Practice
The process of developing performances is a practice as well as an art.
The work of Urban Research Theater is based on the understanding that theatrical performance and embodied practice are two sides of the same coin. We are dedicated to carving out urban spaces in which the connections between art and practice can be rediscovered and developed over the long term. The creative work of the performer is the basis of everything we do.
Some of our basic techniques include:
- Rigorous, playful, organic physical training
- Original vibratory songs and song fragments
- Elements of naturalistic acting
- The development of precisely repeatable performance scores
We approach every technique as an invitation to arrive more deeply into the present. The forms we use are as simple as possible, designed to call forth the whole person to availability through the continuous demand for precision and embodied risk. Form and technique ultimately serve to protect and reveal the intimacy of the individual.
Core members of Urban Research Theater meet regularly to train and develop new performance scores and techniques. Our process is based on not skipping any steps. We have found, in practice, that true spontaneity arises naturally out of rigorous technique - and vice versa.
How many other artists are working in this way? If they are pursuing as ascetic a practice as URT in the frantic density of New York City, it may be impossible to ever know. While I suppose that all forms of performance have the potential to embody the active spiritual search of the doer, I have encountered few individuals or companies whose work manifests this quality so palpably as that of Urban Research Theater.
- Lane Pianta, MFA Towson University