La Mama Experimental Theatre Club

Our Mission

La MaMa is dedicated to the artist and all aspects of the theatre. It has a worldwide reputation for producing daring work in theatre, dance, performance art, and music that defies form and transcends boundaries of language, race, and culture.

Founded in 1961 by theatre pioneer and legend Ellen Stewart, La MaMa is a vital part of the fabric of cultural life in NYC and the anchor of FAB (Fourth Arts Block). In the 1960's, Ms. Stewart, one of the first black fashion designers in New York, worked as the executive designer for Saks Fifth Avenue and was undoubtedly a trendsetter. She began La MaMa with the belief that art, in order to flourish, needs: fiscal support, the company of colleagues, the spirit of collaboration and a public forum in which to be evaluated. The original house of La MaMa sat 30 people, and the stage was the size of a bed.

Today, La MaMa is a four-building campus with three theaters, an art gallery, an art and technology studio, rehearsal studios, a dormitory, offices, and an extensive archive documenting the history of Off-Off-Broadway. La MaMa produces approximately 70 productions annually, most of which are world premieres. To date, more than 3,500 productions have been presented at La MaMa with 150,000 artists from more than 70 nations. La MaMa's programming is culturally diverse, cross-disciplinary and draws audiences from all walks of life. In addition to affordable ticket prices, La MaMa distributes up to 8,000 free tickets annually to social service and education organizations. Annual visitors exceed 32,000 people from New York and beyond.

Each year, La MaMa provides employment opportunities for more than 260 artists and administrators including performers, writers, composers, directors, choreographers, musicians, designers and educators. La MaMa is a think tank and an experimental forum where artists at various stages of their career and creative development come to take risks. Much of the work done here allows the artistic experimenter to take the lessons learned and capitalize on them elsewhere, thus influencing much of what is eventually seen in commercial theater and the entertainment industry at large. In addition, La MaMa provides people of all ages and backgrounds with an opportunity to explore the arts in various capacities - as a member of the audience, the creative team, production crew or cast.

"A home to, and champion of, brash and venturesome artists!" - New York Times

Countless American artists have worked at La MaMa during the early stages of their careers, including: Blue Man Group, Steve Buscemi, Robert DeNiro, Andre DeShields, Danny DeVito, Olympia Dukakis, Harvey Fierstein, Philip Glass, Bill Irwin, Diane Lane, Bette Midler, Meredith Monk, Estelle Parsons, Sam Shepard, Patti Smith, Elizabeth Swados, Julie Taymor, Andy Warhol, Lanford Wilson, Robert Wilson, Scott Wittman and Joel Zwick. New Eastern European Theatre was introduced to America in 1967 when La MaMa brought Ryszard Cieslak, Ludwig Flaszen, and Jerry Grotowski to New York. Other international artists whose work premiered at La MaMa include Ivica Buljan, Peter Brooke, Tadeusz Kantor, Kazuo Ohno, Andrei Serban, Shuji Teriyama, and Ahmed Yacoubi.

La MaMa has received more than 30 Obie Awards, dozens of Drama Desk and Bessie Awards. Recent significant premieres include: The Foundry Theatre's GOOD PERSON OF SZECHWAN; Belarus Free Theatre's BEING HAROLD PINTER (Obie Award); Lee Breuer's LA DIVINA CARICATURA; and SOULOGRAPHIE: OUR GENOCIDES by Eric Ehn.