]
]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
Expand/collapse
Collection Overview
| Size | 39.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 29000 items) |
| Abstract | The Department of Dramatic Art was established in 1936. Prior to that, instruction in the history of theater and comparative drama was given in the Department of English. In addition to its academic instruction, the new department produced plays and supported dramatic efforts. The Carolina Playmakers, founded in 1918, became its production unit. In 1976, the Carolina Playmakers was reorganized as the PlayMakers Repertory Company, a semi-professional theatrical company. Subsequently, the Laboratory Theater, which formed about 1971, assumed the production of student plays in the department. The Carolina Dramatic Association, begun in 1922, was a cooperative program of the Department of Dramatic Art and the University Extension Division's Bureau of Community Drama. The Institute of Outdoor Drama was founded in 1963 as an affiliate of the department; its purpose was to promote the production of outdoor drama in the United States. Records include correspondence and other files relating to the administration of the Department of Dramatic Art and its various units and affiliates. The majority of the records relate to the production of plays by the Carolina Playmakers and the Laboratory Theater. More than half of these are scripts for Playmakers' productions. |
| Creator | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dept. of Dramatic Art. |
| Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. University Archives. |
| Language | English |
Expand/collapse
Information For Users
Expand/collapse
Processing Information
Processed by University Archives Staff, March 1983, May 1992, January 2001, November 2011; finding aid encoded by Lauren Rene, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, March 2003; Updated by Gergana Abernathy, Jennifer Coggins and Hannah Wang, August 2016; Updated by Jessica Venlet, Jaffa Panken and Gergana Abernathy, October 2016; Updated by Clare Carlson and Laura Smith, October 2019; Updated by Dawne Howard Lucas and Laura Smith, June 2022.
Updated in June 2020 to remove racist slurs.
Back to Top
Expand/collapse
Subject Headings
The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
Expand/collapse
Related Collections
Expand/collapse
Historical Information
The Department of Dramatic Art was established in 1936. Prior to that, instruction in the history of theater and comparative drama was given in the Department of English. In addition to offering academic instruction, the new department produced plays and supported dramatic efforts. The Carolina Playmakers, founded in 1918 by Professor of Dramatic Literature Frederick H. Koch, became its production unit and provided practical training in playwriting, acting, directing, and production.
The Carolina Playmakers was modeled on the community theater idea and had the specific purpose of producing student plays and giving students production experience before audiences. By 1936 the Carolina Playmakers, under Koch's leadership, had already achieved national recognition for its promotion of native playwriting, particularly regional and folk drama. Many of the early Playmakers performances were outdoors in the Forest Theatre, designed by Koch and first used by the Playmakers in the summer of 1919. (The Forest Theatre was renamed Koch Memorial Forest Theatre in 1953.) In 1925 Smith Hall was renovated for use by the Playmakers, though old Memorial Hall continued to be used for large productions. The Paul Green Theatre, completed in 1978, provided more modern design and production facilities.
The Carolina Dramatic Association was formed in 1922 as a cooperative venture of the Carolina Playmakers and the University Extension Division's Bureau of Community Drama. Its purpose was to encourage the study and practice of dramatic art in the schools and communities of North Carolina. The association's activities included theater workshops, district drama festivals, and the Annual State Drama Festival. In conjunction with the latter, special awards were presented for excellence in playwriting, acting, directing, and technical production. The Bureau of Community Drama seems to have been discontinued around 1976. (1976 saw the establishment of the PlayMakers Repertory Company and a reorganization of the Extension Division.)
The Institute of Outdoor Drama was founded in 1963 as an affiliate of the Department of Dramatic Art. Its purpose was to serve as a clearinghouse for information and advice on the production of outdoor drama, a distinctive type of drama originated by Paul Green and largely developed by the Carolina Playmakers.
In 1976 the Carolina Playmakers was reorganized as the PlayMakers Repertory Company (PRC), a professional, resident theater company serving the Research Triangle area of North Carolina. Though administered by the Department of Dramatic Art, PRC is under contract with the Actors Equity Association and is a member of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT). Thus, it is subject to the standards of those organizations.
The establishment of PRC caused some controversy in the university and in the community because its professional status limited student participation. Furthermore, soon after it organized the PRC, the department phased out its B.F.A. degree program, leaving the B.A. as its only undergraduate degree. An M.F.A. program, established in 1974-1975, continued to be offered. The department's 1975-1976 annual report, which noted the inauguration of the PlayMakers Repertory Company, described it as "an outgrowth of the Master of Fine Arts Professional training program." The 1976-1977 report stated that the PRC had become "the only university operated professional theatre in south east America recognized by the League of Resident Professional Theatres and the Theatre Communications Group."
The department's Laboratory Theater, which had begun earlier as a vehicle for experimental theater, was reorganized during the 1971-1972 year and became the new vehicle for student productions. In the early 1980s, under chair Milly S. Barranger, efforts were made to strengthen interaction between students and the PRC. Beginning in the 1982-1983 academic year, artists and instructors in the PRC were required to teach and direct students as part of their regular duties.
The following persons have served as chair of the Department of Dramatic Art:
| 1936-1944 | Frederick H. Koch |
| 1944-1945 | Samuel Selden, Acting |
| 1959 | Harry E. Davis, Acting |
| 1959-1968 | Harry E. Davis |
| 1968-1971 | Thomas M. Patterson, Acting |
| 1971-1982 | Arthur L. Housman |
| 1982-2000 | Milly S. Barranger |
| 2000-2005 | Raymond E. Dooley |
| 2005-2013 | McKay Coble |
| 2014- | Adam Versényi |
Expand/collapse
Scope and Content
Records include correspondence and other files relating to the administration of the Department of Dramatic Art and its various units and affiliates. The majority of the records relate to production of plays by the Carolina Playmakers and the Laboratory Theater. More than half of these are scripts for Playmakers' productions. Subjects include playwriting, acting, directing, technical production, and outdoor drama.
Back to Top
Expand/collapse
Series Quick Links
Expand/collapse
Series 1. General Administrative Files.
Arrangement: alphabetical by filename; individual files arranged chronologically.
The records in this series pertain largely to changes in the academic programs of the department, course offerings, and graduate work. There are also some financial records.
Expand/collapse
Series 2. Carolina Playmakers.
In 1976 the Carolina Playmakers was reorganized as the PlayMakers Repertory Company, a professional theater company intended to serve the Research Triangle area of North Carolina. Since then, the Laboratory Theater has assumed the practical training role formerly filled by the Carolina Playmakers. Note that the majority of the records in this series are dated prior to the establishment of PlayMakers Repertory Company.
The series is divided into three subseries. Subseries 1 contains administrative files; Subseries 2 includes data sheets, arranged alphabetically, on actors who appeared in Playmakers productions; and Subseries 3 contains scripts written by students for courses in the Department of Dramatic Art.
Expand/collapse
Subseries 2.1. Administrative Files.
Arrangement: alphabetical by filename; individual files arranged chronologically.
Expand/collapse
Subseries 2.2. Playmakers Directory.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
| Box 5 |
Data sheets on Actors in Playmakers Productions, early 1950s through 1972. |
Expand/collapse
Subseries 2.3. Scripts.
Arrangement: alphabetical by author.
Expand/collapse
Series 3. Laboratory Theater.
Arrangement: alphabetical by filename; individual files arranged chronologically.
The Laboratory Theater, which had begun earlier as a vehicle for experimental theater, was reorganized during the 1971-1972 year as a student-operated production unit for the Department of Dramatic Art. It later replaced the Carolina Playmakers as the agency by which students of dramatic art gained practical experience in the theater. This series contains some material about the purposes of the Laboratory Theater and some student proposals concerning plays to be produced.
Expand/collapse
Series 4. Institute of Outdoor Drama.
Arrangement: alphabetical by filename; individual files arranged chronologically.
The records in this series pertain to the Institute of Outdoor Drama, which was founded in 1963 as an affiliate of the Department of Dramatic Art. Its purpose is to promote the production of outdoor drama in the United States.
Expand/collapse
Series 5. Bureau of Community Drama: Carolina Dramatic
Association.
Arrangement: chronological.
The Carolina Dramatic Association was formed in 1922 as a cooperative venture of the Carolina Playmakers and the University Extension Division's Bureau of Community Drama. Its purpose was to encourage the study and practice of dramatic art in the schools and communities of North Carolina. The Association's activities included theater workshops, district drama festivals, and the Annual State Drama Festival. In conjunction with the latter, special awards were presented for excellence in playwriting, acting, directing, and technical production. The Bureau of Community Drama seems to have been discontinued around 1976. (1976 saw the establishment of the Playmakers Repertory Company and a reorganization of the Extension Division.) This series consists largely of minutes of the Association's meetings and materials related to its festivals.
| Box 19 |
Carolina Dramatic Association, 1929-1975 |
Expand/collapse
Series 6. Outside Organizations.
Arrangement: alphabetical by filename; individual files arranged chronologically.
This series contains files of the Department of Dramatic Art related to organizations, agencies, and professional associations that are external to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Expand/collapse
Series 7. Addition of November 2011, 1926, 1977-2003.
Arrangement: Arranged in two subseries: General files and Outside organizations.
Mostly files of Milly S. Barranger, chair of the Department of Dramatic Art from 1982 to 2000. Included are materials related to the administration of the departmemnt, its programs, and its relationships with outside theatre organizations. Also included is a playbill for the Carolina Playmakers' 1926 production of She Stoops to Conquer.
Expand/collapse
Subseries 7.1. Addition of November 2011: General Files, 1926, 1977-2003.
Arrangement: Alphabetical by filename; individual files arranged chronologically.
Mostly files of Milly S. Barranger, chair of the Department of Dramatic Art from 1982 to 2000, related to the administration of and programs of the department. Also included is a playbill for the Carolina Playmakers' 1926 production of She Stoops to Conquer.
Expand/collapse
Subseries 7.2. Addition of November 2011: Outside Organizations, 1978-1999.
Arrangement: Alphabetical by filename; individual files arranged chronologically.
Files mostly pertaining to national and regional theatre organizations with which the Department of Dramatic Art had relationships or in which department chair Milly Barranger was active. Also included is a file related to professional theatre training grants received by the department from the National Endowment for the Arts.
| Box 24 |
American College Theatre Festival, 1982-1984, 1987, 1993 |
American Theatre Association, 1984-1986 |
|
Association for Theatre in Higher Education, 1986-1989 |
|
British American Drama Academy (BADA) Summer Program, 1999 |
|
Collective Actors Theatre, 1983 |
|
Council for International Exchange of Scholars, 1982-1985, 1988 |
|
Joint Commission on Dance and Theatre Accreditation, 1978-1979 |
|
National Endowment for the Arts: Professional Theatre Training Grants, 1988-1992The Department of Dramatic Art received these grants from the National Endowment for the Arts for academic years 1988-1989, 1989-1990, 1990-1991, and 1991-1991. |
|
National Theatre Conference, 1988-1989 |
|
Southern Theatre Conference, 1987-1988 |
Expand/collapse
Series 8. Programs and Photographs (Addition of June 2016), 1935-1969, and undated.
Programs and photographs documenting Carolina Playmakers performances and the Forest Theater.
Acquisitions Information: (RT 20160608.2)
| Box 24 |
Programs for Carolina Playmakers productions, 1935-1969 |
| Image Folder PF-40080/1 |
Photographs of Carolina Playmakers productions and the Forest Theater, circa 1950s |
| Oversize Image Folder OP-PF-40080/1 |
Photographs of Junior Playmakers' The Insect Comedy, undated |
Expand/collapse
Series 9. PlayMakers Repertory Company Programs (Addition of October 2016), 1975-2016.
Programs from the PlayMakers Repertory Company performances.
Arrangement: Programs are arranged chronologically by performance season.
Acquisition information: Materials transferred from department, October 2016 (RT 20161004.1).
| Box 25 |
Programs, 1975-2003 |
| Box 26 |
Program, 2003-2016 |
Expand/collapse
Series 10. PlayMakers Playbills (Addition of September 2019), 2016-2019.
Acquisitions Information: RT 20190919.1.
| Box 26 |
Playbills, 2016-2019 |
| Digital Folder DF-40080/1 |
Playbills, 2016-2019 |
Expand/collapse
Series 11. PlayMakers Playbills (Addition of May 2022), 2019-2020
Acquisitions Information: RT 20220601.1.
| Box 26 |
Playbills, 2019-2020Includes playbills for No Fear and Blues Long Gone: Nina Simone, Native Son, Dairyland, Ragtime, The Amish Project, Everybody, Julius Caesar. |