ABOUT

Driven by a commitment to innovation, Mitu expands the definition of theater through methodical experimentation with its form.

VISION

Mitu builds bridges across ideas, cultures, and communities. Using art-making as a mode of research and inquiry, Mitu shares knowledge, sparks dialogue, and strengthens community through cultivating radical ways of reimagining our world. Mitu embodies this by way of our productions; trans-global research initiatives; artist support opportunities; and education programs galvanizing the next generation of artists.

VALUES

Mitu values artistic rigor, disciplined exploration, and the continuous exchange of knowledge. We are committed to creating and maintaining a space that embraces the whole person as a vibrant and unique range of embodied experiences, histories, and imaginations. Mitu asserts that identity is not negation but aggregation. We hold these intersectionalities as essential to the vibrancy and growth of our community.

HISTORY

Founded in 1997 by Rubén Polendo, Theater Mitu emerged from a journey that fused scientific curiosity with artistic experimentation. Shaped by Polendo’s training as a biochemist and inspired by encounters with Kathakali artists in India, mentors like Peter Brook and Ariane Mnouchkine, and a post-punk transdisciplinary aesthetic—Theater Mitu grew into an artist led organization dedicated to methodical experimentation and community building. Early work took shape in found spaces ranging from construction sites to midnight gatherings on loading docks, each seeding Mitu’s drive to challenge conventional theater norms and in so doing to create art that transcends boundaries. Over time, the company’s reputation as a dynamic and interdisciplinary organization grew, attracting a range of unique artists with a shared commitment to reimagining theater and performance.

Today the company, led by Polendo and Co-Artistic Director Justin Nestor, is housed at MITU580— a 2,400-square-foot former glass recycling facility in Brooklyn. This unique warehouse has become a vibrant hub for interdisciplinary collaboration, seamlessly blending performance, installation, new media, and design. Here, the company presents groundbreaking programs such as Expansion Works, which fosters collaboration across mediums like dance, architecture, and film, and Hybrid Arts Lab, which supports women, trans, and non-binary BIPOC artists working at the intersection of technology and performance. At the heart of Mitu is the New Work program, where the company develops and presents original works of performance that challenge and expand the boundaries of contemporary theater. The space fosters an environment where artists and audiences converge to explore and redefine the possibilities of performance.

With projects presented nationally and internationally, a consistent body of multi-platform art work, a robust and innovative training pedagogy, and a state of the art space—Mitu embodies and ever evolving laboratory where identities and ideas intersect, fostering community and inspiring new ways of seeing the world.