Robert Wilson (October 4, 1941 – July 31, 2025) was a visionary force in experimental theater and opera, beginning in the late 1960s and continuing to the weeks before his death. His productions were often grand in scale, creating magical stage images from light and space, directing performers in a disciplined score of movement that reflected his aesthetic. He collaborated widely with figures as varied as Tom Waits, Lady Gaga, William Burroughs, Lucinda Childs, Willem Dafoe, and Jessye Norman. Originally from Waco, he relocated to New York to study architecture and work with children diagnosed as brain-damaged. In 1968, he started a group of called the Byrd Hoffman School of Byrds, whose members participated in his early epic works, often produced at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. He gained renown for Einstein on the Beach, his collaboration with Philip Glass, and became a prolific director and designer, often more appreciated in Europe than the United States.
This final extensive video interview with Robert Wilson was filmed at his Watermill Center in April 2025, just three months before his death, offering a rare and intimate window into the mind of a groundbreaking artist reflecting at the close of his life.
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, features groundbreaking directors Richard Foreman, JoAnne Akalaitis and Richard Schechner. For more on NYU Skirball, please visit their website.
