Poor Theater

The goal of this class is not to offer a survey of Happenings and other happening-related art of the late twentieth century. Instead, we will use Happenings as a paradigm of "poor theater" and "poor art" - umbrella terms for a number of experimental performance and art practices that emerged in the aftermath of the WWII. We will use the idea of poor theater as an organizing principle in our investigation of the main currents in the experimental performance in the last five decades. The class has a tripartite structure. First we will outline the paradigm of happenings, then trace the origins of Happenings in music, visual arts and theater of the mid twentieth century, and finally look at Happenings' immediate impact, as well as at its ripple effects that continued to reverberate long after the disappearance of this new art form. This course counts as a Writing in the Major course for TAPS in 2016-17.