Reza Abdoh collection of papers, 1983-1999.

Links

• View catalog record
• View PDF finding aid (141.63 KB)

Creator

Abdoh, Reza.

Location

Billy Rose Theatre Division

Extent

• 2.5 lf. (6 boxes)

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to the public. Library policy on photography and photocopying will apply. Advance notice may be required.

Scope/Contents Note

The Reza Abdoh collection consists of biographical materials, ephemera, clippings, scripts, and photographs relating to theater and film projects, both produced and unrealized, and to Dar A Luz, the theatre company Reza Abdoh founded in 1991. The strength of the collection is in the production materials which document the developmentof Reza Abdoh's work between 1983 and 1995. The period following 1991 is especially well documented, particularlythe 1993 European tour of THE LAW OF REMAINS. Materials include scripts, production notes, reviews, clippings, programs, photographs, contact sheets, rehearsal schedules,itineraries, fliers, and other items. There are transcripts of interviews with Reza Abdoh, and with a number of friends and associates, including his brother Salar, conducted in the years after Reza's death. Correspondence is minimal, and does not include any letters to or from Reza Abdoh.

Biographical/Historical Note

Reza Abdoh (1963-1995) was a director, playwright, and poet, as well as the founding director of the Dar A Luz theater company, which performed his avant-garde works throughout the world. Born in Teheran, Iran, on Feb. 23, 1963, Reza Abdoh became interested in theater in early childhood, and began directing plays while still a teenager. He moved to Los Angeles in 1980 and, in additionto directing plays, videos, and short films, began to develop his own scripts for the stage, some of which were adaptations of classical works, such as the OEDIPUS of Sophocles and the MEDEA of Euripides. Wider public attention came through a series of productions at the Los Angeles Theatre Center: MINAMATA (1989), THE HIP-HOP WALTZOF EURYDICE (1990), and BOGEYMAN (1991). THE HIP-HOP WALTZOF EURYDICE was the first of Reza Abdoh's works to tour, and was staged at festivals in Montreal, Barcelona, and Paris. In 1991 Reza Abdoh founded the Dar A Luz theatre company. In 1992 he created and directed a feature-length film, THE BLIND OWL, and directed an opera, SIMON BOCCANEGRA. Reza Abdoh's next three plays, THE LAW OF REMAINS (1992), TIGHT RIGHT WHITE (1993), and QUOTATIONS FROM A RUINED CITY (1994), each premiered in New York; THELAW OF REMAINS and QUOTATIONS FROM A RUINED CITY also toured. Reza Abdoh was at work on a new piece, A STORY OF INFAMY, when he died of AIDS in New York City on May 11, 1995, at the age of 32.

Controlled Access Terms

• Abdoh, Reza.
• Abdoh, Salar.
• Dar A Luz.
• Experimental theater -- United States.
• Scripts.
• Photographs.

Additional Creator Name

• p1pc Abdoh, Reza. Reza Abdoh collection of papers and videotapes (CStRLIN)NYPW00-a177.