SITI Company

In the 1980s, Suzuki's work and training practices were gaining some prominence in the United States. Suzuki's works had begun to be presented in the U.S., attracting some American actors to Japan to study with the Suzuki Company of Toga (SCOT). In 1988, Bogart joined a delegation of American theater directors organized by Peter Zeisler of Theatre Communications Group that visited Suzuki and SCOT in the village of Toga, Japan. The institute's inaugural season was held in September 1992 in Saratoga Springs, New York, consisting of two adaptations of Euripides. Suzuki directed both American and Japanese actors in Dionysus, from The Bacchae, at Skidmore College, and Orestes by Charles L. Mee, directed by Bogart, was performed at the Spa Little Theatre. Both shows were also performed in the 1992 Toga Festival. Other notable collaborators include visual artist Ann Hamilton, the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, composer Julia Wolfe and Bang on a Can All-Stars, and choreographer Elizabeth Streb. SITI Company toured their work extensively, both nationally and internationally. They presented shows 12 times at the Actors Theatre of Louisville, often as part of the Humana Festival of New American Plays. They performed at theaters and performing arts centers including the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Walker Art Center, Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Wexner Center for the Arts, New York Theatre Workshop, Guthrie Theater, and Getty Villa. They showed work at festivals including the Theatre Olympics, Venice Biennale, Edinburgh International Festival, and Holland Festival. At the end of 2022, SITI Company ceased both production and training activity. Their final performances were of an original adaptation of A Christmas Carol at Bard College's Fisher Center. SITI maintains an online archive of digital materials on their website, while their physical archive has been transferred to the Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute. In addition to Bogart, who was co-artistic director alongside Leon Ingulsrud and Ellen Lauren, other members included playwright Charles Mee, scenic designer Neil Patel, and Tony Award-winning sound designer Darron L. West. Actors Jefferson Mays and KJ Sanchez were former members. == Training ==

SITI is noted for combining the Viewpoints process of Anne Bogart with the Suzuki Method of Actor Training of Tadashi Suzuki. Both techniques are alternatives to the Stanislavski-based Method training which has dominated American stage and screen for generations. In SITI classes, company members who were not teaching would train alongside students. The company convened an annual four-week workshop at Skidmore College, from 1992 until 2020, enrolling 60 students annually. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the workshops were held virtually, including the final summer intensive in 2022. SITI also held workshops in New York City, and short-term residencies and workshops while on tour. In 2013, SITI Company launched a year-round conservatory program, which also offered training in Alexander technique, dramaturgy, and scene study. == Productions ==

Most productions directed by Anne Bogart, except where otherwise noted. Sourced from the SITI Company Digital Archive • Orestes adapted from Euripides by Charles L. Mee (1992) • Dionysus adapted from Euripides with the Suzuki Company of Toga (SCOT) (1992) • The Medium inspired by Marshall McLuhan (1993, 2022) • Small Lives/Big Dreams adapted from the plays of Anton Chekhov (1994) • Going, Going, Gone (1995) • Miss Julie at the Actors Theatre of Louisville (1997) • Culture of Desire inspired by Andy Warhol (1997) • Bob inspired by Robert Wilson (1998) • ''Alice's Adventures'' adapted from Lewis Carroll by Jocelyn Clarke (1998) • Seven Deadly Sins with the New York City Opera (1998) • Cabin Pressure adapted from the works of Edward Albee and Noël Coward (1999) • War of the Worlds - The Radio Play adapted from the radio drama, directed by Bogart and Darron L. West (2000) • War of the Worlds by Naomi Iizuka (2000) • Room based on the writing of Virginia Woolf, adapted by Jocelyn Clarke (2000) • bobrauschenbergamerica by Charles L. Mee (2001) • Lilith by Deborah Drattell with the New York City Opera (2001) • Hay Fever by Noël Coward (2002) • Score inspired by Leonard Bernstein (2002) • La Dispute by Pierre de Marivaux (2003) • Nicholas and Alexandra by Deborah Drattell with the Los Angeles Opera (2003) • systems/layers with Rachel's (2004) • ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (2004) • Death and The Ploughman by Johannes von Tepl translated by Michael West (2004) • Intimations for Saxophone by Sophie Treadwell adapted by Michael Kinghorn (2005) • Hotel Cassiopeia with Charles L. Mee, inspired by Joseph Cornell (2006) • Radio Macbeth directed by Bogart and Darron L. West (2007) • Who Do You Think You Are with Ann Hamilton (2008) • Freshwater by Virginia Woolf (2009) • Under Construction by Charles L. Mee, inspired by Norman Rockwell and Jason Rhoades (2009) • Antigone adapted by Jocelyn Clarke (2009) • American Document with the Martha Graham Dance Company (2010) • Trojan Women (After Euripides) adapted by Jocelyn Clarke (2011) • Café Variations by Charles L. Mee, inspired by George and Ira Gershwin (2012) • A Rite inspired by The Rite of Spring with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company (2013) • Steel Hammer by Julia Wolfe with the Bang on a Can All-Stars (2014) • the theater is a blank page with Ann Hamilton (2015) • Lost in the Stars with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (2017) • Chess Match No. 5 inspired by Marcel Duchamp and John Cage, text by Jocelyn Clarke (2017) • Hanjo by Yukio Mishima directed and trans. by Leon Ingulsrud (2017) • The Bacchae trans. by Aaron Poochigian (2018) • FALLING & LOVING with Streb Extreme Action (2019) • Three Sisters adapted by Sarah Ruhl with Nine Years Theatre, directed by Nelson Chia and Darron L. West (2021) • A Radio Christmas Carol from Charles Dickens directed by Bogart and Darron L. West (2022) ==References==