Richard Maxwell/New York City Players
The Theater Years

“The writer and director Richard Maxwell is a stylist of the first order (…) When I read or think about a Maxwell text, I don’t so much recall any other writer. Rather, I think about visual artists and colors, usually some gradation of gray, and as painted by Agnes Martin: a series of lines and, ultimately, grids that seduce through a visible splendor that is immediate but not florid.” – Hilton Als, New Yorker

Theater-maker Richard Maxwell (b. Fargo, 1967) and his company New York City Players set out to capture the experience of actually watching the plays, by way of screen-grabs and captions.

In this monograph, the first on Richard Maxwell’s plays, The Theater Years emphasizes the visual nature of the plays, and along the way catalogues nearly 20 years of work.

Editors: Jim Fletcher, Richard Maxwell & Robert Snowden.

Image Contributors: Jim Fletcher, Ying Liu, Richard Maxwell, Michael Schmelling & Robert Snowden.

Synopses: Emily Hoffman.

Design and Production: Michael Schmelling.