ABSTRACT
“Guerrilla Theatre as Absurd Performance” traces the history of this genre from its beginnings in the 1960s with groups such as San Francisco Mime Troupe, The Diggers, and Abbie Hoffman and the Yippies through contemporary examples. Inspired by George Wellwarth’s 1964 book, The Theatre of Protest and Paradox: Developments in the Avant-Garde Drama, the chapter draws comparisons between guerrilla activist practices and the formalism of absurd literature.
Performance troupes are organized chronologically to analyze contemporaneous shifts in theme. Examples include The Living Theatre, El Teatro Campesino, Free Southern Theatre, ACT UP, Guerrilla Girls, and Improv Everywhere.
