Description
The New Theater Festival, which came to UMBC in 1976, had its origins in alternative theatre such as Herbert Blau’s and Jules Irving’s San Francisco Workshop and Philip Arnoult’s Baltimore based Theatre Project. In 1974, Blau became the Dean of UMBC’s Division of Arts and Humanities, and brought Kraken,” his experimental theatre group to campus as the resident company. He immediately partnered with Arnoult to begin the process of bringing the third iteration of the New Theatre Festival from University of Michigan to Baltimore. Arnoult and Blau were co-directors of the festival which included 33 theatre companies, more than 250 performers, and more than 120 performances. Besides attending performances, UMBC students also participated in workshops and discussions led by leaders in experimental theatre.