hoi pol·loi /ˈhoi pəˌloi/ noun Derogatory: the masses; the common people. "avoid mixing with the hoi polloi” Origin: Greek

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Hoi Polloi is an OBIE-winning New York-based collaborative theater company formed in 2007 by Alec Duffy. Our mission is to use the transformative power of theater to upend conventions and bring about a more imaginative society. Through bold performances filled with the unexpected, we create a dynamic space where art disrupts and provokes the status quo. Original work includes White on White, Quiet, Comfort, Republic, All Hands, Three Pianos, The less we talk, and Dysphoria. We also have produced existing work by adventurous writers, including Suzan-Lori Parks, Toshiki Okada, John Cassavetes, Samuel Beckett, and others. 

The process of creating Hoi Polloi pieces is driven by a collaborative spirit that folds all team members into the generative process. Actors are co-writers. Designers shape the blocking. Dramaturgs change the development of a piece with a single observation.

We are drawn to transforming theatrical space into something unrecognizable as a “stage” because we find that the less the space resembles a traditional theater, the more open our audiences are to being transported. We often use an immersive set-up, with actors and audience interspersed, to create an immediacy and a “fly-on-a-wall” perspective.

Core contributors to Hoi Polloi include Mimi Lien, Oana Botez, Julian Rozzell, Jr., Nikaury Rodriguez and Steven Leffue.