ArtAntica Articles from The Black Diamond Issue

David Schwimmer is a founding member of the Lookingglass Theatre Company. The following is a speech he gave in New York for the arrival of Lookingglass Alice at the New Vic.

Hi, I’m David Schwimmer, and it’s my pleasure to welcome everyone here tonight and to introduce you to the theatre company that I’ve called my artistic home the last 19 years, The Lookingglass Theatre Company of Chicago.

Lookingglass was started in 1988 by eight Northwestern University students. We were actors and directors who had found a way to work with each other repeatedly while at Northwestern, developing a bold, physical and improvisational rehearsal process with an emphasis on ensemble and applying it to stories that challenged, provoked, thrilled and empowered our audiences; a mission that remains our company’s foundation today.

20 years ago, I was determined to direct Andre Gregory’s adaptation of Alice in Wonderland while a junior in college. This visionary adaptation was both sophisticated and silly, a story for adults and children alike, and demanded that six actors play most, if not all, the characters from both Alice and Through the Lookingglass. - Read more