TORN PAGE® HOW WE GOT OUR START

 The firebrand TORN PAGE® was created in 1963, when a freshly married Rip Torn and Geraldine Page began to host frequent gatherings in their home with other luminaries with the sole mission to discuss art and it’s political responsibility to human and civil rights.

 

Their compatriots included:

James Baldwin, Tennessee Williams, Truman Capote, Michael McClure, Richard Brautigan, Lorraine Hansberry, Miles Davis, Henry Miller, John Cassavettes, Emmett Grogan, Janis Joplin, Edward Albee, Norman Mailer, Terry Southern, Horton Foote and Maya Angelou.

 

Commercial productions that sprung from these meetings include Norman Mailer’s “Deer Park” (Obie Award), Micheal McClure’s “The Beard” London’s Royal Court and in New York (Obie Award) — On Broadway: The Actors Studio Theater Productions of Eugene O'Neill's “Strange Interlude", James Baldwin’s “Blues for Mr. Charlie”and “Look Away” with Maya Angelou.

 

Other projects that were incubated into fruition include Norman Mailer's film "Maidstone", the cult film "Easy Rider", Edward Albee's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and Janis Joplin's last recorded hit "Mercedes Benz".