Rachel Rosenthal and King Moody: Instant Theatre / performance art documents at Roberts Projects
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Instant Theatre
Rachel Rosenthal and King Moody
Curated by Ashley Macomber
Roberts Projects, Los Angeles, CA
April 4 – May 23, 2026
Instant Theatre: Rachel Rosenthal and King Moody, an exhibition exploring the experimental theatre movement founded by Rachel Rosenthal in 1955 and continued with her husband, King Moody, from 1956–1966. Featuring archival material and design elements that invoke the setting and atmosphere of these ephemeral events, the exhibition reconstitutes Instant Theatre for the present while situating it historically as a precursor to the performance art of the 1960s and 1970s. While highlighting the importance of the movement itself, the exhibition also spotlights Rosenthal as a powerful artistic force in her own right—one whose influence and contributions continue to be felt today.
Instant Theatre was created from a combination of opportunity and accident. After settling in Los Angeles in 1955 after living in New York City and Paris, where she was part of an artistic community that included Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Merce Cunningham and John Cage, Rosenthal began hosting workshops with studio and theatrical actors alike, asking them to bring prepared material that the group could experiment with and develop. Rosenthal had to pivot when actors arrived unprepared, providing her with the opportunity to use her own ideas and artistic sensibilities to create material and structure on the spot. She developed acting exercises influenced by Zen Buddhism just as much by the writings of Antonin Artaud and work of Jean-Louis Barrault, which stressed improvisation through a heightened attention to the present—to living in and reacting to what is happening now. This original group, which included painter Lee Mullican, worked together for nearly a year before disbanding.
About the Artist
Rachel Rosenthal (1926–2015) was a pioneering performance artist, writer, educator and visual artist whose work profoundly shaped contemporary performance and feminist art in the United States and internationally.
Born in Paris to Russian parents, Rosenthal fled Europe during World War II and settled in New York, where she graduated from the High School of Music and Art and later became a U.S. citizen. After the war, she studied art, theatre and dance in Paris and New York with influential figures including Hans Hofmann, Merce Cunningham, Erwin Piscator and Jean-Louis Barrault. In 1955, Rosenthal moved to California and founded the experimental Instant Theatre. A key figure in the Los Angeles Women’s Art Movement of the 1970s, she co-founded WomanSpace and helped redefine interdisciplinary and feminist artistic practice. While continuing to perform, she also produced and exhibited visual art, including ceramic sculpture.
From the mid-1970s forward, Rosenthal focused primarily on creating original works for the stage, writing, performing and teaching. Her performances were presented at more than 100 venues worldwide, including Documenta in Kassel, the Festival de Théâtre des Amériques in Montreal, Kaaitheater in Brussels, ICA London, Performance Space Sydney, the Whitney Museum, Lincoln Center, and major festivals and museums throughout the U.S., Europe, Canada, and Australia. Major works include Pangaean Dreams (1990), FUTURFAX (1992), and Zone (1994). An influential educator, Rosenthal taught and lectured internationally at institutions such as Carnegie Mellon University, the Art Institute of Chicago, New York University, UCLA, CalArts, and the Naropa, Esalen, and Omega Institutes. Her numerous honors include an OBIE Award, an Honorary Doctorate from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the LA Weekly Theater Career Achievement Award and recognition as a Living Cultural Treasure of Los Angeles.
