Mark Oates

1958–1989

Mark Oates (1958–1989) was an American actor, playwright, director, songwriter, husband, and father. Arriving in NYC in the late 1970s from Port Arthur, TX, he soon became an active member of the downtown performance and club scene. Oates was a co-founder of the Pyramid; he created and appeared in numerous productions there and other venues including LaMaMa, The Saint, the Kitchen, and 8BC, in works by and with Kestutis Nakas, John Epperson, John Kelly, Ann Magnuson, John Sex, Steve Buscemi, and Kevin Maloney, among others, from 1981–1989. He starred in a number of Epperson’s stage productions including Ballet of the Dolls and Dial M for Model, as well as appearing in Nakas’s cable TV show Your Program of Programs.

Oates was best known for Psycho III the Musical, which played at the Pyramid and starred John Kelly, Stephen Tashjian, Hapi Phace (aka Mark Phredd), and himself. The stage show toured in 1983–84, was made into a video with Tom Rubnitz (1956–1992) titled Psykho III the Musical and premiered at AREA nightclub in October 1985. Oates founded the pop band, Etiquette, with John Reilly and Anne McInnis, and served on the artistic board of TWEED, producing many works with legendary downtown performers. In 1984 Oates wrote, directed, and starred in an all-male cast production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella and in 1985 he adapted and directed the Broadway play, Evita to tell the story of Madonna (played by Oates), eleven years before Madonna starred in the major motion picture. A video of this production was shot by Nelson Sullivan (1948–1989), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UutBK9BKZwY

Oates described the Pyramid as “mirroring authority and laughing at it at the same time. It’s really kind of a Judy Garland-Mickey Rooney ‘Let’s put on a show’ spirit. You don’t need a million dollars to put on thirty minutes of good entertainment” (Musto, 1986).