Akropolis Performance Lab eschews production for production’s sake. Instead, we prize the catalyst of the studio … the workroom … the room of labor: the laboratory of our name. We reject the trappings of infrastructure which force the presentation of season after season of shows, on pre-determined, tight schedules devised first and foremost to cover rents or other priorities of a non-artistic nature. We do not base our identity upon seasons of plays, summer-stock Shakespeare, genre delineations, or the like. Since our inception, we have striven to exist as an antithesis or — perhaps better — in counterpoint to such theatre-making approaches. We believe in the necessity for an alternative to the constant churn of productions, and we have deliberately situated ourselves elsewhere on the artistic spectrum. This is not a values judgment. To the contrary, we celebrate the full spectrum of approaches and honor the vitality each brings to the theatre community. But for APL, this choice is a matter of Artistic Ethos. Continue reading…
Manifesto: APL’s Artistic Ethos
About Akropolis Performance Lab
Founded in 2000 by Co-Artistic Directors Joseph and Zhenya Lavy, Akropolis Performance Lab (APL) is Seattle's premiere ensemble-based theatre company. The ensemble practices rigorous, ongoing vocal and physical training and devises original work through long-form rehearsal process. APL's signature aesthetic, Theatre of Polyphony, is our original approach to crafting ensemble performance events that symbiotically interweave music, movement, and poetry to tell compelling and vital stories while reinventing the given spatial location and audience relationship to our art. Company members include Annie Paladino (Associate Artistic Director), Catherine Lavy, Emily Jo Testa, Jennifer Crooks, Joseph Lavy, Margaretta Campagna, Matt Sherrill, Sara Kaus, Tyler J. Polumsky, and Zhenya Lavy. The co-artistic directors' artistic lineage comes through the Central and Eastern European heritage of Meyerhold, Vakhtangov, and Grotowski. Recent work includes Ecce Faustus (2016), The Glas Nocturne (2015), and Pomegranate & Ash (2015). The ensemble hosts quarterly Salons and offers regular workshops in physical and vocal praxis. Akropolis Performance Lab is a Washington State Non-Profit Corporation.
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