For more than half a century, Ron Sossi Devoted itself to the creation of theater which dared to tackle major questions. I mean big Questions: does human existence make sense? What is the essence of consciousness? How is all life connected and interdependent? Is death nothing more than an energy transformation? What is the nature of time?
These were high philosophical reflections for a bearded and wide torso man with a deep and rumbled voice which could appear as gruff and acing when the atmosphere struck it. The truth was that this man's lady bear was a devotee from all of life, Tibetan Buddhism and Hindu philosophy. Ron Sossi was an explorer of Psychists – his own, those of others and characters on stage. It was fascinated by the functioning of the human mind.
When Ron founded The Odyssey theater In 1969, he sought to build a permanent set of actors devoted to raw, avant-garde experimental work. It was particularly attracted to German playwrights and Eastern Europe, in particular Bertolt Brecht, and on players who were fighting with metaphysical and spiritual problems. One of the models of his new business was Joe ChaikinOpen theater (Jean-Claude Go Italy's The serpent became the second production of Odyssey and was revised for its 50th anniversary). Another inspiration was the “poor theater” of Jerzy Grotowski, with whom Sossi had studied in Poland.
In 1973, Ron moved away from a lucrative career on television to devote himself to Odyssey theater full time. The Los Angeles Theater ecosystem would never be the same again. Without fear of breaking the convention, he deliberately disobeyed expectations by producing works from German, Polish, British and Latin American playwrights – chose that many other local stages considered financially. When Ron produced Steven Berkoff Flowers In 1986, he ran forever and pointed out to us all. The following year, The Chicago Conspiracy TrialCreated by Ron and Frank Condon at the Odyssey, has become an HBO film.
Anyone who has led a non -profit theater knows that it is never only about art. Ron was a clever – some could say ruthless – businessman. Perhaps his passion for Sufism, which combines spiritual practice and practical life, is what made him such a brutal and stubborn negotiator. This resolution was obvious in the Epic battle between Actors Equity Association and the community of the intimate theater which began in 1972 and extended over 40 years.
Alongside the Colony Theater's Barbara BeckleyMaria Gobetti and Tom Ormeny of Victory Theater, Joe Stern of the Matrix Theater, and Laura Zucker of Back Alley, Ron was an implacable Zen warrior in the legendary “The war of actions”, “ Fight for the survival of your business and the community he darling. Whether you like it, hated it or fall somewhere between the two, it is undeniable that it helped shape the landscape of the Los Angeles theater.
In 2001, he launched Koan, a set reside dedicated to creation in the course of unique works. In Zen Buddhism, a Koan is a paradoxical enigma intended to arouse enlightenment by demonstrating the insufficiency of logical thought. Ron made fun of the pretension that any game could trigger a political or social change of scanning in a large landscape. Instead, he challenged the public to look inward. To summon the courage to initiate changes in themselves. As he said, his goal was to “shake the entire base of what you think”. This cannot happen to each production, he admitted. “But I try as often as possible.”
In a recent interview at the age of 83, Ron turned his gaze to the horizon of gradation. He saw himself focusing more ardently on his longtime “spiritual quest” – a sentence he did not like, but embodied. He added, with a touch of humor and melancholy, “a few more years of life would be good too.”
Stephen Sachs was the founding artistic director of the Fontaine Theater from 1990 to 2024.
