Avant-Guardian is an informal, often irreverent account of the experimental theater movement in the United States, which had its origins in the coffee houses of New York City's Greenwich Village in the early 1960's. It developed into the phenomena known as Off and Off Off Broadway, and redefined American theatrical experience for decades. The author, Donn Russell, served as co-creator and director of a foundation that funded many of the movement's most adventurous undertakings.