Letter from Ginny Louloudes
Posted January 19, 2011 at 12:02 pm
January 14, 2011
Dear A.R.T./New York Members,
I want to thank the wonderful Bernard Gersten for suggesting that the theatre community, particularly the Off and Off Off Broadway theatres that are performing tonight, dim the lights in memory of our beloved Ellen Stewart, who passed away yesterday after a long illness.
I know that not all of our theatres have marquis lights to dim, so Mr. Gersten wisely suggested that all of us make this announcement at the top of the show (and feel free to personalize as you wish):
“Ladies and Gentlemen,
Tonight we dim the lights in honor of a great woman of the Theatre — and in particular of New York City’s Off Off Broadway theatre — Ellen Stewart. For 50 years Ms. Stewart and her company, LaMaMa, were the heart and soul of the Off Off Broadway theatre movement. Ellen presented the works of Ping Chong, Elizabeth Swados, Andrei Serban and so many others. Just before each performance, Ellen would ring a cow bell and welcome audiences to LaMaMa. Tonight she will be remembered with the dimming of lights as the sound of the cowbells ring in our hearts.”
As I read Ellen Stewart’s obituary, I could only marvel that a woman with no training in theatre (but a woman with tremendous style) could not only create LaMaMa, but make it one of the most important presenters of experimental, new and international theater in the world.
One of my favorite memories of Ellen is of her ringing the bell just before a performance by Music-Theatre Group was about to begin. After the bells stopped, she welcomed us to LaMaMa. My other favorite memory is watching Ellen at the Obies. She would rush up to winners – Robert Wilson, as I recall during one particular year, and corner him in deep conversation. I always fantasized that she was trying to get him to do some work for LaMaMa. But she clearly loved being a part of the community that she fostered.
Ellen was a beautiful woman – inside and out. She was also, in so many ways, the “mother” of Off Off Broadway. That is why today, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that everyone in the business – from Broadway to the regional theatres to the downtown companies to the young artists spending their first year in New York City – is taking a moment to silently thank Ellen for creating the culture of risk-taking that was LaMaMa. LaMaMa allowed writers to take theatre places it had never gone before, and she introduced New Yorkers to the work of Jerzy Grotowski, Andrei Serban and Tom O’Horgan.
The Greeks have a saying: “May her memory be eternal.” In Ellen’s case, I don’t think there is any question – her memory will live eternally throughout the industry, across the country and around the world.
Thank you,
Ginny Louloudes
Executive Director, A.R.T./New York