Ethyl Eichelberger (born James Roy Eichelberger, July 17, 1945 â€"
August 12, 1990) was an Obie award-winning American drag performer,
playwright, and actor. He became an influential figure in experimental
theater and writing, and wrote nearly forty plays portraying women
such Jocasta, Medea, Nefertiti, Clytemnestra, and Lucrezia Borgia. He
became more widely known as a commercial actor in the 1980s.Ethyl
Eichelberger was born James Roy Eichelberger on July 17, 1945 in
Pekin, Illinois to Amish Mennonite parents . He attended Knox College
in Galesburg, Illinois and graduated from the American Academy of
Dramatic Arts in New York City in 1967. For seven years he was the
lead character actor at the Trinity Repertory Company in Providence,
Rhode Island. He then returned to New York, changed his name to Ethyl,
and became a member of Charles Ludlam's Ridiculous Theatrical Company,
acting and designing wigs. At the Ridiculous Theatrical Company,
Eichelberger met Black-Eyed Susan (actor), who became a close friend.
In 1987 he wrote his play Saint Joan for Black-Eyed Susan, following
the death of Charles Ludlam.Eichelberger's plays were performed in
almost any space that might pass as a stage in New York City during
the height of the East Village performance bar scene of the 1980s.
Among the venues at which they were produced are the Pyramid Club,
King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, and 8 B.C., and later at more established
venues such as P.S. 122, Dixon Place, La Mama, the Performing Garage,
and Dance Theatre Workshop. Eichelberger also took productions of his
plays on tour to such far away places as Australia and Europe.He often
performed solo works in free verse based on the lives of the grandes
dames of history, including Lucrezia Borgia, Jocasta, Medea, Lola
Montez, Nefertiti, Clytemnestra, and Carlotta, Empress of Mexico. "I
wanted to play the great roles but who would cast me as Medea?", he
mused late in life in Extreme Exposure: An Anthology of Solo
Performance Texts from the Twentieth Century. His 1984 play Leer
distilled Shakespears's King Lear into 3 characters, all played by
Eichelberger. Such works are rarely revived, as they require a solo
performer capable of accompanying himself on the accordion, eating
fire, turning cartwheels, and doing splits and other acrobatic feats.
August 12, 1990) was an Obie award-winning American drag performer,
playwright, and actor. He became an influential figure in experimental
theater and writing, and wrote nearly forty plays portraying women
such Jocasta, Medea, Nefertiti, Clytemnestra, and Lucrezia Borgia. He
became more widely known as a commercial actor in the 1980s.Ethyl
Eichelberger was born James Roy Eichelberger on July 17, 1945 in
Pekin, Illinois to Amish Mennonite parents . He attended Knox College
in Galesburg, Illinois and graduated from the American Academy of
Dramatic Arts in New York City in 1967. For seven years he was the
lead character actor at the Trinity Repertory Company in Providence,
Rhode Island. He then returned to New York, changed his name to Ethyl,
and became a member of Charles Ludlam's Ridiculous Theatrical Company,
acting and designing wigs. At the Ridiculous Theatrical Company,
Eichelberger met Black-Eyed Susan (actor), who became a close friend.
In 1987 he wrote his play Saint Joan for Black-Eyed Susan, following
the death of Charles Ludlam.Eichelberger's plays were performed in
almost any space that might pass as a stage in New York City during
the height of the East Village performance bar scene of the 1980s.
Among the venues at which they were produced are the Pyramid Club,
King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, and 8 B.C., and later at more established
venues such as P.S. 122, Dixon Place, La Mama, the Performing Garage,
and Dance Theatre Workshop. Eichelberger also took productions of his
plays on tour to such far away places as Australia and Europe.He often
performed solo works in free verse based on the lives of the grandes
dames of history, including Lucrezia Borgia, Jocasta, Medea, Lola
Montez, Nefertiti, Clytemnestra, and Carlotta, Empress of Mexico. "I
wanted to play the great roles but who would cast me as Medea?", he
mused late in life in Extreme Exposure: An Anthology of Solo
Performance Texts from the Twentieth Century. His 1984 play Leer
distilled Shakespears's King Lear into 3 characters, all played by
Eichelberger. Such works are rarely revived, as they require a solo
performer capable of accompanying himself on the accordion, eating
fire, turning cartwheels, and doing splits and other acrobatic feats.
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