University Theatre Records (RG 180)
1928-1988
5.6 cubic feet and 1 reel of microfilm
Scope and Content Note
This record group, consisting of eight series, documents OSU's Theater Arts program in the Speech Communication Department.
Series 1 contains play files from 1928-1965, arranged chronologically. Each play file may include production budget information, programs, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and ticket sale information. Series two consists of lists of plays performed from 1929-1988. Series three contains scripts for three productions from the 1930s. Series four includes records of the 1973 Summer Theater. Series five consists of programs of selected performances from the 1920s through 1943. Series six is the charter certificate for the National Collegiate Players Fraternity chapter at Oregon State. Series seven includes posters made for selected productions between 1935 and 1982. They are arranged alphabetically. Series eight contains plans for a stage switchboard from 1949.
Historical Note
Dramatic productions began at Oregon Agricultural College in the 1890s; the Mask and Dagger Club was formed in 1912 "to encourage and promote dramatic work." A theater program was formally established in 1920 as part of a new Public Speaking and Dramatics Department (now the Speech Communication Department). Dramatic productions were presented at the Majestic Theater in downtown Corvallis and a small theater in Benton Hall until 1950 when a campus structure was remodeled into the Mitchell Playhouse. The University Theatre moved to Withycombe Hall in 1991 after Mitchell Playhouse was declared unsafe.
Related Materials
Photographs of dramatic productions are located in the University Theatre Photographs (P 112) and in Harriet's Collection #489. Records and photographs pertaining to the Speech Communication Department are located in RG 181 and P 88. The records contain four scrapbooks that include newspaper clippings and ads about drama productions. See also the Mask and Dagger Club Records (RG 42), the Norma Olson Potter Collection, and the Memorabilia Collection (MC-University Theater and MC-Drama, History of).
Shelf Locations
- 5/3/2/50; 5/2/9/11
- SR 5/10/7
- oversize drawer 5
- microfilm cabinet
Inventory
