Robert Wilson
Director, Designer, Choreographer
American
Introduction
Robert Wilson was born in Waco, Texas in 1941. He grew up in a pre-Civil Rights, ultra-conservative community and Wilson has since stated several times that growing up in a deeply racist community made him concerned about social justice from a young age. When he was 27, he adopted Raymond Andrews, a young African-American boy who was deaf and mute, and had no legal guardians. Wilson first saw him when he stopped the police carrying out an unprovoked, racist attack on the 13-year-old in 1967. Wilson has no siblings and his mother died when she was just 57. He is openly gay.
Key Dates & Events
- 1966 - Wilson earns his BFA in Architecture
- 1968 - The Byrd Hoffman School of Byrds is founded, and produces Wilson's first major productions the following year
- 1976 - Wilson and Philip Glass create Einstein on the Beach
- 1991 - The Watermill Center, located on New York's Long Island, is established by Wilson
Context & Analysis
Education & Influences
After being educated locally in Waco, Texas, Robert Wilson gained a place at the University of Texas to study business administration from 1959 to 1962. In 1963, he changed fields and moved to Brooklyn, New York to study architecture at the Pratt Institute. He earned his BFA in Architecture in 1966.
During his time at the Pratt Institute, he
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Alexandra Appleton
Writer, editor and theatre researcher