DramaLit Blog 1.0: BU School of Theatre

I was browsing the NY Times Art Beat and found an article about the cafe considered the home of the beginning of Off Off Broadway. It started simply enough – Joseph Cino provided a place for poets to perform some work – and expanded to greater things. The article makes me think about how anyone can start a revolution, how they can be the one to develop this new thing that takes the world by storm. Cino provided a place for up and coming artists to present their work. He gave them the ground to get themselves started, and make a name for themselves. Some of the playwrights who presented their work at Caffe Cino include Sam Shepard and Edward Albee; performers include Bernadette Peters. This article presents an interesting look at how Off Off Broadway got started, something I don’t think crosses the mind of many of us. It’s just something that most of us seem to take for granted nowadays, when in reality, it was the place for new artists to have an audience and be supported in their venture into the bigger world of theatre. Without Caffe Cino’s influence, I don’t think the theatre world would be in the place it is now.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/11/theater/donation-to-library-opens-new-portal-to-caffe-cino.html?_r=1&ref=theater