INtuitons Experimental Theatre

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iNtuitons Experimental Theatre was founded in 1980 as the University of Pennsylvania's only student-run experimental theatre group. 'iNtuitons' comes from two words: intuition and automaton. It was chartered to "attract people with diverse artistic interests and in order to provide an outlet for creative people whose ideas are too Classical or Avant-Garde to be supported by existing groups." iNtuitons has presented works by Vaclav Havel, Sam Shepard, Joseph Conrad, and Milan Kundera, as well as many student written pieces.

Each fall and spring, iNtuitons puts on a performance for the Penn theatre community and for the community at large. Show proposals, each having an experimental aspect, are accepted each semester for the following term. Past show experiments have included the cooperation of multiple directors, the production of student-written shows, and the incorporation of audience participation, among others.

In addition to these productions, iNtuitons sponsors The Alternative Theatre Festival, which is a day-long, outdoor production involving different types of theater, the genre of which varies from year to year. Groups from Chicago and Boston have travelled to Philadelphia to perform in this festival.

iNtuitons also participates in two other theatre events each year, both of them collaborations. The Small Fall, which is sponsored by the Theater Arts Council (TAC-e), is the freshman's first glimpse of theatre at Penn. Produced at the start of each school year, it serves both as a "welcome" and a "welcome back" to current and future Penn Theatre participants. The One Acts Festival, also sponsored by TAC-e, serves as a forum for two to four directors to direct 30-45 minute one act plays, all of which are performed together. It is designed to be a learning experience: an actor can try a technical position, a lighting designer can try acting, and someone with no theater experience can try any position she or he is interested in.

[edit] Past Shows

The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, Fall 2006, The audience was invited to participate in this production by shouting out suggestions to the actors and technicians. As a result, each night's performance was different. The realistic, pig sty of a set fit nicely into the Houston Hall Auditorium, where the building's bay window solved a crucial design element perfectly. If you're different, they try to kill you off.

Accidental Death of an Anarchist, Spring 2006, A timely rendition of Dario Fo's social commentary on repression and corruption, "Anarchist" was performed in the Memorial Tower Library of Ware College House. Cast members performed self-written and researched pieces on social issues of their choosing. The professor-led talk-back sessions were a hit, and the show left everybody thinking, if not worrying.

Metamorphoses, Fall 2005, A rendition of Mary Zimmerman's adaptation from Ovid's tales, "Metamorphoses" was performed in the Harold Prince Theatre on an elevated stage. A large hole filled with undulating dry ice took center stage and served at turns as the sea, a clear mountain pool, the fires of Hades, and an exit/entrance for the actors. A technical extravaganza, it was a sell-out show that put the gods in their places.

...in Wonderland, Spring 2005, The audience was Alice in this ambitious collaboration with Stimulus Children's Theater. The play was adapted from the classic by Lewis Carroll, and Houston Hall Auditorium was literally transformed into Wonderland, with the audience following the action through a series of wacky rooms and down a hallway with skewed perspective. (Made of the heaviest Hollywood flats imaginable.) We slid down the rabbit hole, played croquet, and danced the lobster quadrille. There may or may not have been a little something special in the magic cakes.

The Play About the Baby, Fall 2004, Is there a baby or isn't there?? This 4-character Edward Albee play, performed in Houston Hall Auditorium, was produced with striking minimalist set and lighting. Many gels were burned through, many wrinkles were stretched out of giant sheets of textaline, and many audience members were mildly disturbed by the voiceover. Check it out: http://community.webshots.com/album/223299927PRzATt

Asa Nisi Masa, Spring 2004, This show was so crazy, I'm still not sure what happened in the second act. It combined film and choreography elements from several Federico Fellini films and Bob Fosse's "Sweet Charity." There was music, dancing, and scandal. Fun, laughs, good times!

Elsinore!, Fall 2003, An amalgamation of William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and Tom Stoppard's "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead," this was an environmental show that took place in the University Lutheran Church. Action went on in different rooms simultaneously, and the audience was free to wander around and observe whichever happeneing they wanted. It was freezing and icy. Poor Rosencrantz and Guildenstern almost froze to death during their outdoors scenes.

A Ballad For Loki, Spring 2003, The objective of this student-written work was to eliminate the audience's option to be morally relativistic. Through creative use of lights, sound, set, an ongoing slide show, and a unique acting space, we were able to violate audience members emotionally, leading to a stronger sense of empathy for the show's protagonist. Thouroughly depressing, and yet surprisingly, not a huge financial success.

Carousel, Fall 2002, An experiment from the very start, the musical drama was a collaboration between iNtuitons and the Penn Players. Carousel was actually the melding of two works: the lighthearted Rogers and Hammerstein musical of the same name, and Liliom, the drama on which the musical was based.

The 2002 Alternative Theatre Festival, The 9th Annual ATF continued the spirited tradition of outdoor theatre, singing, fun, and games on the College Green. Somewhere in between the finger painting and the freeze tag, however, we "forgot" to embarrass ourselves with the annual board skit.

Sylvia, Spring 2002, Written by AR Gurney, the Comedy/Drama features a bored middle-aged Manhattan couple whose marriage is altered when they inadvertently adopt a rather human-like puppy named Sylvia. The un-experimental experiment.

1 BDRM, Fall 2001, Written and directed by Luke Bruneaux, this play astounded and stupefied the audience. The play related to the issues of 9/11, homosexuality, how "space" defines relationships.

The 2001 Alternative Theatre Festival, A well executed and fantastic effort, and a great success besides; the weather was great, and people showed up.

The Seven Deadly Sins, Spring 2001

The Spells, Fall 2000

Hidden: A Gender, Spring 2000

The Serpent, Fall 1999

The 1999 Alternative Theatre Festival, This was our first year with a set. We decided on modular pieces to help denote our space. We had great weather and excellent performers both from Penn and from elsewhere. UArts came from Center City and Max came from Chicago. Yet another ATF on the right path!

Night Coil, Spring 1999, The set for this piece divided the Prince stage into 2 separate rooms in which action took place simultaneously. The story was of Bob and all the strange visitors involved in torturing and attacking him. Jeffrey Jones, the playwright, was delighted to come down from New York to talk about Experimental Theatre with the audience and to see the show.

Jeffrey, Fall 1998, This comedy dealing with homosexual issues veered from the expected by casting the two homosexual characters with male/female actors. The set included the largest bed that Intuitons has put on the Prince stage and the director chose to refrain from having his name put on the poster. It was a venture towards the norm and it reaffirmed that we don't want to be there.

The 1998 Alternative Theatre Festival, This year, we almost got it right. Except for a few minor details, such as another rainstorm, and a homemade sound system, the 1998 ATF was a varied and interesting set of performances, featuring many pieces from Jamie Becker, as well as visits from groups in Chicago and Boston, and the first performance of the Collective. A far cry from the years past, this one finally seemed like a festival. Many thanks to the residents of the Castle (before it was reconquered by the Greek system) for allowing us to use their livingroom.

Dread, Spring 1998, Based on a Clive Barker short story, Dread was written by the cast, in collaboration with local director Girard Rudasill. A great idea in theory, Dread suffered from internal political struggles, both in the cast and crew, and on the board. Nevertheless, it was visually incredible. A great example of how power-hungry bureaucrats can impede spontaneity and art.

Bard in a Blender: William Shaken not Stirred, Fall 1997, Nel Lamb conceived and directed this collaborative show, which was based - somewhat loosely - on all of Shakespeare's plays. The set was a giant head of Will with openings through the mouth and eye. The audience loved this project which explored many forms of theatre and led many new actors and tech staffers to return to iNtuitons, join the board and direct for iNtuitons themselves.

The 1997 Alternative Theatre Festival, Despite a major planning and coordination effort by Maggie Dickinson, the 1997 ATF fell prey to the elements, as it was a downpour. Moved to Houston Hall, the show offered a sneak peek at the Penn Player's show that semester, and a set of monologues by some lady named Terry Diamond and her troupe of actors, from whom we will hopefully never hear again.

The Mytilenian Debate, Spring 1997, A show which examined the art of arguing on stage, and attempted to bridge the gap between the audience and the actors. Directed by Warren Petrofsky, highlights of this show included getting to see audience members debate with actors on the floor of Houston Hall. Friday's show was incredibly fun, with most of Penn's Theatre community showing up and participating in the event.

Painted Pictures, Fall 1996, In many ways, this is a perfect example of why Intuitons is on Penn's campus, doing what we do. Written and directed by Rachel Goldberg, Painted Pictures featured six actors portraying many characters in scenes unrelated by plot but beautifully tied together by theme. The audience sat on the floor of the Prince and, although the first weekend was slow, we sold more seats than we had for the closing nights. A very successful show in many ways.

1996 Alternative Theater Festival, Spring 1996, Although written off as a successful failure because of a lack of planning. This year we set up a stage and circus tent of the green. Highlights included Relays on the Walk and a one man show The Stage Addict from Haverford.

GOD by Woody Allen, Spring 1996, Directed by Paul Shore, this show was a multimedia experiment featuring music, video and a live artist all interacting with the actors on stage. Highlights included a giant portal looking like a television encompassing the stage, a reasonably unsafe Deus ex Macchina and people constantly jumping in and out of the audience. Standing room only Friday and Saturday.

Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, Fall 1995, This play was produced internally by the Board, but only after much debate. Ben Marcus directed this psycho-drama, which was adapted from the 1961 black and white film. This is the one show where the Board decided to go all out on the production, including technical aspects, We set up two stages: one in the bay window of Houston Hall, and the other being the mainstage, where we built a near-functional house. The actors did an incredible job portraying the psychotic aspect of the show. Audience reactions was varied: most people were scared but loved the show nonetheless.

1995 Alterative Theater Festival, Spring 1995, Planning for this ATF was poor. Although we had great ideas, there was no follow-through and nothing happened. Nobody wanted to perform during reading days, so we were only able to get three acts lined up. Then on the day of the show, there was a thunderstorm and it got called off. This was a huge disappointment, and should not be used as the role-model for future ATF's.

Metronome, Spring 1995, Written and directed by Mike Goldstein. Metronome contained neither dialogue nor singing. The entire play was acted out to a soundtrack containing work by Lenny Kravitz, Josh Redman, and Pink Floyd. Although the plot line was rather generic (boy meets girl, they fight, he has substance abuse problem, she finds other guy, both are unhappy, they get back together and live happily ever after), the presentation of the play was incredible. For tickets we gave out mylar wigs, and then we got a lot of strange looks. After the fall mis-hap this show was well publicized and got great audience turnout. It was presented on the floor in Houston Hall.

Comings Goings Savage Love, Fall 1994, Directed by Grace Lee in Houston Hall. This show combined Megan Terry's Comings and Goings with Sam Shepard poems from Savage Love . Each night the actors opened the show with a game of freeze tag, to determine which scenes would be performed. The show had three different couples in it, that had very different relationships, but they expressed this using the same basic dialogue. The show was incredible. Unfortunately, there was little publicity and a total of 200 people came to see it during its two week run.

1994 Alternative Theater Festival, Spring 1994, This was the first ATF, held on College Green. It was great, but also really short. Highlights included Shaun Smith naked.

Aron's Show (a.k.a. "The Intuiton's Show"), Spring 1994, This production by Aron Greenberg really was not theater in the conventional sense, but rather performance art. The Auditorium was set up as a dinner theater, with action taking place throughout. Although there were no dinners, Intuitons provided all the water you could drink! The plot - er - focused on retelling jokes over and over, and playing childhood games. The show turned out being extremely fun, despite the lack of plot. During the semester the name of the show changed weekly, and a symbol was finally adopted to represent the name. The only major problem occurred when Intuitons tried to hang paper on the walls of the Auditorium, which was immediately vetod by OSL because they claimed it was a fire hazard.

Alison Wonderland, Fall 1993, An adaptation of the works of the Lewis Carrol. Written by the directors and the cast, this loose adaptation of the homophonious work used the plot a young woman looking back on her life in both dream (Wonderland) and reality. The audience was placed on the long sides of the Auditorium facing each other (like a mirror) while the dreamworld action took place on the floor and the real-life action occurred on stage. Aftermission, the worlds switched. Parallel scene of dream and reality occurred. Three kinds of Alice were used.

Lear, Spring 1993, Written by Edward Bond. Directed by David Hafken. This twist on the Shakespeare version left little to the imagination. Very violent, including gouging of eyes, rapes, and a father performing an autopsy on his daughter. Violent scenes dispersed in a tedious plot made the vviolence a comic relief. Houston Hall Auditorium was set up with the audience on the stage (forming a "wall of people" later to be torn down) and the actors performing on a raked stage in the middle of the floor. When unoccupied the constructed stage looked something like the Millennium Falcon . Much about the group's vision was discussed afterwards.

The Serpent, Fall 1992, This piece, by Jean-Claude Van Itallie, was originally performed by the Open Theater under the direction of Joseph Cahikin. The Intuitons version, under the direction of Carolyn Kelson was Intuitons' first foray into Irvine Auditorium. The audience sat on stage with the actors, who entered at the beginning of the play and exited at the end through the house. Two scenes utilized the large metal doors at the back of the stage. The play was a non-linear piece exploring the themes of choice and "being in the middle". Sections included the Genesis story, the Challenger explosion, and the entire cast begatting within inches of the audience. The play was hugely successful, and the houses were packed.

The Persecution and Assassination of Jean-Paul Marat by the Inmates of the Asylum at Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade (a.k.a. Marat Sade), Spring 1992, Intuitons' collaboration with Penn Players on this Peter Weiss piece of "total theater" also marked Intuitons' second show in the Harold Prince Theater. For this one, there were two professional directors, Seth Rozin and Chris Hariaz, and a cast of 20+. The audience sat in lab coats. There was an impressive bathhouse design and a three month rehearsal period, including many improvised "asylums" around campus, but many felt the production was a little tame for Marat Sade.

The Secret Agent, Fall 1991, Intuitons' performance of the Josepth Conrad novel, adapted and directed by Yazmin Tuazon. Performed in the round in Houston Hall with lots of string in the design, the show used a non-linear plotline. Clocks abounded. Anarchism was also a theme, as the political anarchism paralleled personal anarchism. Publicity stunts included a Human Time Bomb and the distribution of "The Future of the Proletariat". Abysmal attendance.

Suicide in B Flat, Spring 1991, Co-directed by Carolyn Kelson and Alexandra Lopez, this Sam Shepard play had a great original score written and performed by Cemeron Smith. The production was very sound with mood-based, the theatrical equivealent of jazz. Performed on the floor of Houston Hall with minimal set.

The Balcony, Fall 1990, This play featured what was perhaps the most disastrous opening night in Intuitons history. The performance, on the floor in Houston Hall, featured a set made up of flats that had to be moved into different configurations for different scenes in a brother, and tended to fall over in the process. Mirrors broke, lights went out during the last scene, and the show dragged on for almost four hours. One scene was performed in the hallway during intermission (for which many people missed), and the audience sat on couches (in which some people fell asleep). The reception was held outside after midnight. The show underwent considerable reworking during the run and was quite a bit better and shorter (under three hours) by the end of the run. Written by Jean Genet. Directed by Colin Cambell.

Jason and Medea, Spring 1990, Written by a student, Mark Loewenstern and directed by Lizzie Redkey, it was Intuitons' fourth Greek myth play. The play cleverly melded the world of myths into the life of a troubled couple to deal with the issue of abortion. Mythical figures arose from the husband's sculputre while ghosts arose from the wife's past: her aborted baby and her dead mother. This was the first Intuitons' show ever to be bumped from Houston Hall Auditorium and staged on The Annenburg School Theater. The space sucked.

How I Got That Story, Fall 1989, Written by Amlin Gray. A classic Intuitons show brilliantly directed by Larry Bogad. The part of the event was played by an ensemble cast of 9-10. When they weren't acting "a part" they created the set, becoming variously: jungle trees and animals; Amboland guerilla soldiers; US soldiers; an elevator, chairs; a mirror; an electric door; a hat rack; dead person rug; walls; a jet bomber; hospital bed; telecphone, etc. The "stage" was in the back of Houston Hall Auditorium, but the environment constantly expaneded into the audience space, sometimes harshly in the form of a pimp trying to sell twelve year old virgins. More sell-out performances.

The Accidental Death of an Anarchist, Spring 1989, Written by Dario Fo. We wanted to replace the word "Anarchist" with "Feminist" every time it appeared in the script, but foolishly we asked permission to do this from Samuel French. We were told to forget it and Kateryn Helene's job was threatened by Penn's lawyers (she was the recently appointed performing arts liaison to Penn). The lesson we learned is that if you are going to do something that is probably illegal, just do it and don't tell anybdoy. We continued with a feminist show and asked the audience to do the word replacement in their minds. The stage (at the back of Houston Hall auditorium) had three television sets and an overhead slide show throughout. Perhaps it was a little too visually stimulating. Directed by Julie Dressner.

J.B., Fall 1988, Written by Archibald MacCleish and directed by that fabulous duo Colin Campbell and Tina Cielo. The Stage was in the center of Houston Hall Auditorium with the audience surrounded by (amazingly) a constructed circus tent. It was theater-in-the-round with the interaction taking place within the circus ring and the outer action between Zuess and Nickles taking place within the space of the audience. It had a few sell-out performances with people standing for the entire 2 hour 45 minute no intermission show.

Jacques and His Master, Spring 1988, Written by Milan Kundera, an adaptation from Diderot, and Beautifully directed by Noelle Morris. This was the first Intuitons show to ever sell out a performance. Performed in (you guessed it) the back of Houston Hall Auditorium.

Child's Play, Fall 1987, Yes, this was named before that awful movie that came out sometime the next year. This was an original show brainstormed by Barrie Steinberg and Noelle Morris, with the main idea being to run workshops exploring the world through children's eyes. Through these workshops and games each of the cast developed a character and the show was constructed from the rehearsal process. And, once again, it was staged at the back of HH auditorium.

Memorandum, Spring 1986, Professionally written by Czech playwright (and current president of The Czech Republic) Vaclav Havel. Performing at the rear of Houston Hall Auditorium had become such a trend, that we decided to do it on the stage for a change. The set was a John Skurchak original, including scaffolding, rear projection, and a wall made of computer printout paper. Directed by Lew Beilin.

Three One Act Plays, Fall 1985, A low point for Intuitons. A lack of organization and proposals resulted in the last-minute production of three different one-acts. The first two were written by a professional artist as performance art pieces. The third was original, written by the director Andrew Bradley and his cast, and was a collection of monologues, scenes, and film pieces. The most memorable part of these was one of the performance art pieces titled Play for a Found Cast. It consisted of 150 lines which were individually printed on a "program" and distributed randomly to the audience. Each line is numbered, and the play is performed by each person in order standing up and reading his/her line. The lines are what an audience might say if you told them to get up and perform a play, and often the audience is unsure whether the last person read their line, or really meant what he said. Performed in Annenberg's Studio Theatre.

Orpheus, Spring 1985, An amazing show was sculpted out of the story literally a day or two before opening. The cast and directors, John Skurchak and Nick Fox, spent months doing workshops and improvs, reading and discussing various retellings of the myth of Orpheus, finally and spontaneously focusing it into a show. Performed as environmental theater, the set consisted of towers and bridges all over Houston Hall Auditorium, and the audience could sit anywhere. The ensemble cast performed differently each night, incorporating music and dance as well into the show.

Sleep, Fall 1985, A scripted play written in the '50's about a man undergoing a sleep experiment in which he is interrupted from dreaming. Gradually, the difference between his dreams and "reality" becomes lost in his confusion. Technically a lot of fun, this show included a great set by Nick Fox, rear projection of peoples shadows onto a cyc, and live synthesizer music. Also in the rear of Houston Hall Auditorium. Directed by Adam Gertsacov.

Do Black Cats Have Tails?, Spring 1984, This was an original piece written by members of the Philomathean Society about the life of Virginia Woolf. It went through many revisions between the Philo people and the cast and director John Skurchak. It was performed at the rear of Houston Hall Auditorium, opposite the stage, to incorporate the bay windows into the set.

Macbeth - Ubo Roi, Fall 1984, The intention was to perform the French absurdist play Ubo Roi, one of the first absurdist plays written, and a takeoff on Macbeth. However, the cast and crew proclaimed to the public to be performing Macbeth as written by Shakespeare. The first two scenes were performed perfectly from the script. But gradually through the first act, strange things happened, and lines from Ubo Roi snuck in, with the other characters reacting as actors. Finally, the whole thing fell apart, the stage manager came out and announced that there had been a mistake and that this was in fact Ubo Roi. The play continued from there. Performed on HH stage.

Alice in Wonderland, Spring 1984, This show was received very positively. Needless to say, it was a loose adaptation of the original. Performed in HH auditorium and without a specific stage anywhere. Parachutes were rented and suspended to create a false ceiling. Also, Illona Long made her acting debut at Penn as the Cheshire Cat.

Bacchai, Fall 1983, The first Intuitons show ever performed in Annenberg's Harold Prince Theater. All the chairs were removed from the risers, and the audience sat around on the stage while the performers moved all around the seating areas and balcony. Annenberg wasn't terribly pleased with us at the time.

The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust, Spring 1983, A rock opera set to the music of David Bowie. Company of 24 actors, musicians and running crew. Conceived by Suze' Dipietro. All singing and dancing and you could actually hear the words. Holds record for fastest student load in ever. The entire set was hauled over from Irvine, assembled, rigged . . . etc. in two hours (full stage plan upon request.) Sound budget exceeded stage budget. Standing room only for all shows.

Reds in Filmland, Sometime between 1981 and 1982, Intuitons and the Philomathean Society spent most of the fall in research and writing sessions. The actual performance used several of the Philo rooms in the top of College Hall. The main performance space was in the style of a room where McCarthy's UnAmerican Activities Committee held hearings. Actors portraying Paul Robison, Ronald Reagan, and other Hollywood celebrities were integrated. Slides and newsreels were intermixed. Another oom with a piano held the 50's style cocktail party intermission.

Medea, February 26, 27, & 28 1981?, This show was performed on stage in Houston Hall (something of a novel idea for Intuitons.) Most of the loose lighting pipes in Houston Hall and Irvine were rotolocked together to form a wide vertical ladder upstage that the cast members would climb and hang from. Much yelling.

The Private Life of the Master Race, November 22, 1980, Various ethnic organizations were outraged and much controversy ensued. Or maybe not. "I don't remember any outrage or controversy, though we did get a few funny looks as we painted the bookstore wall. (The Bookstore Wall? Sorry - it was this highly visible wall, see, by the 38th street bridge, and various groups painted their announcements on it, really big.) I believe 'Private' was [the] first intuitons play to turn the Houston Hall Auditorium on end and perform opposite the stage." -Tobias Wolf

The Further Adventures of Nick Danger, Spring 1980, Performed only a few weeks after An Evening of Impressionism, this show was interesting in that it used all the walkways and levels of the performance space. Sound design was executed by Richard Bowen and Kent Iverson.

An Evening of Impressionism, Spring 1980, Intuitons appears on the scene. First performance presented in the Bennett Hall Library. They paint directly on walls in French Impressionistic style and Intuitons receives its first union grievance.

[edit] External link

• iNtuitons Experimental Theatre