La MaMa To Rename Annex Theater After Founder Ellen Stewart, 11/1

La MaMa ETC - one of the standard-bearers of experimental theater in New York and around the globe since it was founded in 1961 by the inimitable Ellen Stewart - will rename its Annex theater the Ellen Stewart Theater at a gala entitled "Celebrating Ellen" on Sunday, November 1 at 4 p.m. at the Annex, it has been announced by Mia Yoo, Associate Artistic Director of La MaMa, and Frank Carucci, President of the theater's Board of Directors.

A host of La MaMa alum - including Tony winner Bill Irwin, Meredith Monk, John Kelly, Peggy Shaw, Lois Weaver, Elizabeth Swados, Andrei Serban and members of Ms. Stewart's own Great Jones Repertory Company - will perform and pay tribute to Ms. Stewart, affectionately known as "Mama," at the November 1st event, which will also mark the 48th anniversary of the founding of La MaMa ETC.

Ellen Stewart founded La MaMa in 1961 in a tiny basement theater, and has remained its Artistic Director ever since. With two theaters housed in La MaMa's original space at 74A E. 4 St., La Mama expanded its operations in 1974 with the opening THE TROJAN WOMEN at the Annex, a large, loft-like space a few doors down the street at 66 E. 4 St.

Through Ms. Stewart's guidance and vision of international and multi-cultural collaboration in the arts, La MaMa ETC is considered the home of experimental theater in America, one of the premiere presenters of the international avant-garde, and a beacon to all artists who explore the boundaries of creative expression. Well-known names of the theatre for whom La MaMa was their first artistic home in the United States include Andrei Serban, Elizabeth Swados, Jerzy Grotowski, Tadeusz Kantor, Tom O'Horgan, Lee Breuer,Tom Eyen, Mike Figgis, Joel Zwick, Harold Pinter (THE ROOM -- La MaMa was the first presenter of Mr. Pinter's work in the United States); Kazuo Ohno, Tan Dun, Julia Stiles and Diane Lane, as well as artists from Japan, Nigeria, Korea, Zaire, Ivory Coast, Poland and countless other countries. La MaMa was the first Off-Off Broadway theatre to support full-time resident companies, and was the first Off-Off company to tour Europe. La MaMa has been honored with numerous OBIE Awards, dozens of Drama Desk Awards, Bessie Awards and Villager Awards.

In January 1993, Ellen Stewart was inducted into the "Broadway Theatre Hall of Fame" becoming the first Off-Off-Broadway producer to ever receive this honor. In 2006, Ellen Stewart received a special Tony Award for supporting theatre artists of all nations and cultures in the development, production and presentation of new work. She is the recipient of the MacArthur "Genius" Award, the National Endowment for Arts and Culture, and the "Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold Rays with Rosette," presented to her by the Emperor of Japan. In 2007, she received the prestigious Praemium Imperiale Arts Award, considered one of the highest international distinctions for achievement in the arts. Quite possibly, however, the greatest distinction for Ellen Stewart is the untold thousands of theater artists and theater goers who call her and regard her as "Mama."

For ticket information about "Celebrating Ellen," call the La MaMa box office at 212 475 7710. Single tickets are available for $100, with various patron packages also available.

 

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