Fiasco Theater's name seems to be a misnomer. The theater company, founded in 2007 by alums of the Brown University/Trinity Repertory MFA Acting and Directing programs, has been quickly gaining recognition on New York's off-Broadway scene. It is anything but a fiasco.
"It is only in risking the possibility of fiasco that you can do something great," said Jessie Austrian '03 MFA '06, one of the co-founders of the small company, a not-for-profit organization.
"We enjoyed working together in grad school," said Austrian, of co-founders Ben Steinfeld '01 MFA '05 and Noah Brody '01 MFA '05 .
"We all got very interested in a certain set of aesthetic principles," said Steinfeld. "We were all in New York together by 2007."
Members of Fiasco manage every aspect of the plays — including acting, directing and set design — an impressive feat for a small company. Steinfeld attributes this achievement to Brown's undergraduate theater program, where students learn all aspects of play production. There are many opportunities to participate in what Steinfeld describes as "student-generated theater," in which undergrads are responsible for complete production of plays.
"You can blur the boundaries. You don't just have to say ‘I'm an actor, I'm a playwright,'" said Steinfeld, who both co-directed and acted in Fiasco's recent production of "Cymbeline," which ran in mid-January. In a Jan. 17 review of the production, the New York Times described Fiasco as "a plucky little...troupe."
"(Theater students) are not dependent on other people to hire them," said Lowry Marshall, professor of theater, speech and dance. She added that it is not uncommon for alums to create work for themselves, like the founders of Fiasco did.
"All of them just have remarkable charisma as people," said Marshall, who taught many of the founders as undergraduates. "Their engagement is so total," she said.
Marshall said she is never surprised when actors from Brown go out and make their way in the world. Brown produces a full-fledged and educated person, rather than someone who is just trained in acting, she said.
Marshall said she was extremely impressed when she saw Fiasco's production of "Cymbeline," and added that the company has a level of excellence in everything they do.
"They made ("Cymbeline") happen on a really small budget," said Brian McEleney, head of the Brown/Trinity MFA program in acting. "It was tremendously rewarding."
Fiasco Theater also offers free conservatory-level training for actors in New York City. Everyone who attends the session is already in the profession, Steinfeld said.
"Our goal is to teach people how we work," he said. "(Teaching) theater is a hand-to-hand, person-to-person thing."
The New York Times' glowing review of "Cymbeline" has helped put Fiasco on the map and they seem to have a bright future ahead of them — no fiascoes in sight.
