Ellen Stewart

Ellen Stewart (November 7, 1919 – January 13, 2011, place of birth is either Chicago, Illinois or Alexandria, Louisiana), better known as La MaMa, was an American theatre director, producer and Off Off Broadway Pioneer.

Quotes

• If a script ‘beeps’ to me, I do it...Audiences may hate these plays, but I believe in them. The only way I can explain my ‘beeps’ is that I’m no intellectual, but my instincts tell me automatically when a playwright has something.
  • Quoted in "Ellen Stewart, Off Off Broadway Pioneer, Dies at 91" by Mel Gussow and Bruce Weber, The New York Times, (January 13, 2011).
• Our mission was and is to develop, nurture, support, produce and present new and original performance work by artists of all nations and cultures.
  • Quoted in "Remembering Ellen Stewart, Founder of La MaMa Etc." By Ellis Nassour, Theaterlife.com.
• Believe it or not, it’s easier for me nowadays to be outside this country than in this country, because when I go outside I’m in hotels with elevators and services of all kinds, and it’s not such a hardship.
  • Quoted in "Ellen Stewart: Still pushing that pushcart" by Jerry Tallmer, The Villager, (November 1 - 7, 2006).

Quotes about Ellen Stewart

....to the playwright and all aspects of the theater.

• Eighty percent of what is now considered the American theater originated at La MaMa.
  • Harvey Fierstein, American Tony Award-winning and Emmy Award-winning actor, playwright and screenwriter. Said in an interview in Vanity Fair, also quoted on "The New York Times".
• We're going to do it, baby! We're going to do it, darling!' And within a week later we were doing it.
  • Sam Shepard, American actor, playwright, author, screenwriter, and director. "Sam Shepard on Ellen Stewart".
• Her vision dreams of a world where a multiplicity of perspectives is essential and where art is a means to bring people together. I am grateful to be a part of this artistic community that she nurtured, and this season again I am energized by its tenacity, passion, bravery, and transformative work.
  • Mia Yoo, Artistic director of La MaMa, "La MaMa's 2019–2020 Season to Celebrate Centennial of Founder Ellen Stewart"by Olivia Clement (August 14, 2019).
• I can’t imagine La MaMa without her. There may be a place called La MaMa that somebody brings good avant-garde international theater to, but it will not be La MaMa. La MaMa is her.
  • Elizabeth Swados, American writer, composer, musician, and theatre director. Said in an article in the theater journal The Drama Review in 2006, also quoted on "The New York Times".
• Qui celebriamo l'idea di comunità e famiglia artistica… che riunisce diverse generazioni che si incontrano… A Spoleto Ellen ha stabilito, fin da subito, un rapporto immediato con il territorio.
• In Spoleto Ellen established an immediate relationship with the territory and here we celebrate the idea of community and artistic family that brings together several generations.
  • Andrea Paciotto, Italian theatre director, professor, and director of CultureHub Europe. Stated on Italian TV channel RAI3 "Chi è di scena 18∕01∕2015 by Moreno Cerquetelli THE QUEEN OF HEARTS"(January 18, 2015).

External links

Ellen Stewart on Encyclopaedia Brittanica