The Para-Troupe

Extract

Tom Murlin and Johanna Went, under the names of Murlin and Johanna, have performed street theatre across the United States since the spring of 1975. Much of their work consists of improvisation based on an object, an idea, or a suggestion that either performer may introduce before or during a performance. None of the pieces that evolve are rehearsed or plot-structured. No meaning is intended, although some spectators have claimed that they have derived meaning from Para-troupe pieces.

Murlin and Johanna's touring has taken them to many cities in California, Nevada, Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, and Canada. They also have performed indoors at the Crippled Children's Hospital in New Orleans, the University of Toronto Convocation Hall, St. Francis College's Founders Hall in Brooklyn, Theatre Genesis in New York City, and the LaMama Theatre of Hollywood.

Murlin, a 37-year-old former attorney, became involved in street theatre after abandoning his practice in Los Angeles in the mid-1960's to write plays for experimental theatres in New York City.