about theatre of operations
Theatre of Operations is an experimental theatre company based in Richmond, Virginia. The company fuses dance and theatre, with a focus on the actor in motion.

The company was founded in 1997 by Slade Billew & April Johnson. We've produced 8 shows on a shoestring budget since our founding. For more on shows we've done (and even a few pictures), check our past shows listings.

Our current season include the company-created drama "Operation Hamlet" (Sept 12-14 2003) and "The Burning Ode" (April 30 - May 2 2004).

who we are
Slade Billew - Artistic Director
Slade is a theatre educator with a background in experimental theatre. He was also the founder of the Mystic Theatre company at William & Mary (where he studied theatre). Slade teaches for SPARC and Cat's CAP.

April Johnson - Actor, webmistress $ occasional Producer
April has a day job, but contributes to the theatre whenever possible. Her acting training includes a variety of different techniques: Viewpoints, Suzuki, Meisner, all the usual theatre buzzwords.

what we do
A TOO production is often more like modern dance than what you expect to see on a theater stage. Because our work emphasizes movement as much as text and focuses on finding "truth"; more than reproducing "reality";, it may seem strange to many audiences.

Of course, we're not the first people to make this sort of theatre. We've studied a variety of other theatrical and dance forms; our influences include modern theatre methods like Viewpoints, Suzuki, Michael Chekhov and Jerzy Grotowski's work as well as the little we've learned about Eastern theatre, Polynesian dance, and Russian martial arts.