Theatre Department, 1948-2020 | Earl H. and Anita F. Hess Archives and Special Collections

By Elizabeth McIlhenney ’19

Collection Overview

Title: Theatre Department, 1948-2020

ID: RG02/EC III A.2.1

Extent: 9.33 Linear Feet

Arrangement: Series 1: Senior Projects, 2008-2019 Series 2: Production Photographs and Videos, 1994-2020 Series 3: Production Posters (1992-2021) Series 4: Sock and Buskin Materials Series 5: Production Promotional Materials (1948-2019)

Date Acquired: 06/14/2021

Languages: English

Scope and Contents of the Materials

This collection consists of materials from the Elizabethtown College Theatre Department, with dates ranging from 1948 to 2020. Included are materials from the department’s activities, including programs, tickets, photographs, and promotional posters from Elizabethtown College productions. These productions include both the typical productions, as well as children’s plays. There are also materials and programs for theatre productions at nearby colleges and universities, Broadway in New York City, and visiting productions that came to Elizabethtown, put on by outside troupes. There are records from classes that were offered through the Theatre Department. This includes posters, flyers, tickets, photographs, and programs from senior projects between the years of 2008 and 2019. Additionally, there are varied materials from senior projects and student organizations. These student clubs and organizations include Sock and Buskin, the theatre club; E-Motion, the college’s dance club; as well as Alpha Psi Omega National Theatre Honor Society.

Collection Historical Note

The presence of theatre on Elizabethtown College’s campus began in the 1920s, beginning as a “literary society” called the Homerians, when they began to present Shakespeare productions, including a production of Macbeth in April 1927. In 1932, the theatre club, Sock and Buskin, was founded, and they began to sponsor productions as well. During this early period of the 20th century, theatre productions continued to be produced solely by student organizations. This changed in 1987, when the Theatre Department was established and began to offer classes such as Acting and Stagecraft. In 1993, a theatre minor was offered by the department. 10 years later, in 2003, a theatre major was added. After nearly twenty years, it was decided that as of the 2020-2021 academic year, the theatre program would be discontinued. The college ceased to offer a theatre major or minor.

Administrative Information

Repository: Earl H. and Anita F. Hess Archives and Special Collections

Acquisition Source: Theatre Deparment

Related Materials: Additional Theatre Department materials including programs, negatives, and newsletters are contained in RG02/EC III A.2, Box 6.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Senior Projects, 2008-2019],
[Series 2: Production Photographs and Videos, 1994-2020],
[Series 3: Production Posters, 1992-2021],
[Series 4: Sock and Buskin Materials, 1972-2003],
[Series 5: Production Promotional Materials, 1948-2019],
[All]

Series 5: Production Promotional Materials, 1948-2019

This series contains the promotional materials for the productions of the Elizabethtown College Theatre Department, including programs, flyers, and tickets. This series also includes newspaper articles about the Theatre Department, “Meet the Press” articles, scripts, and notes. Additionally, there are promotional materials from theatre departments and playhouses in the surrounding area and further, including from local colleges such as the Franklin & Marshall College Theatre Department, and materials from various Broadway productions. The dates range from 1948 to 2019.

Box 7

Folder 1: Etown Theatre and Dance Brochures

Folder 2: Our Hearts Were Young and Gay, 1948

Folder 3: Jean of Lorraine October, 1964

Folder 4: Heartbreak House May, 1965

Folder 5: Fiddler on the Roof February, 1976

Folder 6: Neither Friend Nor Foe April, 1976

Folder 7: Merchant of Venice February, 1976-1977

Folder 8: How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, March 1977-1978

Folder 9: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, April 20-23, 1989

Folder 10: The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, April 1990

Folder 11: One Act Festival Programs, 1991-2007

Folder 12: Much Ado About Nothing, April 16-17, 23-24, 1993

Folder 13: The Hostage, November 12-13, 19-20, 1993

Folder 14: The Dining Room, Spring 1994

Folder 15: West Side Story, November 1994

Folder 16: Bus Stop, April 21-22, 28-29, 1995

Folder 17: Scenes for an Autumn Eve, November 10-11, 17-18, 1995

Folder 18: Scapino, Fall 1996

Folder 19: Inherit the Wind, Spring 1996

Folder 20: An Evening With Mad Cow, 1997

Folder 21: Under Milkwood, April 1997

Folder 22: Fashion! Or Life in N.Y., October 1997

Folder 23: Jesus Christ Superstar, April 1998

Folder 24: Quilters, Fall 1998

Folder 25: So Long at the Faire, December 1998

Folder 26: The Children’s Hour, Spring 1999

Folder 27: The Heidi Chronicles, April 2000

Folder 28: The Persecution and Assassinaiton of Jean Paul…, Fall 2000

Folder 29: Starmites, April 2001

Folder 30: The Wrestling Season, Fall 2001

Folder 31: Crimes of the Heart, November 2001

Folder 32: A Piece of My Heart, April 2002

Folder 33: The Laramie Project, November 2002

Folder 34: Godspell, April 2003

Folder 35: On the Verge, November 2003

Folder 36: Metamorphoses, November 2004

Folder 37: Laundry and Bourbon and LoneStar, April 2005

Folder 38: Twelfth Night, November 2005

Folder 39: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, April 2006

Folder 40: Pinocchio, Spring 2006

Folder 41: Arcadia, November 2006

Folder 42: Caffe a Manoscritti, 2007

Folder 43: Hair, April 2007

Folder 44: Gint, November 2007

Folder 45: Never Have I Ever…, November 2007

Folder 46: Etown ShortsFest, December 2007

Folder 47: Las Madres de la Plaza, Spring 2008

Folder 48: Anne Frank, April 2008

Folder 49: Yearning to Breathe Free, April 2008

Folder 50: Limbo Project, April 2008

Folder 51: Urinetown, November 2008

Folder 52: Tempest, February 2009

Folder 53: In Motion, Spring 2009

Folder 54: Playwright Fest, March 2009

Folder 55: 9 Parts of Desire, April 2009

Folder 56: The Memorandum, October 2009

Folder 57: Etown ShortsFest, November 2009

Folder 58: 5 Women Wearing the Same Dress, February 2010

Folder 59: The Crucible by Arthur Miller, April 2010

Folder 60: Cabaret, Fall 2010

Folder 61: Etown Shorts Fest III, November 2010

Folder 62: Red Herring, February 2011

Folder 63: A Dream Play, April 2011

Folder 64: The Etown New Playwrights Fest, April 2011

Folder 65: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, October 2011

Folder 66: The Etown Shorts Fest IV, November 2011

Folder 67: From Up Here, February 2012

Folder 68: Lysistrata, April 2012

Folder 69: A Streetcar Named Desire, November 2012

Folder 70: Distracted, February 2013

Folder 71: 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, April 2013

Folder 72: New Playwrights Fest, April 2013

Folder 73: A Comedy of Terrors, Fall 2013

Folder 74: The E-town Shorts Fest V, Fall 2013

Folder 75: These Shining Lives, February 2014

Folder 76: A Murder is Announced, April 2014

Folder 77: Company, Fall 2014

Folder 78: The Importance of Being Earnest, February 2015

Folder 79: The Etown New Playwrights Fest IV, March 2015

Folder 80: Ajax in Iraq, April 2015

Folder 81: Twelfth Night or What You Will, Fall 2015

Folder 82: Unnecessary Farce, February 2016

Folder 83: Shorts Fest VI, November 2015

Folder 84: A Bright Room Called Day, April 2016

Folder 85: Spring Awakening, November 2016

Folder 86: Gravedigger’s Tale, November 13, 2016

Folder 87: Pop-Up Shakespeare, November 2016

Folder 88: Fuddy Meers, February 2017

Folder 89: Gathering Blue, March 18, 2017

Folder 90: Playwright’s Fest, March 2017

Folder 91: Getting Out, April 2017

Folder 92: Medea, Fall 2017

Folder 93: The Etown Shorts Fest VII, December 2017

Folder 94: Dead Man’s Cell Phone, February 2018

Folder 95: Rat’s Tales, Spring 2018

Folder 96: If/Then, November 2018

Folder 97: Love and Information, February 2019

Folder 98: Playwright’s Fest VI, March 2019

Folder 99: The Cripple of Inishmaan, April 2019

Folder 100: Romeo & Juliet, Fall 2019

Folder 101: Etown Shorts Fest VIII, Fall 2019

Folder 102: Certificate of Merit from Kennedy Center, 2007-2008

Folder 103: 2013-2014 Alpha Psi Omega Theatre Calendar

Folder 104: “A Season of Setbacks…” LNP article, October 2019

Folder 105: The Voice of Moses by Elizabeth H. Emerson Script

Folder 106: Photographs

Folder 107: The Cotter’s Saturday Night by Robert Burns

Folder 108: Caught Between Script in notebook

Folder 109: Honor Society Materials

Folder 110: Outside Programs and Playbills, 1952-1979

Item 1: Our Town, Manchester College, 1952
Item 2: The Glass Menagerie, Manchester College, 1953
Item 3: Zion Passion Play, Zion Auditorium, Zion, Illinois, 1955
Item 4: Lute Song, Bridgewater College, 1955
Item 5: The Eternal Light, The National Broadcasting Company, 1956
Item 6: Time Out for Ginger, Bridgewater College, 1956
Item 7: The Importance of Being Earnest, Manchester College, 1956
Item 8: Kenneth Sawyer Goodman Memorial Theatre booklet, 1956-57
Item 9: The Playgoer, 1962 Season, “Critic’s Choice”, Allenberry Playhouse
Item 10: Shakespeare Guide, American Shakespeare Festival Theatre and Academy, 1963
Item 11: Here’s Love Shubert Theatre, 1963
Item 12: Beekman Place, Allenberry Playhouse, 1965
Item 13: “Meet the Press” America’s Press Conference of the Air, 1969
Item 14: Mazowsze Polish State Song and Dance Company, 1973
Item 15: The Oresteia, Franklin and Marshall College, 1974
Item 16: “Meet the Press” America’s Press Conference of the Air, 1974
Item 17: Benito Cereno Franklin and Marshall College, 1975
Item 18: “Meet the Press” America’s Press Conference of the Air, 1976
Item 19: “Meet the Press” America’s Press Conference of the Air, 1976
Item 20: Death of a Salesman, Franklin and Marshall College, 1976
Item 21: Buchanan Dying, Franklin and Marshall College, 1976
Item 22: “Theatre PA” booklet, 1979

Folder 111: Outside Programs and Playbills, undated

Item 1: Enter Joseph Papp: In Search of a New American Theater, Eaves Costume Company
Item 2: Diary of a Scoundrel, Manchester College
Item 3: A Thousand Clowns, Allenberry Playhouse
Item 4: The Playgoer Erlanger Theatre
Item 5: Macbeth, Playwrights Theatre Club
Item 6: Othello, the Moor of Venice, The Antioch Area Theatre
Item 7: Oklahoma, Elizabethtown Area High School

Folder 112: Nellie Jarbol photos

Folder 113: Dish Mishler photos

Folder 114: Pat Thomas photos

Folder 115: Marge Culkosky photos

Folder 116: Anticipation, No date