SITI is an anagram for Saratoga International Theater Institute. SITI was originally conceived by Anne Bogart and Tadashi Suzuki as a summer institute in Saratoga Springs New York. The vision was that Anne and Suzuki would each make productions that would be presented there and that there would be training workshops, symposia and other activities. The actors who would appear in the productions were to be referred to as the SITI Company. When much of the rest of the activity fell away and Suzuki ceased to be directly involved, the group that had gathered for the second year in Saratoga formed the core of what came to be called the SITI Company.

SITI Company closed in 2022 because after 30 years of making theater and training artists, it was time to make room for the next generation. SITI Company maintained close to the same membership for it’s entire run and as people got older and priorities shifted, it was time to close the book on the work of the company. There was a feeling that SITI did not want to become an institution that prioritized longevity over other interests, and as it had always been a groundbreaking company the decision was made to offer the world an exemplary way to end a company.

No. SITI Company members included a director, a playwright, designers, stage managers and administrators who were members of the company. The actors in the company were sometimes referred to as “the acting company” and although non-acting members of the company would sometimes teach, all of the actors taught training in SITI Training programs, so sometimes people thought that the company was only actors, but the actual ensemble was bigger than that.

Mr. Suzuki and the members of the Suzuki Company Of Toga (SCOT) viewed the training method that they developed not as a “Japanese” method of actor training, but as an approach to actor training that was centered on the universal concerns of the human anatomy. The training was strongly influenced by Japanese theater practices, but it was also strongly influenced by Indian, Korean, and Chinese traditions as well as European forms such as Flamenco Ballet. Mr. Suzuki often voiced frustration at the orientalist assertion that the Suzuki Training was somehow inherently Japanese, when no one spoke of Stanislavsky work as a “Russian method.” SCOT continues to work very hard to share this training with a global community of theater artists and SITI was proud to be a part of that work.

No. SITI Company never had a theater. Although the Zeisler Studio at 520 8th Ave in New York was the company’s home for many years, the company never wanted to be tied down to the expense and complications of operating a performance venue. Rather than this, SITI Company developed a way of working where they would be hosted by a theater like the City Theater in Pittsburgh, the Actor’s Theater of Louisville and many more, and they would strive to spiritually “make it their own” during their residencies. They would exist in the theaters not simply as people who had been hired in to work there, but as guests who were making themselves at home in the best way possible. Often forging life long relationships with the artists and staff at these theaters.

Yes. It is theoretically possible to independently hire the SITI Emeritus artists and put together a production from the SITI repertoire. It could not be referred to as a “SITI Company production” but it would be technically possible to do the shows with the Emeritus artists. If someone wanted to license a show from the SITI repertoire, and create a production with a different set of artists, this is also something which could technically be done. SITI Inc stands ready for such conversations.

SITI Company was founded in 1992 as the Saratoga International Theater Institute (see above), and as the name implies, Saratoga Springs, New York, was it’s home. However in the first three years of SITI, the activity actually began at Tadashi Suzuki’s base in Toga Village, Japan where the company would make the new show and it would be presented as part of the Toga International Arts Festival. There is a way to read “Sara-Toga” in Japanese as “New-Toga” so this connection was very important.

SITI Inc is the legal entity that remained after the closing of the company. SITI no longer makes new work, performs or offers training programs. But the former company members, now SITI Emeritus Artists, are still active independently and SITI Inc. is a minimal administrative structure which helps to insure that the legacy of SITI is not squandered. It’s activity is focused on the maintaining of this siti.org website, the SITI Digital Archive and facilitating connection and communication among the large community of SITI training alumni.

It is a natural consequence of a varied repertoire that not all members of the company were involved with all projects. This can lead to feelings of alienation on the one hand and entitlement on the other. However, because the company all trained together it provided a context in which everyone could be part of the artistic conversation that the company was having. Actors could work on their craft, with their company, even when they weren’t in shows. It also provided opportunities for exchange and sharing of what was being explored in the new work. In addition the company’s training programs were a source of income, so they were a dependable way of gaining security and continuity in the difficult life of an American theater artist.

No. There is a widespread misunderstanding that Anne and the Company created the Viewpoints. The Six Viewpoints was created by Mary Overlie. Anne began using the technique after working with Mary at NYU, and she taught it the members of SITI. Over the years, Anne and SITI developed a distinct way of teaching and using the Viewpoints, but they were always very aware that this was work that they had inherited from Mary Overlie.

In some ways YES, but in other ways NO. SITI Company was a collective. Anne Bogart was always an artistic director of SITI. She was one of the two founding Artistic Directors with Tadashi Suzuki and in the last decade of the company shared artistic leadership with Ellen Lauren and Leon Ingulsrud, but she was also just a member of the company. All important decisions were made collectively, and there were many times when Anne disagreed with the direction the company decided to go, and although Anne directed the vast majority of the company’s productions she didn’t direct all of them and was always supportive of other members taking leadership on projects. Despite all of this, it is deeply true that the SITI Company would not have existed without Anne Bogart, and her vision and leadership were critical to it’s life and work.

No. However, the Emeritus artists are still all independently active, and there is a large network of SITI alumni who continue to train as well as share the training.