In the summer of 2008, Jason E Bowman, Curator of the Temporary Exhibitions Program at The Public gallery, West Bromwich commissioned me to assist him with the collation of materials relating to The Ting: Theatre of Mistakes, a performance art collective active between 1974-1981. It was Bowman’s intention to republish Elements of Performance Art, a seminal, out-of-print collection of exercises by Anthony Howell and Fiona Templeton, and to curate a retrospective of The Theatre of Mistakes’ practice in April 2009.

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The Ting: Theatre of Mistakes: A A4 | US Letter PDF 2.2Mb
The Ting: Theatre of Mistakes: B A4 | US Letter PDF 1.6Mb
The Ting: Theatre of Mistakes: C A4 | US Letter PDF 1.8Mb
The Ting: Theatre of Mistakes: D A4 | US Letter PDF 1.9Mb
The Ting: Theatre of Mistakes: E A4 | US Letter PDF 1.9Mb
The Ting: Theatre of Mistakes: FG A4 | US Letter PDF 2.1Mb
The Ting: Theatre of Mistakes: H A4 | US Letter PDF 2.2Mb
The Ting: Theatre of Mistakes: IJK A4 | US Letter PDF 1.5Mb
The Ting: Theatre of Mistakes: L A4 | US Letter PDF 1.7Mb
The Ting: Theatre of Mistakes: M A4 | US Letter PDF 1.9Mb
The Ting: Theatre of Mistakes: NO A4 | US Letter PDF 1.6Mb
The Ting: Theatre of Mistakes: P A4 | US Letter PDF 2.1Mb
The Ting: Theatre of Mistakes: QR A4 | US Letter PDF 2.2Mb
The Ting: Theatre of Mistakes: S A4 | US Letter PDF 2.1Mb
The Ting: Theatre of Mistakes: TU A4 | US Letter PDF 1.8Mb
The Ting: Theatre of Mistakes: VWXYZ A4 | US Letter PDF 2Mb

Zipped Archive (all 16 eBooks) A4 | US Letter PDF 28Mb

About : An A-Z of The Ting: Theatre of Mistakes comprises 16 ebooks with documents (texts, letters, photographs, diagrams, artworks) drawn from this 1970s performance collective’s private archive and from original research conducted by Marie-Anne Mancio and Jason E Bowman. Each book has 26 pages, referencing the alphabet, however there is no more reason to begin with ‘A’ than ‘V,W,X,Y & Z’ and the democratic format of the set means entries are placed in unexpected proximity. Encouraging circuitous rather than linear, multi-perspectival rather than singular, readings and reflecting The Theatre of Mistakes‘ interest in chance, mutuality, and inconsistency, the A-Z is part introduction, part photo-essay, part-question, and part gossip.

Published September 2009

Marie-Anne Mancio is a writer and independent researcher who trained as an artist . She is intrigued by the notion of contradiction. Author of a doctoral thesis, Maps for Wayward Performers: Feminist Readings of Contemporary Live Art Practice in Britain (University of Sussex, 1997), countless art reviews, and a novel, Trio (forthcoming). She is currently collaborating with Jason E Bowman on curating a retrospective of The Ting: Theatre of Mistakes. Her website is www.hotelalphabet.net

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Proboscis is currently hosting three Diffusion residents:

• Alex Murdoch, founder and director of theatre company Cartoon de Salvo who is developing a series of eBooks re-presenting Hard-Hearted Hannah, a long-form improvisation show that toured for 53 performances in 2008. 
• Stewart Home, artist and writer, who is re-publishing out of print texts and new pieces.
• Marie-Anne Mancio writer and curator, who is creating an ‘encyclopedia’ of eBooks about 1970s experimental performance artists, The Theatre of Mistakes. 

Follow their publications in the Residencies Series.