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OUR MISSION

EgoPo transforms timeless works of literature into innovative and immersive theatrical events.

 

We re-envision the classic canon by re-introducing diverse works and re-bodying existing canonical works to ensure a wide range of voices, bodies and stories are shared on our stages.

 

We honor and re-awaken these classic texts through a rigorous practice fusing psychological and physical acting and staging.

 

We curate season-long journeys that foster an inclusive audience space for shared experiences and human connection across cultures and communities.

 

OUR HISTORY 

Artistic Director Lane Savadove started EgoPo in 1993 as a theater company,

as well as an acting method designed to bring emotional depth and physical

commitment to classic literature - the name "EgoPo" derives from the French

words Ego (the decision-making part of our mind) and Peau (pronounced "Po,"

the skin), based on EgoPo's commitment to kinesthetic awareness and physical

presence in performance). Since that time, EgoPo has staged over 50 

productions regionally, nationally, and internationally.  EgoPo has been based

in Philadelphia since 2005, celebrating 16 years of working with Philadelphia

artists as a part of the city’s theatrical renaissance.  

Since coming to Philadelphia, EgoPo has become known for boldly reinventing

classics. The company is ambitious in the scale of the plays it presents, staging

modernist and avant-garde works that are often under-produced because of

their cast size and technical demands.

EgoPo’s stagings are either world premiere adaptations or unique new visions

of classics. This includes: world premiere retellings of the Jewish myth, The

Golem, a re-visioning of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Ibsen’s A Doll’s House featuring a single 14-year-old actress to tell the story, The Assassination of Jesse James told as a dime store novel, featuring an all-female cast, and 2018's world premiere production of the 10-hour epic Lydie Breeze Trilogy.

EgoPo produces unique themed seasons to take the audience on in-depth explorations, including mainstage productions, a shorter-run performance event, and a themed site-specific Gala. Themes of the past have focused on a single playwright (Williams, Beckett, Ibsen) or genre (American Vaudeville, Expressionism). By devoting an entire season to one theme, EgoPo is able to provide cultural context for the work, deepen the audience’s engagement with that work, and introduce audiences to rarely produced plays alongside re-imaginings of well-known classics. EgoPo has been recognized nationally for this model, presenting at the Theatre Communications Group (TCG) national theater conference and appearing in American Theatre Magazine.

EgoPo has been consistently honored critically and inside the industry. In 2017, EgoPo was awarded the June and Steve Wolfson Award for Best Evolving Theater, as well as the Barrymore awards for Best Production of the Year, and Best Set Design for staging Chekhov’s The Seagull, among a total of 11 nominations. 

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"GINT" directed by Lane Savadove

Photo: Dave Saraffian

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