Poets and painters in the theatre: A critical study of the New York Artists Theatre

In 1953, art dealer John Bernard Myers and theatre director Herbert Machiz founded the Artists Theatre, an Off-Broadway company in which poets and painters worked together to put on bold, avant-garde productions. The theatre offered plays by now famous poets such as John Ashbery, James Merrill and Kenneth Koch. Its sets were designed by professional painters such as Larry Rivers, Elaine de Kooning and Alfred Leslie, all of whom were just beginning their artistic careers.;This study is divided into two parts. The first half gives a history of the Artists Theatre, created from individual interviews with the painters and poets who contributed to its development. These artists and writers discuss their role in the theatre and how it affected their careers. They also discuss the creative process, the relationship between poetry and painting, and the avant-garde artistic community of the 1950's.;Part Two offers a critical study of six plays produced by the Artists Theatre, examining them for innovations in style and content. Chapter 3 (New Twists on Old Myths: The Image of the Hero in the Post-war Dramas of the Artists Theatre) analyzes the connections between plays by John Ashbery, Lionel Abel and Frank O'Hara while Chapter 4 critiques poetic comedies by Robert Hivnor and James Merrill.;Overall, the dissertation seeks to establish the significance of the Artists Theatre within the context of the period, the avant-garde and the American theatre. By documenting the contributions of the poets and painters, it also highlights neglected segments in the careers of some of America's leading artists.