Help Us Preserve the History of Off Off-Broadway!
As part of a matching grant in the amount of $51,480.00 from the National Endowment for the Humanities for our project, “Preserving Off Off-Broadway: Designing Improved Climate Control for the La MaMa Archive,” we are excited to showcase some unique artifacts held by the Archive, and explain how your donation will aid in their long-term preservation!
These are two of the masks held by the Archive that were designed and fabricated in 1976 by Barbara Sexton for the Nelly Vivas Company production of “The Architect & The Emperor of Assyria” by Fernando Arrabal. The performances were directed by Tom O’Horgan in the La MaMa Annex and starred Ron Perlman and Lazaro Perez. This production was the New York premiere of the work.
Photographer: Max Waldman
Ron Perlman and Lazaro Perez (1976) Photographer: Amnon Ben Nomis
The distinctive design of these pieces (not to mention the importance of the work, the cast, and the director) are enough that any archive or museum collection focused on theatre would be proud to exhibit them to represent that first historic production. However, the use of these masks was not limited to that initial run.
The masks were used again when the show was restaged in 1977, with Lazaro Perez alternating the role of the Architect with Victor Attar, and Ron Perlman alternating with Thomas Kopache as the Emperor.
Photographer: Serge Gubelman
La MaMa and the Nelly Vivas Company also took a production of the play to Philadelphia in 1977 as part of “Off-Broadway’s Best” presented by the Annenberg Center.
The tour (like the previous 1977 production) had four actors alternating the roles; including twins, Naseer El-Kadi (Architect) and Nameer El-Kadi (Emperor) featured in this photograph…
which they alternated with Raymond Patterson (Architect) and Thomas Kopache (Emperor) depicted here.
The masks also went on tour further afield; all around Europe in 1977 and to Venezuela in 1978. The Nelly Vivas Company also performed the work as part of the Taormina Festival in 1979.
This photo shows Raymond Patterson and Thomas Kopache performing against the majestic backdrop of Sicily's Teatro Antico di Taormina, a theatre built in the third century B.C.
And yet again, the masks were used when “The Architect & The Emperor of Assyria” was restaged at La MaMa in 1986, as seen in this publicity photo taken by Martha Swope Associates/Carol Rosegg.
In this production, “The Architects and Emperors will perform on an interchangeable basis offering four possible combinations of casts.”
This photo features the 1986 cast: Jonathan Walker, Alexi Mylonas, Ray Contreras and Miles Mason.
These masks and other artifacts like them, remind us that the La MaMa Archive is a living archive. Items are preserved not just for their informational and historical value, but possible reuse. Whether in repertory, revival, or as reference; the objects in our collection are available to inspire as well as inform.
Apart from paper, film, and photographic records, the La MaMa Archive safeguards a variety of artifacts, props and costumes like these, made from diverse materials – wood, plastic, fabric, papier-mache and more. All of these formats have specific needs for preservation. Your donation will contribute to the long-term preservation of our collections by providing the stable, climate-controlled environment they require.
La MaMa needs the support of our community to meet our federal matching requirement of $51,480, as part of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Donations to the project will directly translate into much-needed physical improvements to our space and protect the work of thousands of groundbreaking artists for future generations.
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