The Marilyn Project, a new play by David Gaard, was being presented in a special performance for the Directors’ Unit of the Actors’ Studio. Richard Schechner, who had directed The Marilyn Project, was moving about watching the actors from various vantage points. He stopped to talk quietly and briefly with one of the spectators. “This,” he said as he moved away, “is my contribution to the Structuralist movement.”

In what sense could Gaard's script and Schechner's staging of it be called “structuralist”? Of course, the answer will depend on how we define the term. If structuralism in theatre means that particular emphasis has been given to the structure of the presentation or that something unusual has been done with the structure, The Marilyn Project fits the definition.

When the spectator climbed a long flight of stairs at the Performing Garage and entered the large rectangular room, he saw a single row of seats along three of the walls.