Overview

Our Mission

is to create and produce original, interdisciplinary theater works that are provocative, socially relevant, and accessible; and to foster new generations of actor creators through ongoing research, development, and a professional training program.

.jpg — Our Vision

is to redefine the boundaries of theatre as untethered by linear literary structures and realism.

Inclusivity and Diversity Statement

MB Adaptors is committed to being a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace. One where all employees and volunteers, whatever their gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, age, sexual orientation or identity, education, or disability, feel valued and respected.

We actively work to ensure economic status does not prohibit the broadest possible audience and student base from participating in our programs. We offer free, and pay-what-you-can entry to productions and have awarded over $125,000 in scholarships to our training programs.

A Brief History

Artistic Directors Kari Margolis and Tony Brown founded Adaptors Inc, a 501c3 nonprofit, in New York City in 1984, to support and sustain both the international touring company and its professional training center.

Under the creative guidance of Margolis and Brown, the company has created and produced seventeen original ensemble-based productions that have toured nationally and abroad, six site-specific productions for such places as the Brooklyn Museum, Science Museum of Minnesota, and the Beach at Coney Island NY, and over a dozen original productions created for universities.

After four years as artists-in-residence at BACA Downtown Cultural Center, the company created the Second Story Theatre in Downtown Brooklyn which housed performances, classes, student housing, and a recording and video studio.

In 1994, MB ADAPTORS relocated to Minneapolis, where it played a leading role in the Twin Cities active theatre scene. In 2004, the company moved to its present home base in Highland Lake, NY, and opened the Margolis Method Center Int’l. MBA has also made an artistic home in Barcelona, where it has created multiple performances and run Margolis Method classes and a Study Abroad Program.

Known for spectacular ensemble imagery, rapier wit, and the marriage of cutting-edge multimedia technology with a muscular and emotionally rich acting style, the company’s original thematic productions have achieved national and international critical acclaim.

MBA’s signature physically-charged approach to theatre has received recognition and funding from such sources as the NEA, NYS Council on the Arts, NY Foundation for the Arts, Bklyn Arts Council, MN Arts Council, Pew/TCG National Artist Fellowship, Bessie NY Performance Award, and the McKnight, Jerome and Bush Foundations among many other public and private sources.

Artistic Statement

MBA envisions theatre as a living, communal experience that reflects on life rather than imitates it. Visceral, visually rich experiences that ignite the imagination, reveal the extraordinary within the ordinary, and provoke thought.

In working to redefine what makes for powerful theatre today, we are inspired to look back to ancient theatre forms where theatre was a transformative communal experience. We find in theatre’s ritualistic roots an intriguing and powerful performer who embodied the skill sets of actor, dancer, singer, and puppeteer. We also find a performance event that was so essential, one could barely separate the experience of the viewer from that of the performer.

It is this heartfelt level of connection with an audience we seek today.

Our commitment to this goal is so deep that the Company has, since 1984, been exploring new ways to tell stories that challenge the traditional linear narrative in order to move an audience on a visceral level and stimulate their imaginations. The creation of such a theatre experience has called on us to create a new kind of actor and redefine the actor’s place within the creative process.

The pursuit of this actor has led to the Margolis Method, an in-depth theatre training approach built on four decades of studio research and professional application.

While economics and politics have made ensemble theatre something of an anomaly in the United States today, the Company has always remained vigorously committed to maintaining a “home” for a group of artists to train, grow, create and ultimately, contribute back to society.

We believe that ensemble theatre—a group of people united in mind, muscle, and breath—demonstrates the power of coming together and can help us remember just how generous the human spirit can be.

Professional Training

Margolis Method

Margolis Method’s comprehensive theater training takes the mystery out of acting by offering tangible, practicable exercises that allow the actor to build and hone their skills as a true craftsperson.

Each Margolis Method exercise unites physical and vocal expression while stimulating the actor’s creativity and dramaturgical skills. MM builds strong, flexible actors capable of powerfully intersecting with any theatrical style, and its clear and precise vocabulary allows actors, directors, and playwrights to interact in a deeper, more efficient manner.

Work sessions focus on building strong, highly creative theater artists capable of bringing fresh perspectives to pre-scripted plays and/or creating original work.

Margolis Method Programs

Awards, Fellowships, and Grants

Overview

Our Mission

is to create and produce original, interdisciplinary theater works that are provocative, socially relevant, and accessible; and to foster new generations of actor creators through ongoing research, development, and a professional training program.

Our Vision

is to redefine the boundaries of theatre as untethered by linear literary structures and realism.

Inclusivity and Diversity Statement

MB Adaptors is committed to being a diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplace. One where all employees and volunteers, whatever their gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, age, sexual orientation or identity, education, or disability, feel valued and respected.

We actively work to ensure economic status does not prohibit the broadest possible audience and student base from participating in our programs. We offer free, and pay-what-you-can entry to productions and have awarded over $125,000 in scholarships to our training programs.

A Brief History

Artistic Directors Kari Margolis and Tony Brown founded Adaptors Inc, a 501c3 nonprofit, in New York City in 1984, to support and sustain both the international touring company and its professional training center.

After four years as artists-in-residence at BACA Downtown Cultural Center, the company created the Second Story Theatre in Downtown Brooklyn which housed performances, classes, student housing, and a recording and video studio.

Known for spectacular ensemble imagery, rapier wit, and the marriage of cutting-edge multimedia technology with a muscular and emotionally rich acting style, the company’s original thematic productions have achieved national and international critical acclaim.

Artistic Statement

MBA envisions theatre as a living, communal experience that reflects on life rather than imitates it. Visceral, visually rich experiences that ignite the imagination, reveal the extraordinary within the ordinary, and provoke thought.

It is this heartfelt level of connection with an audience we seek today.

The pursuit of this actor has led to the Margolis Method, an in-depth theatre training approach built on four decades of studio research and professional application.

While economics and politics have made ensemble theatre something of an anomaly in the United States today, the Company has always remained vigorously committed to maintaining a “home” for a group of artists to train, grow, create and ultimately, contribute back to society.

We believe that ensemble theatre—a group of people united in mind, muscle, and breath—demonstrates the power of coming together and can help us remember just how generous the human spirit can be.

Professional Training

Margolis Method

Margolis Method’s comprehensive theater training takes the mystery out of acting by offering tangible, practicable exercises that allow the actor to build and hone their skills as a true craftsperson.

Work sessions focus on building strong, highly creative theater artists capable of bringing fresh perspectives to pre-scripted plays and/or creating original work.

Awards, Fellowships, and Grants