FoolsFURY Theater is an ensemble theater company based in San Francisco.[1]
Founded in 1998 by Artistic Director Ben Yalom, the company presents reworked Shakespeare and classical texts as well as new works by experimental contemporary playwrights.[2] In 2020 Deborah Eliezer took over as artistic director. In 2021 FoolsFURY announced that it was closing down.
"Foolsfury Theater" specialized in physical theater techniques such as Viewpoints, Suzuki, and Grotowski-based methods.[3] They also were a training center for these theater techniques[3] and ran a youth program, Swivel Arts.
The ensemble hosted a biennial festival of experimental theater called the "Fury Factory."[1][4] The factory brought together ensemble companies from all around the country and different parts of the world. Past companies include Pig Iron,[5] Banana Bag & Bodice,[6] Witness Relocation, Under the Table and Hand2Mouth.
In 2015, associate artistic, Deborah Eliezer, became co-artistic director with Ben Yalom,[7] and in 2020 she took over as Artistic Director.[8]
In 2021 it was announced that Foolsfury was to be closed down and the work archived.[9][10]
The company worked on new shows with playwrights such as Sheila Callaghan,[11][12] Doug Dorst,[13] and Fabrice Melquiot[14] and collaborated with theatrical innovators such as SITI Company, Mary Overlie,[7] Stephen Wangh and Corey Fischer.[15]