We are a performance collective and organizing tool that creates site-specific and mobile performance from the historical record to promote reproductive and environmental justice. Founded in Western Massachusetts on the principles of sustainability, curiosity and community, we frequently work in found spaces or partner with historical organizations in order to illuminates place, reimagine the ordinary and to limit our environmental impact.
We are inspired by the town common and by the pageant wagons of early Europe that carried entertainment to the people for ritual celebration. We make work that sings the unsung and reveals the hidden.
We are inspired by the town common and by the pageant wagons of early Europe that carried entertainment to the people for ritual celebration. We make work that sings the unsung and reveals the hidden.
TheatreTruck
Director. Actor. Educator.
Mama. “Art is an essential part of the human experience,” proclaims Brianna earnestly from behind her rose-tinted glasses. “I want to live deliberately and make work deliberately, and then I want to offer that work to my community. With TheatreTruck I get to be an ethical artist when I'm not busy working in my garden, milking a goat or hiking while wearing my baby!"
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Designer . Educator. Visionary.
Mother. "Mostly, I just hate how much waste is generated by big commercial theater"' Elizabeth shares over a lunch of fresh carrot juice, dirt and raw quinoa. "these huge shows have enormous budgets, but often the story is thin and the set ends up in a dumpster. But, working in the Pioneer Valley has made me think there might be something redemptive in small theater that connects the practitioner directly with the audience. And when Brianna asked me to write a manifesto, I felt something like hope."
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Writer. Musician. Educator.
Dog Mom. “I acknowledge the inherent political nature of the stage and the social power that is gained when you have a platform and an audience,” Wyder says in one breath as she tries to prevent her mischievous dog from terrorizing Brianna’s goats under the midday sun, “I want to fuse magical realism with critical content and create socially conscious and environmentally responsible theater that serves as a vehicle for entertainment, education and birthing a new generation of diligent dreamers. That sounds easy, right?”
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Performer. Musician. Speech Pathologist.
Mama. “Oh, I love the magic of theatre,” says Julia, rapidly scrawling autographs for fans while being shuffled along by two butch bodyguards. “So, I’m delighted to be joining Theatretruck. We open up to the histories that live around us- and inside of us, really!” An assistant reaches to hand Julia a mocha topped with a generous dollop of whipped cream. She takes a sip, and a thick line of cream remains on her upper lip. “Now I get to create with all these brilliant, curious, and courageous people! and…” She stops, pulls down her sunglasses and looks at me, “that includes the dead ones whose stories we’re telling, by the way.”
Andrew RobertsActor. Sword-Fighter. Teacher.
Papa. "Sure, the willing suspension of disbelief is readily embraced within the confines of a traditional theater space," muses Andrew as he helps his two year old refine his rapier technique. "But when audiences are invited and encouraged to inhabit the 'set' of a site-specific performance, they often throw that disbelief right out the window. It's literally wonderful."
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Actor. Teacher. Writer.
Mom. “Devising a theatre piece using found objects from the historical record with a cadre of like minded yet diverse souls is a powerful way to understand our past and illuminate the present, ” she says as she puts the final calligraphic flourishes on a hand addressed envelope to her internet provider. “Plus, it’s really fun.”
Educator. Dramaturg. Historian. Auntie.
“I think there is an electric power in words,” ruminates Emily as she peers over the massive pile of dusty books that litter the desk of her tiny windowless DC office, where she yearns for the fresh air of the Pioneer Valley. “Words of history, voiced and embodied by performers today, can create new possibilities and shape new worlds. Listening to the voices of the past help us to forge radical acts of compassion and stage beautiful performances of remembering in the present. TheatreTruck’s site-specific, local and historical lens does just that.”
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We pledge to create a space that is compassionate, intersectional and inclusive.