Group Theatre

Group Theatre organization formed in New York City in 1931 by Harold Clurman , Cheryl Crawford, and Lee Strasberg . Its founders, who had worked earlier with the Provincetown Players , wished to revive and redefine American theater by establishing a permanent company to present contemporary plays of social significance and by developing the theaterical arts, in particular, that of acting. Under Strasberg's tutelage, the actors explored the interior techniques based on Stanislavsky 's teachings that evolved into the American Method style of acting. Although never financially secure, the group was recognized as a vital theatrical force. It was at its height between 1935 and 1937, when it produced Awake and Sing, Waiting for Lefty, and Golden Boy, all by Clifford Odets . In 1937, Clurman became sole director. Although the group disbanded in 1941, its influence was great; many of its members became prominent actors, teachers, and directors.

Bibliography: See H. Clurman, The Fervent Years (1945).

Group Theatre, New York, production company formed in 1931 by Harold Clurman, Cheryl Crawford, and Lee Strasberg which broke away from the Theatre Guild because of the latter's alleged lack of political commitment. It had high ideals and a democratic mode of operation, and was intended to present works of serious social content free from the pressures of commercial theatre. Its first production was Paul Green's The House of Connelly, and among its early ventures were Maxwell Anderson's Night over Taos (1932) and Sidney Kingsley's Men in White (1933). The most important dramatist discovered by the Group Theatre was, however, Clifford Odets, a member of the company. Clurman assumed responsibility when the Group was reorganized in 1936 and Strasberg and Crawford ceased to direct. Other major productions included Paul Green's Johnny Johnson (1936) and William Saroyan's My Heart's in the Highlands (1939). A permanent repertory company was built up, dedicated to the principles of group acting as formulated by Stanislavsky, which produced a number of outstanding actors. In 1941, however, beset by financial difficulties and worn down by conflicts of personality, the Group Theatre ceased production.

Group Theatre, New York organization, conducted (1931–41) by a group of insurgents from the Theatre Guild under the leadership of Harold Clurman, Lee Strasberg, and Cheryl Crawford. Their first professional production, after a series of performances as a little theater, was Paul Green's The House of Connelly (1931), sponsored by the Theatre Guild and financed by O'Neill, Maxwell Anderson, and others. During its career, the group produced all the plays of Odets, formerly an actor with the company. Its many other productions included Night Over Taos, Men in White, Bury the Dead, and The Gentle People. Clurman described its history in The Fervent Years (1945).