James Tiroff notebooks and art works

The James Tiroff Notebooks and Art Works document Tiroff’s experiences in Europe as an actor and designer with the avant-garde theatre company the Living Theatre between 1964 and 1966. During these years the company was “in exile” from its home base in New York City, following a guilty verdict against directors Julian Beck and Judith Malina on charges of federal tax evasion. They lost their appeal and served sixty and thirty days, respectively, while the company remained in Europe. Tiroff's ten notebooks contain diary entries describing the Living Theatre company travels, rehearsals, and performances. Notes of company meetings and discussions on a variety of topics often include quotes from Beck and Malina. Productions documented in the notebooks include The Brig, The Balcony, The Maids, Frankenstein, and Mysteries and Smaller Pieces. Tiroff also details his personal experiences with fellow company members and acquaintances including preparation of meals, impromptu music sessions, sexual encounters, alcohol and drug use, and confrontations with police.

Accompanying the diary accounts (and frequently forming collages within the notebooks) are letters to Tiroff from friends and family members; photographs of Tiroff and others; pen and ink and watercolor abstract illustrations and drawings of people, production costumes and sets, and theatre floor plans; and ephemera including performance programs and handbills, train schedules, ticket stubs, hotel business cards, postcards, and newspaper clippings, maps, and organic material. Several letters from Malina and Beck in January of 1965, during their incarceration in the United States, sent to company members in Belgium, describe how set and costume designs should be constructed for The Maids. One folder of Living Theatre performance programs and Tiroff’s Italian motorcycle registration papers follow the notebooks. Tiroff’s art works within sketchbooks and as single sheets include pen-and-ink drawings of Living Theatre productions, nudes, and oil and watercolor portraits, including one self-portrait.