A native of Steubenville, OH, John Vacarro (1929 – 2016) travelled widely in Asia, worked as stand-up comedian, and spent months in a mental hospital before coming to New York in 1961. Falling in with a crowd that included Jack Smith and Abstract-Expressionist painters, in 1965, he directed two Ronald Tavel plays which developed into The Play-House of the Ridiculous. Their motto, attributed to Tavel: “We have passed beyond the absurd: Our position is absolutely preposterous.” The company split in 1967, branching into The Ridiculous Acting Company, led by Charles Ludlam. John Vaccaro’s transgressive style and glitter aesthetic positions him as a forerunner of Punk style.
About The Downtown Performance Series
NYU Skirball and Artifacts have teamed up to produce NYU Skirball Presents Downtown Performance, a series spotlighting the directors, performers, and artists who shaped the movements loosely defined as “Downtown.”
Inspired by the cultural history rooted in NYU Skirball’s neighboring blocks, the Downtown Performance series captures in-depth interviews with living legends of performance. The first instalment, available to stream January 9, 2025, features groundbreaking directors Richard Foreman and JoAnne Akalaitis, with John Vaccaro and Richard Schechner following later this year. For more on NYU Skirball, please visit their website.
