Theatre History Overview - Part 54 - American Avant-Garde Theatre

American Avant-Garde theatre started in the 1940s. The exact time frame of the movement probably lasted until around the mid 1980s. While the Avant-Garde movement didn't hit American until the 1940s, it had been in Europe since the 1880s. It overlapped with many theatre movements.

In Avant-Garde theatre, the pieces of theatre were not looking to replicate real life. Instead, they were trying to create new worlds. People involved in Avant-Garde theatre wanted to challenge what audiences considered "standard theatre." At that time, this was theatre that happened by having a play written down on paper that tried to replicate real life and the real world in some way. It was theatre that was rehearsed and had a script that was known by the actors.

While there were definitely plays written in traditional ways, Avant-Garde theatre may start with a play idea that is rehearsed in general. However, the play may change every night because of ideas or audience interaction. The play may eventually have a script that makes it more traditional or the script may allow changes that lets the play continue to change.

Examples of American Avant-Garde plays are Classical Therapy, or a Week Under The Influence, Symphony of Rats, and Egyptology by Richard Foreman. While the official movement of American Avant-Garde theatre is over, it is still often used. Today, these ideas are even used in film and television

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