TWEED Theaterworks, also known as TWEED, Tweed Ensemble, and theatretweed, is an experimental theatre company founded in 1983. It is known for its Fractured Classicks series, satirical interpretations of classic American plays and films that employ unique casting choices; and its critically acclaimed productions featuring performance artist John Kelly, playwrights Bill Russell and Adrienne Kennedy, and drag icons Varla Jean Merman and Lypsinka. TWEED Theaterworks' mission statement is as follows: TWEED unearths raw, yet sophisticated, socially relevant artists and material and ushers them to the threshold of acceptability (and often beyond) to cast an irreverent mirror on contemporary culture. TheaterTWEED Inc. was founded in 1983 by Kevin Malony and actress and director Neva Hutchinson. Originally intended as a platform for actors to present adaptations from literature and agent showcases, the company quickly changed focus when Hutchinson moved on and Malony took over as the sole creative director. The original idea behind the use of the word "Tweed" (Theaterworks Emerging in Experimental Directions) was to describe a concept for a production company that wove together different types of live performance. Tweed was one of the first theater companies to embrace performance art, make use of work from that arena, and produce it in off-off-Broadway theaters. TWEED and Malony rapidly became a part of the thriving early 80s art movement in Manhattan's East Village. The company presented most of its early productions in the many performance clubs located downtown: Limbo Lounge, 8BC, Snafu, Darinka, Limelight, Cat Club, The Club at La MaMa, and most importantly, The Pyramid Club. For eleven years (1984-1995), the company produced a curated festival of new works—the TWEED New Works Festival, which presented the early works of many of today's recognized theater artists. Among these various productions, Malony presented the first incarnation of John Kelly's Obie-award-winning Pass the Blutwurst, Bitte, acclaimed writer Edgar Oliver's first theatrical work The Seven Year Vacation, and the performance ensemble Watchface. He was the original producer of Bill Russell's Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens, which ran in London's West End, and Tony Winner Lisa Kron's actual first musical, Dykebar, The Musical. He directed Paved Paradise Redux (John Kelly's homage to Joni Mitchell) at the Abrons Arts Center and on tour (winner, best touring musical 2011, Austin Texas Critics Circle). Malony's other writing and directing credits during this time include Brenda Bergman's Her Reality and Endangered Species: The Brenda Bergman Story; Colleen