Four Guerrilla Theatre Pieces.

This article offers a note on guerilla theatre. It begins by presenting the transcripts of four guerilla theatre pieces. These pieces are The Painter, A Classroom Problem, A Piece for Conventions and Kites. According to the author, the term guerilla theatre is beginning to be thrown around quite loosely, referring in general to any form of political or avant-garde theatre from Hair to the San Francisco Mime Troupe; it is becoming more and more meaningless. The author suggests restricting its use to that form of theatre which does not identify itself as such. The purest form of guerilla theatre never reveals itself, but like The Painter, simply stalks away into reality. Some guerilla theatre, like A Common Problem, reveals itself afterwards in order to heighten and explore its effect. The Convention Piece uses frankly theatrical means but rationalizes their use through context, so as not to overstep reality and subsequent credibility. Kites, standing free, is closer to street-theatre, although as originally planned for a kiting festival at the Washington Monument it might have functioned as guerilla theatre. Guerilla theatre is being done by few theatre group. Much street and guerilla theatre suffers from high input, low output.