Ronald Tavel (May 17, 1936 â€" March 23, 2009) was an American
screenwriter, director, novelist, poet and actor, best known for his
work with Andy Warhol and The Factory.Born in Brooklyn, New York,
Tavel graduated from Brooklyn College and later attended the
University of Wyoming, where he earned a Master's degree in creative
writing in 1959. Tavel worked as a screenwriter during the 1960s for
many of Andy Warhol's underground films including Chelsea Girls. Tavel
worked with other members of Warhol's Factory crowd, including Freddie
Herko, Ondine, Mary Woronov, Billy Name, and Brigid Berlin. He also
received the Obie Award for Outstanding Contribution to Theater in
1969, for the musical drama Boy On the Straight-Back Chair.Tavel later
founded, named, and was heavily involved with the Playhouse of the
Ridiculous, a New York City theatre presenting works produced and
directed by John Vaccaro, Harvey Tavel, and Charles Ludlam. Tavel
provided the one-sentence manifesto for The Theatre of the Ridiculous:
"We have passed beyond the Absurd: our position is absolutely
preposterous."In 1975, Tavel was appointed Artist-in-Residence to The
Yale University Divinity School for his contributions to formal
theology and religious theatre (notably, the Obie-Award winning play
Bigfoot). In 1977, he was re-appointed to that position for the
three-act play Gazelle Boy.
screenwriter, director, novelist, poet and actor, best known for his
work with Andy Warhol and The Factory.Born in Brooklyn, New York,
Tavel graduated from Brooklyn College and later attended the
University of Wyoming, where he earned a Master's degree in creative
writing in 1959. Tavel worked as a screenwriter during the 1960s for
many of Andy Warhol's underground films including Chelsea Girls. Tavel
worked with other members of Warhol's Factory crowd, including Freddie
Herko, Ondine, Mary Woronov, Billy Name, and Brigid Berlin. He also
received the Obie Award for Outstanding Contribution to Theater in
1969, for the musical drama Boy On the Straight-Back Chair.Tavel later
founded, named, and was heavily involved with the Playhouse of the
Ridiculous, a New York City theatre presenting works produced and
directed by John Vaccaro, Harvey Tavel, and Charles Ludlam. Tavel
provided the one-sentence manifesto for The Theatre of the Ridiculous:
"We have passed beyond the Absurd: our position is absolutely
preposterous."In 1975, Tavel was appointed Artist-in-Residence to The
Yale University Divinity School for his contributions to formal
theology and religious theatre (notably, the Obie-Award winning play
Bigfoot). In 1977, he was re-appointed to that position for the
three-act play Gazelle Boy.
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