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The Talking Band is an American Off-Off-Broadway theatre company specialising in experimental theatre, based in New York City, New York.
The group consists of a three-person core group of artists – artistic director Paul Zimet; actor, writer and composer Ellen Maddow; and actor and director Tina Shepard.
It is known for producing original works of theatre that combine music, language, and choreographed movement in unconventional ways to create unique audience perspective on a wide range of subject material.
Since its founding, the group has produced 46 original plays and has performed at theatre venues around New York City and throughout the world.
It has its roots in the work of The Open Theatre, where company members Maddow and Shepard and Zimet worked as core company members. The Open Theatre founded by director, actor and writer Joseph Chaikin, and after Chaikin disbanded The Open Theatre in 1973, Maddow, Shepard and Zimet joined with the other Talking Band founding members to start the new company. Along with starting The Talking Band, Zimet, Maddow and Shepard continued to perform with Chaikin as part of his new company The Winter Project.
The group uses a collaborative creative process that incorporates the approaches and aesthetics of artists in a variety of media and arts fields.
Throughout its history, it has collaborated with influential artists from a range of backgrounds, including composers Swados, Peter Gordon and "Blue" Gene Tyranny; designers Julie Taymor, Theodora Skipitares, Janie Geiser, Nic Ularu, Carol Mullins, Kiki Smith, and Anna Kiraly; writer and performance artist Taylor Mac; and magician Peter Samelson.
In 1996, the group created The Performance Lab, establishing a more formal structure for their collaborative development process. This process allows it to work with young artists and guest artists to explore new creative directions and integrate new perspectives. Since 1996, the group has produced seventeen shows through The Performance Lab.
The Talking Band
P.O. Box 293, Prince Station
New York, NY 10012
Here are few videos reflect some of their work.