About
The workshops are performed at the Manhattan Arts Center in Manhattan, Kansas.
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A very brief history of the Manhattan Experimental Theater Workshop (MXTW)
Founded in 1989, the Manhattan Experimental Theater Workshop is a five week program of the Manhattan Arts Center that takes place every May to June in Manhattan, Kansas. MXTW is part classroom and part production-company. In addition to studying examples of various styles of avant-garde theater, participants write and perform original pieces under the influence of the styles they have studied.
Each season, these original theater pieces are grouped thematically around some piece of "high culture" or "popular culture." Themes in the past have come from the likes of Shakespeare, Sophocles, the Bible, and from such popular stories as Bambi, The Little Mermaid, and Peter Pan. The target story for 2006 was The Book of Exodus. Dissecting our popular mythologies through the techniques of avant-garde theater, MXTW tells you stories you only thought you knew. The results are performances that are definitely not for children, nor for the faint of heart. Explosively physical, deeply analytical, highly amusing, and not a little disturbing, MXTW's performances will engage your mind, grip your soul, and astound your senses. In most years, MXTW is a program only for high school students. In 1992 there was a workshop program for adults. There may be another.
The MXTW masks
Each year we have a different mask-graphic for the workshop. So MXTW participants have an identifiable graphic that is special to the work they did. Often these masks have been designed off-hand by Jim Hamilton (who claims no great ability in this area, by the way). In 1992, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1999, and 2004, the masks were designed by Diane Dollar, Chuck Stroh, Rachel Eaton, Jayne Link, Craig Goodman, and Travis Hopkins, respectively. Michael Senften has been doing creative work necessary to make Jim's suggestions look better since 2002.
The MXTW slogans
Each year we have a different slogan to go with the mask that is the identifying graphic for the year. The slogans suggest what theater might be; and that is why they always end with a colon and the word, "theater." For example, "dreams to chew: theater," a slogan that was suggested by a Yoruba proverb about proverbs and by the last line of a short story by John Updike. We think it sums up nicely what is sometimes presented in theater, when we are lucky.
For more on the MXTW process, visit the process page or read Jim Hamilton's article on experimental theater.
