Ellen Stewart founded the La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in downtown New York in 1961. Since then, her groundbreaking vision as a creator, director and producer has encouraged some of the most important performing art talents in the world. Stewart came to New York in 1950, aspiring to be a fashion designer, and became the first African American executive designer at Saks Fifth Avenue. With her earnings as a designer, she committed to making an environment for struggling playwrights to fully develop their talents. In a period of strong racial prejudice, she had to defend the theater space she created and frequently had to change its location after being accused of operating without a license. She jokingly says that rather than theater she was originally interested in people doing theater and that nothing has changed since. Some of the artists she supported include Robert de Niro, Sam Shepard, and Andy Warhol. She has also been a champion of Asian artists, and in the 1970s, Shuji Terayama and his troupe and Tokyo Kid Brothers under Yutaka Higashi performed at La MaMa. Recently she has extended her activities, developing theater pieces based on folklore and classic tradition.
For the past five decades, Ellen Stewart has been at the forefront of creating, directing, producing and presenting some of the most original and memorable works of performing arts in the United States, as well as in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and Central and South America.
Stewart’s performing arts career began in 1961, when she founded the La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in New York. La MaMa quickly became the most popular venue in the United States for the works of both new and established playwrights, directors, actors, composers, musicians, and dancers. In the course of staging over 2,000 productions at La MaMa, Stewart has displayed a remarkable ability to recognize and nurture talent in others, and she has been a unique source of inspiration and support for countless artists and audiences throughout the world.
Stewart came to New York in 1950, aspiring to be a fashion designer, and became the first African American executive designer at Saks Fifth Avenue. With her earnings as a designer, she committed to doing whatever she could to create an environment for struggling playwrights and to make it possible for them to fully develop their talents.
In a period of strong racial prejudice, she had to defend the theater and frequently had to change its location after being accused of operating without a license. She jokingly says that rather than theater she was originally interested in people doing theater and that nothing has changed since.
Some of the artists she supported include Robert de Niro, Al Pacino, Sam Shepard, Julie Taymor, Andy Warhol, and Robert Wilson. She has also long been a champion of Asian performing artists. In the 1970s, Shuji Terayama and his troupe and the theater company Tokyo Kid Brothers under Yutaka Higashi performed at La MaMa
In addition to fostering the work of others, Stewart is recognized as an innovative and world-renowned director, playwright, and composer. Under her leadership, La MaMa’s resident theater troupe has performed in over forty countries, from Argentina to Zaire. The 2004 and 2005 performances of
Antigone and
Perseus that she directed in New York and her 2006 production of
Asclepius in Albania and at the Venice Biennale received acclaim from audiences and critics alike.
Stewart explains the essence of La MaMa Theatre by saying "We are music and dance and language. We don’t consider language a barrier. Instead we find ways by which to communicate that language beyond the language itself." Indeed, her Trojan Women (first staged in 1974) was performed in Ancient Greek, but was received positively worldwide.
She passed away on January 13, 2011, New York
