Mission

The Committee creates catastrophic theatre: We produce plays that focus on periods of historical transformation, on moments of transition where forces coalesce to create change. These are violent moments, exciting and terrifying. In the face of catastrophe, characters undergo a “limit-experience.” They are stripped of their moral compass and must create a new vision of the world. The theatre of catastrophe rejects solutions and redemption.

The Committee focuses on the plays of Founding Artistic Director Ken Urban. Aesthetically, Ken's work is indebted to the language-based plays of Mac Wellman, Len Jenkin and Jeffrey Jones, as well as to the visceral theatre of Antonin Artaud, Howard Barker and Edward Bond. His plays are influenced by the music of bands like Xiu Xiu, My Bloody Valentine and Radiohead as well as contemporary composers like William Basinski and Max Richter. The company has also expanded its mission to include the plays of other writers who share this aesthetic, and we have successfully presented work by Sarah Kane and Peter Morris.

Since the company's founding in September 2002, Ken Urban and Ryan Rumage have served as the Committee's artistic and administrative core. For 2006-2007, Dylan McCullough and Judson Kniffen are the company's resident directors. Past artists associated with the company include Laramie Dennis (director), Travis York (actor), Kate Benson (actor), Tom Nick Cocotos (graphic designer), Jonathan Spector (director) and Lear deBessonet (director).

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