History

In 2007 a group of performers began a weekly practice of gathering to exchange skills and learn from each other’s creative gifts.

At first our meetings were simply collections of activities participants wanted to experience with a group’s support.  This seed led to a period focused on pairing the sonnets of Edna St. Vincent Millay with the teachings of Shunryu Suzuki’s Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind.

Soon we decided broaden our work through the interactions developed in the “The Reunion”.  By imagining ourselves as a yoga community who had disbanded after it’s guru had passed on, we were able to invite others into our group’s research as fellow “long-lost members”.

In the Spring of 2010 we introduced two new programs: the InterActs public meditation series and our popular play reading and potluck evenings.

In the Summer of 2010 TReE participants attended the Acting and Being workshop held by the Shantigar Foundation in Rowe, Massachusetts.  The session was led by Playwright and Shantigar founder Jean-Claude van Itallie, OBIE winning performer Rae C. Wright and Meditation for Actors teacher and performer Parlan McGaw.  Those who attended  developed new skills in the relationship between performance and meditation practices.

A confluence of interests between TReE and Shantigar led van Itallie and Artistic Director Josh Adler to collaborate on updated stagings of InterviewMotel from the classic America Hurrah plays paired with a new work called The Mother’s Return. The Theatre Research Ensemble spent nearly two weeks rehearsing at the Shantigar center before returning to New York.  The production opened in October, 2010 at La MaMa ETC for a two week run in their club space.

We continue to branch out as our research into the personal and communal growth process now includes live performance projects, educational offerings and other mindfulness-based cultural events.