Eye and Ear Theater Archive
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Abstract
The Eye and Ear Theater Archive reflects the activities of the Eye and Ear Theater Company between its founding in 1979 and 1996. The bulk of the collection dates from between 1980 and 1988. The organization sought to encourage artistic collaboration by producing plays written by poets using sets and costumes designed by visual artists, and its archive is composed largely of correspondence, clippings from newspapers and periodicals, and the company's general administrative and financial records. A slightly smaller quantity of the archive reflects the company's theater productions, including scripts, promotional materials, video recordings, and photographs of the performances, art, and individuals involved.
Historical Note
The Eye and Ear Theater Company was founded in 1979 by Ada Katz, wife of the painter Alex Katz; Roy Leaf, vice president of the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture; and theater director Mac McGinnes, as a non-profit theatrical production company. Inspired by the poet and artist theaters of the 1950s and early 1960s, such as John B. Myers' Artists' Theatre and the Judson Poets Theatre of Greenwich Village, the organization sought to encourage artistic collaboration through Off Broadway productions of plays written by poets with sets and costumes designed by painters and scultptors. It was run by a Board of Directors which was composed of the company's founders along with Bob Holman, Susan Davis, Beth DeWoody, George Schneeman, and later Joanne Cassulon, Mark Charles, James Kraft, Rosie Levai, Michael O'Brian, and Paul Chupf. The Board dealt with fundraising, production, administration, and publicity. It also set the company's artistic goals, and in pursuing them relied on the assistance of an Advisory Board, which included noted poets, choreographers, and artists like John Ashbery, Edwin Denby, Laura Dean, Paul Taylor, Red Grooms, and Jennifer Bartlett. The members of both bodies were volunteers who contributed resources like office space and secretarial services in addition to their time. Their work would be supported by a paid administrative staff beginning in 1985. The poets and artists were paid for their work and the sets and costumes used in the company's productions remained the property of the theatre company, which on occasion lent them to art exhibitions. Much of the organization's funding came from individuals, corporations, and foundations, as well as state and federal grants, including The National Endowment for the Arts, Lila Acheson Wallace Fund, The Samuel and May Rudin Foundation, The Kulcher Foundation, The Leonhardt Foundation, and The Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts.
The Eye and Ear Theater Company strove to produce three plays per season, each developed through collaborations between poets, visual artists, and theater directors, usually with the assistance of other specialists. Among the company's productions are works from both contemporary and past poets. The organization's first production, City Junket written by Kenward Elmslie and designed by Red Grooms, opened in 1980 accompanied by a smaller staging of Litany by John Ashbery with sets by Alex Katz. The next season saw the production of Edwin Denby's Four Plays by Edwin Denby, a play originally written for one of Andy Warhol's uncompleted film projects, with sets designed by Elizabeth Murray and costumes by Judith Shea under the direction of Bob Holman. Also produced were The Heroes by John Ashbery with sets by Jane Freilicher and Shopping and Waiting by James Schuyler on a set designed by Alex Katz. In 1982 the company staged Ed Friedman's The White Snake using sets and costumes designed by Robert Kushner followed in 1983 by Paid on Both Sides by W.H. Auden designed by David Hockney. In 1984 Eye and Ear produced the single act drama Desire Caught by the Tail by Pablo Picasso with sets developed by Linda Benglis. The next year the company produced a play it had commissioned from the poet Alice Notley entitled Anne's White Glove on a set designed by Jane Dickson. In 1988 the company produced Kaddish written by Allen Ginsberg and designed by Eric Fischl.
Sources
"Eye and Ear Theatre Artistic Statement," Undated, Eye and Ear Theater Archive, MSS 195, Box 1, Folder 2, Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University Libraries
Glueck, Grace. "Art People." The New York Times, April 6, 1979, Eye and Ear Theater Archive, MSS 195, Box 1, Folder 17, Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University Libraries
Klein, Alvin. "Picasso Play Gets Rare Showing." The New York Times, June 10, 1984, L18
Lawson, Carol. "Broadway." The New York Times, February 8, 1980. p. C2
Letter from Susan Davis and Ada Katz to Sandra D. Sanderson, 1985, Eye and Ear Theater Archive, MSS 195, Box 1, Folder 6, Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University Libraries
"Theatre Art in Exhibition," The Southampton Press, June 7, 1984, Eye and Ear Theater Archive, MSS 195, Box 1, Folder 17, Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University Libraries
Unaddressed Letter from Ada Katz, [1982], Eye and Ear Theater Archive, MSS 195, Box 1, Folder 11, Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University Libraries
Arrangement
The Eye and Ear Theater Archive is arranged into four series reflecting the original order of the collection.
Series I: Administrative Materials is composed of three subseries based upon the functions the records were created to serve, namely "General Administrative Materials," "Fundraising," and "Financial" documents. Within each subseries the records are grouped according to subject and the resulting files are organized alphabetically.
Series II: Production Files contains eight subseries, each devoted to a play produced by the Eye and Ear Theater Company. The subseries are ordered alphabetically by the title of the work and the materials within them are grouped by alphabetically by subject.
Series III: Playbills, Announcements, Promotional Material, and Clippings is organized according to format.
Series IV: Video are in chronological order and aranged into two subseries of originals and access copies.
The series and subseries arrangement of the records is as follows:
Series I, Administrative Materials, 1977-1993 Subseries A, General Administrative Materials Subseries B, Fundraising and Grant Materials Subseries C, Financial Materials
Series II, Production Files, 1979-1988 Subseries A, Annie's White Glove Subseries B, City Junket Subseries C, Desire Caught by the Tail Subseries D, Four Plays Subseries E, The Heroes and Shopping and Waiting Subseries F, Kaddish Subseries G, Paid on Both Sides Subseries H, The White Snake
Series III, Playbills, Announcements, Promotional Material, and Clippings
Series IV, Video Recordings Subseries A, Access Copies Subseries B, Originals
Oversize Series II Subseries B Oversize Series II Subseries D Oversize Series II Subseries H Oversize Series III Oversize
Scope and Contents
The Eye and Ear Theatre Archive contains records documenting the operations of the Eye and Ear Theatre Company between the years 1979 and 1996, as well as copies of news articles and promotional materials dating from as early as 1965, with most of the items dated 1980 through 1988. A substantial portion of the collection is comprised of business correspondence written and received by the company's staff, particularly Ada Katz and Susan Davis. Among the activities reflected by the letters are outreach efforts, such as attempts to recruit artists, poets, and directors for productions as well as members for the Board of Directors and the Advisory Board. The correspondence also describes the company's fundraising efforts, such as benefits and solicitations for donations from corporations and individuals, and individual productions. Further documentation of the Eye and Ear Theater Company's activities appears in administrative records, such as minutes from meetings of its Board of Directors, and financial records including budgets and applications for grants from and reports made to the National Endowment for the Arts. Also present are a few of the company's tax forms and year end statements. Another significant component of the collection is clippings taken from newspapers and periodicals regarding the company, some of the poets and artists it recruited, and reviews of Eye and Ear productions. Of particular note in this category of record are those located in Series III. These include articles discussing the idea of artistic collaboration in general and accounts of avant garde theatre productions staged by other companies presenting works by artists and authors like Kenneth Koch, Sergei Diaghilev, and Isamu Noguchi. Occasionally these clippings bear annotations or are accompanied by handwritten notes.
With regard to the productions staged by the Eye and Ear Theater Company the collection also holds scripts, programs, and advertisements along with a smaller quantity of contracts, receipts, actor or artist biographies, and notes including set design sketches, rehearsal and performance schedules. The productions are also documented in photographs depicting performances, sets, costumes, actors, artists, poets, and directors. In addition the collection holds three videotapes, one of which is a documentary of the company's 1988 production of Allan Ginsberg's Kaddish.
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Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright (or related rights to publicity and privacy) for materials in this collection, created by Eye and Ear Theater was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from the copyright holder.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Eye and Ear Theater Archive; MSS 195; box number; folder number; Fales Library and Special Collections, New York University.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Susan L. Davis, 2007. The accession number associated with this gift is 2007.195.
Audiovisual Access Policies and Procedures
Audiovisual materials have not been preserved and may not be available to researchers. Materials not yet digitized will need to have access copies made before they can be used. To request an access copy, or if you are unsure if an item has been digitized, please contact fales.library@nyu.edu with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. A staff member will respond to you with further information.
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