A first-hand account of Chicago’s groundbreaking, tumultuous Organic Theater Company.

When the founder of the Organic Theater Company died in 2020, the Chicago Tribune asked, “Did One Person Invent Chicago Theater? If So, It Was Stuart Gordon.” And yet, this iconic theater group is arguably the most influential Chicago company whose story has never been told in full. 

In its heyday, from 1969 through 1985, the Organic’s scrappy and close-knit company created more than thirty idiosyncratic works over long periods of development. A launching pad for playwright David Mamet and for the television series ER, it also fueled the careers of many well-known actors, including Joe Mantegna, André De Shields, Meshach Taylor, and Dennis Franz. Scream! Bleed! Take Off Your Clothes! is the story of a young theater company that always pushed the boundaries with an anarchic exuberance. Drawing on extensive interviews and archival research, this insiders’ account, assembled by three Organic members and an artistic associate, details those exciting productions and the company’s complicated internal dynamics, while also positioning it within Chicago’s vibrant theater scene and the larger culture of the time.