Elbows Akimbo
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2025) |
| Formation | 1986 |
|---|---|
| Dissolved | mid 1990s |
| Type | Theatre group |
| Location |
|
Artistic director(s) | Thomas Schulz, Diana Trimble |
Elbows Akimbo was an avant garde theatrical troupe and performance art ensemble that emerged in 1986 from San Francisco's underground scene, and stopped producing work in the mid 1990s. Their work tended to feature meditations on the opposing extremes of mysticism and profanity.
History
[edit]Originally an outgrowth of San Francisco State University's progressive department: the Center for Experimental and Interdisciplinary Arts, it was founded by director Thomas Schulz, and co-founded by Diana Trimble who was in the same department.
The original group had eleven members, including certain key performers who have gone on to have interesting careers, from Diana Trimble (also known as Diana Rosalind Trimble, Diana Rosalind Land), vocalist, composer, writer, poet, and actor;[1][2] Michael Calvello, writer and actor; Kalonica McQuesten, vocalist and musician; Kevin McKereghan, sound engineer; dancer, Alisa Froman; Joy Cutler, actor and writer;[3] Nancy Beckman, musician; and Jody Ellsworth, actor/dancer.
Later additions to the group who have also continued in the performing arts include actor/writer/director Michael Edo Keane, harpist/composer Barbara Imhoff, vocalist, actor and educator Susan Volkan, illustrator/designer Barron Storey, movement artists Mark Steger, actor/writer Johnna Schmidt, actor/director Charles Herman-Wurmfeld, director Mark Waters, actor Rebecca Klingler, actor John Flanagan, actor/director Diane Jackson, actor/playwright Tanya Shaffer, author Carol Lloyd, Hungarian poet, translator, performance artist Gabor G. Gyukics, actor Salim Abdul-Jelani, and actor Lewis Sims among others.
Productions
[edit]In chronological order:
- Enter the World of Beatrice
- Asylum (1987)[4]
- The Tempest: a Radical Deconstruction (1988)[5]
- O Flame of Living Love (1990)[6]
- Carne Vale (1990)[7][8]
- Bhagavad-Gita: the War Within (1991),[9]
- JFK and Marat/Sade (1992)[10][11][12][13]
- At the Speed of Life
Elbows Akimbo was connected to a web formed by other experimental artists of the time, such as Contraband, Rob Brezsny's World Entertainment War, Crash Worship, Nao Bustamante, Paul Benny, Beth Custer, The Beatnigs, Dude Theatre and George Coates Performance Works.
References
[edit]- ^ "Looking Good". San Francisco Examiner. March 4, 1991. p. 30. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
- ^ "The Dead Try To Revive School Music". San Francisco Examiner. August 28, 1994. p. 230. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
- ^ Sierra, Gabrielle (April 6, 2011). "Plays & Players Brings The Grotesque to PIFA". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
- ^ "Asylum as refuge, asylum as prison, and 'Asylum'as theater". San Francisco Examiner. May 8, 1987. p. 69. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
- ^ "Theater: Shakespeare 'deconstruction' builds innovative 'Tempest'". San Francisco Examiner. 1988-11-11. p. 59. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
- ^ Hureitt, Robert (January 11, 1990). "Good and Evil in a battle royal". San Francisco Examiner. p. 39. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
- ^ Hurwitt, Robert (1990-07-12). "Elbows' 'Carne Vale'". San Francisco Examiner. p. 37. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
- ^ "Carne Vale". San Francisco Examiner. July 27, 1990. p. 61. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
- ^ "Elbows Akimbo". San Francisco Examiner. 1991-07-05. p. 59. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
- ^ "John Kennedy Squares Off Against Joseph Cambell". San Francisco Examiner. 1992-01-05. p. 210. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
- ^ "Scott Rosenberg Stage Watch: Deconstruction of 'Marat' into muddy waters". San Francisco Examiner. 1992-01-15. p. 47. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
- ^ "Over the hill..." Pacifica Tribune. 1992-01-08. p. 17. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
- ^ "Article clipped from Oakland Tribune". Oakland Tribune. 1991-08-18. p. 76. Retrieved 2025-03-03.