Blog
Histories, guides and background from the Antenna Theater archive
Antenna Theater Journal
Four decades of audio-driven, walk-through and site-specific theater, told through the productions, the places and the ideas behind them. New pieces are added here as they are published.
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Meredith Monk’s Site-Specific Works: From the Guggenheim to a Tower in Sonoma
Meredith Monk’s site-specific works in order: Juice at the Guggenheim, Vessel’s loft-to-parking-lot journey, Roosevelt Island and a tower in Sonoma.
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Laurie Anderson and Performance Art: From the Handphone Table to United States
Laurie Anderson’s performance art explained: the Handphone Table, the tape-bow violin, O Superman and the eight-hour United States at BAM in 1983.
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The History of Wax Museums, from Westminster Abbey to Fisherman’s Wharf
The history of wax museums: Westminster Abbey’s effigies, Mrs. Salmon, Madame Tussaud, the Musee Grevin, New York’s Eden Musee and Fisherman’s Wharf.
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The History of the Musée Mécanique: From the Cliff House to Pier 45
The history of the Musee Mecanique: Ed Zelinsky’s coin-operated machines, Laffing Sal from Playland, the Cliff House basement, Pier 45 and the 2020 fire.
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The History of the Audiobook: From Talking Books to Downloads
The history of the audiobook: talking books for the blind, Caedmon and Dylan Thomas, Books on Tape, the word audiobook in 1994, and the download era.
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The History of Son et Lumière: Sound and Light at the World’s Monuments
The history of son et lumiere, the sound and light show: Chambord in 1952, Greenwich, the Acropolis, Giza, Mount Vernon and Philadelphia’s Lights of Liberty.
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Blast Theory History: From London Club Nights to Location Games
Blast Theory history from 1991 to today: Kidnap, Desert Rain, Can You See Me Now? and its Golden Nica, Rider Spoke, and an earlier American parallel.
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Anna Halprin and the Dancers’ Workshop: A Marin Story
The Anna Halprin Dancers’ Workshop story: the Kentfield dance deck, Parades and Changes in Stockholm and New York, Citydance and the Planetary Dance.
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Survival Research Laboratories: A History of Mark Pauline’s Machine Shows
Survival Research Laboratories history: Mark Pauline’s machine shows from a 1979 North Beach gas station to Shea Stadium, SFMOMA, the bans and New York in 2018.
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The History of Welfare State International, from Bradford Art College to the Ulverston Lanterns
The history of Welfare State International: John Fox and Sue Gill’s 1968 collective, Parliament in Flames, the Ulverston lanterns and the 2006 closing.
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The History of the Planetarium, From Munich to San Francisco
The history of the planetarium: the first Zeiss projector in Munich, the Adler and Griffith domes, Morrison Planetarium, the Vortex concerts and Laserium.
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The History of the Pickle Family Circus, San Francisco’s One-Ring Circus
The history of the Pickle Family Circus: Mime Troupe jugglers, a one-ring circus without animals, three famous clowns, new vaudeville and the road to Cirque.