Grace Converse, PhD Candidate, Department of Art History, USC

The Theater of Belief: Theosophical Performance in Early Twentieth Century Los Angeles and San Diego 

Spring 2021 Anne Friedberg Memorial Lecture

In the early twentieth century, two Theosophical communities—Lomaland in San Diego and Krotona in Los Angeles—sought to sow the seeds for the future of humanity through theater. This talk examines the history of how these Theosophists used performance to enact religious theories put forth by Theosophy’s founder, Helena P. Blavatsky. Such public spectacles, underpinned by competition between branches, at once bolstered and compromised the works’ spiritual meaning. But performance at Lomaland and Krotona was more than a means to share Theosophical beliefs within their communities. Rather, performing such beliefs to the broader public, and witnessing the public’s response in turn, affirmed for Theosophists that their beliefs were, in fact, the truth.

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