Squat Theatre

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Template:Short description Template:Infobox theatre group

Squat Theatre (1977–1991) was a Hungarian theatre company from Budapest which left Hungary for Paris and then New York City, where they performed experimental theatre.<ref name="Koós">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="CRAIG">Template:Cite news</ref>

History

Living in Paris in 1977, a friend of the company, Tamas Szentjoby, suggested that they change the name from Kassák Haz Studió to Squat Theatre.Template:Efn The first play was created for a Western audience: Pig, Child, Fire! [1] It was set in a storefront in Rotterdam, a setting that became their trademark.[2] After touring Nancy, France, Shiraz,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Baltimore, Paris, the company arrived at the Hotel Chelsea in July, they settled in New York City.<ref>Buchmuller, Koós. Squat Theatre. Artist Space, 1996, p.21.</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Several members left the company in 1985 when they lost the lease to their space on 23rd Street including Anna Koós, Péter Halász, Eric Daille, and Agnes Santha.<ref name="wire" /> The rest of the company continued until 1991, Squat Theatre's last play was Full Moon Killer, 1991, performed at The Kitchen in New York City.

Founding members

The six founding members of Squat Theatre (shown left to right in the 1976 Paris photograph) are Peter (Breznyik) Berg, Marianne Kollar (3rd), Péter Halász, Anna Koós, Stephan Balint and Eva Buchmuller.Template:Efn<ref>PLACE DES ABBESSES, PARIS, photo_Eva Buchmuller_Buchmuller, Koós. Squat Theatre. Artist Space, 1996, p.48-49.</ref> Other members of Squat Theatre were: Eric Daillie, Agnes Santha, Klara Palotai, Eszter Balint, Boris Major, Rebecca Major, and Judith Galus Halasz. Important contributing actors were Sheryl Sutton, Sandi Fiddler, Kathleen Kendall, Nico, Yossi Gutmann (viola), Shirley Clarke, Richard Leacock, August Darnell, Mark Boone Junior, Sue Williams, Jane Smith, Larry Solomon, Ivan Jakovits and Jan Gontarczyk. Boris and Rebecca Major are the daughters of János Major. Template:Efn

Originally, the company was known as Kassák Haz Studió and was located at Uzsoki-utca 57, Budapest. For political and aesthetic reasons, the company emigrated to Paris and then to the United States.Template:Efn In 1969 Anna Koós, Péter Halász<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Stephan Balint<ref name="wire">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> from the University Theatre of Budapest created an independent theatre group called Kassák Haz Studió.<ref name="Koós" /> In 1972 they were censored by the Hungarian authorities for "political and esthetic radicalism",<ref>Letter from Executive Committee to Peter Halasz, 14th District Municipal Council Record Office, Budapest, 24 January 1972, File No. 2203X, Squat Theatre Book, p.3.</ref> and banned from performing in public.<ref name="Koós" /> In the next four years they wrote 36 performance events: plays, sketches and improvisations. These were shown in apartments, staircases, streets, beaches, and in the countryside.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> "Manifesto" by István Bálint (Stephan Balint) on behalf of Studio Kassak was published in Schmuck, Hungary, March–April, 1973 issue.[3]<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>István Bálint, "Manifesto", Written in the name of "studio-kassak", Budapest, April, 1972_Buchmuller, Koós. Squat Theatre. Artist Space, 1996, p.12.</ref><ref name="wire" />

Audiences

The building at 256 West 23rd Street had a large window on the sidewalk with a street entrance this provided the possibility of having two audiences, one inside and one outside.<ref name="Körösi" /> The spectators sat in the back of the space facing the storefront window and 23rd street beyond.<ref name="Koós" /><ref name="CRAIG" /> Events took place with the street as a backdrop, with the intention of unsettling the events, the relationship among the members of the theatre group, and the audience. This set-up was first used in Rotterdam at 129a Van Oldenbarneveltstraat in the show Pig, Child, Fire!, which was commissioned by the Toneelraad Rotterdam.[4]<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Drawing by Anne-Marie Duguet, Buchmuller, Koós. Squat Theatre. Artist Space, 1996, p.102.</ref><ref name="Körösi" /> On 23rd Street they lived, worked and performed from 1977 to 1985.<ref name="Boch 2017 268">Template:Cite book</ref> Template:Efn

1973 to 1985

Various plays were performed in 1973 including Alice and Her Sisters, <ref>Buchmuller, Koós. Squat Theatre. Artist Space, 1996, pp.16-17.</ref> Tribute to Miron Bialoszewski performed at the Polish Cultural Center in Budapest. Birds and Red Epaulets, Éva Buchmüller sings a Jewish song as the Virgin Mary holding Can Togay on her lap in the position of Michelangelo's Pieta.<ref>Buchmuller, Koós. Squat Theatre. Artist Space, 1996, p.26.</ref>

The Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov was performed for the first time at Dohány utca 20, Budapest. They used as text the abridged version of the original play limited to the lines of the three sisters. The company left Hungary for the West.

File:Andy Warhol's Last Love.tif
Andy Warhol's Last Love, 1978

Andy Warhol's Last Love was collectively created and opened on 23rd Street in 1978. The Company went on tour to Hamburg, Rome. Milan, Florence, Belgrade, Rotterdam and Brussels. It won a Grand Prix at the Belgrade International Theatre Festival (BITEF), and the Italian Critics’ Award for the Best Foreign Performance.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Office of the Mayor, Downtown Enforcement Unit. Re. Squat Theatre, West 23rd. St. October 13, 1978_Buchmuller, Koós. Squat Theatre. Artist Space, 1996, p.148-149.</ref><ref name="wire" /><ref name="Koós. 2015, p.2">Koós. '"Squat Theatre: Staging Life/Living on Stage. A Journal of Performance and Art, 2015, p.2.</ref>

In 1981 Mr Dead & Mrs Free premiered in Cologne, Germany. Commissioned by Ivan Nagel director of Theater der Welt and shown at Cologne’s "Theatres of the World" festival, Mr. Dead & Mrs. Free was filmed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder as part of his first and only documentary Theater in Trance.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It was also shown in New York City and Amsterdam. The show had a year-and-a-half performance run on 23rd Street. It was awarded an Obie Award (1982) for the Best New American Play.<ref name="Free" /> It received a The Villager (Manhattan) Award. An open-air version of the show, The Battle of Sirolo was performed in August in Polverigi, Italy.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the summer of 1985 the theatre lost the eight-year lease of their home and performance space on 23rd Street.

Plays

  • 1975–79 – Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov Three men dressed in white are the Sisters, sitting in a group, sipping vodka as a prompter reads their lines, the actors repeat the words.Template:Efn<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Eva Buchmuller_Buchmuller, Koós. Squat Theatre. Artist Space, 1996, p.40-41.</ref><ref>O’Quinn, Jim. "Squat’s ‘The Three Sisters.’" The Drama Review, vol. 24, no. 4, The MIT Press, 1980, pp. 111–12, https://doi.org/10.2307/1145329.</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Buchmuller, Koós. Squat Theatre. Artist Space, 1996, pp.164-165.</ref><ref name="artpool">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • 1977 – Pig, Child, Fire!, a play in five parts. The first, a drama based on the confessions of Nikolai Stavrogin in Fyodor Dostoevsky's Demons. The second is inspired by 1940s American Gangster films. The third is a comic act.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="CRAIG" /><ref>Shank, Theodore. "Squat’s ‘Pig, Child, Fire!’" The Drama Review, vol. 21, no. 3, The MIT Press, 1977, pp. 95–100, https://doi.org/10.2307/1145154.</ref><ref name="artpool" />
  • 1978 – Andy Warhol's Last Love.Ulrike Meinhof meets Andy Warhol in 3 acts: Aliens on the Second Floor, An Imperial Message and Interview With the Dead.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="CRAIG" /><ref>Shank, Adele Edling, and Theodore Shank. "Squat Theatre’s ‘Andy Warhol’s Last Love.’" The Drama Review, vol. 22, no. 3, The MIT Press, 1978, pp. 11–22, https://doi.org/10.2307/1145183.</ref><ref name="artpool" />
  • 1981 – Mr. Dead & Mrs. Free, 1981.<ref name="CRAIG" /><ref name="Körösi">Körösi, Suzanne. "Squat Theatre’s ‘Mr. Dead and Mrs. Free.’" The Drama Review, vol. 25, no. 4, The MIT Press, 1981, pp. 75–81, https://doi.org/10.2307/1145380.</ref><ref name="artpool" />
  • 1981 – The Battle of Sirolo. Open-air version of Mr. Dead & Mrs. Free. Premiere at Polverigi Festival (Inteatro Festival, Polverigi.)<ref name="artpool" />
  • 1982 – The Golden Age of Squat Theatre. A retrospective of three Squat Theatre plays Pig, Child, Fire!, Andy Warhol's Last Love, and Mr. Dead & Mrs. Free.Template:Efn<ref name="Koós. 2015, p.2" /><ref name="artpool" />
  • 1985–86 – Dreamland Burns. Template:Efn<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> {{#if:|{{{2}}}|[5]}}<ref>Féral, Josette. "Squat Theatre’s ‘Dreamland Burns.’" The Drama Review, vol. 29, no. 4, The MIT Press, 1985, pp. 137–39, https://doi.org/10.2307/1145699.</ref>
  • 1985–86 – L-Train to Eldorado. Template:Efn<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>{{#if:|{{{2}}}|[6]}}
  • 1990–91 – Full Moon Killer. Template:Efn{{#if:|{{{2}}}|[7]}}
File:Set of Full Moon Killer.jpg
Set of Full Moon Killer, 1991.

Filmography

  • Minotaur in a Sand Mine (1975), 20 minutes, B&W, 16mm, Budapest, Biennale de Paris.
  • Don Juan von Leporello (1975), 60 minutes, B&W, 16mm, Budapest, Düsseldorf.
  • Andy Warhol's Last Love, (1978), An Imperial Message, 2nd part of play. 1978–81, 60 min, b&w and color, sound, 16mm.Template:Efn<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Mr. Dead & Mrs. Free. (1981), 43 minutes, color, 16mm. Part of the play Mr. Dead & Mrs. Free exhibited separately, Hamburg, Abaton Cinema, Berlin. Künstlerhaus; Yale University. Directed by Stephan Balint and Péter Halász. Péter Halász, cinematography.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • A Matter of Facts (1982) by Eric Mitchell w/ Squat Theatre (Archival). 17 minutes, 45 seconds, color, 16mm.Template:Efn
  • Tscherwonez. (1983), Directed by Gabor Altorjay. With Stephan Balint, Peter (Breznyik) Berg, Péter Halász and Eva Buchmuller.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref>

Videos

Exhibits

  • 1982 – Mr Dead & Mrs Free's Cafe, MoMA PS1, Long Island City. Exhibition by Eva Buchmuller and Stephan Balint.<ref name="artpool" /><ref>Buchmuller, Koós. Squat Theatre. Artist Space, 1996, p.220.</ref>
  • 1982 – The Moments Before The Tragedy, The Kitchen, New York City. Exhibition by Eva Buchmuller and Stephan Balint.<ref name="artpool" />
  • 1984 – Suspense, Hallwalls, Buffalo, New York. Exhibition by Eva Buchmuller and Stephan Balint.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="artpool" />
  • 1984 – A Painted Show, Postmasters Gallery, New York City. Exhibition by Eva Buchmuller and Stephan Balint.<ref name="artpool" />
  • 1996 – Mr. Dead & Mrs. Free: A History of Squat Theatre (1969 – 1991), Artists Space, New York City. Exhibition by Eva Buchmuller.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • 2004 – An Exhibition of Photography by Endre Kovacs, Kassák House Studio – Squat Theatre: Photos of the History of the Hungarian Underground Theatre. September 9 to October 10, 2004. Ludwig Museum Budapest. Curated by Dr. Vera Baksa-Soos.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • 2013–14 – Rituals of Rented Island, Whitney Museum, New York City. Exhibition by Eva Buchmuller with Osvaldo Valdes, Architect.[12][13] <ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Awards

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  • 1978 – OBIE Award,' for outstanding achievement for Pig, Child, Fire<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • 1978 – OBIE Award to Eva Buchmuller, Sustained Excellence of Stage Design<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • 1979 – Grand Prix, Belgrade International Theatre Festival, Belgrade
  • 1979 – Best Foreign Theatre Performance of the Year', Italian Critics Award for Andy Warhol's Last Love
  • 1982 – OBIE Award, Best American Play, Mr. Dead & Mrs. Free<ref name="Free">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • 1985 – Star of the Week by Hamburger Abendblatt for Dreamland Burns
  • 1986 – Bessie Awards to Eva Buchmuller/Squat Theatre for visuals of Dreamland Burns.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • 1988 – American Theatre Wing Award to Eva Buchmuller. Award for Noteworthy/unusual effects for scenic design of Dreamland Burns <ref name="atw">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • 1986 – American Theatre Wing Award to Eva Buchmuller for art and stage design of L Train To El Dorado <ref name="atw" />
  • 1988 – OBIE Award to Eva Buchmuller for sustained excellence in set design for Squat Theatre.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

See also

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Notes

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References

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Bibliography

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Further reading

Archives

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