Theatre of All Possibilities / Odyssey Study Group

Let's Talk About Sects

In many ways, this theatre troupe and Fourth Way school became the most secretive this podcast has looked into yet. Most members didn’t know each other’s jobs, marital status, or even surnames. They didn’t see each other outside of what they referred to as ‘the work’, they didn’t know the classes they were going to each week had anything to do with the teachings of Russian philosophers, and they didn’t tell anyone outside what it was they were attending two nights each week.

Full research sources listed here. You can support us on Patreon or Acast+, with a one-off donation, or grab some merch. Sarah Steel's debut book Do As I Say is available on audiobook now, and you can order Joe Gould's LTAS soundtrack album here.

With thanks to Audio-Technica, presenting partner for season 6 of Let's Talk About Sects. Head here to enter our competition to win a pair of ATH-SQ1TW Wireless Earbuds!

Links:

• Theater group, cult or stage? — by Jack Brooks, The San Francisco Progress, 22 December 1978
• Strange School — by Michael Taylor and Bernard Weiner, The San Francisco Chronicle, 23 December 1978
• ‘Theater of All Possibilities’ deserves a second look — by Jack Brooks, The San Francisco Progress, 10 January 1979
• My Life in a Cult — by Spencer L. Schneider, The East Hampton Star Magazine, 16 December 2019
• Manhattan Cult Story — Spencer Schneider’s blog ‘Exposing the Sharon Gans Cult’
• Manhattan Cult Story: My Unbelievable True Story of Sex, Crimes, Chaos, and Survival — by Spencer Schneider, Arcade Publishing, 2022
• Seeing Into the Heart of Things — Bette Leahy’s blog about OSG
• The Gentle Souls Revolution — Esther Friedman’s blog about ‘The School’
• The Gentle Souls Revolution — by Esther Friedman, GSR Healing Arts, 2023
• A Safety Guide For Gentle Souls w/Esther Friedman — IndoctriNation podcast with Rachel Bernstein, 30 August 2022

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