The Committee: Watts Translator 1965

November 24, 2020November 24, 2020 The Committee Movie

John Brent and Mel Stewart. Photo by Fred Ross.

A while ago Alan Myerson lent us some reel to reel tapes and audio cassettes for use in our documentary project. WIth the help of the Bay Area Video Coalition, we digitized a number of reel to reel recordings from 1965-1967. We’ve found many gems, including recordings of workshops with Del Close, live shows, live sets, and rehearsal recordings.

One piece of material was particularly relevant in a year that was marked by a summer of uprisings against systems of white supremacy. We’re proud to present you The Committee from December 1965, looking back on the Watts uprisings from the previous summer. With John Brent, Mel Stewart, Jessica Myerson, and Scott Beach – and music by Ellsworth Milburn and an introduction by Garry Goodrow – we give you: The Committee: Watts Translator 1965.

We hope this brings you a smile or two.

Have a safe and healthy holiday season.

Sam Shaw and Jamie Wright

Barbaric Intrusion

June 20, 2018September 18, 2018 The Committee Movie

A Herbert Gold story in the March 1970 issue of Holiday magazine features a portrait of a rare Scott Beach-directed Committee cast.

“So far [The Committee’s] great achievement – due partly to talent and partly to San Francisco tolerance – has been to survive without silicone for nearly a decade in its handsome cabaret in the topless playground.”

Pictured: Dan Barrows, Kertia Thomas, Bruce Mackey, Julie Payne, Scott Beach, David Ogden Stiers, Ruth Silveira, and Jim Cranna.