Explore the Era

Delve into the postwar Los Angeles art world in this online archive, which provides additional material related to the exhibitions on view at the Getty Center. Learn about hipsters and happenings, and the venues across the city where all the action took place through images from the archives and first-hand accounts with the artists.

Instant Theatre

Shortly after her arrival in Los Angeles in 1955, the French-born dancer and performer Rachel Rosenthal began to run improvisation workshops that attracted both inexperienced and seasoned actors. When she enthusiastically suggested that the group perform for an audience, however, all but a handful left. Undeterred, she founded Instant Theatre with those who remained. Over the next decade, Instant Theatre’s cast and home were constantly in flux. The first of the troupe’s many temporary homes was a modest workshop space at this location, adjacent to Hollywood’s Circle Theatre; at other times they performed at Stone Brothers Printing, the studio hangout run by Wallace Berman and Robert Alexander. Despite a perpetual lack of funds, no stable location, and little critical attention, Rosenthal kept the company going until 1966.

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Explore the Archive

  • Audio: Robert Alexander

    Audio: Hear Robert Alexander discuss his artwork. Excerpt from an interview with Robert Alexander by Sandra Leonard Starr, 1986. The Getty Research Institute, Gift of Sandra Leonard Starr, 2011.M.22. Courtesy of the Temple of Man, Inc.

  • Brochure for a performance at Instant Theatre

    Brochure for a performance at Instant Theatre, "Part of the forest is remaining unseen and the seen no longer is seen," ca. 1957, designed by Robert Alexander. Letterpress. The Getty Research Institute, Charles Brittin papers, 2005.M.11.25. Courtesy of the Temple of Man, Inc.