Mabou Mines


Mabou Mines is an experimental theatre company founded in 1970 and based in New York City.

Founding and history

Mabou Mines was founded by David Warrilow, Lee Breuer, Ruth Maleczech, JoAnne Akalaitis and Philip Glass, at the house of Akalaitis and Glass near Mabou Mines, Nova Scotia.
The company began as a resident company at Ellen Stewart's La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in the East Village.
In 1986, the company won an Obie Award for Sustained Excellence for its theatrical contributions to the Off-Broadway community.
As the company stated in a 1990 press kit, "The artistic purpose of Mabou Mines has been and remains the creation of new theatre pieces from original texts and the theatrical use of existing texts staged from a specific point of view. Each member is encouraged to pursue his or her artistic vision by initiating and collaborating on a wide range of projects of varying styles, developing them from initial concept to final performance. This process is intense and often lengthy. While the director of a Mabou Mines work is responsible for its concept and its basic structure, the ultimate production reflects the concerns and the artistic input of all its collaborators."
In 2005, Mabou Mines was among 406 New York City arts and social service organizations to receive part of a $20 million grant from the Carnegie Corporation, which was made possible through a donation by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Production history