe Archives] at [http://www.lib.ucdavis.edu/dept/specol/ Special Collections Dept.], University Library, University of California, Davis


{{TonyAward RegionalTheatre 1976–2000}}
{{TonyAward RegionalTheatre 1976–2000}}
{{Authority control}}


[[Category:1959 establishments in California]]
[[Category:1959 establishments in California]]
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[[Category:Regional theatre in the United States]]
[[Category:Regional theatre in the United States]]
[[Category:Tony Award winners]]
[[Category:Tony Award winners]]
[[Category:Postmodern theatre]]

Latest revision as of 11:04, 21 November 2024

San Francisco Mime Troupe
Formation1959
TypeTheatre group
Purpose
  • Comedy
  • Political satire
  • Melodrama
Location
Notable members
Websitewww.sfmt.org

The San Francisco Mime Troupe is a theatre of political satire which performs free shows in various parks in the San Francisco Bay Area and around California, founded in 1959. Despite its name, the group does not perform silent mime, but each year creates an original musical comedy that combines aspects of commedia dell'arte, melodrama, and broad farce with topical political themes. In 1987, the group was awarded the Regional Theatre Award at the 41st Tony Awards.

Origins

[edit]

The group was founded in 1959 by R. G. Davis as a medium of expression of his divergent theatrical concepts.[1] The group debuted on October 29, 1959, with Games—3 Sets, and two other plays.[1] By 1961, the group transitioned to the commedia dell'arte format to more thoroughly comment on perceived political repression in the United States, the growing civil rights movement and military and covert intervention abroad.[2]

In the mid-1960s the group started to rely less on the direct commedia dell'arte format and transitioned into having an objective of "teaching, directing towards change and to be an example of change".[3] It also began integrating elements of jazz into its musical composition, eventually leading to the inclusion of a jazz band within the troupe. Their first outdoor performance was in May 1962 at Golden Gate Park.[4] The group also gained notoriety for its numerous altercations with law enforcement, which resulted in performing at benefits to raise money for legal fees.[5] In 1967, a benefit called "Appeal IV" featured the bands the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service and Moby Grape.[6]

Advertisement for a documentary film about the San Francisco Mime Troupe, Seattle, 1968

They also traveled to Canada and played at Simon Fraser University in 1966 with A Minstrel Show or Civil Rights in a Cracker Barrel by Gary Davis and Saul Landau.[7]

The music for Minstrel Show was composed and performed by Steve Reich, who worked with the troupe for at least two seasons. The troupe has always been known to employ the best composers and musicians in the area, who work intimately with the actors, writers, and whole theatrical operation.[8] By the early 1970s, the troupe had earned a reputation for opposing capitalism, sexism, and war.[8]

Post-Davis history

[edit]

In the early 1970s Davis left the troupe when it re-formed as a collective, the members of which operate as the artistic director, at which time the troupe produced one of its most successful shows, The Independent Female (1970). In the 1980s, the group's productions retaliated against the Reagan administration.

Performing at the Club-Voltaire-Festival in Tübingen, Germany, circa 1980s

As well as the park-based shows, the Mime Troupe also tours nationally and internationally, having performed throughout Europe, Asia, South and Central America.[9] The group also facilitates community workshops. They are a nonprofit organization. The season traditionally starts on Fourth of July weekend and ends on Labor Day weekend.[9]

Notable members include: Saul Landau,[10] Nina Serrano,[10] Steve Reich,[11] John Connell,[12] William T. Wiley,[13] Wally Hedrick,[14] Victoria Hochberg,[15] John Broderick,[16] Peter Coyote,[9] Luis Valdez,[16] Barry Shabaka Henley,[17] Bruce Barthol,[18] Joan Mankin,[16] Emmett Grogan,[19] Bill Graham,[9] and Ed Holmes.[16]

Posters for several of the 1970s productions were designed by Jane Norling, and are accessible online.[20]

Awards

[edit]

The Troupe has won three OBIEs,[21] and in 1987, the troupe's Brechtian style of guerrilla theatre earned them a special Tony Award for Excellence in Regional Theater.[22] Red State, the troupe's 2008 fable about a small Midwest town that, after years of being ignored, demands accountability for their tax dollars, was nominated for a San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award for Best New Script, as was their 2009 production, Too Big to Fail, which detailed how credit and the philosophy of profit at all costs trap mesmerized citizens in a cycle of debt, while endlessly enriching the capitalists who cast the spell.[21]

Productions

[edit]

1950s & 1960s

[edit]
  • 1959: Games—3 Sets[1]
  • 1959: Mime And Word
  • 1960: 11th Hour Mime Show[1]
  • 1961: Act without Words
  • 1961: Event I
  • 1961: Purgatory and Krapp's Last Tape
  • 1962: The Dowry[23]
  • 1963: Ubu King[24]
  • 1963: Event II
  • 1963: Film: Plastic Haircut
  • 1963: Ruzante's Maneuvers
  • 1963: The Root[25]
  • 1964: Chorizos[26]
  • 1964: Event III
  • 1964: Mimes and Movie
  • 1964: Tartuffe[27]
  • 1965: The Exception and the Rule
  • 1965: Candelaio
  • 1965: Chronicles of Hell[28]
  • * 1965: The Minstrel Show or Civil Rights in a Cracker Barrel[29]
  • 1965: Jim Crow in a Cracker Barrel
  • 1966: The Miser[30]
  • 1966: Film: Mirage And Centerman
  • 1966: Jack Off!
  • 1966: Olive Pits
  • 1966: Search & Seizure
  • 1966: What's That Ahead?
  • 1967: L'Amant Militaire
  • 1967: The Condemned[31]
  • 1967: The Vaudeville Show
  • 1968: Gutter Puppets (Meter Maid)
  • 1968: Little Black Panther
  • 1968: Ruzzante or the Veteran Gorilla Marching Band is Formed
  • 1969: The Congress of Whitewashers or Turandot
  • 1969: The Third Estate
Source[32]

1970s

[edit]
  • 1970: Ecoman
  • 1970: Los Siete
  • 1970: Seize the Time
  • 1970: Telephone Man or Ripping off Ma Bell
  • 1970: The Independent Female
  • 1971: Clown Show
  • 1971: The Dragon Lady's Revenge
  • 1972: American Dreamer
  • 1972: Frozen Wages
  • 1972: High Rises
  • 1973: The Mother
  • 1973: San Francisco Scandals of 1973
  • 1974: The Great Air Robbery
  • 1975: Frijoles or Beans To You
  • 1975: Power Play
  • 1976: False Promises/Nos Engañaron
  • 1977: Hotel Universe
  • 1978: Elektrobucks
  • 1979: We Can't Pay, We Won't Pay
  • 1979: Squash
  • 1979: T.V. Dinner
Source[32]

1980s

[edit]
  • 1980: Fact Person
  • 1981: Americans or Last Tango in Huahuatenango
  • 1981: Factwino Meets the Moral Majority
  • 1981: Ghosts
  • 1982: Factwino vs. Armagoddonman
  • 1982: Hotel Universe
  • 1983: Secrets in the Sand
  • 1983: The Uprising At Fuente Ovejuna
  • 1984: Steeltown
  • 1985: Crossing Borders
  • 1985: Factwino: The Opera
  • 1986: Spain/36
  • 1986: The Mozamgola Caper
  • 1987: The Dragon Lady's Revenge
  • 1988: Ripped Van Winkle
  • 1989: Seeing Double
Source[32]

1990s

[edit]
  • 1990: Rats
  • 1990: Uncle Tom's Cabin
  • 1991: Back to Normal
  • 1991: I Ain't Yo Uncle
  • 1992: Social Work
  • 1993: Offshore
  • 1994: Big Wind
  • 1994: Escape to Cyberia
  • 1994: Revenger Rat Meets the Merchant of Death
  • 1995: Coast City Confidential
  • 1996: Gotta Get A Life
  • 1996: Soul Suckers from Outer Space
  • 1996: 13 Days
  • 1997: Killing Time
  • 1997: Inside Out
  • 1997: The Independent Female
  • 1997: Teen City
  • 1998: The Artist Must Take Sides
  • 1998: Damaged Care
  • 1999: City For Sale
  • 1999: 40th Retrospective
Source[32]

2000s

[edit]
2006 performance of Godfellas
  • 2000: Eating it
  • 2001: 1600 Transylvania Avenue
  • 2002: Mr. Smith Goes to Obscuristan"
  • 2003: Veronique of the Mounties
  • 2004: Showdown at Crawford Gulch
  • 2005: Doing Good
  • 2006: Godfellas
  • 2007: Making a Killing
  • 2008: Red State
  • 2009: Too Big to Fail
Source[32]

2010s

[edit]
  • 2010: Posibilidad or Death of the Worker[32]
  • 2011: 2012 - The Musical![32]
  • 2012: For the Greater Good, or The Last Election[32]
  • 2013: Oil & Water[32]
  • 2014: Ripple Effect[32]
  • 2015: Freedomland[32]
  • 2016: Schooled
  • 2017: Walls
  • 2018: Seeing Red
  • 2019: Treasure Island[33]
Source[32]

2020s

[edit]
  • 2020: Tales of the Resistance: Volume 1[note 1]
  • 2021: Tales of the Resistance: Volume 2[note 1]
  • 2022: Back to the Way Things Were
  • 2023: Breakdown[34]
  • 2024: American Dreams[35]

Albums

[edit]
  • 1972: Fillmore – The Last Days[36]
  • 1983: The Album[37]
  • 1984: Steel Town[38]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Radio play due to the COVID-19 pandemic

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d Davis 1975, p. 18.
  2. ^ "San Francisco Mime Troupe at the Arena Theatre". Independent Coast Observer. Gualala, California. July 11, 2003. p. 9.
  3. ^ Davis 1975, p. 70.
  4. ^ Davis 1975, p. 35.
  5. ^ Davis 1975, pp. 65–70.
  6. ^ Davis 1975, p. 80.
  7. ^ Davis 1975, pp. 73–77.
  8. ^ a b Bernstein, Lee (2010). "The Age of Jackson: George Jackson and the Radical Critique of Incarceration". America is the Prison: Arts and Politics in Prison in the 1970s. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press. p. 52. ISBN 9780807871171. Retrieved July 12, 2011.
  9. ^ a b c d Thomas, Rob (October 7, 1999). "Spotlight: San Francisco Mime Troupe". Wisconsin State Journal. p. 10.
  10. ^ a b Martin, Douglas (September 12, 2013). "Saul Landau, 77, Maker of Films With Leftist Edge, Dies". The New York Times. p. B19.
  11. ^ Page, Tim (June 29, 1997). "Phase the Music; Steve Reich's Explorations in a 10-CD Box". The Washington Post. pp. G1, G4.
  12. ^ "John Connell - Biography". AskArt.
  13. ^ Weber, Bruce (January 22, 2012). "Robert Nelson, an Experimental Filmmaker, Is Dead at 81". The New York Times. p. A24.
  14. ^ Solnit, Rebecca (Winter 2001). "A real estate history of the avant-garde". Design Book Review (44–45): 6.
  15. ^ Feferman, Linda (2023). "Visual History with Victoria Hochberg". Directors Guild of America.
  16. ^ a b c d San Francisco Examiner (November 21, 1999). "After 40 years, the San Francisco Mime Troupe is still alive and kicking". San Francisco Examiner. p. M54.
  17. ^ Sullivan, Dan (October 19, 1987). "Stage Review 'Elisabeth' A Slice of Fo With American Twist". Los Angeles Times. p. 1.
  18. ^ Gussow, Mel (May 19, 1982). "Theater: San Francisco Mime Troupe". The New York Times. p. C21.
  19. ^ Koch, John (August 26, 1990). "Memories of a Heroic Rogue". Boston Globe. p. B25.
  20. ^ "Show Archive - San Francisco Mime Troupe - America's Theater of Political Comedy". SFMT. Archived from the original on July 7, 2016. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  21. ^ a b Martin, Millicent (October 23, 2001). "Mime troupe vocal about social activism". Palladium–Item. Gannett. p. A3.
  22. ^ Arkatov, Janice (December 16, 1988). "Brave New World for San Francisco Mime Troupe". Los Angeles Times. p. 14.
  23. ^ Davis 1975, p. 33.
  24. ^ Davis 1975, p. 27.
  25. ^ Davis 1975, p. 65.
  26. ^ Davis 1975, p. 41.
  27. ^ Davis 1975, p. 36.
  28. ^ Davis 1975, p. 74.
  29. ^ Davis 1975, p. 48.
  30. ^ Davis 1975, p. 67.
  31. ^ Davis 1975, p. 75.
  32. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "SFMT Complete Show List". SFMT. Archived from the original on December 4, 2016.
  33. ^ Kane, Karla (July 30, 2019). "SF Mime Troupe takes on 'Treasure Island'". Palo Alto Weekly.
  34. ^ "2023 Breakdown". SFMT.
  35. ^ "American Dreams". SFMT.
  36. ^ Bill Graham; Boz Scaggs; Cold Blood; Elvin Bishop; Grateful Dead; Hot Tuna; It's a Beautiful Day; John Walker; Lamb; Malo; New Riders of the Purple Sage; Quicksilver Messenger Service; Santana; Stoneground; Taj Mahal; Sons of Champlin; Tower Of Power (1972). "Fillmore - The Last Days". Fillmore Records.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  37. ^ San Francisco Mime Troupe (1983). "The Album". Flying Fish.
  38. ^ San Francisco Mime Troupe (1984). "Steel Town". Flying Fish.

Sources

[edit]

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]
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