Definition of the Philosophy Underlying the Recognition and Teaching of Theatre as a Fine Art in the Liberal Arts and Graduate Curricula at the State University of Iowa

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'psraiTtO R OF THE PHILOSOPHY UNDERLYING TH 'RECOGNITION AND TEACHING OF THEATRE AS A PINS ART/IN THE LIBERAL ARTS AND GRADUATE CURRICULA AT THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA

by Paul WV Dave© , i \ 5 '\ 6

A d is se r ta tio n submitted in p a r tia l fu lfillm e n t of requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Speech and Dramatic A rt, in the Graduate College of the S tate U n iversity of Iowa August 1950

ProQuest Number: 10902150

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CLe>Y^ ACKNOWLEmEMJKNTS author wishes to express h is ap p reciation to the people who contrib uted s u b s ta n tia lly to t h is study. la te Dean

®&rl

The

E, Seashore provided much valuable inform ation

about the development o f the department and i t s graduate program* and Invaluable advice regarding form and content of the stu dy.

Interview s of e sp e c ia l value in providing fa ctu a l

inform ation and p e rsp ectiv es were kindly granted by Mrs. Walter A. Jessup; Glenn 1 . Merry; Gregory Foley; Verne R. Foley; Sam B. Sloan; Chancellor Rufus H. F itzg era ld of the U n iversity of P ittsburgh; and Earl E. Harper, D irector o f the School of Fine Arts as w ell as Dean Seashore and P rofes­ sor Mabie,

Dr. Earl 2. Harper made the complete f i l e s of the

School of Fine Arts and m aterials in other U n iversity o ff ic e s a v a ila b le .

Records in the R egistrar*s o f f ic e and the Univer­

s it y Business O ffice were made a c c e ssib le by the cooperation of P rofessor Ted McCarrell, Fred W, Ambrose and th e ir sta ffs * P rofessor Hugh F. Seabury devoted en d less hours of time to advising and guiding the author in th is stu d y.

The c r i t i c a l

judgment and encouragement of P rofessor Harold c « Crain was in valu ab le.

The author i s p a r tic u la r ly g r a te fu l to Professor

Edward 0. Kabi® for h is a d v ice, fo r making a c c e ssib le the complete f i l e s of the U n iversity Theatre and the Department of Speech and Dramatic A rt, and for h is th ir ty years of pioneering work which made t h is study worth doing.

ta b le o f

comma page

I.

II.

A PHILOSOPHar OF education in dramatic ART . . .

1

The Bftsio Philosophy Applied to Dramatic ........................................ .................................. Art

9

BACKGROUND: THE EXTRACUMRIC0LAR. TEARS ....................................... . . . . . . . . .

55

1 9 0 0 -1 9 2 0

New D irection s Under G. N. M erry........................... 63 Fundamentals Courses..................... 68 Courses In Acting and In terp reta tio n . . Other Related Courses . ............................... 8k S ta ff and Budget.............................................................88 Degree S e q u e n c e s .......................... 90 Dramatic A c t iv it ie s ............................................... 92 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . ...................... 109 III.

DRAMATIC ART BUILDS INTO THE CURRICULUM: 1920-1930 . . . . . . . . .................

118

The Establishm ent o f the U n iversity Theatre 123 Courses ........................................................... 15 ^ Fundamentals. . ..............................................15^ General Production. ..................................... 158 In terp reta tio n and Acting . ...................... 166 Stage D i r e c t i o n .................................................. 172 S ta g e cr a ft......................... 1?5 Community T h e a tr e ..............................................178 History and A ppreciation............................. I 79 Teaching Methods.................................................. 183 Voice and P h o n e t ic s ..........................................185 Problems Courses.................................................. 19& Graduate Courses. ........................................... 196 Degree Sequences and Major Sequences. . . . 199 Standard Course in Liberal Arts . . . . I 99 Graduate Work in Dramatic A r t .....................205 Dramatic O rganizations.............................................. 210 The U n iversity P layers......................................211 The Purple Mask . ..........................................215 The Production Program o f the U n iversity. , Theatre ............................................... .... , 21? Space and Equipm ent......................... 228 S ta ff De velopm ©nt...................................................... 237 U n iversity Theatre Finances .............................. 2 L5 ill

Chapter IV*

Page THE SCHOOL OF FI HE ARTS AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR PROFESSIONAL TRAINING IN DRAMATIC ARTS ....................................... 261 1989 - 1950 A S p e c ia lis e d Curriculum In Dramatic A rt. 266 Degree and Major Sequences in Dramatic A r t ..........................................................................283 The M ajor Sequence In Dramatic A rt f o r th e B.A* D e g r e e ............................... 286 The Major Sequence in Dramatic A rt f o r th e B.F.A. D e g r e e ......................... . 292 The M aster of A rts Sequence in Dramatic A r t ..............................................301 The M aster of Fine A rts Sequence in Dramatic A rt ...............................309 The Doctor of Philosophy f o r C re ativ e Work i n Dramatic A rt . . . . 315 The New T h e a t r e ..................... 345 Space and E q u ip m en t....................................... 356 Course Developments ........................................... 359 F u n d a m e n ta ls ............................................ • 359 In tro d u c to ry Course in Dramatic A rt . 363 A cting and I n t e r p r e t a t i o n . . . . . . 366 Stage D i r e c t i o n ....................................... 372 Voice and P h o n e t i c s .................................. 375 S ta g e c ra ft and T ech n ical P ra c tic e * . 377 Stage C o stu m in g ....................................... 378 Scenic Design . . . . . . . . . . . . 379 Stage L i g h t i n g ...................................... . 380 Radio Speech . . . . . . . . . . . . 381 E xperim ental T heatre . . . . . . . . 382 Cinematography and T e le v isio n . . . . 385 Community T heatre ....................................... 385 H isto ry and A p p re ciatio n . . . . . . 387 Teaching M e t h o d s . 390 S t a f f Developments . . . . . . . . . 392 The P ro d u ctio n Program of th e U n iv e rs ity T heatre .......................................... 401

BIBLIOGRAPHY................................................................................ 420 APPENDIX A CALENDAR OF PLAYS FROM SUMMER SESSION 1920 TO JUNE 1950 WITH TITLES AND AUTHORINDICES iv

.

428

Chapter

Page

APPENDIX B A CALENDAR OF GRADUATE STUDIES DIRECTLY RELATED TO PROBLEMS IK DRAMTIC ART WHICH HAVE BEER COMPLETED WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OF SPEECH AND DRAMATIC ART 1921 - FEBRUARY 1950 .......................... ....

▼

529

1

O hapter I A PHILOSOPHY OF m i C k n m IN DRAMATIC A t? Education has been d e fin e d by soma as growth and aa a continuous prooeae fro® th s c ra d le to th e grave#

O thers

have c o n trib u te d th e id e a th a t to f a c i l i t a t e t h is grow th, th e e d u ca to r m ust re c o g n ise th e n e e d s . I n t e r e s t s and c a p a e lt i e s o f th e in d iv id u a l and a d ju s t th e program to f i t th e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s which th e I n d iv id u a l possesses*

Hie l a t e

Dean S eashore i n h is pam phlet, JJ& S c h o la r a £ £ Person* p re s e n ts th e id e a t h a t th e genuine s c h o la r I s w e ll rounded, tr a in e d In a l l th e v a rio u s fa c e ts o f h is p e rso n , p h y s ic a l, i n t e l l e c t u a l , e m o tio n a l, mid t h a t such a b a la n ce In person­ a l i t y I s e s s e n t i a l t o In su re continuous grow th. Hoary S u zzalo , one-tim e P re s id e n t o f th e C arnegie Foundation f o r th e Advancement o f Teaching sad a p a s t P res­ id e n t o f th e U n iv e rs ity o f W ashington, s t a te d t h a t & aerlcan ed ucation has been c h a r a c te ris e d by an in s is te n c e t h a t *Ihe o rd in a ry su b d iv isio n s between elem entary and secondary (and) g rad u ate work a re n o t homogeneous u n i t s , b u t le v e ls o f ed­ u c atio n #

America has committed ( i t s e l f to ) th e Id ea they

( s i c ) can e d u cate anybody who can g e t a l i t t l e more growth by going to sc h o o l” . 1

She U n iv e rs ity o f Iowa long ago com­

m itte d i t s e l f to t h is philosophy when I t s e t up a " v e r tic a l* p a tte r n in c u r r i c u la r s t r u c tu r e w ith no sharp d iv is io n

2 hitw een th e u n d e rg ra d u ate and g ra d u a te c u rric u lu m , a s t r u c tu r e th a t allow ed t h e : in d iv id u a l a tu d e n t to move from le v e l to le v e l draw ing from any departm ent a t a n y s ta g e In h ie ed u catio n in terme o f h ie own needs*

C e rta in minimum s ta n d ­

ard*' were e e t f o r th e t r a n s f e r t o each le v e l in th e U niver­ s i t y , b u t th e a tta in m e n t o f g rad u a te s t a t u s o r u n d e rg ra d u ate s ta tu e d id n o t s e p a ra te s tu d e n ts o f th ese two le v e ls from th e same i n s t r u c t o r s o r p a r t i c i p a ti o n In the same c la s s e s i f the needs o f th e s tu d e n ts were sim ila r#

Hie s tu d e n t a t

any l e v e l moves in a sp h ere t h a t i s dominated by h is own i n t e r e s t s , n e e d s , a b i l i t i e s and program , and th e r e I s no sh a rp d iv is io n o r se g re g a tio n based upon th e mere m a tte r o f o g ra d u a te o r u n d e rg ra d u ate c la s s if ic a tio n * Hie p a tte r n i s out to f i t th e p e rs o n , r a t h e r than t h e person to f i t th e p a tte rn * W ithin t h i s v e r t i c a l c u r r i c u la r p lan has grown a h o r iz o n ta l p a tte r n o f course o ffe r in g s which in c lu d e s a l l departm ents and c o lle g e s o f th e u n iv e r s ity w ith no hamper­ in g r e s t r i c t i v e b a r r i e r s to p rev e n t th e s tu d e n t from G ross­ in g d ep artm e n tal and c o lle g e lin e s *

Hie “p i g s t i l e s 11 e x is ­

te n t In r e g i s t r a t i o n a t seme o th e r i n s t i t u t i o n s a re m in i­ m ised a t Iow a.

A s tu d e n t who i s stu d y in g some phase o f th e

Pine A rts may be found, f o r good re a so n , stu d y in g anatomy in th e M edioal C o lleg e, a c o u s tic s In *he Department o f

P h y sio s, e le c tr o n ic * In th e lih g in eerin g C o lle g e, s t a t i s t i c * In th e C ollege o f E d u catio n , Foundation* o f Measurement In th e Psychology D epartm ent, e t c e t e r a , c o n c u rre n tly w ith th e o ffe rin g * i n hi* own departm ent*

Such moves may be volun­

ta r y , and in many case* they a re req u ired *

I f th e s u b je c t

1* s i g n i f i c a n t l y r e l a t e d to h ie n e e d s, h i* problem , h ia a b i l i t i e s , he s tu d ie s i t*

His d ep artm en tal c l a s s i f i c a t i o n

i s only In c id e n ta l} I t 1* n o t r e s t r i c t i v e * Our concern h e re i* w ith th e Pine A rts in g e n eral and Dram atic A rt in p a r t i

r a* they f i t In to t h i s f rame-

woite o f h ig h e r education*

e Fine A rts have been recog­

n is e d and ta u g h t a t Iowa in th e b e l i e f t h a t the average stu d e n t needs a modicum, a t l e a s t , o f th e e s t h e t ic and In ­ t e l l e c t u a l d i s c ip l i n e o ffe re d by t r a i n in g in th e Fine A rt* to e a r l eh h is l i f e , and t h a t auch p r a c tic e i s c o n s is te n t w ith th e b e l i e f t h a t a l l men have soma c a p a c ity f o r expand­ in g and tr a i n in g t h e i r e s t h e t ic re s p o n se s•

I t is c o n s ls te it

w ith th e id e a th a t i f a th in g i s s o c ia lly u s e f u l , I t ha* a p la c e in i n s t i t u t i o n a l education a t ©very l e v e l , p rim ary , seco n d ary , u n d e rg ra d u a te , g ra d u a te ."

I t say* t h a t th e

s tu d e n t should have th e o p p o rtu n ity to grow © s th e tic a lly , to enjoy and e x p e rien c e f i n e a r t to th e l i m i t of h is capa­ c ity as a d i s t i n c t r i g h t in h is e d u c a tio n .

He should be

given th e o p p o rtu n ity to e x p lo re n o t only th e lo g ic s and

e th ic s o f human e x p e rie n c e , b u t th e e s t h e t i c s as w e ll. There must be a b ala n ce between th e se th in g s in tr a i n in g th e t o t a l person#

'

The Id e a s of s p e c i a li s a t io n and p ro fe s s io n a l tr a in in g c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of American ed u ca tio n do not ex­ clu d e th e Fine A rts a t Iowa any more th an th e y exclude M edicine, Law, E n g in eerin g , P h y sic s, Psychology, H is to ry , Language o r L ite ra tu re #

For t h i r t y y e a rs or more, th e

lin e A rts have been acc ep ted as v a lid a re a s f o r c r e a tiv e study and re s e a rc h i n th e b e li e f t h a t they a re "pow erful e d u c a tio n a l in stru m e n ts f o r the d is c ip lin e of th e em otional and e s t h e t i c , " and t h a t "ed u c a tio n In th e s e v alu es i s as 4 Im portant as e d u ca tio n In any o th e r f i e l d #* The s tu d e n t has been given th e o p p o rtu n ity to t r a i n h im s e lf p ro fe s s io n a lly to te a c h , p r a c t ic e , and provide le a d e rs h ip i n th e f i e l d s of the lin e Arts#

P ro fe s s io n a l

programs have been in e x is te n c e fo r some tim e a t the under­ g raduate and g rad u ate le v e ls#

The t r a i n in g in th e se f i e l d s

has concerned I t s e l f w ith th e te c h n ic a l and c r e a t i v e , th e h i s t o r i c a l , c r i t i c a l and th e s c i e n t i f i c a s p e c ts of the A rts . C reativ e work as w ell as knowledge about works of a r t i s t i c c r e a tio n has been given a c e n tr a l p lace in th e program in th e b e l i e f th a t th e th in g of prim ary Im portance in any a r t i s th e c r e a tio n , i t s e l f , and th a t p r a c tic e In th e p ro cess o f c re a tin g i s n e cessary to v a lid e d u ca tio n in Fin© -i

Arts#

lb s Stab# U n iv ersity o f Iowa was a pioneer i n s t i ­ tu tio n In the granting o f c r e d it fo r c r e a tiv e work#

i t has

n o t r e s tr ic t e d i t s e l f or i t s students to a few courses in the granting or r e c e iv in g o f c r e d it fo r c r e a tiv e woite in m usic, graphic and p la s t ic a r t s , or dramatic art#

But the

idea that c r e a tiv e work i s worth c r e d it has permeated the e n tir e program in H ue Arts from the introductory courses a t the freshman l e v e l to the d is s e r ta tio n a t the doctoral le v e l#

A play or a p iece o f music which represents proof

o f a knowledge o f the use o f the m a teria ls o f human exper­ ien ce i s now welcomed as the d isser ta tio n # The U n iv e rs ity has proceeded on th e assum ption th a t o r i g in a l work in an a r t i s u s e f u l to s o c ie ty and t h a t i t i s no le s s u s e f u l because i t a r i s e s from th e im ag in atio n o f th e c re a to r#

I t has i n s i s t e d t h a t o r ig in a l work m eet

r e s p e c ta b le a r t i s t i c stan d ard s#

To g u aran tee such s ta n d a rd s ,

i t subm its such woxk to th e c r i t i c a l t e s t of p u b lic p e r­ form ance, e x p e rt a n a ly s is and c r i t ic i s m , f r a c tio n a tin g and re v isio n #

Dean Seashore d e sc rib e d th e tech n iq u es and

p ro c e sse s o f p re p a rin g th e d o c to ra l d i s s e r t a t io n o f th e p lay w rig h t as a d e q u a te ly sim u la tin g and p a r a l l e l l i n g " th e b e a t s c i e n t i f i c la b o r a to r ie s in d e a lin g w ith h y p o th eai* , in v e n tio n , and in terp retatio n # * * ^ Five such d i s s e r t a t io n s have b e m f o r th e d e g re e , Doctor of P hilosophy, in th e Department o f Speech and Dram atic A rt s in c e 1936.

6 ■Other* a r e I n - p r e p a r a tlo n .

E llsw o rth P. Conkle was th e

f t e i .t' c a n d id a te , and M s degree was g ra n te d "with, d is tin c tio n " * At th e u n d e rg ra d u ate l e v e l , th e c r e a tiv e work i s done in co u rses where th e s tu d e n t a c t s , draws and p a i n t s , sings* o r p la y s an instrum ent*

Hhen he has developed rea so n a b le pro­

f ic ie n c y in h is a r t , he i s given th e o p p o rtu n ity to p re s e n t h i s work p u b lic ly w ith in th e framework Of a produced p la y , e x h ib itio n o f p a in tin g , sc en e design or p r i n t , c o n c e rt o r r e c i t a l b ©for® a s e le c te d or p u b lic audience*

Time in

t r a i n in g has l i t t l e to do with th e stu d e n t* a p u b lic p e rfo m an ce o r e x h ib itio n o f h is woric*

Whether he I s a s e n io r

o r freshman i s , in a s e n s e , ir r e le v a n t* i s t h e r e , he perform s*

$h©n th e p ro fic ie n c y

He i s n o t n e c e s s a r ily an accom plished

a r t i s t a t perform ance tim e , b u t he has n e c e s s a r ily shorn s u f f i c i e n t s k i l l In h i s c r a f t to fac e th e t e a t of p u b lic re a c tio n *

O ccasio n ally he f a i l s th e te a t*

p a r t i a l l y su c ce ed s. s u c c e s s fu l.

F requently he

On a few occasions he l a em inently

But In e a c h c a se , i t i s b e lie v e d t h a t he i s

going through a n e c e ssa ry p ro ce ss in le a rn in g th e m a te r ia ls o f h is a rt*

Xhe perfonn&nc® and i t s p re p a ra tio n a re h is

la b o ra to ry assignm ent* I t may be t h a t he n e v er perform s o u ts id e of h is own classroom s i t u a t i o n .

In such c a s e s , he has f a i l e d to

dem onstrate s u f f i c i e n t t a l e n t to a c q u ire th e n e ce ssa ry

p r o f ic ie n c y o f Salt®.not bean a b l e to s u b je c t h im s e lf to th e iM»?*0Jfot7 'd i s c i p li n e o f th e a rt*

But in e i t h e r c a s e , he

hm gained sow 'know ledge, of t h e n a tu re o f th e c re a tiv e , p ro c e ss and tb s m a te r ia ls i t u t i l i s e s .

He has bean stu d y ­

in g '',a t l e a s t p o rt, o f th e whole sweep o f human e x p e rie n c e w ith an eye toward th e c r e a tiv e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f i t#

He

has worked w ith and a ttem p ted to le a r n th e tec h n iq u e s by which l i f e may be i n te r p r e t e d a r t i s t i c a l l y .

He th e r e f o re

knows more of a r t than I f he had only rea d books about i t o r observed i t #

l i e re a d in g and o b se rv a tio n w ill be done

w ith more i n s ig h t in th e f u tu r e .

He may n o t be a good

a c t o r , b u t he may w e ll b© a b e t t e r p lay g o o ri iherea® th e r e s u l t s o f c r e a tiv e work a re e s s e n t i a l ­ ly em otional in c h a r a c te r , t h a t I s n o t to say t h a t th e work o f th e c r e a to r i s n o t t r u e , i s n o t d is c ip lin e d , o r i s n o t th e r e s u l t o f c a r e f u l I n t e l l e c t u a l a n a ly s is as w ell a s emo­ t io n a l re a c tio n #

fhe Iowa program i n fin e A rts has h e ld

no b r i e f f o r th e t o t a l l y u n d is c ip lin e d in s c h o la rs h ip , b u t i t has h e ld t h a t c re a tiv e woik i s done sp o n tan eo u sly , and in th e a r t i s t i c mood which i® f r e e from th e conscious u se o f s h e e r techniques#

On th e o th e r hand, i t recognise® th e

p ro cess of c re a tio n as b e in g , in p a r t , founded upon a c a re ­ f u l , sy s te m a tic sc h o o lin g in te c h n iq u e , g a th e rin g o f m ater­ i a l s through a c u te o b s e rv a tio n , a n a ly s is o f the m a te ria ls

8 and e v a lu a tio n . ©f' them*

I t rec o g n iz e s that- th e ta le n te d

a c q u ire th e d a ta f a r t h e i r c r e a tiv e work w ith an I n t e l l e c t u a l as w e ll as an em o tio n al i n s i g h t .

I t re c o g n ise s th e

n e e d f o r p r a c t ic e in th e fundamental® as w ell a s th e need f o r spontaneous c re a tio n *

I t t r i e s to p ro v id e a b a la n c e

between th e two w ith the f u l l r e a l i s a t i o n t h a t th e r e s u l t o f th e c r e a tiv e p e rio d in th e work o f th e s tu d e n t i s th e im p o rtan t thing*

In s h o r t , i t r e a l i s e s th a t th e w r i t e r

m ust w r ite , th e a c t o r a c t , th e p a in t e r p a i n t , e t c e t e r a , b u t t h a t he m ust alw ays s u b je c t h is work to review and c r i t i c a l exam ination w ith h is eye toward r e v is io n a n d im­ provem ent, and t h a t , as h® p r a c tic e s th e a r t , he m ust be aware o f h is m ethods, t h e i r s tr e n g th s and t h e i r flaws*

In

tim e, th e ta le n te d s tu d e n t m aste rs method w e ll enough so t h a t he can proceed independently, se rv in g a s h is own s e v e r e s t c ritic *

His method has become h a b it and

I t s p resen ce d u rin g th e c re a tiv e p e rio d .

he I s n o t aware o f He has le a rn e d

to p la c e h is c re a tio n on a fo undation o f s o l i d workmanship* As has been in d ic a te d b e fo re , th e stu d e n t in Fine A rts i s handled as an in d iv id u a l*

Hie fo undation and

method o f h is t r a i n in g reco g n izes th e n a tu re of h is talent® i n t e r e s t , and needs and ad ap ts to them.

I t t r i e s to d i s ­

cover h is unique q u a l i t i e s and a d a p t to and c u lt i v a t e them.

US' tim & m

& SB $m lk mm

£rt

How then has t h i s b a s ic philosophy o f Fin© A rts expressed i t s e l f i n a philosophy o f e d u ca tio n in D ram atic A rt!

I t l a nvw ail known f a c t t h a t a huge p o rtio n o f th e

American p u b lic goes to th e cinema, l i s t e n s to dram atic p ro d u c tio n s on th e ra d io or se e s them on t e l e v i s i o n , and th a t a few m illio n s see th e commercial pro d u ct ©f th e lew fo rk t h e a tr e a t rea so n a b ly r e g u la r i n t e r v a l s . th e s e m adia a re d ra m a tic , d ram atic a r t s ,

A ll o f

ikch u t i l i z e s some o r a l l ©f th e

She e s t h e t ic e x p erien ce of th e American

'

p u b lic I s drawn in p a r t from th e p lay s p re se n te d through th e se m edia.

Hie f a c t t h a t th e p r a c tic e s in a l l o f th e s e

media do n o t m eet th e s ta n d a rd o f every in d iv id u a l does n o t mean t h a t they a re n o t s tro n g fo rc e s in our s o c ie ty .

Hie

f a c t t h a t they fre q u e n tly do n o t m eet th e da s i re s o f many m ight mean t h a t i t i s th e duty o f education to stu d y them, In o rd e r t o f in d methods o f im proving them.

I t is tru e ,

however, t h a t they seem to f u l f i l l th e needs o f many people In our s o c ie ty . u la r!

O therw ise, why would they be so pop­

!h© re a s o n , alw ays, f o r t h e i r study l i e s in th e f a c t

th a t i f they a re s o c i a l ly u s e f u l , they should have a p la c e in e d u ca tio n .

And, f u r t h e r , I f they a re s o c i a l ly in f lu e n ­

t i a l in any s i g n i f i c a n t way, they should have a p la c e in e d u c a tio n .

Commercial v alu e s and h igh o r low a r t i s t i c

10 sta n d a rd * -n r# l a r g e l y .irre le v a n t* . I f we gu back to th e d e f in itio n o f ed u catio n as gs**th. and examine th e p o s s i b i l i t i e s o f r a d i o , t h e a t r e , cinem a, and t e le v is io n f o r a r t i s t i c dram atic e x p re ssio n , i t ta s s n s * r e a d ily a p p a re n t t h a t t h e i r p o t e n t i a l i t i e s a lo n e s e rv e as good reason f o r te a c h in g them .

Ifoe p ro v in ce o f

e d u c a tio n ,th e n becomes th e problem n o t o f w hether to te a c h , b u t o f where and how to te a c h d ra m a tic a r t*

The g u id in g

p r in c ip le then i s t h a t i f i t w i l l c o n tr ib u te to th e growth o f th e in d iv id u a l In American s o c ie ty , i t i s w orth te a c h in g and le a r n in g . Iowa has long accep ted th e Id e a t h a t , as one o f th e f in e A r ts , Drama t i c A rt re p re s e n ts cue o f th e h ig h e s t f e » s o f eao ticraal and I n t e l l e c t u a l d i s c ip lin e and s e n s i­ t i v i t y to l i f e } th a t i t i s a s y n th e s is o f a l l th e a r t s , re p ­ re s e n tin g a l l f a c e t s o f human exp erien ce in a r t i s t i c form , l e a s e , in i t s e l f , i t s stu d y i s a b ro a d , l i b e r a l e d u c a tio n . And When combined w ith th e study o f h i s t o r y , s c ie n c e , l i t ­ e r a t u r e , lan g u a g e s, s o c i a l s c ie n c e s , e t c e t e r a , i t re p re ­ s e n ts an o p p o rtu n ity to c o r r e la te a l l of th e s e f ie ld s mean­ in g f u lly w ith r e a l l i f e . As th e p la y e r , d e s ig n e r, d i r e c t o r , costumer, o r te c h n ic ia n s tu d ie s p la y s f o r p re s e n ta tio n in th e t h e a t r e , he I s b ro u g h t i n to c o n ta c t w ith many and p o s s ib ly a l l areas

©f h saaa knowledge »jad e x p e rie n c e .

For exam ple, a p lay such

as Sidney K ingsley!® Men In Whit© deal® w ith th e f i e l d o f m edicine a t very c lo s e ra n g e .

I t tak es you i n to th e s u rg e ry ,

th e la b o r a to r y , th e d o c to r 1a o f f i c e , th e intern®*® quarter® and th e p r i v a t e l i f e o f numerous in d iv id u a ls .

lb© play

has s e m e s which a r e b a sed on. d e ta il e d re s e a rc h in to th e f a c ts and technique® of v a rio u s m edical p r a c t i c e s .

It

would seem obvious t h a t any s i g n i f i c a n t p ro d u ctio n o f t h i s p la y would r e q u ire th e v a rio u s p ersons Involved t o go in to the h o s p i t a l , th e m edical lib r a r y and th e o p e ra tin g room, and to c o n s u lt w ith d o c to rs and nurse® , e t c e t e r a , In o rd e r to u n d e rsta n d s u f f i c i e n t l y th e s ig n if ic a n c e and n a tu r e o f th e technique® . I d e a s , problems and atm osphere of th e medi­ c a l p ro fe s s io n As they apply to t h i s p la y .

I f th e s e ex­

c u rsio n s I n to m edicine a re handled c r i t i c a l l y and o b je c t­ iv e ly , th e r e sh o u ld be s ome u s e f u l g ain in knowledge and e x p e rie n c e .

By stu d y in g th e p la y , i t s p e o p le , id e a s , emo­

tion® , and th e p ro fe s s io n from shich i t s m a te r ia ls tar® d r a m , th e s tu d e n t has le a rn e d more of the s t r u c tu r e and meaning o f h is a r t and o f human l i f e . I f th e play i s Ham let, th e approach i s b a s ic a lly th e same, b u t th e s p e c i f i c m a te r ia ls a r e d i f f e r e n t .

Ihe

S tu d en t o f d ram atic a r t may in t h i s case go in to h l s t o iy f o r d a ta on costum e, s e t t i n g , th e n a tu re of th e s o c ia l s t r u c t u r e ; to philosophy and psychology f o r a b e t t e r under-

4 tending' o f 'th e characiierfl t to a" study o f "the s ource® o f th e p la y , th e l i t e r a t u r e and th e s o c ie ty o f the p e rio d in which i t

was w r itte n ; to

a study o f p rev io u s i n t e r p r e t a ­

tio n s o f th e p la y ; to th e a u th o r1® l i f e ; to modem s o c ie ty to se e how th e play ©an be r e l a t e d .

But in ev ery move, he

i s r e l a t i n g h is growing knowledge o f a l l th e s e th in g s to th e p la y and

what i t has to c o n tr ib u te to th e i n t e r p r e t ­

a tio n o f human l i f e . Be must le a rn th e s e th in g s w ell__ t h e i r meanings and a p p lic a tio n s to l i f e . ,

o r he w ill ffeil

when he a tte m p ts to s t i r an audience through th e medium o f th e produced p la y . Because of th e e d u ca tiv e v a lu e s in d ic a te d above, because i t was r e a l is e d t h a t th e th e a tr e i s a dynamic soc­ i a l I n s t i t u t i o n having s i g n i f ic a n t p o s s i b i l i t i e s in th e ed­ u c a tio n , r e c r e a tio n , and s p i r i t u a l growth o f th e in d iv id u a l in American s o c ie ty , i t was brought in to th e curriculum a t th e S ta te U n iv e rs ity o f Iow a.

I t appears to have been done

in th e fo llo w in g manner a tte n d in g to th e s p i r i t of th e fo llo w in g id e a s . 1.

I n 19£1, Iowa e s ta b lis h e d a ’U n iv e rs ity T heatre

Wkleh was bo se rv e as (a ) ® la b o ra to ry f o r the c la s s e s in d ra m a tic ,p ro d u c tio n , (b) a c e n te r f o r th e p ro d u ctio n o f p la y s by e x tr a - c u r r i c u l a r campus groups, (©} a c e n te r f o r th e p re s e n ta tio n o f p lay s and s ta g e e n te rta in m e n ts sponsored

by th e U n iv e rs ity as a w hole, i t * d e p artm e n ts, and i t s o rg a n is a tio n s *

I t p re s e n te d o c c a sio n a l f l a y s by p r o f e s s ­

i o n a l tro u p e s ,

(d) For a tim e , a t l e a s t , i t was to se rv e

as

th e © enter f o r m eet o f th e “l i t e r a r y 1** a c t i v i t i e s o f th e

campus * W ithin a v ery few y e a r s , a l l o f th e o r g a n is a tio n s , e x cep t th e s e i&lefe u sed th e t h e a tr e as a c e n te r f o r th e la b o r a to r y p ro d u c tio n o f p la y s f o r the c la s s e s in drama t i e p ro d u c tio n w ith in th e Departm ent o f Speech, had e i t h e r n e a r ly d isa p p e a re d f r m

th e campus o r had gone elsew here to

do t h e b a lk o f t h e i r work*

She cause may be w ell a t t r i b u t e d

to th e f a c t t h a t w ith th e U n iv e rs ity T heatre u n d e r th e con­ t r o l o f th e Departm ent o f Speech, th e U n iv e rs ity F la y ers o r g a n is a tio n , find th e L ite r a r y S o c i e t i e s , th e work In drama t i e a r t had la r g e ly been ab so rb ed by th e c la s s e s w ith in th e Speech departm ent,

©lose who were I n te r e s te d in

ta k in g p a r t In p la y s were f o r th e m ost p a r t th e same people w hether th e c la s s o r cue o f th e o r g a n is a tio n s was th e imm­ e d ia te s p a n s e r.

I f th e sponsor was a l i t e r a r y s o c ie ty , th e

seeaexy and costum es, d ir e c tin g o f t h e p la y , « t c e te r a be­ came la r g e ly th e r e s p o n s i b i li t y o f th e D ire c to r o f th e U n iv e rs ity T h ea tre , who was a ls o th e i n s t r u c t o r f o r th e c la s s e s in d ram atic a r t .

Svan th e lin e s o f c a s tin g th e

p lay e x c lu s iv e ly w ith in th e membership o f th e sp o n so rin g

o rg a n is a tio n war# n e t alw ays ob serv ed .

te n e a , i t seems

n a tu r a l t h a t th e Departm ent o f Speech sh o u ld have absorbed th a a c t i v i t y , p a r t i c u l a r l y whan i t was a p p a re n tly o b serv in g a h ig h e r s ta n d a rd o f work than had boon p re v io u s ly shown* So ev id aaee p o in ts o u t t h a t t h i s was a m a tte r o f usurptiom o f th # p r e ro g a tiv e s o f th e o th e r member o r g a n is a tio n s .

It

seems to have been an o rd e rly and g rad u a l e v o lu tio n a ry growth founded m a b e l i e f t h a t t h i s was am improvement in e d u c a tio n . Behind t h i s move o f th e th e a tr e i n t o th e c u rric u ­ lum was th e Id ea o f e s ta b lis h in g and m a in ta in in g an a r t i s t i c s ta n d a rd i n th e th in k in g o f s tu d e n ts and in th e p re s e n ta tio n s o f a l l t h e i r p la y s , and t h a t t h i s s ta n d a rd m ight b e t t e r be e s ta b lis h e d and m ain ta in e d i f th e work were bro u g h t i n to th e c u rric u lu m .

Under s uch a p lan th e f a c i l i t i e s f o r p ro d u ctio n

and th e p ro d u c tio n s them selves could b e c o n tro lle d and su p e r­ v ise d by f a e itl^ r r e p r e s e n ta tiv e s com petent to develop th e work toward th e a tta in m e n t o f a s ta n d a rd ,

This allow ed f o r

th e developm ent o f sta n d a rd s in a v e ry r e a l i s t i c way.

In

th e classroom where th e work in p lay p ro d u ctio n was ta u g h t, th e c r i t e r i a o f good a r t were n o t only d isc u sse d b u t p u t to th e t e s t o f th e a u d ie n c e to se e I f th ey would be a c c e p te d , f o r th e U n iv e rs ity th e a tr e was th e classroom la b o ra to ry as w ell a s th e campus and community p layhouse.

15 4 ph ilo so p h y t h a t , t© b e s i g n i f i c a n t , th e th e a tr e m ust sta y c lo s e to th e p e o p le I t s e rv e s was e a s ily a p p a re n t. $hr i t M s h e m meeoaaary f o r th e Ufelvomalty Ih e a tr e to pay I t s p re d u o tlo n b i l l a w ith th e money tak en in a t th e box o ffic e *

Xm o rd e r t o g a in and m a in ta in i t s p u b lic su p p o rt

i t had (1) to p re s e n t p la y s o f i n t e r e s t to i t s a u d ie n ce , and (0} to p r e s e n t them w ell enough t h a t th e a u d ie n c e could he i n t e r e s t e d i n them#

I t a le e had t o contend w ith th e

p ro b leo o f in s u r in g I t s e l f t h a t ifeat I n t e r e s t e d th e au d ien ce was w orthw hile in te r n s o f ©ducafci0

w r it in g ,* .. I f th ese historian® are © orrect, then the American academic theatre*' as an organized pro*# gram in academic in s t it u t io n s can be ©eld to he a m idd le-aged'man o f f o r t y - e i* yeare«* S h ortly a f t e r 1900, Baker sta r te d teachin g playwright* in® u n o f f ic ia lly , a,phenomenon which very l ik e l y i s th© f i r s t known s ig n if ic a n t In trod uction o f c r e a tiv e work in dramatic art ■in th© curriculum o f any American c o lle g e or u n iv ersity * Other in s t it u t io n s soon began to introduce courses in drama­ t i c art* and by 19^7 over 290 American c o lle g e s and u n iv e r si­ t i e s were o ffe r in g degrees in theatre*^ I t i s a w e ll known f a c t , which Heffner and others confirm , th at Iowa was one o f the pioneering I n s tit u t io n s In t h is development.

I t i s th© purpose o f t h is stu d y to d efin e

the philosophy end some o f th© p o lic ie s underlying the- recog­ n itio n and teach in g o f th ea tre as & fin e a rt in the L iberal Arts and Graduate, c u rricu la a t the S tate U n iv ersity o f Iowa, fhe method used has been h is t o r ic a l w ith a s e le c t io n o f those a |b © ria ls which i t was f e l t would rev e a l the more s ig n if ic a n t p o llo ie * heeded' to^adequately determine philosophy. At Iowa th© teaching o f th eatre as an a r t has de­ veloped, la r g e ly , in th© Department o f Speech and Dramatic Art sad i t s antecedents, which' evolved, from th© Chair o f Public Speaking e sta b lish e d in I 9 0 0 A

In 1907-1908 I t was l i s t e d in

the L iberal Arts Colleg© budget as th© "Chair o f Public Speak­ ing" under the main heading, "English", and in 1914- i t became

a separate Department or Public Speaking, which t i t l e was reta in ed u n til- the summer s e s s io n o f 1931 when i t was changed t o D e p a r t m e n t o f Speeoh.S

I f , a s HeffnOr has In d ica ted , the

work' o ffe r e d in American c o lle g e s and. U n iv e r s itie s In elocu ­ tio n 1®' a le g itim a te ancestor' o f the work In dramatic a r t, the- forerunner o f the p resen t department a t Iowa I® found to date back to 1866*186? when e lo c u tio n was f i r s t l i s t e d as in ­ d ivid u al course^ or in th e year 1880*81 when Edward M* Booth, A,M*, was l i s t e d as what appears to have been the f i r s t teach­ er employed e x c lu s iv e ly to teach e lo c u tio n , rh eto ric and ora­ tory*?

In str u c tio n In e lo c u tio n , appears, from referen ces

in the U n iv ersity o f Iowa,ca ta lo g u e, to have been o ffered reg u la rly and Im portantly in the curriculum u n t il 1900 when the Chair o f Public Speaking was f i r s t e sta b lish e d w ith the Rev* Kenry Everts Gordon, B,A*, Amherst, as the f i r s t nProa fe sso r o f Public Speaking," a t a sa la ry o f # 3 ,0 0 0 ,° which appears to have been good pay for the times*

Information

from the catalogu es o f the *90® would In d icate th a t such in ­ str u c tio n focused upon vocal tr a in in g , g e stu r e , and the oral reading o f the plays o f Shakespeare and S c h ille r and other forms o f drama# When the Chair o f Public Speaking was e sta b lish e d , the statem ent appeared In the catalogue fo r 1 9 0 0 -0 1 th at *Vfee courses in t h is su b ject n a tu ra lly d ivid e them selves in ­ to two lin e s o f work, one lin e looking to debate and oratory

*8 as An end#- and the e th er looking to th© vocal In ter p r eta tio n o f lite r a tu r e , a® an end*11 Course® required fo r th© l a t t e r program Included! 1* t o r e s f l o n In Voice and AotlQn**Thla course i s g en era l, seek in g to prepare *T5P$c© and body fo r the work. oll.**'*r#ading* Sech stu d en i-'ls examined w ith reference, to h is In d ivid u al needs# and an e f f o r t i s mad© to adapt ■the work ‘to such needs • Fall, and fin** te r terms | three hours * 2* hlberary X nterpretatlon—f h e ■ly r ic # ■epic,, dram'ail©*" and orator£e fi ^ t ^ n,ar© stu d ied fo r ' v ocal expr e s s i oh* throughout th® year; two hours*. &* fh e Function'of Imglnation and dramatic instinct in ' **o f " e s p e c i a l 1'v a lu e '"fd'thos© who ®x»'~ •poo« to W c a * Throughout the yearj on© hour* ?» Shake ape a r e --A play i s stu died from the standp o i n t W vocal ex p ressio n * throughout the y e a r| on# hour* f h is appears to have been the p a ttern o f the curriculum in th© a re a o f v ocal in te r p r e ta tio n fo r th© tw elve years p r io r to the appointment o f Glenn I*. Merry in 1912, w ith th© fo llo w in g ex©piloust 1.

In the 1901*02 catalogu e a course,

Vocal Ex*

p rea slo h o ffe r in g ”F r a c tie a l work in th e development o f vote© and body through vocal in te r p r e ta tio n o f good l i t e r ­ ature*”, open only to women was l i s t e d . th© catalogue u n t il the a r r iv a l o f lo r r y .

I t was- retain ed in I t was o ffered fo r

two hours during th e second semester* 2*

The 1902-03 catalogue introduced

In terp reta tio n

Of the Drama' —seem ingly in place o f course number

96* above*

Xt w as.described as taking rt***u.p th© value ©f Im agination and ■dramatic Insbincb In th© In terp reta tio n o f the drama and seeks to develop; the s«me>,t

I t was o ffer ed for one hour throughout

the year* 3*. 190^^05 catalogue l i s t e d

'B row ning# a study o f

the monologue©} offered , throughout the y ea r 3 two ;hours , a week, X t■appears:to have been planned to a lte r n a te w ith the Shakes* pear© oours© l i s t e d a bove* which was-not o ffe r e d in 19 O£*0 6 , The catalogue fo r the follow in g year in d ic a te s that th© Brown* Ingcours® was om itted in 1906*07 w hile Shakespeare was In* eluded* 4*

The 1909 **10 catalogue lis t s - -Hiss Gertrud© 2*

Johnson as teaching- a course in

Impersonations fo r two hours*

and described *tresen tatIon o f characters In s o lilo q u ie s , monologues, scenes* -and plays*, from, c la s s i c and modem auth* ors»w A lso l i s t e d was ttCri t i c ism” fo r two hours# **Advanced stu d ies In the a r t i s t i c in te rp re ta tio n and p resen tation of ■all forms o f lite ra tu re * '”

Two. general courses in public

speaking were l i s t e d , as p r e r e q u isite s to was a ls o p r e r e q u isite to

C riticlam , which

Im personation' #

Th® fo llo w in g year saw the change o f th© t i t l e * Hlmpersonatlorsr, to "prama' and the course* 'Q riticiam '■ drop­ ped from th® curriculum w ith apparently nothing rep lacin g i t , Th© d iv is io n o f th e courses along th® two lin e s o f forensic© a c t i v i t i e s and in te r p r e ta tio n -and p resen tation o f

variou s fo a m o f lit e r a t u r e in-'the p u b lic speaking cu rri­ culum was form ally -announced each year in th e catalogue# u n til' the lfll*X S i number which c o in cid e s w ith the- Merry appointment* A stu d y o f th e catalogu e course d e sc r ip tio n s over these years in d ic a te s a gradual move in th e d ir e c tio n o f the o ra l in te r p r e ta tio n o f modern dramatic lit e r a tu r e as w e ll as the c la s s ice*

I t i s in te r e stin g * too* 'to not® th a t the stu ­

dents were being advised to take courses in the lite r a tu r e i t s e l f concurrently w ith th® p r a c tic a l in te r p r e ta tio n courses* I t seems apparent from these courses and th e ir des­ c r ip tio n s th a t the precedent fo r bringing p r a c tic a l work in the a r t o f In terp retin g the drama in to the curriculum was being se t*

Also* there was at le a s t l i p se r v ic e paid to the

idea o f adapting th e work to the needs o f the Individual* an item to loom la rg e in th e philosophy o f the work in la te r years • The s t r e s s in the work in p u b lic speaking p rior to 1912 was obviou sly on i t s fo r e n s ic aspects* as i s in d ica ted

by th e f a c t th at these who taught the courses In in te rp re ta ­ tio n were th® scholars* in stru cto rs* a ssista n ts* and other le s s e r ap p oin tees,

P rofessor Gordon seems to have saved most

o f h is energy fo r th e work in debate and oratory.

The only

graduate work r e s u ltin g in degrees s e e m s to have been done in th® fie ld ' o f fo ren sio a with# fo r example, Hugh S tra ig h t

BuffUra* Thom# F a r r e ll, and James F rancis Eirby o ffe r in g the#©# in t h i s a r e a o f the f i e l d fo r th® degree, Master o f A rt® ,’in 1 9 0 2 * 1 903 * and 1 9 0 6 , r e sp ec tiv ely * ^ .Involved prim arily w ith the teachin g o f vocal in terp retation -w as Mary S le ig h t "Bverts whose tenure seem© to have begun with..® se h o la r 1# appointment In 190 X at a salary o f $225, which increased to $500 in l9 Q 2 , $900 in 1903 when She a lso became acting- dean o f women,, and appears to have c l i ­ maxed a t $1300 in 1 9 0 6 . ^

I t appear# th at l i a s Everts carried

a rather f u l l load o f teaching In the. above mentioned courses during her period o f service*

others teaching th ese courses

were J e s s ie Marie Jepson, who served in 1906-0? fo r #800 3 E lis ­ abeth Anne Hopkins, 1907-08 fo r the same stip e n d , which sum was a lso paid to Gertrude Johnson in 1900*10 and -to F lo s s ie G. D illo n , 1910 -H *

In 1911-12, Horn# Held Harrison appears

to have received a $1200 s t ip e n d .^ According to Dean Seashore, the work o f Miss Evert#, and th a t o f Miss Johnson exh ib ited a genuine understanding o f what they were try in g to do.

There seemed to be a genuine

r e la tio n sh ip between th© m aterial in terp reted and the perfor­ mance o f th© stu d en t.

However, i t was M s considered judge­

ment, th a t, fo r th e most p a r t, the work don© a t Iowa in in t e r b probation and p u b lic.sp eak in g In general was prim arily "vocal ©alisthenles** ch aracterised by ah in exact t r i a l and error app­ roach u t i l i s i n g a loose term inology and w ith l i t t l e understand-

lug' o f , th e r e le tlv © s ig n if ic a n c e 'o f the work and I t s p o s s i­ b i l i t i e s in the fie ld *

There was more concern'for the main­

tenance o f tr a d itio n than fo r new approaches to o ld problems* There was no,.great understanding o f the p lace of speech or theatre as a fin e # rt in the whole s o c ia l stru ctu re o f the-' nation# s t a t e or.community or l i t t l e understanding o f i t s sig alflean o© in the em otional ant i n t e ll e c t u a l liv e s o f stu ­ dents in '©.University*

There was n o-art except fo r a .-’l i t t l e

p ain tin g; no music except for t h e -e f fo r t s Seashore and Dr. P ren tiss put fo r th w ith © glee-.club*

In order to g e t thin gs

sta rted in music# Dean Seashore had to purchase the f i r s t piano w ith hi®, own p erso n a l ..funds#. As education# the fin e art# were la r g e ly n eg lected and# a t best* c e r ta in ly not ex12

p la ite d in the cu rricu la r stru ctu re o f the, U n iv ersity .* *

The work In speech was .largely pre-empted by the E nglish department#. according to Dean Seashore, again* and they were l i t t l e in te r e s te d in the growth o f the work in any d ir e c tio n other than the., tr a d itio n a l d ir e c tio n o f the Mrhet~ > o r lc a ls" o f th e pa s t . This i s not to say that the work done was not s a tis fa c to r y fo r what I t was attempting* but that i t was not expanding s ig n if ic a n t ly as a f i e l d fo r research , ser­ v ic e and tea ch in g .

Problems in the a r t o f speech were presen t­

ing themselves#: and th© answers wore not being found and were r a r e ­ ly attem pted.

Hew qu estion s were not being r a is e d .

Seashore*©’

work -and in t e r e s t in th© experim ental psychology bearing, on

flpeech and music had begun and be was. In ter ested in develop­ ing I t s p o s s i b i l i t i e s ,

This had i t s foundation®' in hi® b a sic

I n te r e s t i n th e'n atu re o f i l l u s i o n which dated from M s grad* uate days In the Tale p sy ch o lo g ica l laboratory ju st p rior to h is appointment a t Iowa' In 1897*

He thought he saw p o s s i b i l i ­

t i e s fo r research in speech, music and th® oth er fin® a r ts and wished to have someone on the s t a f f who could e x p lo it the area o f the speech arts#

This in te r e s t culminated in th© appoint­

ment ©f Glenn I* Merry In 1912 to take charge o f the work in pu blic speaking*

Merry grasped th e'Id ea in Seashore*® mind#

though the Dean says he was made somewhat uncomfortable by It* I t was to- be a r a d ic a l change, -approaching speech from the standpoint of science# w ith th© techniques o f science*

Th©

la s t o f the clan o f e lo c u tio n is t s had departed from th© scene and the v is io n o f greater horizons was beginning to appear. By 1 9 1 0 , the p attern began to change# and th© in te r e s ts o f th# people in the f i e l d o f pu blic speaking were being ch allen ­ ged by d istu rb in g qu estion s and great opportunities*

Jgg Direction® Under n “ Organized 1897“ over th e record of th e c lu b ’ s a c t i v i t i e s fo r t h a t y e a r . The membership was s a id to embrace the b e s t h l s t r i o n l e t a l e n t In th© s c h o o l, and the c h a r t e r membership was "about 15".

Meetings were s e t f o r a l t e r n a t e Mondays in

•the room of Mias E verts of th e Public Speaking s t a f f in L ib e ra l Arts Hall*

The o f f i c e r s wares

George H i l l , P r e s i ­

dent; I t h e l E l l i o t , V ic e - p r e s id e n t; Marie Lynch, S e c re ta ry ; H. 0 . t a l k e r , T r e a s u r e r; and Clarence A* r y k s t r a , Dramatic M anager.^ The group’ s f i r s t pro duction was Esmeralda, p r e ­ sented a t th e Coldren Opera House, May 7, 1903*

Clarence

A. l y k s t r a was i n th e c a s t , and th© play was d ir e c te d by Mary S le ig h t E v erts.

I t was the avowed purpose of the

o rg a n iz a tio n to do a b e t t e r group of p lay s th an th e fa rc e s g e n erally performed by a l l groups except the p r e s e n tin g the 56 se n io r p la y . Th® membership was drawn from th e l i t e r a r y so c ie ty ranks b u t composed of a group more I n t e r e s t e d i n 57 plays than in the u su a l run of s o c ie ty programs.

In 1908, an a r t i c l e appeared in a s t a t e paper, the Dally C a p i t o l , a ll e g i n g mismanagement of fu n d s, e x c lu ­ siveness i n the s e l e c t i o n and l i m i t a t i o n of member®, and general d is s e n s io n among th© membership*

This was stoutly-

denied, b ut accompanied by a sta te m e n t to th© e f f e c t t h a t the c o n s t i t u t i o n of the o rg a n iz a tio n was being r e v is e d and 58 had passed a f i r s t rea d in g to th e c u r r e n t membership. E ffo rts toward c o n s t i t u t i o n a l reform guided by P ro fe ss o r Gordon to remedy the o rg a n iz a tio n * s i l l s seemed not to tak e e f f e c t , however.®^ A r i v a l o r g a n iz a tio n , Pandean P la y e rs , organized In the f a l l of 1911 w ith a c h a r t e r membership of 11.

ttThe

club i s th® r e s u l t of an in c r e a s in g sentim ent about th© U n iv ersity t h a t th e r e i s ample f i e l d and t a l e n t t o su pp ort more than on© d ram atic c l u b , ’1 re p o rte d the Iowan.

I t was

in d ic a te d t h a t t r y o u ts would b© h e ld with th re e Judges s e le c te d from th e f a c u l t y and two from the club to determ ine the new membership. each y e a r.

The plan was t o p re s e n t s e v e r a l plays

O ffic e rs fo r the club f o r th e f i r s t y e a r were

3, B. A rthur, P re sid e n ts R. P hilb rook , V ic e -p re sid e n ts W, W, P a t r i c k , T rea su rers and H. C. Thomas, S e c re ta ry . The o rg a n iz a tio n Of Pandean Players e v id e n tly did not serve t o c o r r e c t the i l l s t h a t were b a sic in th e s i t u a ­ t io n , however, for th© a c c u s a tio n continued to be made t h a t

th© dram atic work a t Iowa was c o n t r o l l e d by “peanut p o l i t i c s 61 and s o c i a l l o g r o l l i n g . “ Members, I t was s a i d , were s e le c te d on th© b a aia of p o l i t i c a l a f f i l i a t i o n s and p e rs o n a l f r i e n d ­ s h ip s , r a t h e r th an a b i l i t y .

An e d i t o r i a l a p pealing f o r th©

end of such th in g s and fcha p la c in g of dram atics under f a c u l ty c o n tro l appeared in the Iowan on September 18, 1912.

The

e d i t o r i a l s t a t e d t h a t work i n th© t h e a t r e was a very good th in g , t h a t o th e r schools were doing f in e produ ctio ns but th a t they doubted i f Iowa*s could match them.

I t c h arac teri­

sed th© Iowa p ro d u ctio n s as b e in g dominated by s l a p s t i c k , v a u d e v ille , and plays of th e * *000 © was* t y p e .”

They be­

lie v e d th e tim e was rip© f o r a change, some pl& yw ritlng e f f o r t s , f o r th© s e l e c t i o n and e x ecu tio n of b e t t e r p lays and p ro d u ctio n s, and they f e l t t h a t Iowa could do th e s e th in g s i f given h a l f a chance.

AO

A new system of c o n tr o l under th e s u p e rv isio n of the Public Speaking Department was I n s t i t u t e d .

The two

dramatic c lu b s , the p rod u ctio n s of the l i t e r a r y s o c i e t i e s , and th e s e n i o r c la s s play now became r e s p o n s ib le t o the Department of P ublic Speaking f o r approval of any play they might s e l e c t b e fo re they could put i t i n to p ro d u c tio n .

Also,

i t was provided t h a t th© p ro d u ctio n s would be sta g ed under “the d i r e c t i o n and probably with some d i r e c t su p e rv isio n and a s s is ta n c e of the U n iv e rs ity dram atic committee, n which was

composed o f Norma Hold H arriso n of th e P u blic Speaking department, P ro fe s s o r E. H. L&uer of th e German departm ent, and P ro fe sso r P e r c iv a l Hunt of the E nglish departm ent. This 65 procedure was adopted i n the f a l l of 1912, b ut I t met with some fu rio u s o p p o sitio n from th e s tu d e n ts In the l i t e r a r y so c ie tie s.

I t had been sug gested t h a t they cooperate on th e

production of a s in g le p la y , r a t h e r th an spreading t h e i r t a l e n t over th r e e p la y s .

The f a c u l ty committee had suggested

th a t they should put on b e t t e r plays than they had on one or two o ccasio n s.

The s tu d e n ts branded th e move as re v o lu tio n a ry

and did not l i k e th e im p lic a tio n t h a t t h e i r previous e f f o r t s 64 had not a l l been worthwhile* The su g g estio n of co op eratio n seems t o have f a i l e d to get stu d en t approval u n t i l the y e a r 1914^15, when two of the men’ s s o c i e t i e s jo in e d forces w ith two of the women’ s s o c i e t i e s f o r the pro duction of Jerome gc K. Jerome’ s The Passing of the T hird Floor Back, which production brought Miss H arrison back t o the campus from a lyoeum to u r as I t s d i r e c t o r , and t h a t of a pro duction of one of the I p h ig e n ia plays of E u rip id e s .

66

In 1914, the Senate Board on Dramatics l a i d down a s e t of p o l i c i e s , to the e f f e c t t h a t no play could be given by any campus group u n t i l the fo llo w in g c o n d itio n s ware s a t i s f i e d ? > (1) (2)

t h a t perm ission be re c e iv e d from the Board?

t h a t a l l claims f o r c o p y rig h t be s a t i s f i e d ?

(3)

th a t

no s tu d e n t take p a r t whose work f o r th© previous sem ester was d elinq uent} (4)

t h a t no one o th e r than s e n io r s be c a s t

fo r more than on© major r o l e during the y e a r } and (5)

th at

no road t o u r of th e play be made without Board perm ission. These r u l e s were approved by P re sid e n t MacBride and the Board of Deans, December 2, 1914.

In February of 1920 th ese r u le s

were r e i t e r a t e d and expanded by the Senate Board f o r th e purpose of p la c in g dram atics under the same e l i g i b i l i t y r u l e s as o ther a c t i v i t i e s , of guaran teein g adequate s u p e rv is io n of th® s e l e c t i o n of stu d e n t p lay s and of in s u r in g f a i r p lay . The r u l e s a p p lie d t o a l l c l a s s e s , c o ll e g e s , clubs and s o c ie ­ t i e s , and provided t h a t !

(1)

No stu d e n t play or stag©

production could be given u n t i l a f t e r c o n s u lta tio n w ith the Chairman of th© Eoard* (2)

Ho stu d e n t w ithout th© e q u iv a le n t

of one y e a r of c o l l e g i a t e work could take p a rt in a play. (3)

To b© e l i g i b l e t o tak e p a r t , a stu d e n t must have com­

p le te d th e re q u ire d work of th e y ear next preceding t h a t in which th e p ro d u ctio n came, must ba s u c c e s s f u lly c a rry in g th© work of the c u rr e n t se m este r, and b© w ithout s c h o l a s ti c or d i s c i p l i n a r y d e lin q u en c ies during the c u rr e n t term . (4) No stu d en t might appear i n more th a n on© major r o le per y e a r , except i f a s e n io r when he might a ls o appear i n h is c la s s play.

(5)

No p lay could be p re s e n te d by any stu d e n t group

outside of Iowa C ity w ithout p erm ission. (6)

No play o r

stag© p ro d u ctio n might ha givan w ith in a weak of the n ex t n e a r e s t a tu d a n t p lay or stag© p ro d u c tio n . (7)

The clubs

must submit t o th© Chairman of th e Senate Board on Dramatic* a copy of th© play a t l e a s t s i x weeks b e fo re th e play was to be g iv en .

This r u le a p p lie d , a l s o , t o th© s e n io r p la y .

The board g u a ra n tee d ap prov al of the m anuscript w ith in one week* (8)

A ll r u l e s were t o apply to a l l s tu d e n ts in any way /JO connected w ith any p la y . I t i s t o be noted t h a t a freshman could n e i t h e r take p a r t in any dram atic a c t i v i t i e s , n o r, with the degree and course sequences as they were, could he tak© any course which might be in dram atic a r t . I t would appear t h a t even by 1920 the s i t u a t i o n was not w ell enough under c o n tr o l t h a t stu d e n ts could a c t independently i n th e m a tte rs of th® p rod uction of plays w ith­ out coming i n sharp c o n f l i c t with a d i s c i p l i n a r y board. few in s ta n c e s w i l l serve to i l l u s t r a t e t h i s p o in t.

A

A p ro ­

minent U nited S t a te s S e n a to r’ s daughter e n ro lle d a t Iowa, took i t upon h e r s e l f to sig n a c o n tr a c t with a p r o f e s s i o n a l producing company t o b rin g a m usical comedy t o Iowa City under the sp o nsorship of a U n iv e rs ity o rg a n iz a tio n .

Upon

i n v e s t i g a t i o n , th® Senate Board on Dramatics found t h a t th© play was not of th® s o r t b e lie v e d d e s ir a b le f o r performance In connection with th© name of the U n iv e rs ity .

T h ere fo re ,

th® Board re q u ir e d c a n c e l l a t i o n of th® c o n t r a c t , r e s u l t i n g , n a t u r a l l y , i n 111 f e e l i n g on the p a r t of th e S e n a to r1s 69 daughter* There were in s ta n c e s of low grades and f i n a n c i a l i r r e s p o n s i b i l i t y , h u r r i e d p ro d u ctio n s of low sta n d a rd in both s e l e c ti o n of m a t e r i a l , c a s t s , and perform ance.

Thar® was,

a ls o , th e abuse of v a rio u s clubs crowding t h e i r plays i n t o a s h o rt p e rio d of time r a t h e r than spacing them th ro u g h o u t the y e a r . keen.

This mad© c o m petition f o r audiences excessively,

A ll of th e s e f a c t o r s c e r t a i n l y c o n tr ib u te d to the

promulgation of such r u l e s as those above.

R eorganization

of the Dramatic Club i n 1915 had as one of i t s c h ie f purposes d e f i n i t i o n of r e s p o n s i b i l i t y .

P r io r to t h i s time the manager

of th® club had t o sta n d f u l l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y fo r th© success or f a i l u r e of th© p la y . 70 I f th© play mad© money, th© mana­ ger pocketed i t s i f th© play f a i l e d , he stood the l o s s . Being Dramatic Manager of on© of the clubs f re q u e n tly meant a good income.

On o th e r o c ca sio n s, i t meant d i f f i c u l t i e s

for th e stu d e n t which some thought he should not b e a r.

In

any c a s e , i t meant t h a t any p r o f i t mad© was not put back in to th© p ro d u ctio n of mora p la y s , and t h a t thaw hoi© venture could take on a q u a l i t y of commercialism which probably was not in th© i n t e r e s t s of a r t and ed u ca tio n .

Th© r e s p o n s i b i l i t y

fo r the purchase or r e n t a l of scenery and costumas, t h e a t r e r e n t a l , t i c k e t s a l e s , house management and u s h e rs , and th®

u n d e rw ritin g of a p la y , which might bedome a p o l i t i c a l f o o t b a l l from disagreem ents w ith in th© group and compe­ t i t i o n from r i v a l clu b s and a c t i v i t i e s , made f o r a s i t u a ­ t io n which cou ld e a s i l y become e x p lo s iv e , and undoubtedly did*

I t was a r i p e s i t u a t i o n f o r breeding f i s t f i g h t s ,

p o l i t i c a l sh enanigans, s o c i a l c liq u e s based upon purse s iz e s and prom otional a b i l i t i e s , and other i l l s which 71 education In a U n iv e rs ity t r i e s to avoid* I t i s no doubt remarkable t h a t more tr o u b le d id not a ris e *

I t I s no

doubt a testim ony t o th e in g e n u ity and i n t e g r i t y of th© stu d en t Dramatic Managers and th e clubs as a group t h a t more d i f f i c u l t i e s did not occur.

I t a ls o appears to be a

fav o rab le testim ony to the stu d e n ts and f a c u l ty th a t th© standards of play s e l e c t i o n and production q u a li t y were ab le t o reach the h e ig h ts t h a t they sometimes d id .

I t i s the

opinion of some t h a t the work of the l i t e r a r y s o c i e t i e s and dramatic clubs of the times was indeed worthy and c r e d i-

Annual stu d e n t membership In the two dram atic clubs named above, hever ro se above 25 persons i n e i t h e r club, and 75 the annual average per club was about 18 or 20* Sponsoring fa c u lty members were given honorary memberships In a d d itio n , b u t, as has boon indicated, e x e rc is e d only advisory c o n tr o l . A p a r t i a l l i s t of productions of the clubs i s as

1«4

follow s f

74

f f n lv a r s ity arom atic Club 1904-06 1905-06 1908-09 1910-11 1911-12

1913-14 1914-15 1915-16

Pandean Playera

Scenes from Romeo and J u l i e t and The Mer­ chant of Venice A h AmerTcan d l t i z e n ,^ e l j ^ h f i j h t &'weei i t e l l p t Old Drury The Seniua The Cream G ir l A" V audeville

At In g le H all W en ‘ fe^Wore 'SBI fhe Gentleman From M lssl saTppT

Seven Plays The Souse Next Door ^ ie a i n t of Venice

P r u n e lla

I n th e y e a rs between 1902 and the end of the second sem ester of 1919-20, th e l i t e r a r y s o c i e t i e s jo in e d fo rc e s i n th e follo w in g com binations!

I rv in g I n s t i t u t e and

H rodelphlan, Hesperian and Z e ta g a th la n , and Philomathean and Octave-Thanet, and produoed approxim ately twenty-seven plays of a s o r t s i m i l a r to those done by th e two dram atic 75 clubs# Hone o f th e p l a y s , however, was a c l a s s i c or a Shakespeare#

The most noteworthy t i t l e s were probably

A Scrap of P a p e r# The Scarecrow, The Passing of the T hird Floor Back# The Melting P o t . C harley*a Aunt# Among th e more dubious t i t l e s were Cheroher La Femme, The Other ■K—

>m ..........

II

W PH

M W W M MI— 9

WMMNMM*

mmmmmmmmtmmmrn

Fellow, In F o o tb a ll C lo th e s , B ach elor1s Romance, Because She Loved Him So, and Her Own Way#

Th© f a l l of 19X6 saw th e feud between the r i v a l Pandean P la y ers and th e Dramatio Club c a l l e d to a h a l t by the amalgamation of the two g ro u p s.

The follo w in g "WRITS

OF AGRSSraTw were drawn ups

J o i n t committees of Pandean and Dramatic Club a t m eeting on October 1, 1916, have come to th© follow ing agreem ents, t o - w i t 1« Anyone who has been I n i t i a t e d i n to e i t h e r club and comes under th e e l i g i b i l i t y r u l e i s or w i l l b© co n sid ered a member of the new club* 2.

The new club w i l l be known as "The U n iv e rs ity P la y e rs * 11 6• S e le c tio n of c a s t s f o r th e f i r s t y e a r a t l e a s t w i l l 11© in the hands of some committee, o th e r th an on© chosen from the new c lu b , s a id commit­ t e e to be chosen by th e olub. 4. A ll b u sin e ss o th er than provided fo r above, s h a l l be e n t i r e l y i n th e hands of the new club membership* A vote of 3/4 of those p r e s e n t s h a l l be r e q u ir e d to pass a measure ( s i c ) u n t i l form ation of new o r g a n iz a tio n i s com­ p lete* 5. The above p ro v is io n s a re su b je c t to r a t i f i c a ­ t i o n by i n d iv i d u a l clubs befo re j o i n t u r e . 6*

I t i s understood t h a t upon the amalgamation of th e s e two o r g a n iz a tio n s , th© e x t r a - c u r r i c u l a r committee g uaran tee the new o rg a n iz a tio n t h a t no o th er dram atic body s h a l l be p e rm itte d to op erate i n th e U n iv e rs ity of Iowa. S 1gned

Art R. Kroppach

A r c h i e II. Ma cV ica r 76

The m a tte rs of re o r g a n iz a tio n were d e l i o a t e , b ut

i t seemed g e n e r a lly agreed t h a t auch a move was f o r the b o a t.

The Hawkeys f o r 1918 approved e n t h u s i a s t i c a l l y and

s t a t e d t h a t th e old feud would be a th in g of th e past* S e le c tio n of th e i n i t i a l play f o r th e new group was d i f f i ­ c u l t , according t o t h i s same r e p o r t .

D i f f i c u l t i e s e x is te d

over who should be r e s p o n s ib le f o r the s e l e c t i o n of the p la y , and, a t one m eeting i t was ag reed t h a t they should leave th e s e l e c t i o n to th©%bsolut® d isc retio n * 1 of th e 77 Business Manager* F in a n c ia l i n s t a b i l i t y and the d e s ir e to b rin g good p lay s to Iowa C ity as w ell as produce them brought a d e c is io n t o book and sponsor S t u a r t Walker’ s Portmanteau T heatre f o r March 15, 1917.

This they f e l t

would h e lp them g a in a sound f i n a n c i a l p o s i t i o n . The 78 group produced no p lay s of I t s own t h a t y e a r . Ho i n d i ­ c a tio n of the success of t h i s venture was found o th e r than t h a t a t the March 15, 1917 meeting of th e group a f i n a n c ia l r e p o r t was given by the bu sin ess manager, Immediately a f t e r vshich i t was agreed t o produce B olling Stones i f the Busi­ ness Manager could make arrangements f o r a t h e a t r e .

The

production of t h i s play d id not m a t e r i a l i z e . The f i r s t p ro d u ctio n of th e U n iv e rs ity Players was, however, P in e ro ’s The Playgoers done November 25, 1917 f o r the E aste rn S ta r convention in Iowa C ity .

T heir f i r s t

f u l l - l e n g t h p rodu ction was The Witching Hour by Augustus

m

Thomas, p re s e n te d a t th e S n g le rt T heatre A p ril 11, 1918.

79

Plans f o r a p ro d u c tio n of Shaw*s You Never Can T e l l f o r June 10, 1918 were abandoned a t the A p ril 16, 1918 meeting 80 of th© group* A fte r t h i s s t a r t , th e group continu ed t© produce a t l e a s t one p lay p e r y e a r f o r the rem ainder of the p e rio d , and con tin u ed t o do so When absorbed i n to th© U n iv e rs ity T heatre upon i t s o rg a n is a tio n #

A fte r 1927,

th© group seems to hav© l o s t i t s i d e n t i t y as a producing o r g a n iz a tio n , th e a c t i v i t i e s of th© curriculu m having g ra d u a lly absorbed a l l but i t s s o c i a l and morale f u n c tio n s . Other groups p a r t i c i p a t i n g in th e p ro d u ctio n o f plays during th e p e rio d from 1900-1920 were various languwage d ep artm en ts, th e music departm ent, th e Greek and p u b lic speaking d epartm ents, the Ju n io r Class of 1918 and the 81 s e n io r c la ss e s# The work of the Public Speaking d e p a rt­ ment , in c lu d e d a p ro d u ctio n of Ip h jg e n la a t the Coldren Opera House, May SI and June 1, 1907, which was p resen te d in c o o p e ra tio n w ith the Greek departm ent, and the d e p a r t­ ment of Fine Arts#

P ro fe ss o r Gordon d ir e c te d the show,

and th© s e t t i n g s and costumes wore arranged by P ro fe sso rs Sashburn and C* H. W eller.

J e s s ie

Japson, i n s t r u c t o r

in p u b lic speaking, played the t i t l e rol®.

The production

was re p o r te d to be the f i r s t th in g of i t s kind ever to be done i n Iowa C i ty , and p i c t u r e s r e v e a l th© use of a

combination Greek facade and woodland s e t t i n g ,

white

costumes f o r chorus and a l l female c h a r a c t e r s , and su g g e stio n of Boman p e rio d costumes f o r th e men#

a Th© Deua

ex machine devic® was executed by lowering th e a c to r from th® f l i e s #

P i c tu r e s i n d ic a t e t h a t I t might w ell have

been a r a t h e r g r a c e f u l production#

do

Some o th e r production® by th e P u b lic Speaking Department were ffhe B ishop1s C a n d le stic k s and The Far Away P r i n c e s s , two s h o rt p la y s , p re s e n te d i n th e N a tu ra l 03 Sciences Auditorium , A p ril 3, 1913* Th© B e lo it t r a n s ­ l a t i o n and L lo y d 's music were used f o r a p ro d u ctio n of E uripides * A le e a tis produced a t the E n g le rt T heatre A p ril 11, 1914, w ith Glenn B. Merry, Norma Reid H arriso n and Verne R* Foley play in g the r o l e s of Adm©tus, A l c e s t i s , 84 and Pheros, r e s p e c tiv e ly * The play was done fo r a meeting Qe of the C l a s s i c a l A s so c ia tio n of the Middle West and South. v On December 11, 1913, the Choral S ociety p ro­ duced P inafore a t th e E n g le rt w ith Frank H. Sueppel in th e 8* # t . 86 No I n s ta n c e s have been found where i t was r e ­ p orted t h a t th e proceeds f o r any of the p roductio ns during t h i s p e rio d were plowed back i n t o the pro duction of more plays#

I n s ta n c e s have been found where th© funds were

turned over t o o th e r a c t i v i t i e s or used to extend b e n e f i ts

to something o th e r than a d d i t i o n a l dram atic productions# The Ip h tg e n la p ro d u c tio n in 1907 n e t t e d about #100 which was given t o th® F o ren sic League,®^

U n iv a rs ity P lay ers

Minutes l i s t s i n 1917-10 such th in g s as u sin g th e proceeds Of a play f o r the YMCA Army Hut fund, and f o r ta k in g ft play t o Camp Dodge i n Des Moines#

In 1920 Ralph G.

G r a a s f ie ld , D ire c to r of th® Memorial Onion Campaign, p e r ­ suaded th® U n iv e rs ity P layers to take a p ro d u ctio n of Her Husband8s Wife to Cedar Rapids, Boon®, C lin to n , Daven­ p o rt and Newton t o p lay i n loo®1 t h e a t r e s in conjunction w ith alumni banquets in th o se c i t i e s , as a prom otional scheme f o r th® Union b u ild in g fund#

Not a l l of th ese p e r ­

formances m a t e r i a l i s e d , arm th e amount of money made f o r the Union and th® P lay ers with t h e i r agreement f o r an equal share of the p l a y 's proceeds could not have amounted t o much*

Cedar Rapids could s e l l no t i c k e t s J Newton had

only a f a i r s iz e d audience.

Reports on the o th e rs are not

a v a i la b l e , but i t seems rea so n a b le to assume t h a t i f the income had been m eaningful, th e Dally Iowan would have seen f i t t o r e p o rt i t , ae a v id ly as they g rasp ed a t the straw s 03 from the o th e r perform ances. Summary I t has been th e purpose of t h i s c h ap ter to show

1.10 ©om® o f th® background from which arose th© c u r r i c u l a r developments of more r e c a n t y e a rs in th e t h e a t r e a t th© S t a te U n iv e rs ity .

Disappearance of the e lo c u tio n a r y t r a ­

d i t i o n of th© 19th c e n tu ry , the e sta b lish m e n t of a C hair of Public Speaking i n 1900 with i t s s e p a r a tio n from E nglish g iv in g i t d epartm ental s t a t u s in 1914, the in tr o d u c tio n ©f performance cou rses r e l a t e d to and d i r e c t l y concerning dramatic p r o d u c tio n , and the impact of Dean S eashore’ s th in k in g and th e r e l a t e d i n t e r e s t s of Merry, and a z ea l from a s i g n i f i c a n t f a c u l ty group fo r work in the f i e l d of speech must have se rv e d t o c l e a r the way f o r the new dep artu re i n edu catio n in Dramatic A rt, which came in th e next decade, 1920*50. The p ro d u c tio n of s e v e r a l plays by a v a r i e ty of o rg a n iz a tio n s over the twenty y e a r p e rio d , 1900-1920 in d ic a te d a genuine stu d e n t i n t e r e s t i n th© f i e l d .

Finan­

c i a l , p o l i t i c a l , s o c i a l and e d u c a tio n a l problems th a t appeared and were n ever com pletely or s a t i s f a c t o r i l y solved in d ic a te d t h a t proper le a d e rs h ip and f a c u l ty i n t e r e s t were needed to s e t Dramatic Art on a sound fo o tin g w ith in th® U n iv e rsity s tr u c tu r e *

The i n t r o d u c t i o n of the motion

p i c t u r e , autom obile, v a u d e v ille and road shows to th© Iowa City community undoubtedly had an e f f e c t In r e l a t i o n to production sta n d a rd s and s tu d e n t i n t e r e s t s i n dram atic

product!on#

Comparisons were th e r e In a c t u a l i t y fo r th e

Student and s t a f f member to se t h i s work a g a i n s t , and the a v a i l a b i l i t y of t r a n s p o r t a t i o n mad® I t e a s i e r to g e t out t o see th in g s# Other i n s t i t u t i o n s , Carnegie I n s t i t u t e of Technologyi C o rn e ll U n i v e r s i ty , Harvard under Baker, Columbia under Brander Matthews, and the in flu e n c e of th® l i t t l e t h e a tr e movement and the Drama League of America, un­ doubtedly l e f t an impact upon f a c u l t y and s tu d e n t th oug ht. The f i r s t v’/ o rld War and i t s a fte rm a th of d e p re ssio n and p o l i t i c a l , economic, and s o c i a l u n r e s t a re o th e r fo rc e s not t o be t o t a l l y ig n o red .

F i n a n c ia l, s o c i a l , and p o l i ­

t i c a l s t a b i l i t y were not c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of the campus th e a tr e producing o r g a n iz a tio n s . The g ra d u a l p i l i n g up of i n t e r e s t s and fo rce s w ithin and o u ts id e of the U n iv e rs ity over t h i s tw enty-year period produced a s i t u a t i o n ready f o r d e f i n i t e change, and found men t o c a rry i t out toward a c o n s tru c tiv e end. Glenn N. Merry has s t a t e d t h a t they were looking f o r some­ one t o s e t th e s i t u a t i o n of U n iv e rs ity e f f o r t s in dram atic art

on i t s f e e t , and they found him In S# C. Mable, who,

Merry s a i d , Mcould i r r i t a t e and s tim u la te people with id eas of s i g n i f i c a n c e . 1,89

Mable was h i r e d in th e summer of 1920

and, acco rd in g t o R. H# F i t z g e r a l d , b u i l t the t h e a t r e

p h y s ic a lly and s i g n i f i c a n t l y I n to th e curriculum with th e fo rce o f h i s i d e a s , p e r s o n a l i t y , and e n d le ss z e a l f o r work, coupled w ith th e a d m in is tr a tiv e and i n t e l l e c t u a l c o o p e ra tio n of P r e s id e n t Je ssu p , Dean Seashore, Dean Kay, and an i n t e r e s t e d stu d e n t body and staff.® ®

I t would be

u n f a i r t o omit the f a c t t h a t th© a d m i n i s t r a t iv e le a d e rs h ip of R. H. F i t z g e r a l d , which is amply shown in the re c o rd s of th e School of Fin® A r ts , was a ls o a s iz e a b le c o n tr ib u tin g facto r.

It 3 Notes and References Chapter I I 1* Hubert H e ffn e r, "C ollege Dramatics*1; "E ducation al T heatre * 1949 . 8. Hubert H e ffn e r, "E d u ca tio n a l T h eatre - 1949**, pp. 3 -4 . 3.

" D ire c to ry of American Colleges and U n i v e r s i ti e s O ffering Degrees i n H ie a tre (1947)**.

4. Board of Regents Re c o r d s , 1900-02; U n iv e rs ity of Iowa C atalo g u es, Board ©f Regents Records, 1905-08, p. 310; U n iv a rs ity of I o w a T a ta lo g u e , 1914-15; Dally Iowan, June 24, 19&1. U n iv a rs ity of Iowa C a ta lo g u e . 1866-67, p. 37, 7, I b i d , 1880-81, p. 7. Board of Regents Records, 1900-02, p. 375. 9. Card C atalog ue, Master of A rts Theses, U n iv e rs ity of Iowa General L ib r a r y . 10. Board of Regents Records, 1900-08, U n iv e rs ity of Iowa C atalogue. 1 9 b 0 - 0 f f 7 11. I b i d , 1905-12; I b i d . 1905-12. 12. Carl E. S eashore, I n te r v ie w between a u th o r and, June 10, 1949. 13. Q uotations and o th e r evidence I n t h i s s e c tio n a re from an in te rv ie w between the a u th o r and Glen N, Merry, September 11, 1949, and a re v e r i f i e d s u b s t a n t i a l l y by in te rv ie w s with Dean S eashore, and examination of U n iv e rs ity re c o r d s . jfaftPteply Jo u rn a l of P u blic Speaking, v o l. 3, pp. 273-75. of Speech Dducatlon, v o l. 5, pp. 26-30.

Quarterly Jo u rn a l

15. T i t l e of Ph.D. "D issertation on f i l e U n iv e rs ity of Iowa L ib ra ry .

1 1 4

16* U n iv e rs ity of Iowa C a ta lo g u e s. IP00-50. 17. P in a l Grade R e p o rts . 1912-20. 18. I b i d , 1915-19} Schedule of Courses, 1915-19* 19. U n iv e rs ity of Iowa C atalog ue, 1916-17} F in a l Grade R e p o rts, ISI7-T8T~ 20. F in a l Grade B e p o rts, 1915-19. 21. I b i d , 1919-80} Schedule of C ourses, 1919-20. 22. Glenn B, Merry, In te rv ie w between a u th or and, 23. P in a l Grade R ep o rts, 1912-20. 24. I b i d , 1919-20. U n iv e rs ity of Iowa C atalog ue, 1920-21. 26. Course numbers marked with an a s t e r i s k are those found on F in a l Grade R e p o rts, and do not agree w ith those found i n th e catalo g u e announcements. 27. P in a l Grade R e p o rts, 1912-20. 28. I b i d , 1912-20. 29. U n iv e rs ity of Iowa C atalog ue, 1912-20, 30. E.G. Mabie, I n te r v ie w . 31* Board Record, 1913-20. 32. F in a l Grade R e p o rts, 1914-15. 35. U n iv e rs ity of Iowa C a talo gue, 1914-16. 34. Th© numbers, 106,107,108 appear on F in a l Grade R eports, 1918-19, but do not appear In the Catalogue announce­ ments f o r th e s e t i t l e s . Catalogues and F in a l Grade Reports f r e q u e n tly c o n f l i c t e d during th© p e rio d 1918-1950. 55, F in a l Grade R e p o rts, 1914-20. 36. I b i d ,

tj’

11 37. i b i a . SS. D ally Iowan, 1914-20; The Hawkeye, 1912-20; Minutes of t K l y a r i l i y f l a y e r s . 19X5^20. r"TI 39. Merry, 0g. c i t . 40# I b l d . ; Verne R. Foley, I n te r v ie w between a u th o r and. ilune 12, 1950, 41. Schedule of Courses, 1912-18; F in a l Grad© Reports* 1912-18. 42. F in a l Grade R e p o rts, 1916-20. 43. U n iv e rs ity of Iowa C atalogue, 1915-16. 44. F in a l Grade R e p o rts, 1916-20. 46# Merry, Op. o l t . 46. F in al Grade R e p o rts, 1916-20. 47# See note 14 above; Q u a rte rly Journ al of Public Speaking, v o l. 2, pp. 256-43, 45. Helen E. Lavender, WA H isto ry of th e Brodelphian and H esperian L it e r a r y S o c i e t i e s " , p. 59. 49. Theodora Wanerus, H isto ry of the Zeta&athlan S o ciety of the S t a te U n iv e rs ity of Iowa, pp. 66 f f . 50. I b i d . , p . 69. 51. The Hawkeye, 1903-1921; Verne R. F oley, In te rv ie w between a u th o r and, June 12, 1950.

52* I b i d . ; Dally Iowan, September 18, 1912, January 22, 1915. 55. M i l l owan, January 17, 1903, January 25, 1905, The Hawkey©. 1905* p . 160. 54. See note 53. 55* 2k®. Hawkeye, 1905, p. 169. L ally Iowan, January 17, 1903. 57. Daily Iowan, January 25, 1905.

88. Dally Iowan, November 4 ,6 , 1908. 59# F ra n k lin A. Doty, " H isto ry of th® S t a t e U n iv e rs ity of low at The Oolleg© of L ib e r a l A rts 1916-1934", P. 438. Daily Iowan, November 7, 1911# 61. I b i d . , September 18, 1912, 68. I b i d . 63. I b i d . , February 7 , 1913. 64* I b i d . . February 8 , 1913. 65. The Hawkeye, 1916, pp. 138-39, 6fi* Dally Iowan, February 5, 6, 7 ,,1 9 1 5 . 67. I b i d . , December 8 , 1914. 68• I b i d . , February 4, 1920. 69, Sam B, S loan , In te rv ie w between a u th o r and, A p ril 18, 1950. Dally Iowan, January 22, 1915*

Verne R, Foley, X ntervi

71. Gregory Foley, In te rv ie w between a u th o r and, July 11, 1949. 78, Persons in te rv ie w e d r e l a t i v e t o t h i s p e rio d g e n e ra lly expressed the opinion t h a t the plays produced by th e s e groups were w ell don© c o n sid e rin g l i m i t a t i o n s of su p er­ v is io n and equipment. The Hawkeye, 1906-17, 74. I b i d . 76, I b i d . 1903-21; Helen fii. Lavender, nA H isto ry of the ErodeIphian and H esperian L it e r a r y S o c i e t i e s " , p. 42. Minutes of U n iv e rs ity P l a y e r s , 1916-27, p a s t e - i n s h e e t a tta c h e d to f l y l e a f . 77,

I b i d . , November 27, 1916.

78, I b i d . , February 15, 25, 1917; Th© Hawkeye, 1918, pp. 228-29.

11 7 79. The Hawkeye, 1919, p« 349, 80. Minutes of U n iv e rs ity P l a y e r s . 81* The Hawkeye, 1905-1921; Dally Iowan, 1901-20, The Hawkeye, 1909, p. 263, 83. I b i d . , 1914, p. 118, 84. Program f o r th e p ro d u c tio n , U n iv e rs ity T heatre A rchives. 85. The Hawkeye, 1915, p. 152. 86. I b i d . , p. 154. 87. I b i d . , 1909, p. 263. 88. The Hawkeye, 1909, p. 263; Dally Iowan, November 24, December X, 2 , 3, 7, 9, 11, 1920. 89. Glenn N. Merry, In te rv ie w between a u th o r and, September 11, 1949. 90. Bufus H. F i t z g e r a l d , In te rv ie w between au th o r and, September 13, 1949.

Chapter I I I DRAMATIC ART BUILDS INTO THU CURRICULUM*

1900-1930

Whereas, to some I t might appear t h a t suddenly a v i t a l i n t e r e s t i n th e t h e a t r e sprang from th® stu d e n t body and the speech f a c u l t y a t the S ta te U n iv e rs ity of Iowa, such i s not l i k e l y th e c a se .

I t i s tru e t h a t w ith in

te n y e a r s , new c o u rs e s , o rg a n iz a tio n s and i n t e n s i f i e d a c t i v i t i e s in t h e a t r e were Intro d u ced and became e s t a b l i ­ shed*

I t seems a more honest I n t e r p r e t a t i o n to say, how­

ev er, t h a t th e 1900*8 were r ip e fo r in nov atio n s t h a t had been In th e g e s t a t i o n p e rio d f o r a c o n sid era b le p e rio d of time* Many people who were on the ground and in a p o s i­ tio n to know the th in k in g of the a d m in is tra tio n of the tim e, t e s t i f y t o the f a c t t h a t P re sid e n t Walter A, Jessup, Deans Seashore and Kay, a la r g e number of the g e n eral fa c u lty and the a d m in is tra to rs of th e speech work, i t s e l f , were sym pathetic toward and w ille d the growth of the Fin® A rts i n to the Iowa c u rriculu m .

They b e lie v e d in

teachin g th® Fine Arts and, as wise a d m in is tr a to r s and s u p p o rte rs , they b e lie v e d in doing i t th o ro u g h ly » and tying the

work

to the interests and needs of the students,

community and state.

Th© time was r i p e .

As an e x t r a c u r r i c u l a r ,

stu d e n t managed a c t i v i t y , r e l a t i v e l y independent of the U n iv e rs ity , th® t h e a tr e had been p e r s i s t e n t but i t had n e i t h e r t h r i v e d nor o f te n been a r t i s t i c *

Its p o litic a l,

f i n a n c i a l , s o c i a l s t a b i l i t y were q u e stion able* were not completely s a t i s f i e d *

Students

I t was ev id en t to them t h a t

t h e i r work in th e t h e a t r e could b© improved upon.

They

had f o r twenty y e a rs been unable t o solve and keep solved the problems t h a t plagued them.

They were ready fo r

le a d e r s h ip and a s s i s t a n c e and I n s t r u c t i o n from the f a c u l t y . They wanted good t h e a t r e on the campus; they wanted the op portu n ity to g e t a r i c h t r a i n i n g and experience In i t s a rts *

They were ready t o support a program t h a t could

I n d ic a te t h a t I t was a p o t e n t i a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t fo rc e in t h e i r liv e s *

This i s e v id e n t from th e support they gave

the developments of the next te n y e a r s ;

Dramatic produc­

tio n s were expensive and seven or e ig h t o rg a n iz a tio n s v ied with each o th e r f o r au d ien ces, funds, d i r e c t o r s and perform­ ing ta le n t* The Department of Public Speaking was doing some teach in g of th e work in t h e a t r e but had no funds f o r p roduction or s a t i s f a c t o r y space in which t o produce.

It

was i n t e r e s t e d in expanding i t s work, in preparin g te a c h e rs in th e f i e l d , but I t was n ecessary to have some s a t i s f a c t o r y

t ?Q plaoe In which to 8flt up & lfiborftt ory fo? protiuottl on« I t was th e g ra d u a l fu s io n of th e s e vario u s I n t e ­ r e s t s , ’s tim u la te d by h a rd work, v i t a l im ag ination a nd e d u c a tio n a l v i s i o n , t h a t b u i l t the t h e a t r e i n t o the c u r r i ­ culum a t th e S t a t e U n iv e rs ity of Iowa*

I t was a complex

e v o lu tio n a ry process r a t h e r th an a few sim ple a d m in is tra ­ t i v e d e c is io n s .

I t grew out of th e then e x is te n t c u r r i ­

c u la r foun dations which had been l a i d , and a d m in is tr a tiv e sympathy, and s e a l f o r the a r t s t h a t was t h e r e , and the stu d e n t enthusiasm f o r t h e a t r i c a l p ro d u ctio n which had long axi&ted.bn th e Iowa campus.

The Iowa program in dram atic

a r t was not r i c h l y s u b s id is e d nor was i t suddenly c re a te d , but by c a r e f u l s e l f - a n a l y s i s of i t s p o t e n t i a l i t i e s between 1920 and 1950 and the a b i l i t y and o p p ortun ity to prove them, i t grew. With th e e sta b lish m e n t of the c o u rse , P r in c ip le s of Speech, th e departm ental budget in Public Speaking had been in c re a s e d c o n s id e ra b ly .

This gave r i s e to the oppor­

t u n ity to a t t r a c t not only more s t a f f members, but to o f f e r hig h er rank and b e t t e r s a l a r i e s t o some, making p o s s ib le the a t t r a c t i o n o f persons looking toward a c a r e e r i n the fie ld *

I t was th e I n t e r e s t and i n t e n t i o n of P ro fe sso r

Merry to have someone on h i s s t a f f who could b u ild th e work In dramatic a r t . 1 I t was f u r t h e r necessary f o r him to take

a y e a r ’s lea v e i n o rd er to complete th e work f o r h is d o c to r a te , and t o have someone t o f i l l h i s p o s i t i o n as departm ental a d m in is tr a to r f o r t h a t y e a r .

In the summer

of 1920, E. C. Mabi© was brought t o the campus, and r e ­ ta in e d f o r th e s e p u rp o se s. Mabi© had been t r a i n e d a t Dartmouth, r e c e iv in g from t h e r e th e A.B* degree i n 191b, and the A.M. degree in 1916.

His academic background had been broad and h is

i n t e r e s t s had been ex p ressed in the f i e l d s of h i s t o r y and the s o c i a l s c ie n c e s , commerce, speech, and in e x t r a - c u r r i ­ c u la r speech and dram atic a c t i v i t i e s .

Upon g ra d u a tio n he

worked f o r efryear f o r th e hew Hampshire S t a te fax Commis­ sion d e v isin g a uniform system of accounting fo r l o c a l agencies which had to r e p o r t to th e s t a t e .

Concurrently

with t h i s jo b , he ta u g h t speech a t Dartmouth as a ju n io r member of t h e f a c u l t y .

Following t h i s , he spent a y e a r a t

I l l i n o i s Wesleyan U n iv e rs ity and two y e ars a t the U n iv e rs ity of Kentucky te a c h in g p u b lic speaking and working with o dramatic a c t i v i t i e s . The u n u su a lly s tim u la tin g manner

and

ideas which he possessed a t t r a c t e d the Iowa a d m in is tra tio n to h i r e him as a c tin g head of th e Department of P ublic Speaking f o r the p e rio d while P ro fe ss o r Merry was on le a v e , and to tak e on th e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y of developing th e dramatic a r t work i n th e departm ent. 3

Aside from a b r i e f w hirl with E ducational Dramatics during th e second term of the 1920 summer s e s ­ sio n , h i s a c t i v i t i e s during t h i s f i r s t y e ar ware p r i n c i p a l ­ ly in the g e n e ra l work of r h e t o r i c and p u b lic speaking with only an u ndergraduate co u rse, The Contemporary Stage, and a graduate seminar i n Dramatic P ro d u c tio n , concerned with h i s primary i n t e r e s t , th e t h e a t r e . 4 He seems, how­ ever, to have plunged i n to the work In an advisory capa­ c it y w ith th e l o c a l c h ap ter of the Drama League of America, 5 The U n iv e rs ity P la y e rs , and the l i t e r a r y s o c i e t i e s . As a c tin g head o f th e Department of Public Speaking, he worked c lo s e ly w ith th e U n iv e rs ity P la y e rs .

He d ir e c te d ,

as h i s f i r s t major p ro d u ctio n i n Iowa C ity , the Iowa City Centre of the Drama League of America1s p r e s e n ta tio n of Bennet and Knoblock's M ile s to n e s, which was h a i l e d by th® Daily Iowan as an a r t i s t i c triumph with e s p e c i a l l y good a c tin g , and a r t i s t i c s e t t i n g and costumes.

He a ls o

a s s i s t e d w ith the s e l e c t i o n of a c a s t fo r the PhilomatheanOctaye-Thanet P roduction of Under Cover.

By sp rin g of

1921 he was deeply in volved w ith a plan fo r the e s t a b l i s h ­ ment of an o rg a n iz a tio n to u n ify the v ario u s dram atic producing o rg a n iz a tio n s on th e campus i n to what became the s U n iv e rsity T h e a tre .

1P3 The K » ta b llsh g |g t of the U n iversity Theatre As has been I n d i c a te d , th e vario us campus s o c i e t i e s and clubs producing plays had long enjoyed a g re a t deal of autonoray i n th e management of t h e i r a f f a i r s . Each was a t l i b e r t y to s e l e c t a d i r e c t o r f o r i t s plays $ each had i t s own f i n a n c i a l p lan and system which was completely under th e c o n tr o l of th e group invo lved and Q accountable only to t h a t group The Senate Committee on Dramatics fu n c tio n e d as a d i s c i p l i n a r y body but not as an a u d itin g or su p e rv iso ry one in the sens© t h a t they had anything d i r e c t l y t o do w ith fin a n c e s or prod uction of the p lay s u n le s s I n v i te d by the stu d e n ts to tak e p a rt in th at c a p a c i t y .^

D ire c to rs were h ir e d t o conduct th e

r e h e a r s a ls of p la y s .

C asting might be e i t h e r th e m atter

fo r the d i r e c t o r and the group to d e cid e, or i t might be handled by a s p e c i a l committee from the group and the 11 f a c u l ty . I n every case th e c o n tr o l was la r g e ly in the hands o f the o r g a n iz a tio n a l membership. i l l u s t r a t e th e p o i n t .

Two examples w i l l

I n 1920, Verne R* Foley, a r e c e n t

graduate and young Rew York law yer, was h i r e d and re tu rn e d to th e campus from h i s law p r a c t i c e to produce Nothing But The T ruth f o r th e U n iv e rs ity F la y e rs .

In 1920 and 1921,

the s e n io r c la s s s e le c te d Gladys Powers, a p r o fe s s io n a l dramatic coach from W aterloo, t o d i r e c t The Oreat Divide

and A S u c c e ss fu l C alam ity* In o th e r o a s e s , f a c u lty members or townspeople might be s e l e c te d to do the work of the d i r e c t o r .

O c c a sio n a lly , advanced s tu d e n ts o r stu d e n ts

I n t e r e s t e d and deemed capable by th e group took the job.

is

At th e March 14, 1921 meeting of the U n iv e rs ity p la y e r s , P re s id e n t Bruce Gould announced t h a t the S n g le rt Theatre had ra in e d i t s r e n t a l r a t e s demanding r e n t a l acco r­ ding to a percentage p la n of 40/60 or 30/70, ttan a rra n g e 1% ment e n t i r e l y u n fav o rab le to campus play p r o d u c e r s .w Underway and scheduled f o r p ro d u ctio n the follow ing month was Jerome K. Jerome1s Passing of the T hird F lo o r Back, 14 which l o s t between #100 and #150. This new r e n t a l arrangement and probably an accumulation of fo r c e s a lre a d y mentioned s t a r t e d P ro fe sso r Mabi® working toward th© remodeling of the N a tu ra l Science Auditorium t o s u i t the purposes of campus play p roducers. This seemed a g re ea b le to th© a d m in is tra tio n of the Univer­ s i t y , provided th© v ariou s producing groups would assure i t t h a t a l l t h e i r plays would be produced in the N atural ne Science Auditorium. The U n iv e rs ity P lay ers and o th e r groups agreed to advance th e id e a , and in A p ril e ig h t campus o rg a n iz a tio n s jo in e d fo rc e s in a new o rg a n iz a tio n , A ssociated Dramatic E n te r p r is e s of th© S ta te U n iv e rsity of T 16 Iowa,

The o f f i c e r s of th© new o r g a n ! s a tio n composed a hoard of governors of nine member®, one each, from £ e ta g a th ia n , H e sp e ria , I r v in g I n s t i t u t e , S rodelph ian, P h ilo ­ math© an and Octave-Thanet l i t e r a r y s o c i e t i e s , the play committee of th© s e n i o r c l a s s and two from U n iv e rs ity Pla­ y ers.

The o r i g i n a l members of t h i s board werej

S ari

Wells, LI of Sigourney; Bruce Gould, AS of B©s Moines; Robert L. Block, AS of Davenport; Dorothy J . Banks, A4 of B u rlin g to n ; Kenneth L. Shumaker, G of Iowa C ity ; Grace G. Carson, AS of Iowa C ity ; Ja sp e r Johnson#AS of Belmond; leva Meardon#A4 o f Iowa C ity ; and Fred A. S t e i n e r , LI of 17 Corydon* The c o n s t i t u t i o n of th© o rg a n iz a tio n ran aa

follows s I . This o r g a n iz a tio n s h a l l be known as th© A sso ciated Dramatic E n te r p r is e s of th® S ta te U n iv e rs ity of Iowa. II* The purpose of t h i s o rg a n iz a tio n i s to b rin g about e f f e c t i v e c o o p e ra tio n of a l l o r g a n iz a tio n s i n th e U n iv e rs ity of Iowa which produce p la y s ; to cooperate with th© a d m in is tr a tio n and th e Senate Committee on Dramatics i n se c u rin g adequate f a c i l i t i e s fo r U n iv e rs ity dram atic p ro d u c tio n s; to promote i n ­ t e r e s t and a p p r e c ia tio n of the dram atic a r t s i n the U n iv e rs ity and t o Improve th e sta n d ard s of dram atic p ro d u ctio n . I I I . Membership i n t h i s o rg a n iz a tio n s h a l l be open to each of the fo llo w in g s o c i e t i e s and to such o th e rs as may be decided from tim e to tim e by the Board of Governors. A so c ie ty s h a l l

1?6 become a member whan I t has su b scrib ed t o t h i s c o n s t i t u t i o n , e l e c t e d i t s r e p r e s e n ta ­ t i v e t o the Board of G overnors, and complied w ith such req u irem en ts as may from time to time be Imposed* S o c i e t i e s n ot members of t h i s A s s o c ia tio n may be g ra n te d p r i v i l e g e s o r d i n a r i l y accorded t o members upon c o n d itio n s s p e c i f i e d by th© Board of Governors*• • ( l i s t s member o r g a n i s a t i o n s )• IV* The o f f i c e r s of t h i s o r g a n iz a tio n s h a l l be a Board of Governors composed of one r e p r e s e n t a t i v e from each of th e o rg a n iz a tio n s which compose the membership except th e U n iv e rs ity P la y e rs who s h a l l have two r e p r e ­ s e n t a t i v e s , The Board of Governors may e l e c t a chairman, & s e c r e t a r y and such o th e r o f f i c e r s and committees as may from time to time be necessary* V. The Board of Governors s h a l l have power to make such by-laws as w i l l a id In c a rry in g out the purpose of t h i s o rg a n iz a tio n . VI* This c o n s t i t u t i o n s h a l l become e f f e c t i v e when r a t i f i e d by th r e e of th e o rg a n iz a tio n s l i s t e d i n A r t i c l e I I I . Amendments maybe proposed by th e Board of Governors and w i l l become e f f e c t i v e when r a t i f i e d by tw o -th ird s of the member s o c i e t i e s * 10 The a d op tion of such a c o n s t i t u t i o n and th e entrance of the U n iv e rs ity a d m in is tr a tio n I n to th© a f f a i r s of dram atic producing o rg a n iz a tio n s placed an unprece­ dented c o n tr o l upon the campus dram atic a f f a i r s by making necessary the e s ta b lis h m e n t of an a d m in is tr a tiv e o f f i c e , D ire c to r of th e U n iv e rs ity Theatre* were bound to cooperate*

The o rg a n iz a tio n s

There was but one auditorium

in

which to produce and t h a t was owned and c o n tr o l le d byth e U n iv e rs ity .

In o rd er to be f a i r to each of the o r g a n iz a tio n s,

I t w n n e c e ssa ry t o have an o f f i c e through which the us® of t h i s a u d ito riu m could b© c o n t r o l l e d .

P ro fe ss o r Mabi®

was given th e p o s i t i o n . Th® Stat® Board of Education a p p ro p ria te d s u f f i c i e n t funds f o r th® i n i t i a l equipment of th© N atu ral Science Auditorium and th© p r o j e c t was su p e rv ise d and c a r r i e d out by Mr. Mabi© and Mr. J. M. F ls k a , S u p e rin te n 19 dent of Grounds and B u ild in g s. This equipment inclu d ed a new f r o n t draped c u r t a i n , a f u l l s e t of drapes fo r th® s ta g e , a s e t of f l a t s fo r i n t e r i o r s e t t i n g s , ad ap table u n i t s such as columns and s t e p s , and a f l e x i b l e l i g h t i n g system.

Th© guiding p r i n c i p l e in th e s e l e c t i o n of each

Itotti was f l e x i b i l i t y of u s e , so t h a t ©ach on© could b© r e f i n i a h e d and re a rra n g e d f o r many types of play s w ithout 20 gotag, t o g r e a t expense. A f i n a n c i a l p lan was worked o u t, to o , which, in e f f e c t , meant t h a t a l l funds c o ll e c t e d by t i c k e t s a le s would be u t i l i z e d to pay the expenses of c u rre n t produc­ t i o n s , and any su rp lu s e s would become th© p ro p erty of the U n iv e rsity T heatre t o be used fo r replacement and improve­ ment of equipment and th© p ro d u c tio n of a d d it i o n a l p la y s . ^3® studaat manager f o r any one dram atic pro duction was no i&Sfcgar r e s p o n s ib le f o r th© f i n a n c i a l success or f a i l u r e of ifeliexpluy.

I f the U n iv e rs ity P l a y e r s ’ production l o s t money,

and t h a t of th© H esperian and £ e ta g a th ia n s o c i e t i e s made money, the one’ s lo s s would be o f f s e t by th® o t h e r 's g a in .

Money did not accrue to any on© in d iv id u a l or

o r g a n iz a tio n but t o th© t o t a l o r g a n iz a tio n of a l l th® groups.

I t s e x p en d itu re was j o i n t l y a d m in istere d by th e

D irec to r of th e U n iv e rs ity T heatre and th e stu d e n t Board of Governor®

VHhereas, no documents have been found to

th© e f f e c t t h a t such was th© c a s e , i t seems apparent t h a t f a c u l ty in f lu e n c e was such as to be a b le t o block any u n d e s ira b le u se of the funds or equipment. Evidence seems t o p o in t to th© f a c t t h a t t h i s f a c u lty su p e rv is io n and le a d e rs h ip was welcomed r a t h e r than r e s e n t e d , and t h a t i t s success as a p lan was so g reat t h a t complete dependence was p la c e d upon th e wisdom of t h a t lea d ersh ip *

I n each p ro d u ctio n i t meant f i n a n c i a l

solvency, an improved s e t of a r t i s t i c sta n d ard s in produc­ t i o n , and the o p p o rtu n ity f o r those who d e s ir e d to do so t o spend c o u n tle s s hours developing t h e i r t a l e n t s in t h e a t r e and a t th e same time r e c e iv e academic c r e d i t f o r at l e a s t p a rt of t h e i r e f f o r t s .

22

I t should ba p o in te d out t h a t The U n iv e rsity T heatre was in e f f e c t and f a c t the U n i v e r s i t y 's i n s t i t u t i o n , which p re se n te d th e performances of se v e ra l U n iv e rsity o rg a n iz a tio n s .

Whereas, i t housed p r i n c i p a l l y th© a c t i v i t i e s

of th e A sso c ia ted Dramatic E n t e r p r i s e s , i t was a ls o used f o r o th e r works of a m u sic a l, l i t e r a r y and s e m i- c u lt u r a l nature*

One concept was to put l e c t u r e s , v e sp e rs , c o n c e rts ,

p la y s , etc* a l l under a c e n t r a l management*

Th© power

of I t s c o n tr o l appears to have been la r g e ly in the hands of th® f a o u l t y r a t h e r th a n with the s tu d e n ts .

I t became

the la b o r a to r y fo r the courses in Dramatic Art which were being tau g h t and in tro d u c e d i n to th e curriculum and w ith in a few y e a rs t h i s c u r r i c u l a r fu n c tio n was to dominate e n tire ly .

The name, A ssociated Dramatio E n te r p r is e s ,

seems to have soon dropped from view and th e term , Uni­ v e r s i ty T h e a tre , became th e le a d in g one.

The Board of

Governors con tinued t o fu n c tio n as the years went by, but seemingly i n l e s s a c o n t r o l li n g o a p ac ity and more i n an advisory c a p a c ity and as a sounding board f o r stu d e n t opinion and a l e a d e r of s tu d e n t su p p o rt.

This was a g rad u al

and n a t u r a l t r a n s i t i o n accompanying th e b u ild in g of the t h e a t r e i n to th e curricu lum .

As th e s tu d ie s in Dramatic

Art grew, the importance of f a c u lty c o n tr o l grew.

As

e x t r a c u r r i c u l a r p ro d u ctio n dim inished and was re p la c e d by productions growing out of the c la s s room la b o r a to r y , i t was n a tu r a l t h a t the ba la n ce of power f o r a d m in is tra tio n should go t o th© f a c u l ty r a t h e r than remain with the s tu d e n ts .

I t i s p o s s ib le from t h i s to see th a t the r a m i f i ­ c a tio n s of t h i s new development of t h e a t r e p la n t and p ro ­ ductio n o r g a n i s a t io n ra n deeper than th e mere agreement to cease I n t a r - o r g a n l z a t l o n a l feuds as had been the case with the o rg a n is a tio n of the U n iv e rs ity P lay ers In 1916.

It

was a m a tte r of making genuine e d u c a tio n and r e c r e a t io n of what had form erly been stu d e n t e n te rta in m e n t without much of e d u c a tio n a l purpose behind i t .

The p o s s i b i l i t i e s in

the new p la n ware being handled im a g in ativ e ly and th e po­ t e n t i a l e d u c a tio n a l values In Dramatic Art were g rad u a lly being r e a l i z e d .

Student opinion was behind the growth.

Daily £ owan sa id t h a t a l l persons I n t e r e s t e d in dram atics from e i t h e r p ro ductio n or a c tin g sta n d p o in t would welcome the news t h a t th e t h e a t r e was to be c re a te d on the eampu®.

I t welcomed th e idea t h a t the t h e a t r e

was to be used as a classroom l a b o r a to r y ; and i t welcomed the o r g a n iz a tio n of the A ssociated Dramatic E n te r p r is e s . I t welcomed the idea t h a t a season t i c k e t was to be so ld which would allow th e stu d e n t to a t t e n d the t h e a t r e f o r a p ric e well w ith in h i s income.

I t re p e a te d ly h a i l e d the

p r o je c t a s a move in th e r i g h t d i r e c t i o n and one th a t was c o n sta n tly making p r o g re s s .

For example, a Daily Iowan

e d i t o r i a l appearing October 29, 1921, remarked*

t n A S IM POST Th© success of a now U n iv e rs ity e n t e r p r i s e was a ssu re d Thursday evening when U n iv e rs ity P lay ers p r e s e n te d ^Mater1 and In tro d u c e d th© U n iv e rs ity T heatre "to th e s tu d e n t body. I t was more than a c r e d i t a b l e M t o f a c tin g and more than an o p p o rtu n ity t o gaze a t a new stag© c u r t a i n . I t was a dem onstration of th© p o s s i b i l i t i e s of stu d e n t c o o p e ra tio n . A few people who have been on th e campus f o r many y e a rs say t h a t i t was an epoch-making ©vent i n th© h i s t o r y of th© U n iv e rs ity and t h a t i t was one o f th e g re a ­ t e s t th in g s t h a t has happened on the campus. Such sta te m e n ts a re doomed to meet with sk e p tic is m and tho se who mak© them w i l l be c a s t i n g about u n c e r t a i n l y when asked f o r an e x p la n a tio n . The answer i s t h a t u n ite d e f f o r t was i n ©vidance throughout the e n t i r e evening* A union of a l l play producing o r g a n is a tio n s on the campus In to a s in g le g r e a t e n t e r p r i s e with the p r o j e c t of a sche­ duled p ro d u ctio n of a l l th® major produc­ t io n s un der a c o n s o lid a te d management and i n a s i n g l e t h e a t r e , to s e l l s e a t s f o r th e e n t i r e program of e ig h t p la y s fo r the academic y e a r to any s u c c e s s f u l degree, and t o g a in th e i n t e r e s t and patronage of the s tu d e n t body seemed l i t t l e l e s s th an fev ered dreaming of f a n t a s t i c schemes to many who h e ard of i t s contem plation l a s t s p rin g . I t has r e c e n t l y proved t o be a r e a l i t y . I t was deserving of commendation i n i t s begin ­ n in g s; i t Is now deserving of c o n g ra tu la tio n s i n i t s su c c e ss . The meaning of i t a l l i s t h a t U n iv e rs ity F la y ers and th e l i t e r a r y s o c i e t i e s have combined e f f o r t s to promote b e t t e r d ram a tic s; a U n iv e rs ity T heatre o rc h e s tr a has been in tro d u c e d ; and an audience t h a t f i l l e d th© t h e a t r e , was an assurance of th© un dergradu ate and f a c u l ty i n t e r e s t i n th e e n t e r p r i s e . The p a ssiv e and i n d i f f e r e n t

ones who a tt e n d e d w i l l Indulge i n th o u g h t­ l e s s c r i t i c i s m , wondering p i ty i n g l y Why anyone.sees f i t t o a t t a c h anyth in g of im­ p o rta n c e t o th e e v e n t. But the ones who marked i t as th e beginning of a new e ra in dram atics and stu d e n t oo o p e ra tio n were probably th© ones who had th© g r e a t e r f o r e ­ s i g h t and v i s i o n as t o what goes i n t o th e make-up of p ro g re s s in the U n iv e r s ity , On th e day of th e l a s t major p ro d u c tio n of th© f i r s t se aso n , May 18, 1928, th© low^n c a r r i e d the follo w in g e d ito ria l: GHSAT’SR DRAMATICS

. . . I t seems t h a t i t may be t r u l y s a i d t h a t th© development of th© t h e a t r e and dram atics g e n e r a lly In th© U n iv e rs ity during th e p a s t academic y ear have been l i t t l e l e s s than re v o lu tio n a ry * U n iv e rs ity dram atics mean more than they did a y e a r ago to d a y . More dram atic t a l e n t of a l e s s e r or g r e a t e r q u a l i t y has been on d i s ­ play b e fo re us during th e p a st y e a r than w© b e fo re su sp ec ted to e x i s t . When w© see a shadow, we look to d isc o v er th e o b je c t t h a t i s c a s tin g th e shadow. We f in d here t h a t P ro fe ss o r Mabi©, d i r e c t o r of th e U n iv e rs ity T h e a tre , has thrown h i s f i g u r e b e fo re th© sun of s tu d e n t apathy and c a s t a shadow of dram atic up­ l i f t * He has c a r r i e d out a program t h a t seemed nebulous and f a n c i f u l a y e a r ago, and dram atics have been I n s t a l l e d In our campus l i f e * Let us review f o r a moment a b i t of what has been done: a c o n s id e r ­ a b le number of season t i c k e t s a d m ittin g to th© e ig h t major performances of th© y e a r were s o ld with ’ I 1 books and Daily Iowan s u b s c r ip tio n s In th e f a ll* . Our major p ro ­ ductions as w ell as th© minor have been brought onto U n iv e rs ity grounds; a coherent and c o n s i s t e n t schedule was worked out in advance; and dram atics have gained new

r e s p e c t . Divine accomplishment f o r a s h o r t p e rio d of nine ralptthsl This was th e te n o r of s tu d e n t newspaper opinion a t th e tim e . Eespept f o r th© a u t h o r i t y of th e a d m in is tr a tio n of the t h e a t r e was not long forthcom ing, and those who would not comply with the sta n d a rd s and reg ulation ® of th© new t h e a t r e were fo rce d to ta k e t h e i r plays elsewhere f o r p ro d u ctio n .

A case in p o in t i s the 1922 Mecca p la y , an

o r i g i n a l p ro d u c tio n p re s e n te d by the s tu d e n ts i n th e College of Applied S c ie n c e .

T e n ta tiv e arrangem ents f o r the p ro ­

duction of th e p lay i n the U n iv e rs ity T heatre had been made by th© Mecca r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s , but when they f a i l e d to submit a s c r i p t f o r approval and conform w ith th e o th e r r e g u la tio n s of the t h e a t r e , a u t h o r i z a t i o n to us© the f a c i l i ­ t i e s was withdrawn and the play had to be produced o u tsid e the j u r i s d i c t i o n of th® U n iv e rs ity T heatre a t the E n g le rt. This involved a t l e a s t $250 i n a d d it i o n a l c o s ts to th© student e n g in e e rs . 24 Provided i n the c o n s t i t u t i o n of the A ssociated Dramatic E n te r p r is e s had been th e d e d ic a tio n t o the improve­ ment and maintenance of a r t i s t i c s ta n d a r d s .

Among th©

c o n tr o llin g f a c t o r s which g u aran teed sta n d ard s was th e su p e rv isio n of th© D ire c to r of th e U n iv e rsity Theatre*

Each

play p re se n te d in th e t h e a t r e came under h i s s c r u t i n y , and

13

numerous a re th e I n s ta n c e s I n which c a s t i n g and r e h e a r s a l problems were c le a r e d th ro ugh h i s desk*

M anuscripts met

with h i s app roval or were l e f t unproduced.

OR

These had

been th e weak sp o ts i n th e p o l i c i e s of th e independent o p e ra tio n s of th e s o c i e t i e s and c lu b s .

F aculty c o n tr o l

of anything bu t f l a g r a n t d e v ia tio n s from good p r a c t i c e had been d i f f i c u l t .

Under the new system where a l l were

working f o r th e same g o a l, a r t i s t i c sta n d a rd s could be put in th e foreground ana an e n lig h te n e d le a d e r s h ip not only from th e d i r e c t o r but from the Board of Governors as w e ll could fu n c tio n t o g u a ra n tee them. That sta n d a rd s were a t t a i n e d which were an im­ provement onthose of p rec ed in g campus producing groups i s amply t e s t i f i e d t o in th e e d i t o r i a l commentary, the s t u d e n t and f a c u l ty c r i t i c i s m and th e e v a lu a tio n s made by such men as Walter P ric h a rd Eaton, a t t h a t time a le a d in g 26 dramatic c r i t i c i n hew York. A s tu d e n t commentary taken from a review of C larence appeared in the Daily Iowan f o r A p ril 13, 1922. • ...M o st c o lle g e amateur plays rat© about ten per cent as compared with a f i r s t c la s s p r o f e s s io n a l production* A good c o lle g e amateur performance would rat© about f i f t y per cent on the same s c a l e , Clarence r a t e d s e v e n ty - f iv e per c e n t. Some day a n e x t r a two weeks of p r e p a r a tio n w ill be put on an u ndergradu ate play her©, and f i f t e e n p o in ts of th© m issing tw e n ty -fiv e w i l l be added to i t s e f f e c t i v e n e s s , and t h a t Is as high as amataurs may hop© t o go.

1 35 An e d i t o r i a l app earin g September 28, 192J5, i n the Daily Iowan commented: ♦.♦Anyone who w itn esse d th e work o f th e Uni­ v e r s i t y T h e a tre l a s t y e a r cannot doubt I t s ex cellen ce* The p lay s were w e ll s e l e c t e d , p r o f e s s i o n a l i n i n t e r p r e t a t i o n , and f i n i s h e d in s e t t i n g . The dram atic d e p a rtm e n t.• .has developed a number of f i r s t - r a t e amateur a c t o r s and th e p la y s have not been s e l e c t e d w ith r e f e re n c e t o the ease with which th ey could be p r e s e n te d . W alter P ric h a rd Eaton* a commentary was t h a t men l i k e P ro fe s s o r Mabi© were c o n t r i b u t i n g as much to th e American t h e a t r e as David Belasco.®7 P ro fe ss o r

L. Sowers of the E nglish department

f e l t i n May, 1924 t h a t "The money I spent f o r my season t i c k e t t o th e performances of th© U n iv e rs ity T heatre was 28 the b e s t in v e s te d money I 1vs spent f o r a long tim e ." These a re n o t unusual e x p re ss io n s , but r e p r e s e n t r a t h e r th e more f r e q u e n t ly voiced comment of the tim e. I t became apparent vary e a r ly t h a t the new t h e a tr e had a bro ad e r purpose than the p r e s e n t a ti o n of plays to a stu d e n t and f a c u l t y audience.

I t s purposes

and fu n c tio n s were conceived to be a r t i s t i c , e d u c a tio n a l and r e c r e a t i o n a l , r a t h e r th an p r o f i t making.

I t made every

attem pt t o exten d I t s s e rv ic e s to th e s t a t e as well as to 29 the U n iv e rsity and I t s community. On© of i t s more i n t e r e s t i n g a sp e c ts was the p o lic y

of f u r n i s h i n g , i n c o o p e ra tio n w ith th e L i t t l e T heatre C i r c u i t of th© Drama League of America, play s f o r to u r s to communities throughout th© s t a t e and in soma cases t o surrounding s t a t e s .

During th® e a r l y y e a rs of the Univer­

s i t y T h e a tre , t h i s plan was q u i te pop u lar and c o n s i s t e n t l y follow ed , and I t a t t r a c t e d nationw ide a t t e n t i o n and p ra is e 30 from s i g n i f i c a n t p la c e s . Early In the o r g a n iz a tio n of the t o u r s , th e p o lic y was s e t t h a t only weekend or v a c a tio n to u rs would be gener­ a l l y approved f o r th e produ ctio n s o f f e r e d fo r t o u r . Students could not b3 excused from c la s s e s during the 31 week. Few e x c e p tio n s t o t h i s p o lic y were made. Plays were s e n t out a t co st to th e communities booking them, r e q u i r i n g t r a n s p o r t a t i o n f o r a c to rs and equipment and e n te rta in m e n t f o r the p l a y e r s .

The spon­

so rin g o r g a n iz a tio n s f u rn is h e d th e t h e a tr e w ith an e l e c t r i ­ c a lly l i g h t e d s t a g e , l o c a l a d v e r t i s i n g , baggage h an d lin g and took car© of b u sin e ss arrangem ents.

P r o f i t s were

s p l i t between th e U n iv e rs ity T heatre and the booking o r g a n iz a tio n .

Profit® accruin g to th e U n iv e rs ity were

spent on the e d u c a tio n a l dram atic work on the campus.

By

December of 1922, f i f t y - t w o Iowa communities were on the w aiting l i s t f o r a p la y . On February 22, 1923, th© U n iv e rs ity T heatre

p ro d u c tio n of th© Merchant of Venice played in Decorah, and '.On the" 2.5rd of March in. Ft.. Dodge and, th e 24th in Cedar 34 F a lls. This was h a i l e d as the f i r s t road to u r of Shakespeare t o be done by any U n iv e rs ity T heatre in th© 35 U nited S t a t e s . The show played to packed houses in each of th e s e l o c a l i t i e s and re c e iv e d g r e a t p r a i s e .

In F t.

Dodge i n an aud itorium s e a t i n g 1250 p e o p le , th e performance was don© t o sta n d in g room.

I t was the f i r s t p rod uction

of Shakespeare ever to b© don© in Decorah and i t moved th© S uperintenden t of S ch ools, C. C, G am ertsfelder to writ© to Mr. Mables

ttSino© th© p ro d u ctio n l a s t n ig h t I have heard

only words o f p r a i s e f o r th e play and have had many re q u e s ts from townspeople to secure your company again next year...** Some of the o th e r p lay s to make to u rs were:

The

Man Who M arried a Dumb Wife. Hr. Plm Passes By. The F a ith H e ale r. Daddy Long Legs, The School For S c a n d al, To The L adies, Only 38.

Towns played were Fmmetsburg, T ra e r,

Ottumwa, ft©a t Branch, Story C ity , Algona, Des Moines, and Columbia, M isso u ri, among o th e r s .

The e n t i r e Christmas

vacation in 1922-23 was devoted to to u rs of Mr. Plm Passes 37 §1 and 'Ph© F a ith H e a le r. The moat e x te n siv e to u r in g took place between the y e a rs 1921 and 1924.

A fte r t h a t

tim e, th e p lan appears to have been abandoned as r e g u l a r p o lic y .

Mr. Mabi© has a t t r i b u t e d t h i s to the f a c t t h a t

1 38 fin a n c in g of the p la n was not always s a t i s f a c t o r i l y accomplished by th© sponsoring p a r t i e s *

I t Is probably

t r u e , as w e l l, t h a t th e heavy l o c a l p ro d u ctio n sc h ed u le , s t u d e n t 's s t u d i e s , and th e tremendous amounts of energy demanded to keep up w ith such a p o lic y were c o n tr i b u ti n g f a c t o r s t o I t s abandonment, aa a r e g u l a r thing* Another of th e s e r v ic e s i n dram atic a r t p e r­ formed during th e y e a rs between 1980 and 1929 was the o rg a n iz a tio n of dram atic p ro d u c tio n s f o r the summer s e s ­ sions*

In th e summer of 1921, P ro fe ss o r Mabie I n v ite d the

l o c a l a c to r s t o form a club which was c a l le d the O ut-of38 Door: P la y e ra . This o r g a n iz a tio n fu n ctio n ed each summer se ss io n through 1925, a f t e r which i t s a c t i v i t i e s became absorbed by th© curriculum and th e club ceased to have any i d e n t i t y s e p a r a t e , even i n name, from the U n iv e rsity Theatre of th e summer s e s s io n . The o r i g i n a l concept was t h a t membership should be extended to Include f a c u l t y , summer se ss io n s tu d e n ts , and members of th e community who might wish to j o i n .

At

th© second meeting of the group when th e c o n s t i t u t i o n was presen ted f o r a p p ro v a l, I t was decided to confine member39 ship to summer s e s s io n stu d e n ts and f a c u l t y . For example, P ro fesso r P h ilip G. Clapp of th© music department played In the p rod uction of The 'Man Who Married a Dumb Wife, given

139 during t h i s f i r s t session*

Bruc© £. Mahan, a n o th e r s t a f f 40 member a t th e tim e , a ls o played In t h l a production* The purpose of th e group aa o u tlin e d I n I t s ©©restitution waa " . . . t o produce play s out of doors and to f o s t e r and encourage dram atic «vork as a community r e c r e a ­ t i o n a l a c t i v i t y in th e summer s e s s io n * w4^

I t had a s o c i a l

fu n c tio n as w e ll as an e d u c a tio n a l one, but t h i s group, l i k e the U n iv e rs ity T h e a tre , was a la b o r a to r y o rg a n iz a tio n f o r those ta k in g course; work in dram atic a rt*

The s tu d e n t

membership f o r the summer of 1921 numbered 40, and th e non -stu dent membership i s unknown.

As many as 75 s tu d e n t

members were l i s t e d in th e o r g a n i z a t i o n 's minute book f o r the y e ar 1925, a p ro g r e s s iv e in c re a s e having been mad© 42 each y e a r u n t i l t h a t time* Places In which th e group performed were the Old C a p ito l Oval; th e slope to the West of Old C a p ito l; th© court of th© Quadrangle; th© south and of Iowa F ie ld , which opened onto B u rlin g to n S t r e e t and was lo c a te d between th© i n te r - u r b a n tr a c k s and th e Iowa R iver; a rav in e behind th e Old Kellog School, th® p re s e n t lo c a tio n f o r p a rt of th e new V e teran ’s H ospital*

These were th©

lo c a tio n s in 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, r e s p e c t i v e l y . 45 The group was fin an c ed by the U n iv e rs ity admini­ s t r a t i o n during th e f i r s t y e ar and s u b s id iz e d each y e a r

a f t e r t h a t , a t l e a s t in p a r t # 44

Admission charges were

n o n - e x is te n t during th© f i r s t two se a s o n s, by 1923 were te n o e n ts , and in 1925 were tw e n ty - f iv e , f i f t y cen ts or 45 $1.00, depending upon th© p ro d u c tio n . The temporary sta g e s and s e a t i n g arrangem ents in each l o c a l i t y war© fu rn ish e d by th e U n i v e r s i ty , and the sc e n e ry , p r o p e r t i e s , l i g h t i n g , e t c . , were provided l a r g e ly by th e U n iv e rs ity 40 T heatre a f t e r th a f i r s t y e a r . On one occasion during the f i r s t summer, 1921, the group performed in th© C ity Park, p la y in g The Man V.ho Married A Dumb Wife t o a crowd of 2,000 people with n o table su c c e s s . 47 Crowds seem t o have been la r g e In most ca se s.

In th e Quadrangle c o u r t , s e a tin g was provided f o r

1,700 persons and r e p o r t s of the plays in d ic a te n ear 48 c ap a city audiences f o r most of th e perform ances. In e f f e c t , the Out-of-Door P lay ers group was the summer s e s s io n U n iv e rs ity Theatre group and was so b i l l e d a f t e r th e f i r s t s e s s io n , r e t a i n i n g i t s i d e n t i t y o c c a sio n a lly but not s e p a r a te ly from the U n iv e rs ity Theat r e . 49 Performances of th e group were r e g u l a r and func­ tio n e d w ith th e c u r r i c u l a r s t u d i e s in dram atic a r t w ith in th e Department of Speech In th e same way as a id the productlons o f the r e g u l a r academic y e a r . 50 The group appears t o have fu n ctio n ed s o c i a l l y to

some e x t e n t , t o o , with an annual picnics or mixer and an o c c a sio n a l lawn p a r t y .

The la r g e p ro d u c tio n program each

summer must, however, have i n h i b i t e d any e x te n siv e organized so c ia l a c t iv i t y . In th e sp rin g of 1922 a c h i l d r e n 's t h e a t r e p ro ­ je c t was launched by the departm ent.

I t became a coopera­

t i v e venture between th© c h i l d r e n 's department of the Iowa City P ublic L ib ra ry and arrangem ents f o r i t were f i r s t worked out by P ro fe ss o r Mabi© and I s a b e l Davis, th© c h il d 51 r e n 's l i b r a r i a n . I t was c a l le d th© Tom Thumb Theatre* A portmanteau s ta g e was b u i l t which oould be t r a n s p o rte d and s e t up i n a room which might or might not a lre ad y have a s ta g e .

The proscenium arch was 8 X 12 f e e t , and sta n d ard s

of pipe on which drapes could b© arran ged wore u sed .

A

p o rta b le sw itch board and l i g h t s and sm all s e t t i n g s f o r 52 each play were pro vided. The work i n t h i s t h e a t r e was don© by stu d e n ts In dram atic p ro d u c tio n c la s s e s and c h ild r e n who cam© to the l i b r a r y s to r y hour. p ro d u ctio n .

An advanced stu d e n t d i r e c te d each

C h ild ren and a d u lts played the p a r t s , and admis­

sion t o th© performances appears to have been open to " c h ild re n of a l l a g e s ,"

On one o ccasio n, th© group span53 sored Tony S a r g 's M arionettes in Rip Van Winkle. The lo c a l c e n te r of the Drama League of America

a s s i s t e d and in 1923 i t was su g g ested t h a t they might take I t on as t h e i r msin p r o j e c t i n Iowa C i t y . 54

No evidence

has been found t o i n d ic a t e t h a t th e group did so* 1923, no performances of th e group are rec o rd e d .

A fte r The Speech

Department, Mr* Mabie has s a i d , could no lo n g er continue the p r o j e c t w ith i t s f u l l U n iv e rs ity T heatre and to u rin g schedule*

I t had been hoped t h a t once s t a r t e d i t would

continue under the l e a d e r s h ip of th e l i b r a r y or the Drama league*

The group fu n c tio n e d through th r e e c o n secu tiv e

sem esters and p re s e n te d a t l e a s t seven p lays s t a r t i n g w ith L i t t l e Men A p ril 29, 1922, The F o re st S p rin g * Helga and the White Peacock* S ix Who Pass While The L e n t il s Boll* S i r David we a r s a Crown* and the Tony Sarg p rodu ctio ns of ~ 55 Don Quixote and Rip Van Winkle * Spaces used were the c h i l d r e n 's room i n the p u b lic l i b r a r y , the N a tu ra l Science Auditorium and th e S t. Pat** 56 r i c k ' s Hall* The p r o j e c t appears to have been q u i te po p u lar, re p e a t performances being mentioned i n th e press* Other C h ild r e n 's t h e a t r e p r o j e c ts were c a r r i e d out In th e Studio T heatre in. th e Memorial Union during th® 1927-28 and 1928-29 seasons w ith a s i n g l e play each y e a r. One of th® guiding t h e o r i e s underly ing th e se p ro ­ je c ts f o r c h ild r e n seem® to have been to b rin g the s e r v ic e s of the U n iv e rs ity T heatre to th e young l i f e of the community.

Deeply embedded i n th e th in k in g of th e D ir e c to r of the U n iv e rs ity T h ea tre from the very beginning has been th e theory t h a t th© t h e a t r e has a s o c i a l f u n c tio n . At approxim ately t h i s same tim e , i t i s apparent t h a t Mr. Mabia was th in k in g of the fu n c tio n the t h e a t r e might have i n th® church, and he encouraged churchmen to u t i l i s e the drama of high type w ith in t h e i r i n s t i t u t i o n s . The Daily Iowan r e p o r te d a speech given a t a r e l i g i o u s conference on August 7 , 1923, in which he e m p hatically s t a t e d t h a t churchmen would not oppose the t h e a t r e i f th«y r e a l i z e d t h a t i t had as i t s purpose the d ra m a tiz a tio n of b a sic t r u t h s and th e e l e v a t i o n of th e id e a ls of the commu­ n ity .

He went f u r t h e r to s t a t e t h a t the m issionary p ro­

paganda p lay was not th® s o r t of th in g t h a t should be done, but p lay s of a s in c e r e a r t i s t r y which p resen te d C h r is tia n t r u t h s , Bible s t o r i e s or some genuinely funda­ mental c h a r a c te r b u ild in g su b sta n c e. On A p ril 16, 17, 1926 was h e ld the f i r s t annual Iowa Play P roduction C o n te s t, an a f f a i r which has been re p e a te d each y e a r s i n c e , w ith th e ex cep tion of 1943, 1944, and 1945 when i t was i n t e r r u p t e d because of the war.

Th®

p r o je c t has sin c e been changed from a c o n te s t to a f e s t i ­ v a l, but i t s b a s i c purpose has been th© same.

The j o i n t

sponsors have always been the U n iv e rs ity T h e a tre , th e

U n iv e rs ity * s E xtension D iv isio n and the Iowa f e d e r a t i o n of Women*a C lubs. The f i r s t c o n te s ts were h e ld f o r community p la y e rs o n ly , but by 1989 they had been extended to i n ­ clude th e o f f e r i n g s of th e h ig h sc h o o ls and Ju n io r c o lle g e s 58 of the s t a t e . S ig h t groups p a r t i c i p a t e d during the f i r s t y e a r a t Iowa C ity .

Twenty-four groups had competed

i n v a rio u s d i s t r i c t s throughout the s t a t e f o r the p r i v i ­ lege of ap p earin g i n Iowa C ity ,

A ll of th ese were commu­

n ity t h e a t r e gro ups, and among th e p la y e rs were* a

T eachers, r a i l r o a d m e n , m others, s te n o g ra p h e rs , a r t i s t s , bookkeepers, (school) s u p e rin te n d e n ts , v m u s ic ia n ^ -an dH aw y arsf -Cue group was composed e n t i r e l y o f r a i l r o a d men, a n o th e r e n t i r e l y of m others, a n o th e r e n t i r e l y of busin ess women.50

; ;

The purpose of the U n iv e rs ity T heatre*s p a r t i ­ c ip a tio n i n t h i s p r o j e c t was t o extend th e development of th e a tr e as a r e c r e a t i o n a l p r o j e c t t o people throughout the s t a t e , t o s tim u la te community dram atic a c t i v i t y , to im­ prove th e q u a l i t y of dram atic work done In the communities of th e s t a t e , and t o develop a c lo s e r r e l a t i o n s h i p w ith 60 those, people I n t e r e s t e d i n community t h e a t r e . By 1929, with th e p a r t i c i p a t i o n of th© high schools and Ju n io r c o lle g e s the numbers e n ro lle d had grown to se v en te en , of which twelve were high sch o o ls, flfiys p re s e n te d o fte n in clu d ed new m anuscripts by Iowa

145 61 a u th o rs as w ell as th© s ta n d a rd on®-act far® of the 1920* s. The o r i g i n a l p a r t i c i p a n t s i n the c o n te s t wares Mosehel P la y ers of Ottumwa, Mid-West Dramatic Club of Des Moines, l o b s t e r C ity P la y e r s , L i t t l e Pheatr® S ociety of Dos Moinos, I l l i n o i s C e n tra l Dramatic Club o f Waterloo, F riendly House P la y e rs of D&venport, and the p la y e rs of the Red Oak Monday Club of Red Oak.

One o th e r group,

E n te r ta in e r s Dramatlo Club of C reston was e n te re d but did not appear*

The Webster City group won th e f i r s t p lace go p r i s e of a bronze Pax by Malvina Hoffman. Other s e r v ic e s of the Department of Speech and I t s U n iv e rs ity T heatre during th e p e rio d under c o n sid era ­ t i o n in clu d ed conferences on dram atic a r t of nationwide im port.

The f i r s t of th e s e was th e n a ti o n a l convention of

the Drama League of America h e ld in Iowa C ity A p ril 19, 20, 21, 1923.

This was th e t h i r t e e n t h annual n a ti o n a l con­

vention f o r th e group and i t drew th eatr© f ig u r e s from 63 many p a r t s of th e n a ti o n . The r e l a t i o n s h i p s of the department of speech with the Drama League seem t o have begun in 1915 when Glenn M. Merry organised the Iowa City Centre of the league and became the f i r s t s t a t e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e from Iowa to a tt e n d the n a ti o n a l c o n v e n tio n .64

I t appears to have been l a r g e ly

a U n iv e rs ity o rg a n is a tio n as the g r e a t e r p a r t of i t s

HG membership was drawn from U n iv e rs ity alum ni, s tu d e n ts and f a c u l ty members.

The U n iv e rs ity P la y e rs as a u n i t belonged

as a member, and c o ll a b o r a t e d w ith th e league i n b rin g in g ou tsid e a t t r a c t i o n s to th e campus and Iowa C ity .

A le c tu re

by G r a n v ille B a rk er, and pro ductions of M ister Antonio w ith Otis S k in n e r, S t u a r t Walker’ s Portmanteau T h e a tre , the Wisconsin P la y ers were among t h e i r e a r ly j o i n t projects*®^ Mr. Mabie worked very c lo s e ly with th© lea g u e, le c tu r i n g and as a member of i t s vario u s n a ti o n a l and s t a t e committees*

The L i t t l e T heatre C i r c u i t of the Drama

League of America had i t s most a c t iv e groups lo c a te d In Iowa and th e to u r s of th© U n iv e rs ity T heatre and th© lo c a l c e n tre of th e league wore probably I t s most a c tiv e p a r t i ­ cipants*

Mr. Mabie was s t a t e chairman f o r the c i r c u i t

committee and became n a t i o n a l chairman when Walter P ric h ard islaton re s ig n e d . The league fr e q u e n tly produced plays on the campus In th e L i t t l e T h eatre in th© Old Dental B u ild in g , and even more fre q u e n tly used members of th© stud ent body in i t s p la y s , in c lu d in g those produced in the E n g lert Theatre*

67

Th© proxim ity of i t s r e l a t i o n s h i p can be seen by th e f a c t t h a t i n the f a l l of 1923 the Iowa City Drama League decided to become i n a c t i v e c i t i n g as th© p r i n c i p a l reason the numerous a c t i v i t i e s o f th© U n iv e rs ity T h ea tre .

At t h a t time th e r e were l i s t e d 116 members*

60

Another

in die& tion of t h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p I s found In th e f a c t t h a t F ran cis JS* Sueppel, a prominent lo o a l businessm an, Vicep r e s id e n t of th© lo o a l Drama League and amateur a c t o r of some s t a t u r e and genuine p o p u l a r i ty , was f r e q u e n tly c a s t f o r le a d s i n such U n iv e rs ity T h ea tre p ro du ctio n s as Merchant of V enice, School f o r S c a n d a l, and R ic h e lie u , which l a s t was never produced because Mr* Sueppel died one evening a f t e r r e h e a r s a l . He had be«m c a s t in the t i t l e 69 role* In 1925, th e s tu d io t h e a t r e in the L ib e ra l Arts Annex was named f o r him*

Such item s as th e s e w i l l i l l u ­

s t r a t e th e community r e l a t i o n s h i p and impact of the U n iv e rsity T heatre as w ell as i t s r e l a t i o n s h i p to th e Drama League* The key speaker a t th© convention i n Iowa City was Georg© P ie rce Baker, who a t t h a t time was s t i l l the le a d e r of th e Harvard 47 Workshop*

His Bpeech concerned

the developing f u tu r e of the t h e a tr e in th© u n i v e r s i t i e s and c o n c e n tra te d la r g e ly upon th e m a tte r of pl& yw ritlng and t h e n e c e s s ity of c o lle g e t r a i n i n g f o r th o se going i n to the t h e a t r e p r o f e s s i o n a l l y .

I t was h i s expressed b e l i e f

th a t the c o lle g e s and u n i v e r s i t i e s were the w e lls p rin g s 71 fo r the f u tu r e p lay w rig h ts of America, Perhaps the most s i g n i f i c a n t f e a tu r e of the

convention from th© U n iv e rs ity T h e a tr e ’s p o in t of view was i t s p ro d u c tio n of F ra n cis Hielson*a The Bath Hoad which marked th e f i r s t of i t a long s e r i e s of world prem ieres of new p lay s by e s t a b l i s h e d and s u c c e s s f u l p la y w rig h ts.

Here,

fo r th© f i r s t tim e , t h e s tu d e n t a c to r s a t th© U n iv e rs ity were given th e o p p o rtu n ity t o take a new, f u l l - l e n g t h m anuscript and c r e a t e i t s c h a r a c te r s w ithout a s e t of pre­ conceived n o tio n s as to t h e i r n a tu re d erived from the p re ­ vious performances of p r o f e s s i o n a l acto rs*

The play appears

to have been a genuine su c c e s s , re c e iv in g approval from the a u th o r , th e l o c a l and n a ti o n a l c r i t i c s who a tte n d e d . Professor P h i l i p G* Clapp, who wrote the Dally Iowan r e ­ view c a l le d i t i . . . a n e a r l y and e x c e ll e n t climax to two years of r a p id growth and rem arkable achievement in dram atic e d u catio n and p r o d u c t i o n ,. . e a s i l y th e f i n e s t of many su c ce sses which P ro fe ss o r Mabie*s s k i l l has vouchsafed t o u s . . . n o t a f a l s e n o t a . . , a triumph and one of more7fchan merely l o c a l or f l e e t i n g sig n ific a n c e * Several informed comments compared i t fav o ra b ly w ith p ro 73 f e s s i o n a l work. In th e f a l l of 1927 d e f i n i t e plans were being made f o r b rin g in g t o Iowa C ity and the U n iv e rs ity campus a n a tio n a l con ference on the Fine A r ts .

I t was not th e

plan t h i s time to b r i n g in an o u tsid e o rg a n iz a tio n to hold i t s conference on the campus, but t o sponsor one

149 independently*

Financing th© conference was a problem

because I t was a now id e a .

Th© U n iv e rs ity wished t h i s to

be a s i g n i f i c a n t co n fe ren c e, n a ti o n a l in scope, a t which some of th e Im portant American minds in the f i e l d of edu­ c a tio n in th© Fine ftrts would s i t down t o t a l k out impor­ t a n t problem s.

I n t e r e s t e d departm en ts, f i n a n c i a l l y , war©

the Kxtension D iv isio n , th e College of E ducation, the Department of Speech and the School of Music.

Each con­

t r i b u t e d |3 0 0 , except th© College of E ducation, which 74 gave $500. Th© idea f o r th© conference seems to have o r i ­ gin ated w ith P ro fe s s o r Mabi® and R. H. F i t z g e r a l d , who took t h e i r plans to P re s id e n t Jessup and Dean P. C. Packer 75 of th e College of Education and won e n t h u s i a s t i c ap p ro v al. The plan in clu d ed tre a tm e n t of g rap h ic and p l a s t i c a r t s , music, and dram atic a r t in j o i n t and s e p a r a te group meetings. The P re sid e n t of the U n iv e rs ity sen t I n v i t a t i o n s to s e v e ra l hundred e d u c a tio n a l and a r t le a d e rs throughout th e United S ta te s to a t t e n d , and between 100 and 200 mat in Iowa City January 19, 20, 21, 1928.76 Main to p ic s f o r d is c u s s io n were 11A C o-ordinated Program f o r the Fine A r ts , The Fin© A rts in Student L if e , The Fine A rts In Community L if e , The S e le c tio n of Plays and the Royalty Problem, S ta g e c r a f t f o r L i t t l e T h e a tre s,

77

Amateur T h ea tre S ta n d a rd s , Producing O r ig in a l P l a y s .’1

The lea d in g sp eakers in th e t h e a t r e were George P ierce Baker, B. Id e a Payne, 8. Marion Tucker, F re d e ric McConnell, Carol M. Sax, Harold B hransperger, W, C. Troutman, C. L. Manser, Mrs* Manta Graham*

More g e n e ra l speakers f o r th e

program In clu d e d P re s id e n t W alter A* Jessup and F red erick P. Keppal, P r e s id e n t of th e Carnegie Corporation* f i e l d s had an e q u a lly im pressive l i s t of speakers*

Other 78

The program a ls o in clu d ed a U n iv e rs ity T heatre prod uction of Shaw's St., Joan which was r a t e d by George 7& P ullen Jackson as w. . .a s to u M ih g ly e x c e ll e n t . . i , ” '* an a r t e x h ib it and two music r e c i t a l s * P r e s id e n t Jessup conceived the theme of the conference a s being th e c o o rd in a te d e x te n sio n of th e c u l t u r a l in f lu e n c e s of th© a r t s to the community and th e s t a t e , the d is c u s s io n of th e s o l u t io n to problems of housing the Fine A rts with adequate f a c i l i t i e s f o r b rin g in g in flu e n c e t o play on the e n t i r e u n i v e r s i t y , community 80 and s t a t e . P r o fe s s o r Baker spoke of the place of drama­ t i c a r t In a c o o rd in a te d program f o r the tea ch in g of th e Fine Arts*

Payne, Tucker and other® grappled with th©

problem of making th e t h e a t r e a v i t a l in flu e n c e in th e liv e s of stu d e n ts through course o r g a n iz a tio n and p h y s ic a l fa c ilitie s.

McConnell was concerned w ith Community T heatre

15 problem* and th e ways In whloh a U n iv e rs ity could serve 81 the community* Georg© P u lle n Jackson, D ire c to r of the N a sh v ille Symphony, summed up conference opinion as fo llo w s: Beauty i s as g r e a t a n e c e s s i t y in th© l i f e of the i n d iv i d u a l and th e n a tio n as i s p r a c t i c a ­ l i t y . Th© study of th e a r t s tends t o f o s t e r in man not only s e l f - e x p r e s s i o n , but a ls o an a p p r e c ia tio n of th e b e a u t i f u l . The American u n i v e r s i t y , t h e r e f o r e . . . t h a t comprehensive I n s t i t u t i o n which has u n d e rta k en th e ed ucatio n of th e n a t i o n 's le a d e rs in a p r a c t i c a l w a y ... cannot escape i t s o b lig a t io n as th© purveyor a ls o of th© atmosphere and o p p o rtu n itie s f o r th© stud y of th© b e a u t i f u l . 88 An i n t e r e s t i n g a sp e c t of th e conference i s t h a t when i t was a l l o v e r, the U n iv e rs ity had given graphic proof t h a t i t was a c t u a l l y doing something about i t .

The program

in Fine A rts on th e campus was w ell underway and c o n sid e ra ­ tio n of th e developments i n f a c i l i t i e s and s t a f f which earn© i n th© next decade in th e U n i v e r s i t y 's h i s t o r y was being worked o u t.

In a se n se , t h i s was an announcement

to the world t h a t Iowa had e s t a b l i s h e d f a i t h i n th e p r i n ­ cip le t h a t Fine Apts should be tau g h t in a s t a t e u n iv e r ­ s i t y curriculu m . On February 20, 21, 22, 1930, a second Fine Arts Conference was h e ld at Iowa w ith a s i m i l a r them©, a co o rd in a te d program of Fine Arts i n h ig h er e d u c a tio n , leading speakers f o r th e t h e a tr e were Kenneth MacGow&n,

Hew York dram atic o r i t l c

and p ro d u ce r, and Thomas Wood

S tev en s, o rg a n iz e r of th e f i r s t departm ent of d ram atic a r t In an American i n s t i t u t i o n of h ig h e r l e a r n in g , and, a t t h a t tim e, D ire c to r of th e Goodman Memorial T heatre in Chicago.®-® MacGow&n d isc u sse d th e p l a c e , n a tu re and scope of dram atic a r t i n th e c u rric u lu m .

He s a i d t h a t i t came

t o be taug ht because th e s tu d e n ts had demanded i t and because th© t h e a t r e p ossessed a tremendous human d r iv e . Many did not th in k i t re s p e c ta b le as e d u c a tio n , but i t w%8 her© and proving i t s e l f .

How where did i t belong?

He

s a id i t fu n c tio n e d b e s t In a, se p a ra te departm ent, probably next b e st in a department of speech, but t h a t i t was d e f i n i t e l y out of p lac e in E n g lish .

Also, the t h e a t r e in

education should be c o o rd in a te d w ith music and a r t , and a r c h i t e c t u r e , and i f i t were t o develop, s p e c i a l i z a t i o n was needed.

He s t a t e d t h a t p la y w ritin g should be taught

p rim a rily to th e mature s t u d e n t, and the u n d e rg ra d u a te 's aim i n t h e a t r e need not be v o c a tio n a l but r a t h e r © vocational. Courses f o r un dergraduates i n t h e a t r e sk ill® were e s s e n t i a l f o r p ro d u c tio n , he s a i d .

Acting t r a i n i n g was im perative

fo r the d i r e c t o r and producer of plays*

He made a stro n g

plea f o r th e c o o p erativ e union of the e d u c a tio n a l and community t h e a t r e s which would co o rd in a te them with each other and th e commercial t h e a t r e which needed t h e i r

tea ch in g f o r c e s .

A lso, th e r e was a g re a t need fo r the

lo c a l t h e a t r e w ith l o o a l a c to r s producing plays which l o c a l audiences l i k e d .

And the f u t u r e , he b e lie v e d , would see

such an organized and I n t e g r a te d , y e t Independent t h e a t r e system i n America. 84 Stevens s t a t e d t h a t the a r t i s t had a d e f i n i t e place In American c i v i l i z a t i o n and should t h e r e f o r e be given d e f i n i t e c o n s id e r a tio n in h ig h er e d u c a tio n a l systems.

Besides being born, he s a i d , th e a r t i s t had to

acquire a sy s te m a tic knowledge of how to work, and th© u n i v e r s it y had th e background from which the a r t s should be taking t h e i r su s te n a n c e , and t h a t t h i s background In general e d u c a tio n must be c o o rd in a te d w ith the a r t i s t ' s p ro fe s s io n a l e d u c a tio n .

Stevens s a id a big problem in

educating a r t i s t s was the time scheme.

A time system

would have to be worked out so t h a t the c o r r e l a t i o n of p r o fe s s io n a l t r a i n i n g with g e n eral ed ucation would not b© ty ran n ize d by the clo© k* be

p erm itted

b e lls

The -student'-art 1 s t -would have to

to pursue s p e c i f i c c re a tiv e problems without

ino ppo rtun ely

c a l li n g , him

to,

o th er

c la s s e s .

wThere must be a system by which the a r t i s t - s t u d e n t , born under th e r i g h t s t a r , can g e t h is t r a i n i n g w i t h o u t .wrec85 king the whole knowledge-dealing a rra n g em e n t.” He s a id th© a r t i s t had a p la c e In s o c i e t y and th a t he needed

e d u catio n but must ©Iso l e a r n th e trade*

The u n i v e r s i t y

th-oifcld f i n d a way t o p lan and c o o rd in a te h is work w ith th e r e s t of th e i n s t i t u t i o n w ithout k i l l i n g hi® a r t i s t i c opport u n l t i * . . 86 Such t a l k s and d is c u s s io n s were the core of th sse c o nferences end se rv ed to s tim u la te and c o o rd in a te the th in k in g of thoae i n t e r e s t e d i n Fine ^ r t s on th e Iowa campus.

Less e x te n s iv e but s i m i l a r in tone were the

meetings h e ld f o r the play c o n te s ts and t e a c h e r ’s con­ ferences which were sponsored by the speech department during th e s e fo rm ativ e y ears of b rin g in g the t h e a t r e i n to the Iowa U n iv e rs ity cu rriculum .

Iowa was f a s t tak in g a

lead i n the promoting of Fine Arts i n e d u ca tio n . Courses 67 Fundamentals . The . p a t t e r n ihentals •:..of

speech

had

fo r

th e x w o r k

been f a i r l y

1 n .; f u nda -

d e fin ite ly

set

during the l a s t y e ar or two b efore th© p e rio d under c o n si­ d e ra tio n , but refin em en ts were c o n s ta n tly creeping in to th© philosophy and p r a c t ic e i n t h i s work.

The s in g le

course in t h i s a r e a , P r i n c ip l e s of Speech, continued throughout th e e n t i r e p e rio d 1920-30 as a r e q u ir e d course fo r a l l l i b e r a l a r t s s t u d e n ts .

S ection s fo r s tu d e n ts w ith

d i f f e r e n t needs and a b i l i t i e s were e s t a b l is h e d , and d i f f e r e n t

p a tte r n s of o r g a n iz a tio n of t h e cou rse were uaad to meet spoolUlu problem s.

Thor® i® no i n d i c a t i o n from th® reco rd s

examined i n t h i s s tu d y , however, t h a t , between 1920 and 1930, any s e c t i o n s had been arran g ed t o care f o r needs and a b i l i t y of dram atic a r t s t u d e n ts ,

th e s p e c i a l

Perhaps t h i s

was an i n d i c a t i o n of philosophy t h a t th e b a sic sk ill® of th© dram atic a r t s tu d e n t were s i m i l a r to th o se needed by a v a r ie ty

of o t h e r s . A check of th e Schedule of Courses f o r

th e se

y e a r s and th e F in a l Grade Reports I n d i c a te s t h a t u n t i l 1927*28 th e normal s e c t i o n in t h i s course met twice weekly and y i e l d e d one sem ester hour of c r e d i t . date only one m eeting per week was h e ld . of work in th e course were r e q u ir e d .

A fte r t h i s

Two sem esters

S p e c ia l s e c tio n s of

th® course were s e t up to s e p a ra te upper from lower c l a s s ­ men,

Other s p e c i a l s e c tio n s were o f f e r e d f o r a y ear or

two which would y i e l d only a f r a c t i o n of an h o u r’ s c r e d i t , e v id e n tly t o s a t i s f y the g ra d u a tio n requirem ent f o r some one who had ...started th e course while the U n iv e rsity was s t i l l on the q u a r t e r system. Men were s e g re g a te d from women in the course u n t i l th® f i r s t sem ester of 1926*27,

Some few s e c tio n s

of th® course had been c o ed u c atio n a l during t h i s tim e, b u t most had n o t.

S p e c ia l s e c tio n s were o ffe re d fo r fo re ig n

stu d e n ts and o th e rs f o r e n g in e e rs .

In 1925-26 s p e c i a l

fcwo-fl«m®et©r hour c o u rses were s e t up fo r women p h y s ic a l e du cation m ajors and o th e r s of th e same s o r t f o r ju n io rs and s e n i o r s .

I n 1924-25 one conference or c l i n i c s e c t i o n

was s e t up f o r each fo u r s e c tio n s of th e c o u rs e , a p r a c t ic e which was d is c o n tin u e d a f t e r 1925-26.

In 1928-29, P ro fe ss o r

Lee Edward T ravia in tro d u c e d a s p e c i a l s e c t i o n c a l l e d P a ra o n a llty Speech C l a s s , and in 1929-30, a s p e c i a l c l i n i c arrangement was made to s e r v ic e a l l s e c t i o n s of the c o u rse , with s p e c i a l c l l n i o a l i n s t r u c t o r s a s s ig n e d .

This i n d ic a t e s

th e re was some r e c o g n i ti o n of In d iv id u a l d i f f e r e n c e s . The number of s e c tio n s o f fe r e d each sem ester ranged from 35 t o 60 and averaged 45 over th e t e n y e a r p e rio d .

S t a f f f o r the oourse was l a r g e ly composed of gradu­

ate a s s i s t a n t s , i n s t r u c t o r s and a s s o c i a t e s with an occasional ranking s t a f f member te a c h in g in th® c o u rs e .

P ro fe ss o rs

Merry and Mabie f r e q u e n tly taug ht th e c o u rse, and P ro fe ss o r Woolbert worked i n th e f i e l d e x te n s iv e ly .

A s s is ta n t P ro fe s­

sors A lice M ills , «V# H. Trumbauar, Vance M. Morton, G, W. Gray, and H. Clay Hershberger tau g h t e x te n s iv e ly in the cou rse. S e c tio n s iz e s during thiB p e rio d g e n e ra lly ran l a r g e , and in alm ost every y e ar extremes in s iz e could be found#

U n til th e y e a r 1926-27, enrollm ent per s e c tio n

g e n e ra lly averaged from twenty to tw e n ty -fiv e s t u d e n ts .

During t h a t y e a r an average gain of approxim ately f iv e stu d e n ts per s e c t i o n seems t o have been th e c a se , and In the f i r s t sem ester of the fo llo w in g y e a r the en ro llm ent ranged from tw enty-seven to f o r t y - f o u r p er s e c tio n with an average of approxim ately t h i r t y - t h r e e t o t h i r t y - f i v e . Such la r g e s e c tio n s appear to have taxed the s t a f f too much and during th® second sem ester th e number of s e c tio n s was r a i s e d from t h i r t y - f i v e t o s i x t y reducing th e e n r o l­ lment rang© from twelve t o twenty-two per s e c t i o n w ith an approximate average of s i x t e e n .

From t h i s p o in t on u n t i l

1950, th e enrollm en t per s e c t i o n seems to have been kept below tw e n ty -fiv e and g e n e ra lly around tw enty.

The number

of te a c h e rs a ssig n e d to the course ranged from e ig h t to twelve and averaged about t e n each sem ester.

T otal en­

rollm ent ranged from about 925 t o about 1260 p e r sem ester and th e number of te a c h e rs a ssig n e d t o the course seems to have f l u c t u a t e d somewhat p r o p o r tio n a te ly w ith the e n r o l l ­ ment except f o r a y e a r or two, which f a c t accounts f o r the extremely la r g e enrollm ent per s e c tio n i n th ose y e a r s . Th® summer s e s s io n en rollm ents i n the course g e n e ra lly ra n sm a lle r th a n the average of th® academic year during t h i s p e rio d , and th© number of s e c tio n s was u s u a lly two or th re e w ith on© or two i n s t r u c t o r s u s u a lly assigned to th e c o u rse .

P r i n c i p l e s of Speech was always r e q u ir e d of B. A. c a n d id a te s and was always p r e r e q u i s i t e to a l l o th e r courses i n th® department during t h i s p e rio d .

The course

d e s c r ip tio n beginning with the catalo g u e announcements for 1928-25 was 8 This i s a course i n g e n e ra l speech e d u c a tio n , r a t h e r th a n in p u b lic speaking spe­ c i f i c a l l y . T ra in in g embraces the develop­ ment of d i s t i n c t u t t e r a n c e , th in k in g and speaking in th® presen ce of o t h e r s , and e f f e c ­ t i v e o r a l e x p re ssio n in everyday s o c i a l and b u sin e ss r e l a t i o n s h i p s . There no lo n g er appeared a n o t a t i o n to the e f f e c t t h a t l i t t l e or no p r e p a r a tio n o u tsid e of the c la s s would be r e q u ire d , which had o b tain ed u n t i l t h i s tim e. Daily Iowan f o r January 29, 1924, quoted Dean Seashore t o the e f f e c t t h a t th© purpose of th e P r in c ip le s of Speech course was to c o rr e c t or r e h a b i l i t a t e p e o p le 's su b sta n d a rd speech, whether mild or extreme. Speech he s t a t e d to be th e key t o p e r s o n a l i ty both as a medium fo r e x p re ss io n and a s 1a f a c t o r in i t s fo rm ation . He sa id t h a t we are judged more f r e q u e n tly by our speech th an by our looks or a c t i o n s ,

Henoe, Iowa had a r e q u ire d

course in speech f o r a l l l i b e r a l a r t s stu d e n ts a t Iowa, which attem pted t o b rin g stu d e n t speech up to an e f f e c t i v e sta n d a rd . General Production

During . the:: f i r s t

year

of

th e

1 50 deoad®, 1920-SO, th# c o u rs e , E d u cational D ram atics, was s t i l l . o f f a r a d b u t w ith a c o n s id e ra b le change i n emphasis from t h a t o f f e r e d in p rev io u s years*

As d e sc rib e d in th e

catalogue announcements f o r the y e a r 1920-21} The aim of t h i s course i s e d u c a tio n a l not p r o f e s s i o n a l dram atic p re s e n ta tio n * S tu ­ dents a re ta u g h t to p re s e n t drama In s i n c e r i t y and s i m p l i c i t y . S t r i c t l y a course in p resen ­ t a t i on ( i t a l i c s mine J" which should be preceded by 117(118)• Membership t o the c la s s I s upon two b a s e s t Group A i s made up of those who q u a lif y f o r p a r t s in p la y s ; Group B of those who d e s i r e t o l e a r n th® p r i n c i p l e s of p resen ­ t a t i o n and who a s s i s t in the d e t a i l s of stag© p r e s e n ta tio n * Members a re a ssig n e d t o a group by th© i n s t r u c t o r . The i n s t r u c t o r should be c o n su lte d b e fo re r e g i s t r a t i o n . Her® we see a p o s i t i v e move toward and no apology f o r th© a c t u a l p ro d u ctio n of plays as c la s s work,

The emphasis

upon s i n c e r i t y and s im p li c it y was, p e rh a p s, r e a c tio n a g a in st the v e s tig e s of the old e lo c u tio n a ry approach to a c tin g and in favor of th e r e a l i s t i c approach which was becoming firm ly r o o t e d . by t h i s tim e.

There i s evidence,

in t h i s d e s c r i p t io n of an attem pt to a d ju s t course content and assignm ents t o th e c a p a c i t i e s of th e i n d iv i d u a l. signments to th e c a p a c i ti e s of the I n d iv id u a l. ments were obviously t o be mad# i n th ese t e r m s .

As­

Assign­ A lso, i t

i s apparent t h a t an a p p r e c ia tio n course 117(116), The Contemporary S ta g e , which w i l l b© d isc u sse d l a t e r , was f e l t to be n ecessary background fo r s u c c e s s f u l work in

dram atic production*

Theory and c o n te n t were not being

s e p a ra te d from p r a c t i c e b u t bein g r e l a t e d t o i t .

This

course was ta u g h t by Margaret Sherman during th© academic y e a r and in th e summer s e s s io n s of 1920 and 1921 by E liza ­ b e th Parker Runt and Mr. Mabie. At th e beginning of th e 1921 summer s e s s io n i t was announced t h a t ”due to the e n la rg ed p o in t of view of the department** th e d epartm en tal t i t l e had been changed from " P u b lic Speaking” t o ’Speech” .

Hon© of the work in

p u b lic speaking was dropped, but th© concept of speech was expanding and P ro fe s s o r Merry announced, " I t i s the purpose of th e department t o o f f e r work along the l i n e of th e whole «88

f i e l d of speech e d u c a tio n ."

This meant new emphasis

on the sc ie n c e of speech s p e c i f i c a l l y but i t seems to have a p p lie d t o th e t h e a t r e as w a ll.

The c h alle n g e o ff e r e d

by t h i s t i t l e change and th e almost sim ultaneous e s t a b l i s h ­ ment of th e U n iv e rs ity T heatre seem to have o ffe re d new impetus to th e program in dram atic a r t .

Here was a t i t l e

t h a t allowed f o r a b ro ad e r d e f i n i t i o n of a c t i v i t y and ideas and here was a new la b o r a to r y t h e a t r e in which Ideas could a c tu a lly b© put t o work. In 1921-22, th® t i t l e , E du cation al Dram atics, was dropped from the curriculum *

The dichotomy of con­

cept between e d u c a tio n a l and p r o f e s s i o n a l dram atic pr©-

s e h t a t io n s t a t e d In th e above d e s c r i p t io n of t h i s course should be no ted h e r e .

H e r e a f te r , no dichotomy a p p ea rs.

Ro a p o lo g ie s a re made f o r t h e a t r e as e d u c a tio n or attem p ts made t o j u s t i f y i t by u sin g th© word e d u ca tio n in course title s*

I t was assumed t h a t e f f e c t i v e dram atic produc­

t io n was e d u c a tio n a l. Catalogue announcements f o r 1921-22 mentioned two new c o u rs e s , 133(134) Dramatic p ro d u c tio n , and 131(132) Dramatic I n t e r p r e t a t i o n *

A com b in atio n of the two courses

seems to have been ta u g h t as a s in g le c o u rse, however.

Ch

the f i n a l grade r e p o r t s th e numbers 131(132) were assig n e d to the t i t l e , Dramatic P ro d u c tio n .

lumbers 133(134) and

course t i t l e , Dramatic I n t e r p r e t a t i o n were not used . D escrip tio n s f o r the two courses in d ic a t e d th a t the l a t t e r would p re s e n t th e e f f e c t i v e p r i n c i p le s of dram atic i n t e r ­ p r e t a t i o n w ith th e s tu d e n ts performing as a c t o r s in plays* The Dramatic Prod uction course would p re s e n t p r i n c i p l e s and methods of dram atic p ro d u c tio n , and performances of plays Involving t y p i c a l p ro d u c tio n problems.

Announcements f o r

the fo llo w in g y e a r , 1922-23, did not inclu d e th e t i t l e , Dramatic I n t e r p r e t a t i o n , but d e sc rib e d Dramatic Produotlcn As p re s e n tin g "The p r i n c i p l e s and methods of dram atic production w ith emphasis on dram atic i n t e r p r e t a t i o n , . . (c o r­ r e l a t i o n of) c la s s work w ith p r a c t i c a l t e c h n ic a l work

in v o lv ed i n th e p ro d u c tio n of p la y s in a r e p e r to r y th e a tr e * "

This l a s t i s th e course which was tau g h t in

both y e a r s , 1921-22 and 1922-23*

F u rth e r support f o r

t h i s c o n c lu sio n i s found i n the f a c t t h a t whereas the c r e d i t f o r aach of th e two co u rses was announced as t h r e e sem ester h o u rs , in th e one a c t u a l l y t a u g h t, c r e d i t was In cre ased t o fo u r -tov five ,sem ester ho u rs. By th e y e a r 1924-25 expansion of the curriculum i n dram atic p ro d u c tio n and th® beginnings of s p e c i a l i z a ­ t i o n were very a p p a re n t.

131(132) Dramatic Production

was c lo se d t o g rad u ate s tu d e n ts and a ssig n e d th e numbers 31(32), and i t s c r e d i t was re tu rn e d to th re e sem ester h o u rs.

(2) an advanced p ro d u ctio n course was i n t r o ­

duced.

(5) In 1922-23 a course i n s t a g e c r a f t was begun,

and (4) i n 1923-24 the f i r s t course devoted e n t i r e l y to the te a c h in g of a c t in g was o ffe re d . The e f f e c t of th e s e new developments on Dramat1c Production seems to have been to make i t an in tro d u c to ry course In a c t i n g and producing which attem pted t o f u r n i s h " s tu d e n ts w ith sta n d ard s of e v a lu a tio n and a p p re c ia tio n fo r th e b e s t th in g s in the t h e a t r e so t h a t they (m ig h t)..* i n t e l l i g e n t l y employ t h e i r l e i s u r e ." ® 9

The c l a s s s t i l l

c o r r e l a t e d i t s work with th e re p e rto ry of th e U n iv e rs ity T h eatre.

®y 1926-87, t h i s course was fo cu sin g i t s work la r g e ly upon th e elem entary a s p e c ts of c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n and a c tin g te c h n iq u e s with p ro d u ctio n work In th e s tu d io t h e a t r e , and i n th e y e a r 1929-30 i t was o ffe re d f o r majors in Speech and E n g lish who ex pected to d i r e c t p lay s In high sch o o ls and community and church o rg an iz atio n s* There was some d e f i n i t e f l u c t u a t i o n in th e n a tu re of course d e s c r i p t io n s s t a r t i n g i n 1924-25, but the core of th e work seems to have been In the fundamen­ t a l s of a c tin g and g e n e ra l play pro d u ctio n plus some emphasis upon th e o ry and philosophy*

The changes from

t h i s p a t t e r n appear t o have been only p e r i p h e r a l . To summarise, p r i o r t o 1924-25, Dramatic Production was th e main, even the o nly , course d e a lin g with p ro d u c tio n .

I t seems apparent t h a t i t was th© d i r e c t

l i n e descendant of th e courses Dramatic Reading and Drama­ t i c A ction and t h e i r c o u n te rp a rts which s t a r t e d In 1914. The only p r e r e q u i s i t e l i s t e d f o r th® course was P r in c ip le s o f Speech. which was p r e r e q u i s i t e to e v e ry th in g o ffe r e d in th e departm ent.

C re d it f o r the course was

4-5 sem ester hours u n t i l 1924-25 when i t was reduced to th re e sem ester h o u rs,

tiinrollment ranged from fo rty -tw o

to eigh ty -one w ith an average in excess of f i f t y p e r sem ester.

The course was o f fe r e d each sem ester of th e

te n y e a r p e r i o d and was always a f u l l - y e a r c o u rse. H iring th e f i r s t fo u r y e a r s , i t was o f f e r e d t o both un der­ gradu ate and g ra d u a te s t u d e n t s .

A f te r t h i s tim e, w ith

the expansion of course o f f e r in g s i n dram atic a r t , i t was reduced i n complexity and c r e d i t and o f f e r e d only to u n d e rg ra d u a te s.

A f te r 1923-24, th e r e were always two o r

th re e s e c tio n s o f f e r e d , and e i t h e r two or th r e e i n s t r u c t o r s were always engaged i n te a c h in g the c o u rse.

The work of

the course was always c o r r e l a t e d with th e U n iv e rs ity T heatre p ro d u ctio n s i n e i t h e r the major or s tu d io pro­ grams. The course was c o n s i s t e n t l y o ffe r e d in the summer s e s s io n s a t the undergraduate-graduat® l e v e l , and o fte n d i r e c te d p r im a r ily a t the problems in dram atic prod uction of th e secondary school d i r e c t o r .

U n t i l 1923

the c a ta lo g u e i n d i c a t e d c o n sid e ra b le a t t e n t i o n was being d ir e c te d toward th e p ro d u ctio n of Shakespeare and th e English c l a s s i c s .

In a l l cases th e main content of the

course waa s k i l l development i n dram atic p rodu ction c o r r e l a t e d w ith p r a c t i c a l work In the U n iv e rs ity T h ea tre . In th e summer of 1924, a s p e c i a l s e c tio n f o r graduate stu d e n ts was o rg an iz ed , b u t otherw ise th e r e appears to have been no s e g r e g a tio n o th e r th an to l im i t r e g i s t r a t i o n t o t a l e n t e d s tu d e n ts having perm ission of th© i n s t r u c t o r

1» th e second summer s e s s io n of 1928.

In the summer of

1926 and a f t e r , the course was o ffe r e d only during the second s e s s io n ; p r i o r to th a t time In both s e s s io n s . This may be accounted f o r by th e f a c t t h a t In th e f i r s t s e s s io n g e n e ra l e n ro llm e n t was l a r g e r and s p e c i a l courses i n a c t i n g and s t a g e c r a f t were o f f e r e d .

Curing th e second

se s s io n a l l p ro d u c tio n work was g e n e ra lly c o n c e n tra te d I n to th e one c o u rse. During the f i r s t term of th e summer s e s s io n , c r e d i t was s e t a t two sem ester hours and i n the aecond term i t ranged from on® to 1.7 sem ester h o u rs.

E n r o ll­

ment ranged from t h i r t e e n to f o r t y - f i v e i n any one term and g e n e r a lly was twenty or above.

Low sp o ts in e n r o l l ­

ment came during the second term of summer se ss io n s p r i o r to 1926. I n s t r u c t i o n in Dramatic Production was given by P ro f e s s o r Mabie u n t i l 1924-25, a f t e r which Helen Langworthy,

H. Trumbauer, Ray E. Holcombe, " a l t e r

Roach, E d ith Rule, Vance Morton, A. Dale Riley and Harry G. Barnes were a ssig n e d to th e course. Beginning in 1925-24, two i n s t r u c t o r s were always a ssig n e d to th e course and o c c a sio n a lly t h r e e . C o n tinuity of i n s t r u c t i o n was always provided by th® presence of a t l e a s t on© person who had p re v io u sly tau g h t

1

the c o u rse . I n te rp re ta tio n

and ' Ac ti n g

I n t e r p r e t a t i o n . of ;

th# p r i n t e d page i s common t o b oth ©ctor and i n t e r p r e t e r , and because of t h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p , I n t e r p r e t a t i o n and a c t i n g courses w i l l be d isc u sse d under th e same heading# l u r i n g th e y e a rs between 1920 and 1930 fo u r courses In t h i s a r e a were given a t Iowa s t a r t i n g w ith a s in g le course i n 1920#

A second was in tro d u c ed in 1923,

a t h i r d i n 1924, and a s p e c i a l summer s e s s io n course in a c tin g In 1925# Oral I n t e r p r e t a t i o n of L i t e r a t u r e was c a r r i e d over from th e prev io us p e rio d , d isc u sse d in Chapter I I , and continued t o u t i l i z e th e same course d e s c r i p t io n through­ out t h i s decade.

S lig h t changes were made i n th e p h ilo s o ­

phy of the course and changes of s t a f f assignm ents t o i t s i n s t r u c t i o n were made as wall#

In 1920-21 th e f i n a l grade

r e p o rts show t h a t i t used the numbers 113, 114, which were changed t o 121(122) th© follow ing y e a r making i t a f u l l y ear i n d i v i s i b l e c o u rse.

In 1923-24 the course t i t l e was

changed to I n t e r p r e t a t i v e Reading, which remained the same throughout the p e rio d under c o n s id e r a tio n .

The course

numbers were changed in 1925-26 t o 21(22) I n d ic a tin g t h a t i t was s u i t a b l e f a r e only f o r u n d e rg ra d u ate s, and In th® follow ing y e a r i t was announced t h a t i t was f o r sophomores

and j u n i o r s .

The ©ours© was p r im a rily aimed a t those who

inten d ed t o t e a c h o r a l rea d in g and declam ation work i n th© h ig h s c h o o ls . The enrollm ent In t h i s course ranged from t h i r t y seven t o se v e n ty -n in e In t h i s decade and averaged between f i f t y - f i v e and s i x t y a f t e r 1922-23.

On two o c ca sio n s, the

f i r s t sem esters of 1923-24 and 1925-26, the enrollm ent was alm ost, i f no t e n t i r e l y , women. was o ff e re d by women e n t i r e l y ! Alma 0 . Madden, 1921-22.

I n s t r u c t i o n In th e course Margaret Sherman, 1920-21;

No rec o rd i s a v a i la b l e f o r

1922-23 u n t i l th e second sem ester when A lice W. M. M ills, began o f f e r in g th e c o u rse.

Mrs. M ills continued u n t i l

1926-27 and ta u g h t i t a g a in in 1928-29.

Beginning in

1924-25 Helene B l a t t n e r sh ared the course w ith Mrs* M ills throughout the decade w ith the excep tio n of 1928-29. There were u s u a lly two, and sometimes t h r e e , s e c tio n s of the course each se m este r.

S e c tio n s were g e n e ra lly k ept

below 30 in Enrollment but sometimes c re p t as h igh as 36, and i n 1921-22 when only on© s e c t i o n was o ffe re d each term, a h ig h of 41 was reach ed . The course was o ffe re d each summer s e ss io n through 1926 and was d e sc rib e d as an advanced course p a r t of the tim e.

C re d it o f f e r e d in t h i s f i r s t course in

i n t e r p r e t a t i o n waa two sem ester hours i n 1920-21, and t h r e e

sem ester hours t h e r e a f t e r u n t i l 1926-27 when I t r e v e r t e d to two sem ester h o u rs.

C re d it in th e summer s e s s io n ranged

from one t o two sem ester h o u rs . ®*

Advanced I n t e r p r e t a t i v e Reading 123(124) was

in tro d u c ed i n t o th e cu rricu lu m in th e second sem ester of 1923-24 by Mrs. M i l ls , who o f f e r e d i t each y e a r t h e r e ­ a f t e r throughout th e p e rio d .

I t was f i r s t d e s c rib e d in

the catalo gue announcements f o r 1924-25 as a c o n tin u a tio n of I n t e r p r e t a t i v e Reading 121(122), g iv in g s p e c i a l a t t e n t i o n to nth e re a d in g of th e l y r i c and to the abridgement and i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of th e drama, f i c t i o n and epic poems.” Catalogue announcements f o r 1926-27 added t h a t emphasis was placed on l i n e rea d in g tend the course was recommended to s tu d e n ts of a c t i n g .

I n t e r p r e t a t i v e Reading was l i s t e d

as a p r e r e q u i s i t e each y e a r . , C re d it f o r th e course was two sem ester hours each sem ester u n t i l 1927-28 when i t was in c re a s e d t o th r e e semester h o u rs .

The course was o f fe r e d in summer se ss io n s

s t a r t i n g in 1926 and y ie ld e d 1 .7 sem ester hours c r e d i t except fo r 1927 when th e c r e d i t y i e l d was two sem ester ho u rs.

E nrollm ent ranged from elev en to t h i r t y - f o u r and

averaged e ig h te e n .

Women appeared to dominate the e n r o l l ­

ment on s e v e r a l o c c a sio n s.

Mrs. M ills was a s s i s t e d In th e

i n s t r u c t i o n of th e course during the second sem ester of

1927*8®;'. by ■YlerlaR Turner. . 3.

Courses s p e c i f i c a l l y In a c tin g grew out of

the g e n e ra l ©ours®, Dramatic P ro d u c tio n , which was ta u g h t by Mr* Mabie u n t i l 1924-25*

During the second sem ester

of 1923-24 h© o f f e r e d a c o u rs e , 138, Advanced Dramatic I n t e r p r e t a t i o n * I t s only c a talo g u e l i s t i n g Is in th© summer s e s s io n s e c t i o n of the 1922-23 number In which i t was d e s c r ib e d , "Advanced problems f o r stu d e n ts who have completed elem entary dram atic work with s a t i s f a c t o r y sta n d in g .

Admission by consent of the Instructor.**

The

f i r s t enrollm ent f o r th© course was only t h r e e , and th e c r e d it y i e l d was arran ged t o s u i t th e purpose of i n s t r u c t o r and student*

This appears t o have been the t r i a l b a llo o n

course in a ctin g * I n the next y e a r , 1924-25, the c o u rse, Theory of A c tin g s

R ehearsal and Performance 131(132) was l i s t e d

In the announcements and ta u g h t.

The c atalo g u e d e s c r ip tio n

follow s i Headings on theory of a c t i n g . I n d i ­ v id u a l assignm ents of problems in th© technique of acting* Regular r e h e a r s a l work and p e r ­ formance i n th e r e p e r to r y of the U n iv e rs ity T heatre r e q u i r e d . Required of majors In drama­ t i c p ro d u c tio n . P r e r e q u i s i t e , 1(2) and consent of I n s t r u c t o r . Hew p r e r e q u i s i t e s , e i t h e r Dramatic Production or I n t e r p r e ­ t a t i v e Reading were added in 1926-27, and i n 1929-30 th e

I n t e r p r o b a t i v e Reading p r e r e q u i s i t e was dropped.

Otherwise

the b a s lo course philosophy as quoted above remained th e seme f o r the e n t i r e period* Curing th e f i r s t two y e a rs th e course was o f f e r e d , s tu d e n ts were allow ed to r e g i s t e r f o r t h r e e , f o u r , or f iv e sem ester hours of c r e d i t , each term*

T h e r e a f te r

©redit was sta n d a rd iz e d a t th re e sem ester h o u rs.

The

enrollm ent ranged from e ig h te e n to f o r t y - f o u r and averaged tw enty-nine and r a r e l y dropped below tw e n ty - fiv e .

A

p a tt e r n of in c r e a s e i s a p p a re n t, h ig h e s t enrollm ents occurlng i n th e l a s t th re e y ears of the p e rio d . Mr. Mable o f fe r e d the course each y e a r except the l a s t when Vance Morton was In charge.

Morton shared

the course w ith Mr. Mable i n 1927-28 and with Helene B la ttn e r in 1929-30*

Both of th e s e c o u rse s, Advanced

Dramatic X n te rp r e ta tlo n and Theory of A c tin g , i t s hould be noted, r e q u i r e d the consent of the i n s t r u c t o r in o rd e r for th e stu d e n t t o r e g i s t e r fo r them.

I t would appear

l o g i c a l to assume t h a t t h i s c o n tr o l was placed upon en­ ro llm en t in order to e s t a b l i s h a q u a li t y precedent and tra d itio n .

The f a c t t h a t performance work i n the r e p e rto ry

of th e U n iv e rs ity T heatre and advanced sta n d in g were a ls o re q u ire d gives support t o t h i s c o n clu sio n .

B ec a u se of

th ese c o n tr o l s , the requirem ent th a t a l l dram atic p ro d u c tio n

171 majors tak a the course should have fu n c tio n e d to c o n tr o l the q u a l i t y of s tu d e n ts majoring in th e f i e l d #

This

would seem an i n d i c a t i o n of the c are with which th e p ro­ gram

In dram atic a r t was b u i l t i n t o the Iowa curriculum .

By l i m i t i n g en ro llm ent to s tu d e n ts who could perform s a t i s f a c t o r i l y i n p u b lic p ro d u c tio n s , s a t i s f a c t o r y Standards could be set# 4.

A s p e c i a l summer s e s s io n course 129S A cting:

Theory and Technique was in tro d u c e d in 1925 and described in the c a ta lo g u e a s : Theory and elem entary technique of a c t i n g . P r i n c ip l e s of dram atic i n t e r p r e t a ­ t i o n and c h a r a c t e r i z a t io n # Problems in make­ up. P a r t i c i p a t i o n in gsrivate c l a s s e x e r c is e performances and when o p p ortunity a r i s e s in th e perform ances of th e U n iv e rs ity T h ea tre . The course was o f f e r e d in th e summers of 1925 and 1926, a f t e r which ifc was re p la c e d by 131S A cting:

Theory and

Performance which c a r r i e d much the same d e s c r i p t io n as the r e g u la r academic y e ar course d isc u sse d under th r e e above. I t tihsuldbe n o te d , however, t h a t enrollm ent i n these two summer courses was not r e s t r i c t e d by making consent of th e i n s t r u c t o r p r e r e q u i s i t e to r e g i s t r a t i o n i n them.

This

f a c t and the above course d e s c r i p t io n i n d ic a te a somewhat more elementary approach th an in th e a c tin g courses o f th e r e g u la r academic y e a r .

This i s f u r t h e r born© out by the

f a c t t h a t an a p p a r e n tly s p e c i a l advanced c o u rse , 136 A cting,

e n r o llin g only e le v en s tu d e n ts f o r two, t h r e e , or fo u r sem ester hours of c r e d i t , was o f fe r e d i n th e summer of 1926 by P ro fe s s o r s Mabie and Wallace.

This course was

n e it h e r l i s t e d nor d e sc rib e d in th e c a ta lo g ^ 0 * But a t the same tim e 151S Ac t i n g : Theory and T echnique, the r e g u l a r summer c o u rse, e n r o l l e d 108 stu d e n ts i n th re e s e c tio n s and granted c r e d i t of only two sem ester h o u rs. SnroIlment i n th e summer a c t i n g courses ranged from t h i r t y - s e v e n in 1925 to 119 in 1928.

In 1926 and

1987 enrollm ent was s ix ty - s e v e n and s ix ty -tw o r e s p e c t iv e ly . C redit o ffe re d was two sem ester hours i n ISIS A c tin g : Theory and T echnique, and in the o th e r co u rse, 136S A cting, was e i t h e r two, t h r e e or fo u r sem ester hours. P ro fe ss o r C hester i . Wallace of Carnegie I n s t i t u t e of Technology tau g h t the a c tin g courses in a l l four summers, sh a rin g them with Vera A, Paul in 1928, with Mr* Mabie in 1927 and w ith Vance Morton and Kr. Mb is in 1928*

The enrollm ent in c re a s e s a f t e r 1925 would acoount

fo r the a d d it i o n a l i n s t r u c t o r s . Stage D ire c tio n

In

th e

summer

of

1924,

139S

Advanced Dramatic Production was in tro d u c e d In to th e curriculum .

The same course was p resen te d in 1924-25

under numbers 139, 140.

The t i t l e was changed to Stage

D irec tio n in th e summer of 1926, which t i t l e remained In

offSot throughout 1928-29, In which y e ar the number was ©hanged to 185, 166,

A course in d i r e c t i n g under one of

these t i t l e s and s e t s of numbers was o ff e r e d in a t l e a s t one term of each academic y e a r except 1927-28 and 1929-30* Ho d i r e c t i n g course was o ff e r e d i n th e summers of 1925 or 1928,

F re q u e n tly , however, such a course was o ffe re d

in b oth sem esters of an academic y e a r .

I t was always

p o s s ib le , beginning in 1924, f o r the s tu d e n t to ta k e a d ir e c tin g c la s s in e i t h e r th e academic y e ar or one of the adjacent summer s e s s io n s . Catalogue d e s c r i p t i o n f i r s t appeared in the 1925-26 announcements f o r Advanced Dramatic P ro d u c tio n ! T ech n ical problems s tu d ie d from the . po in t of view of the producing d i r e c t o r . Research i n the o r i g i n a l design of a comp­ l e t e t h e a t r i c a l p ro d u c tio n . P ra c tic e work in d i r e c t i n g . Open to s e n io r majors and graduate s tu d e n ts In dram atic p ro d u ctio n w ith the consent of th e i n s t r u c t o r . In t h i s d e s c r i p t io n we see c o n tr o ls on enrollm ent again Probably f o r the purpose of In s u rin g q u a l i t y sta n d ard s fo r s p e c i a l i z a t i o n in th e f i e l d .

Both theory and p ra c tic e

are in clu d ed and a p p lie d to s p e c i f i c problems,

The word

’’resea rch " should b® n o te d , to o , f o r i t im plies t h a t the d i r e c t o r ’s job i s l a r g e r th an t h a t of knowing ju s t th e l in e s of the p la y .

The d e s c r i p t io n fo r the course 140

Stage D ire c tio n i n th e announcements f o r 1926-27 l i s t

m

31(32) Dramatic P rod u ctio n and 133(134) S t a t e c r a f t as p re re q u isite s. The summer s e s s io n course appears to have v a rie d from th e one o f f e r e d i n the academic year*

The 1927

summer s e s s io n c a ta lo g u e d e s c r i p t io n fo llo w s: A course fo r d i r e c t o r s « Problems of s e l e c t i o n of m a t e r i a l s , c a s t i n g , r e l a t i o n of producer to p la y , a u th o r , a c to r s and t e c h n i c a l s t a f f , methods of r e h e a r s a l and hand ling t e c h n i c a l problems o f p r o d u c tlo n * C o n sid e ra tio n of a r t p r i n c i p l e s In dram atic production* This appears t o I n d i c a te a more t h e o r e t i c a l course*

The

enrollm ent in th e course during t h i s summer term was f o r t y which c e r t a i n l y would have precluded ex te n siv e p r a c tic e d i r e c t i n g assignments* The en ro llm ent during the terras in which p ra c ­ t i c e d i r e c t i n g was o f f e r e d , however, never exceeded t h ir t e e n and was as low as two* times was ten*

The average enrollm ent a t these

A p o s s ib le e x ce p tio n occured in 1928-29

when th e course enrollm ent was tw e n ty -fiv e one sem ester and tw e n ty -s ix the o th e r.

Because of t h i s la rg e e n r o l l ­

ment, i t seems l o g i c a l to assume t h a t e x te n siv e p r a c t i c e d i r e c ti n g was not o f f e re d . C re d it f o r course work in d i r e c ti n g wqs two sem ester hours each term u n t i l 1928-29 when i t was increased to th r e e s©raster hours*

One excep tio n to t h is appears in

the second summer s e s s io n of 1926 when c r e d i t was 1*7 and 3*4*

I n a l l oases th e d i r e c t i o n c o u rses were ta u g h t

by P r o fe s s o r IB* C. Mabie. S tagecraft"

The

d e fin itio n

in te n d ed

fo r

the

term **stagecraft** in t h i s stu dy i s t h a t which r e f e r s to the d e sig n in g , p la n n in g , c o n s t r u c t in g , r ig g in g and opera­ t i n g of th e t e c h n ic a l **backstag©** equipment of th e t h e a t r e . I t w i l l be a p p lie d t o such s t u d i e s as those of sc en e ry , l i g h t i n g , sound and costuming.

I t w i l l not be used w ith

re fe re n c e t o d i r e c t i n g , a c t i n g , or p la y w r ltin g , and g e n erally w i l l not be a p p lie d to the c r e a t i v e and more a e s t h e t i c a s p e c ts of any f i e l d . 1.

The f i r s t course s p e c i f i c a l l y in s t a g e c r a f t

intro d u ced I n to th e Iowa curriculum was o ff e r e d in 1922-23 and c o ntinu ously t h e r e a f t e r In both summer and r e g u la r academic y e a r s e s s io n s throughout th e p e rio d which ended June 1930.

The course u t i l i s e d the numbers 133(134)

during th e e n t i r e tim e.

I t was a th r e e sem ester hour

c r e d i t course except f o r i t s f i r s t y e ar and f o r the summer se ss io n s when i t was u s u a lly o ffe re d fo r two sem ester h ours. The f i r s t d e s c r i p t io n of th e course was given in the catalo g u e announcements f o r 1922-23 which s a i d , **An advanced course f o r th e study of te c h n ic a l problems

of dram atic p r o d u c tio n ,

©pen w ith perm ission of th e

i n s t r u c t o r t o s tu d e n ts who complete course 131(132) Dramatic P ro duction w ith s u p e r io r s t a n d i n g . ”

This des­

c r i p t i o n was a m p lifie d i n th e summer s e s s io n announcements fo r 1925 by s t a t i n g t h a t ”scenio d e sig n , sta g e l i g h t i n g , e t c . ” would be Included and p r a c t i c a l work In th e U n iv e rs ity T heatre and s t a g e c r a f t shop would be r e q u i r e d . F u rth e r expansion or p o s s ib le a s h i f t In course content i s in d ic a te d by th e d e s c r i p t io n In th e 1923-24 c ata lo g u e , which reads A study of the th eo ry of dram atic p ro d u ctio n with s p e c i a l re fe re n c e to deve­ lopments i n s t a g e c r a f t s in c e 1850. T echnical problems s tu d ie d from the p o in t of view of the producing d i r e c t o r . P r a c t i c a l work in the s t a g e c r a f t shop. Required of majors in dram atic p ro d u c tio n . P r e r e q u i s i t e 129 (130) or 131(132), or e q u iv a le n t. (Dramatic P roductlon or A c tin g )

This d e s c r i p t io n i n d ic a t e s th e i n tr o d u c ti o n of h i s t o r i c a l a sp ec ts of s t a g e c r a f t and l i s t s the course as r e q u ir e d . The announcements f o r 1925-26 a re very s p e c i f i c : A study of th e developments in s t a g e c r a f t s in c e 1850. F unctions of th e stag© s e ttin g } procedure In th e mounting of a p lay j study of th e play i t s e l f ; e v o lu tio n of th e design through s k e tc h e s , diagrams, c o lo re d p l a t e s , and m in ia tu re models; a re s e a r c h in period d e c o ra tio n and costume; L ight as a p a rt of sta g e d esign; c o lo r m ixture In sta g e l i g h t i n g . A w e ll-e q u ip e d s t a g e c r a f t shop w i l l be a t the d is p o s a l of stu d e n ts in t h i s c o u rse. They w i l l execute th e designs and w i l l study from various a s p e c ts th e techn iqu e of t h e a t r e c r a f t . Required of all majors in dramatic production.

E s s e n tia lly t h i s l a s t d e s c r i p t i o n was used throughout th e remainder of th e period*

Dramatic P roduction seems to

have remained p r e r e q u i s i t e , being mentioned i n l a t e r d e sc rip tio n s * I t I s app aren t t h a t t h i s course Included a l l of the ge n eral o on ten t of t e c h n ic a l a sp e c ts of dramatic pro d u ctio n .

I t was a g e n e ra l te c h n ic a l course which must

have r e q u ir e d a r a p id survey of such s p e c i a li z e d t e c h n ic a l f i e l d fu sin g th e in fo rm a tio n t o g e t h e r in the la b o ra to ry work in the s t a g e c r a f t shop and U n iv e rs ity T heatre pro­ d u c tio n s.

Newspaper accounts of the time o f f e r ample

evidence t h a t most scenic, l i g h t i n g and some costume e f f e c t s fo r th e U n iv e rs ity T h ea tre were executed In t h i s course a f t e r i t s i n tr o d u c ti o n i n t o the curricu lu m . 90 I t should be n o ted , to o , t h a t h i s t o r y and theory as w ell as p r a c t ic e were in c lu d e d . Enrollment in S ta g e c r a f t ranged from te n to f i f t y - t h r e e and averaged tw e n ty -s ix and showed a g e n e ra l p a tt e r n of i n c r e a s e .

I n s t r u c t i o n In the course during the

academic y e a r was p ro v id ed by Mr. Mabie u n t i l 1928-29 with a s s is ta n c e from e i t h e r Helen Langworthy or Vance Morton a f t e r 1922-23.

In 1928-29 tea ch in g was provided by Harry

9* Barnes and Helen Langworthy, and i n 1929-30 by Barnes

and Don Ament*

Summer s e s s io n I n s t r u c t i o n was handled by

Oliver W. L arkin i n 1925, 1926, 1927, by Carol M. Sax in 1988 and §arnea I n 1930,

The f i r s t summer s e s s io n s were

handled by lia b le, Morton, And Langworthy* 2*

Course work in 165S Advanced S t a g e c r a f t was

o ffe re d t o se v en te en s tu d e n ts by O liv er ft*. L arkin in the summer of 1927*

This course was d e scrib e d in th e summer

catalogue as ttFor s tu d e n ts w ith p r a c t i c a l e x p erien ce in Scenic Design or a p rev io u s course in S t a g e c r a f t . ” sent of th e i n s t r u c t o r was r e q u ir e d t o r e g i s t e r . granted was two sem ester h o u rs.

Con­ C re d it

C arol M* Sax ta u g h t

166S Advanced Stage Design t o eleven s tu d e n ts during th e summer of 1928*

The course d e s c r i p t io n and c r e d i t was th e

same as f o r 165S which Larkin tau g h t th e previous summer. Barnes o ff e r e d c o u r s e s : 163 and 13© Advanced S ta g e c r a f t in each term of th e summer s e s s io n of 1929. Sight s tu d e n ts were e n ro lle d f o r two sem ester hours c r e d i t i n the f i r s t term , and one stu d e n t e n ro lle d f o r th ree hours c r e d i t In th e second terra.

No d e s c r i p t io n was

found f o r e i t h e r c o u rse. These a r e th e f i r s t a ttem p ts a t s p e c i a l i z a t i o n in the t e c h n ic a l f i e l d to be in tro d u c ed I n to th e Iowa cur­ riculum* Community Theatre

In

th e

summer

of

1922,

Mr.

Mabie o f f e r e d a oouree in Community Pageantry t o a s in g le Student f o r *8 (e ig h t ten th ® ) of a sem ester h o u r’ s c re d it# The 1922 summer c a talo g u e d e sc rib e d i t as ”Problems of o r g a n iz a tio n and d i r e c t i o n of h i s t o r i c a l and h o lid a y pageants f o r sch o o l and community workers. by p e rm is s io n .”

R e g is tr a ti o n

This i s th e only time a s p e c i f i c Commun­

i t y t h e a t r e course appears u n t i l 1940. H istory and Appr e e l a t i o n -

The

f i r s t : course

in

the h i s t o r y and a p p r e c i a ti o n a r e a to be given In the Iowa curriculum was 117(118) The Qontemporary ^ tag e o ffe re d In 1920-21,

The course numbers wore changed the fo llo w in g

year to 135(136) which were used in te rch a n g ea b ly with t h i s t i t l e and a s e r i e s of o th e r t i t l e s u n t i l 1925-26.

The

other t i t l e s used were Development of the American T heatre In the summer s e s s io n 1922; Readings on th e Contemporary Stage and Readings in the Development of th e American Theatre and Tendencies of th e Contemporary Stage i n 1925 summer sessio n ? th e 1924 summer s e s s io n s ; and H istory of T h e a tr ic a l Art in th e f i r s t sem ester of 1925-26.

In the

f i r s t sem esters of 1925-26 and 1926-27 Development of the American T heatre was a ssig n e d number 137 and in th e second semester of 1926-27 Contemporary Stage used number 138. A fter t h i s , no h i s t o r y and a p p r e c i a ti o n course was given 91 at the underg raduate l e v e l u n t i l 1930-31.

1 O')

1*

Contemporary &tage i s th e t i t l e most fr e q u e n t­

ly used and th e co u rse was ta u g h t In eleven d i f f e r e n t terras between 1 9 2 0 - 2 1 apd 1 9 2 6 - 2 7 *

Catalogue d e s c r ip tio n s

would I n d i c a te t h a t th e c o n te n t of t h i s course v a rie d c o nsiderably from time t o tim e.

The announcements f o r

19 8 0-2 1 s a i d :

The aim of th is course i s t o , f a m i l i ­ a r i z e the s tu d e n t with th e h i s t o r y of the S ta g e , p la y s and p la y e rs of Amer5c a , w ith sta n d a rd s of e v a l u a t i o n , and w ith a knowledge of th e i d e a ls of th e le a d e r s a g i t a t i n g f o r b e t t e r drama t h a t he may I n t e l l i g e n t l y employ h i s r e c r e a t i o n a l time and encourage th e movement f o r b e t t e r drama* Catalogue announcements f o r th e follow ing y e ar re a d : Development of the sta g e and the t h e a t r e as an i n s t i t u t i o n In America w ith an account of i t s p lay e rs and producers* Problems of th e contemporary s ta g e . S ig n i­ fic a n c e of new te n d e n c ie s , e s p e c i a l l y of the community a r t and e d u c a tio n a l t h e a t r e move­ ments. This course aims t o f u r n i s h the stu d e n t w ith sta n d a rd s of e v a lu a tio n and a p p r e c ia tio n f o r the b e s t th in g s In the t h e a t r e as a p r e p a r a tio n f o r dram atic work, and so t h a t he may i n t e l l i g e n t l y employ h i s r e c r e a t i o n a l tim e. Open t o ju n io rs and se n io rs. The catalogue a n n o u n c e m e n t s f o r 1 9 2 4 - 2 5 re a d : Problems of the contemporary s ta g e , th e r e l a t i o n of the t h e a tr e t o I t s s o c i e t y , i t s r e c r e a t i o n a l and e d u c a tio n a l a s p e c ts , i t s economic o r g a n iz a tio n . Contemporary p lay e rs and producers* B r ie f c o n s id e r a tio n of the contemporary sta g e i n Europe* (Development of the American T heatre was p r e r e q u i s i t e * ; Announcements f o r 1926-27 s t a t e d t h a t the course would

a l t e r n a t e y e a r s w ith Development of th e American T h e a tr e * A ll catalogu e, d e s c r i p t io n s of Development of the American T heatre a re alm ost i d e n t i c a l in wording w ith the above d e s c r i p t io n s fo r Contemporary Stage i n s o f a r as they apply to th e American th e a tre *

This f a c t and t h a t of

the in te rc h a n g e a b le use of course numbers would i n d ic a t e th a t f o r a tim e b o th courses were tau g h t under the t i t l e , Contemporary S ta g s , and t h a t when o f f e r e d s e p a r a te ly the p o rtio n ©f th e co u rse devoted t o American t h e a t r e h i s t o r y was c a l l e d Development of th e American T h e a tre . D e sc rip tio n fo r th e co u rse, Headings i n th e Development of th e American T heatre could not be found fo r the only s e s s io n in which i t was t a u g h t , but i n th e announcements f o r the.summer of 1923 they were;

’’Develop­

ment o f the sta g e and th e t h e a tr e as an i n s t i t u t i o n in America with an aceount of i t s p la y e rs and p ro d u c e rs ,” which would I n d i c a t e i t s i d e n t i t y w ith Development o f th e American T h e a tre * No d e s c r i p t io n s o f the courses Tendencies of the Contemporary Stage or Readings on Contemporary Stage were found, bu t th e f a c t t h a t only one of these courses, was ev er o ffe re d in a s i n g l e sem ester or summer term would i n d ic a t e t h a t they were c lo s e approxim ations to the more f re q u e n tly used t i t l e , Contemporary S ta g e . use of the word, ”B ead ln g s,” and the fa c t t h a t i t was

The

used only I n c o n n ec tio n w ith summer o f f e r i n g s might in d ic a te t h a t c o u rs e s u sin g t h i s word i n th e t i t l e were not l e c t u r e c o u rs e s , bu t were s t r i c t l y rea d in g courses fo r advanced s tu d e n ts who could stu d y independently* I t should be noted here t h a t by 1926-27 a l l of these courses were open only to s e n io r s and g radu ate s t u ­ dents* Examination of th e above d e s c r ip tio n s i n d ic a t e s a predominant i n t e r e s t in th e American T h e a tre , and in the t h e a t r e as a s o c i a l i n s t i t u t i o n , p a r t i c u l a r l y as expressed by th e non-commercial th e a tre *

Also re v e a le d

i s c o n s id e r a tio n f o r sta n d ard s i n e v a lu a tio n and a p p re c ia ­ t io n which could be a p p lie d t o v o c a tio n a l or a v o c a tlo n a l th e a tr e a c t i v i t y * C re d it f o r th e s e courses was always two sem ester hours except in t h e summer s e s s io n s when in the reading courses c r e d i t was a rra n g e d , and the Tendencies of the Contemporary Stage y i e ld e d 1.7 sem ester h o u rs.

P ro fe s s o r

Mabie tau g h t th e co urses In a l l cases except f o r 1924-25 and the follow ing summer s e s s io n when W* H. Trumbauer presen ted them, and the second term of th e 1924 summer se ssio n when Vance Morton ta u g h t one course. Enrollment ranged from one to n in etee n and averaged eleven, during the academic y e a r s .

No p a t t e r n i s a p p a re n t.

Summer s e s s io n enrollm ent on t h r e e occasion s was only one s t u d e n t, and on one occasion seven s tu d e n ts were enrolled*

Courses i n t h i s a re a were o f f e r e d only fo u r

times i n summer s e s s io n s and the th r e e s in g le stu d e n t en­ rollm ents were f o r th e ’’Readings1* courses* 2. only once*

135 H isto ry a f T h e a t r i c a l Art w as^offered This was in th e f i r s t sem ester of 1925*26.

Pour s tu d e n ts were e n r o l l e d f o r e i t h e r one and one h a l f or th re e se m este r hours of c r e d i t .

The course d e sc rip tio n

in th e announcements f o r t h a t y e a r re a d :

’’Survey of the

development of t h e a t r i c a l a r t from i t s beginnings to modern tim es.*1 The c atalo g u e I n d ic a te s t h a t I t was con­ ceived as a f u l l - y e a r course f o r two sem ester hours of c r e d it each term .

The in c re a s e to th r e e sem ester hours

might have o b v ia te d the n e c e s s ity f o r the second term . W, H. Trumbauer tau g h t th e course. Teaching Methods

No

sp e cia l

t e a c h e r ’s

course

in dram atic a r t was o ff e re d a t Iowa between 1920 and 1930 except fo r th e summer s e ss io n s of 1924, 1925 and 1928. Because the work i n dram atic a r t was o ffe re d w ith in the Speech Department, c o n s id e r a tio n t o t h e a tr e was probably given i n the t e a c h e r ’s course in speech re q u ir e d of a l l departmental tea ch in g m ajors. 1.

In the summers of 1924 and 1925, 145S, The

High 8 oh©el Hfty was presented*

Catalogue announcements

fo r each s e s s io n d e s c rib e d I t as fo llo w s: Designed e s p e c i a l l y f o r te a c h e rs who d i r e c t h igh school p la y s , and a rra n g ed to meet t h e i r s p e c i a l s i t u a t i o n s . The p re s e n ­ t a t i o n of p la y s in secondary schools w i l l he c o n sid ere d In i t s r e l a t i o n s h i p s as an ex­ t r a - c u r r i c u l a r a c t i v i t y and i n connection with organized c l a s s i n s t r u c t i o n . The course i s designed f o r te a c h e r s with whom the d i r e c t i o n of th e h ig h school play I s a minor i n t e r e s t as w ell as f o r tho se who make i t a major I n t e r e s t . I t aims t o p re s e n t the aim® and methods which w i l l enable te a c h e r s t o r e a l i z e the e d u c a tio n a l p o s s i b i l i t i e s and values in high school dram atics* I t i s d iv id e d i n t o two s e c ­ t i o n s , so t h a t th e s tu d e n t may r e g i s t e r f o r e i t h e r s e c t i o n , or f o r both s e c t i o n s . S ectio n A, L ectu res on E ducational Dram atics, f/WP, 10. S e c tio n 0, P r a c t i c a l S ta g e c r a f t Dem onstrations, TTh, 10* The assumption In t h i s course t h a t t h e a tr e a c t i v i t y might have a p lace i n th e secondary curriculum as well as In i t s e x tra -c u rric u lu m as e a r ly as 1924 seems s ig n i f ic a n t * I t shows the U n iv e rs ity advocating the idea t h a t such work could make a c o n tr i b u ti o n to the yourigster in h ig h school as w ell a s to th e support of such th in g s as an a t h l e t i c program.

The d e s c r i p t i o n f u r t h e r i n d ic a t e s t h a t

the course was p r a c t i c a l as w ell as t h e o r e t i c a l .

E n r o ll­

ment f o r the course t o t a l l e d s ix t y - n in e in the 1924 sessio n and f o r t y - f o u r in the 1925 s e s s io n .

C red it ranged

from s e v e n -te n th s t o one and six-tenth® sem ester h o u rs. Professor Mabie tau g h t the course both summers with Vance

Morton te a c h in g th e second term of the 1924 s e s s io n . 8.

In the summer s e s s io n of 1928 Harry 3.

Barnes o f f e r e d a c o u rse, 1408 Stage D ire c tio n In High School t o t h i r t y - o n e s tu d e n ts fo r two sem ester hours of e re d it.

Mo d e s c r i p t i o n of th e course could be found but

in the summers of 1926 and 1927 the numbers 139S and 140$ had been used i n co n n ectio n w ith the c o u rse, Stage D ir e c tio n . I t may be rea so n a b ly assumed t h a t th e course under c o n s i­ d e ra tio n waa an a d a p ta tio n t o the high school s i t u a t i o n . Both of th e s e a ttem p ts at s p e c ia l courses f o r high school te a c h e rs of dram atic a r t appear to have been derived from th e summer s e s s io n courses in Dramatic Production which were planned with th e high school te a c h e r s p e c i f i c a l l y in mind. Voice

and

P honetics

As.has

been

p rev io u sly

in d ic a te d , P ro fe s s o r G-lenn N. Merry was g ra n te d a leave of absence f o r th e academic y e a r 1920-21 t o complete h is do c to ra te under Dear D ari E. Seashore In the Department of Psychology.

Merry p re se n te d as h is d i s s e r t a t i o n an

o b je c tiv e a n a ly s is of voice i n f l e c t i o n as e x h ib ite d in 92 samples of o r a to r y . Upon the completion of the degree, he re tu rn e d to th e Department of Speech I n t e r e s t e d i n o ffe rin g advanced work in the sc ien c e of speech ii th th e hope of developing a program in t h i s a rea f o r the d o c to ra te

w ithin th e Department of S peech.93 Merry and Dean Seashore d isa g re e d as to how the program should he a d m in is te r e d .

Merry b e lie v e d t h a t th e

work should be d i r e c t e d from w ith in h i s department e n t i r e ­ ly .

S e a sh o re ’ s op in ion was t h a t the department was not

strong enough a t th e time t o w arrant such an approach, and t h a t t h e r e was no good precedent fo r such a procedure as Merry had su g g e ste d .

95

He i n s i s t e d t h a t i f the docto­

r a t e in speech sc ie n c e were to be g iv e n , i t should be done by b u ild in g up r e l a t i o n s h i p s with a l l i e d departments and t h e i r p e rs o n n e l, u t i l i z i n g t h e i r te a c h in g as i t could b© a p p ll e d .t o the f i e l d of speech.

F u rth e r, i t was h is

opinion t h a t i t should be p o s s ib le f o r the d i s s e r t a t i o n to be d i r e c te d by an a u th o r i ty in one of th e s e a l l i e d f i e l d s in c o o p e ra tio n with the p r o fe s s o rs of speech.

The

speech t e a c h e r could a s s ig n the su b je c t to the can d id ate and d i r e c t th e study c o o p e ra tiv e ly with a u t h o r i t i e s from a llie d f ie ld s .

C r i t i c a l and c r e a tiv e s tu d ie s in various

aspects of speech could be d i r e c te d s in g ly by s p e c i a l i s t s in sp e e c h .9® A committee f o r t r a i n i n g In speech sc ien c e composed of Doctors Henry J . P r e n t i s s , head of the Depart­ ment of Anatomy| Lee W. Dean, head of Ot©LaryngologyJ Samuel J?, Orton, P ro fe ss o r of p s y c h ia try and D ire c to r of the Psychopathic H o s p ita l; Dean Seashore; P re sid e n t Jessup;

1gw *4

and Merry decided t o su p p o rt th© s ta n d of Seashore.®®

This

de c isio n d is a p p o in te d Marry, and he l e f t the U n iv e rs ity e arly In th e second se m e ste r, 1925-24, f e e lin g t h a t t r a i n i n g in t h i s f i e l d should b© th e p rovince of the Department 97 of Speech, e x c l u s i v e l y , 1*

I t w i l l be remembered t h a t Merry had i n t r o -

duced work In voice sc ie n c e i n t o the curriculum in 1917, Be contin ued t h i s work i n th e department a f t e r com pleting h is d o c to r a te .

In a course c a l le d 107S Voice Science in

the summer of 1921, he p r e s e n t e d ,." t h e p sy c h o lo g ic al f a c t o r s underlying o r a l and dram atic e x p re s s io n ," with emphasis upon the vocal mechanism and i t s t r a i n i n g .

P r e r e q u i s i t e bo

t h i s course was work i n elem entary psychology.

This was

e v id e n tly th e summer v e rs io n of Theory of Speech1 Voice Science and Laboratory which he p re se n te d under numbers 151(152) u n t i l h i s d e p artu re from th© U n iv e rs ity in 1924. The cours© was o ff e re d f o r th r e e .sem ester hours arid was a f u l l - y e a r i n d i v i s i b l e c o u rse .

I t c a r r i e d th© same d e s c r ip ­

tio n a a i t had b e fo re 1920, which had s t a t e d t h a t speech would b© approached through i t s bases in psychology, anatomy and ph ysio lo g y ,

Alsq voices ?vould b© analyzed

and t h e i r f u n c t i o n a l d e f e c ts s tu d ie d .

Proper form ation of

vowel and consonant sounds was a ls o to have been c o n sid ere d . By 1925-24, he had added P ro fe sso r U. V. Stewartfe

course in a c o u s t i c s , given i n the Physics Department to th© p r e r e q u is ite s *

T his i n d ic a t e d an a d d i t i o n a l approach t o

speech through i t s p h y s ic a l basis* P r o f e s s o r Merry1s enrollm ents in Theory of Speech had run in excess of twenty s tu d e n ts each term.

The

course was not o f f e r e d i n the y e ar follow ing Merry's d e p a rftre from the U n iv e rsity * In 1925-26, O lios W# Dray re in tro d u c e d Theory of Speech under numbers 141J142 and o ff e r e d i t r e g u l a r ly throughout 1928-29.

During th e l a s t y e a r , the t i t l e

was changed to Experimental Methods i n Speech.

I t was a

req u ire d course f o r a l l speech majors and minors and had "At l e a s t one y e a r of Psychology. . . ( P r in c ip le s of Speech) and te n sem ester hours of Speech" as p r e r e q u i s i t e s .

It

was a d i v i s i b l e , two sem ester course o f fe r in g th r e e semester hours of c r e d i t .

Enrollm ents under P ro fe ss o r

Gray averaged about te n s tu d e n ts per term. 2.

Sarah

P.

Barrows in tro d u c e d 173 Phonetics

and P ro n u n ciatio n in the second sem ester o f . 1925-24 under th® fo llo w in g d e s c r i p t i o n : A study of E nglish sounds and speech h a b i t s , Th® sta n d ard s of p ro n u n cia tio n in America w i l l be c o n sid ere d , and the stu d e n t w i l l b© a id e d in making an a n a ly s is of h is own speech* E x erc ises f o r e a r t r a i n i n g and a r t i c u l a t i o n w i l l be g iv e n . Required of a l l majors and minors in the departm ent.

This course was o f f e r e d r e g u l a r ly u n t i l 1928-29. Enrollm ents ranged from sev en teen t o t h i r t y - o n e and averaged in excess of twenty s t u d e n t s .

I t appears to have placed

new eirphasis upon p h o n e tic s . I n th e two c o u rs e s . Theory of Speech and Phonetics and P r o n u n c ia tio n .we see a s c i e n t i f i c approach to the problems of voice In th© form er, and a phonetic approach to the problems of a r t i c u l a t i o n end p ro n u n c ia tio n in. the la tte r.

This i s e s s e n t i a l l y the b a s i s f o r th® p re s e n t

course in Voice and Phonetics o ffe re d in the Iowa c u r r ic u ­ lum.

I t can therefor© be seen th a t the o r ig in s of the

presen t work in voice and pho netics a t Iowa date back t o 1917, when Kerry o ff e re d h is f i r s t course u t i l i z i n g a s c i e n t i f i c approach t o the s u b je c t, 3.

A t h i r d course in t h i s g e n eral a re a of voice

and p h o n e tics was 153, 154 Voice Improvement Introduced in 1924-25 by Mrs. A lice M ills .

The course t i t l e was changed

in 1925-26 to Voice Science and in 1928-29 to Voice and P h o n e tic s.

This was c l e a r l y an a d a p ta tio n of the p r a c t i ­

cal a sp e c ts of K erry ’s course 151(152) Theory of Speechs Voice Science and L aboratory f o r th e f i r s t catalog ue announcements f o r th e course reads Study of voice and speech mechanism} study of minor voice d e fe c ts and t h a i r remo­ v a l! a n a ly s is of vo ices! p r a c t ic e work designed t o develop voices f o r reading} speaking and acting.

Th® seoond ph rase of th® d e s c r i p t io n i s an exact q u o ta tio n from the d e s c r i p t i o n of Merry1a course and o th e r p a r t s of i t c a rry im p lic a tio n s s i m i l a r to the sta te m e n ts in Merry*s 93 course d e s c r i p t i o n . I t a l s o seems l o g i c a l t o assume t h a t the m a te r ia l o ffe re d by Gray In h is c o u rs e , Theory of Speech was an a d a p ta tio n of th© t h e o r e t i c a l and la b o ra to r y sid e s of Merry’s c o u rse .

Support f o r t h i s can be found in th e f a c t

t h a t whereas Merry’ s course had been a f u l l - y e a r c o u rse , th® new co urses o ff e re d by M ills and Gray were each one semester c o u rs e s .

This would I n d ic a te t h a t th e re had been

a d iv is io n of m a te r ia l between the two i n s t r u c t o r s . Another i n t e r e s t i n g a sp ec t of the c o u r s e , ,153, V°lc® Improvement is t h a t I t seems t o have been d i r e c te d toward voice development r a t h e r th an c o r r e c t i o n , toward developing a l e v e l of a r t i s t i c performance r a t h e r than a le v e l of adequate voice usage.

I t was concerned w ith

minor d e fe cts r a t h e r th an problems needing c l i n i c a l a t t e n ­ t io n . By 1926-27 the course was r e q u ir e d of a l l majors and minors in th e departm ent, and th e emphasis had changed to p r e s e n t a ti o n of the work ” from the point of view of 99 the p ro sp e c tiv e te a c h e r and d i r e c t o r . ” Emphasis was being changed from p r a c t i c a l voice work to th e theory and

method of doing such work. This e o n e lu sio n Is born© out somewhat by th© c r e a tio n of s t i l l a n o th e r course ©ailed Voice Improve­ ment, which used numbers 51, 52,

I t was in tro d u c ed In 1925-

26, the same tim e the t i t l e f o r 153,154 Voice Improve­ ment was changed to Voice S c ie n c e ,

Both courses wehe o ffe re d

sim ultaneously in 1925-26, However, 51, 52 Voice Improvement was never o ffe re d again or d e sc rib e d i n th© c a ta lo g u e . 51,52 do appear

The numbers

a g a in , though, in 1929-50 a tta c h e d to

th© t i t l e , Voice and P ro n u n c ia tio n , which

was

d e scrib e d in

the catalog ue as The study of vole© and speech, D r i l l fo r th e improvement o f s t u d e n t ’ s v o ic e s. Problems of sta n d a rd English d i c t i o n . Espe­ c i a l l y v a lu a b le f o r th o se i n t e r e s t e d in a c tin g and i n i n t e r p r e t a t i v e re a d in g . S tu d ies In d i a l e c t . Required of a l l majors i n dram atic a rt. The i n d i c a t i o n ,

h e re , Is th a t t h i s course was

aimed a t

the t r a i n i n g of

the perform er, In s te a d of th©

t e a c h e r of

th© perform er. In t h i s group of f iv e c o u rs e s :

153, 154 Voice

Improvement. Voice Science and Vole© P h o n e tic s; and 51, 52 Voice Improvement and Voice and Pnonunclatlon one can se© t h a t g r e a t e x p erim e n tatio n was underway presumably to f i n d th© p ro p er course or group of courses to s u i t th e

needs of th© d e p a r t m e n t s d i f f e r e n t f i e l d s of emphasis, fh© problem of f in d in g a course fo r th e perform er which also would s u i t th© needs of th© te a c h e r and d i r e c t o r was p r e s e n t,

fh e problem of fin d in g a course s u i t a b l e to

stu d e n ts of dram atic a r t i s a p p a re n t, as was t h a t of fin d in g one f o r the sp e a k e r, r e a d e r and a c t o r .

How much theory

and method, how much p r a c t i c e , and what kind of m a te r ia ls seem t o have been th e q u e s tio n . A ll of th e s e courses were tau g h t by Mrs. M ills , except Voice and P ro n u n ciatio n which was o ffe re d by Helene B l a t t n e r . 153, 154 Voice Improvement. Voloe Science and Voioe and Phonetics ranged i n enrollm ent from t e n t o f o r t y and averaged tw e n ty -th re e .

C re d it was two sem ester

hours u n t i l 1926-27 when I t became th re e sem ester h o u rs. 51,52

Voice Improvement e n r o lle d twenty-seven

stud ents In each of th e two sem esters i t was o f f e r e d , and Voice and P ron u n ciatio n e n r o lle d s ix te e n stu d e n ts I t s f i r s t sem ester and f o r t y - f i v e in two s e c tio n s during i t s second sem ester.

C re d it fo r both courses was two sem ester

hours. 4.

In 1928-29 s t i l l a n other course In t h i s

area was In tro d u c e d , 173,174 Experim ental Phonetics and o ffere d by Milton K a tfe s a e l.

The follow ing year i t was

taken over by Dr. Karl Zemen and G iles TV . Gray.

In the

1989*50 c a ta lo g u e announcements i t was d e sc rib e d as "D esi­ gned t o cover th e fundamental f a c t s of the n a tu re of the voice in a l l i t s a s p e c t s , w ith p a r t i c u l a r r e fe r e n c e to a r t i s t i c sp e a k in g ." This course Is s t i l l In the curriculum and has served as th e b a s i s fo r much p ro d u ctiv e re s e a rc h in th e science of a r t i s t i c speech. E nrollm ents f o r Experimental Phonetics in the two y ears i t was o f f e r e d during t h i s decade ranged from seventeen t o tw e n ty -fo u r.

C re d it was th re e sem ester

hours• 5. Qaner&l Phonetics on s i x 28,

Sarah T. Barrows o ffe re d a course 171,172 o c o e sI

cns between 1923-24 and 1927-

I t was d e scrib e d as a study of phonetic th e o ry ,

speech sound a n a ly s is and c l a s s i f i c a t i o n i n r e l a t i o n to p h y sic al c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s and speech organs, and sound m o d ific a tio n i n connected speech. C re d it fo r General Phonetics v a rie d from two to th re e sem ester hours and th e average enrollm ent was between f iv e and s i x s tu d e n ts . To summarize, i t I s q u i te apparent th a t the courses In th© area of voice and phonetics during the decade between 1920 and 1930 underwent many changes In t i t l e , number, course c o n te n t, philosophy and i n s t r u c t i o n a l S ta ff,

I t i s most d i f f i c u l t to t r a c e th ese changes

a c c u ra te ly because of th e many changes In d e t a i l and th© frequen t disagreem ents between such th in g s as courses a c tu a lly ta u g h t and th e announcements In th e catalogue# the f i n a l grad© r e p o r t s i n th® o f f i c e of th e R e g is tr a r o ften do not agree i n d e t a i l s of t i t l e with what appears in th© c a ta lo g u e s .

Course numbers and t i t l e s on th e s e

re p o rts a re o c c a s io n a lly in c o n f l i c t w ith those In th e c ata lo g u e .

Th© p a t t e r n i s f a i r l y c l e a r and the reco rds

are f a i r l y easy t o keep s t r a i g h t u n t i l the change in departm ental a d m in is tr a tio n in 1924.

At t h i s time and

a f t e r , changes were more f r e q u e n t, more new courses ware being o ff e r e d and changes in emphasis were being i n t r o ­ duced i n t o the old ones.

There a p p a re n tly was an a ttem pt

being ro&d© t o p a t t e r n a curriculum f l e x i b l e enough to meet changing and f e l t needs.

Experim entation was underway

and a new p a t t e r n beg in s to ©merge toward th© ©nd o f th e decade.

The new p a t t e r n was th© d e f i n i t i o n of thro© d i s ­

t i n c t fu n c tio n s fo r th e work in t h i s areas

(1)

the

experim ental study of speech, and voice to d isc o v er more of th© n a tu re of a r t i s t i c speech; (2) th e p r e s e n ta tio n of theory and method t o p ro sp e c tiv e te a c h e rs and d i r e c t o r s ; and (3) the t r a i n i n g of stu d e n t voices and speech f o r a r t i s t i c performance. Problems Courses

1.

The. - course- - Oral

Expres-

Hion Problems which had boon o f f e r e d p r i o r to 1920 in which th e s tu d e n t had been allow ed to study © s p e c i a l problem* In soma phase of the Speech f i e l d was continued fo r a time i n th e decade 1920-30.

I t appears t h a t th e

lead ing I n s t r u c t o r in any one phase of th e f i e l d would a l ­ low stu d e n ts t o s ig n up f o r the work in t h a t f i e l d .

This

Is borne out by th e f a c t t h a t each of th e s e people had a few r e g i s t r a t i o n s in t h i s c o u rse.

The 1920 summer sessicn

catalog ue i n d i c a t e s t h a t th e n a tu re of t h i s work was conference and i n d iv i d u a l i n s t r u c t i o n i n some phase of the f i e l d .

Announcements f o r 1921-22 i n d ic a t e d t h a t p e r ­

mission of th e i n s t r u c t o r was p r e r e q u i s i t e t o r e g i s t r a t i o n . The normal amount of c r e d i t given f o r t h i s course was two sem ester hours in any on© r e g i s t r a t i o n .

E n r o ll­

ments v a rie d from on© to te n stu d e n ts w ith any one i n s t r u c ­ t o r , a t any one tim e.

The average r e g i s t r a t i o n was f i v e .

S e g is tr a tio n e in t h i s course a f t e r 1922-23 were discon­ tin u e d . 2.

In 1924-25 and 1925-26, Mr. Mabie o ff e re d

a course 191, 192 Problems in Speech E ducation, which was re q u ire d of g rad u a te s tu d e n ts and open to advanced major s tu d e n ts .

I t was d e sc rib e d In tha 1924-25 catalogue

announcements as "M a terials and methods of i n v e s ti g a t i o n of s e l e c te d problems in various f i e l d s of speech education*11

Two hours c r e d i t were given fo r the course and the e n r o l­ lment averaged fo u r s tu d e n ts a t th e gradu ate l e v e l .

The

d e s c r i p t io n would I n d ic a te t h a t i t was © course i n ti’oductory to r e s e a r c h . Graduate

Cour s e s

1.

The

first

graduate

course

in dram atic a r t t o be o ffe r e d i n th e Iowa curriculum was c a lle d 201, 202 Seminary in Iram a tic Production In which c r e d i t from one t o fo u r hours u s u a lly could be a rra n g ed . The u s u a l © e g is tr a tio n was f o r two or th r e e sem ester hours • The course was f i r s t o ffe re d in 1920-21 and continued each sem ester throughout the decade and o c c a sio n a lly had summer school r e g i s t r a t i o n s .

P ro fe ss o r MabI© was th e

only one t o o f f e r I n s t r u c t i o n In th© c o u rse. Catalogue d e s c r ip tio n s f o r th© course in 1920-21 r e f e r r e d t o i t as "A study of t h e o r i e s and methods of producers in America and Europe in c lu d in g Appla, Puchs, C raig, B e in h a rd t, S ta n is la v s k y , Balasco and o t h e r s ." This d e s c r i p t io n was m odified th e follow ing y e a r e lim in a ­ tin g s p e c i f i c producers names.

By 1924-26 the phrase

" in te n s iv e study of a s e l e c te d problenT was added.

The

1927-28 catalo g u e s t a t e d , "Open t o graduate stu d e n ts who are a t work upon s p e c i a l problems in the h i s t o r y and te c h ­ nique of dramatic p ro d u c tio n . dftfee i n s t r u c t o r . "

P r e r e q u i s i t e , perm ission

This l a s t d e s c r ip tio n may be p a r t i a l l y

accounted f o r by th e f a c t t h a t by t h i s time s e v e ra l can­ d id a te s f o r the m a s te r 's degree were p r e s e n tin g th e se s in dramatic p ro d u c tio n . Enrollm ents ranged from one to f i f t e e n s tu d e n ts in any one term and averaged f i v e . 2*

A course c a l l e d Research o c c a sio n a lly u sin g

'the t i t l e Reading and Research was o f fe r e d in th e summer s e ss io n of 1920 by Mr.. Mabi© e n r o l l in g only one s tu d e n t, i V®ra A lice P a u l, who was to be h is f i r s t c an d id ate f o r the m a s te r 's degree in dram atic a r t . ^ 0^

This course was

o ffere d i n t e r m i t t e n t l y by Mr. Mabi© u n t i l the y ear 1926-27 Other s t a f f members- had r e g i s t r a t i o n s in Research, to o , but because i t i s dou btfu l t h a t th e s e r e g i s t r a t i o n s were fo r the study of dram atic a r t , they a re not being con­ sid e red h e re .

Enrollment r a r e l y ran in excess of th r e e

stu d e n ts in any one term .

Course numbers a ssign ed were

9, 14, 207, 208, 241 and 242. 3.

The f i r s t r e g i s t r a t i o n fo r T hesis In dramati

a r t was Vera A lice Paul In 1920-21.

102

Miss Paul was

r e g i s t e r e d f o r two sem ester hours of c r e d i t .

$er study

was e n t i t l e d C h a r a o te r iz a tlo n of the Comedy Element in F ifty Widely Used High School P la y s , which was the f i r s t Master of A rts t h e s i s i n dramatic a r t at the S ta te Univer­ s i t y of Iowa to b© accepted by the Department of Speech.

216, 216 T hesis was o f f e r e d each y e a r through­ out th e decade when th e r e were c a n d id a te s t o p re s e n t f o r degrees.

In 1926 i t wag combined with th e course Research

and.the number 252 was adopted.

R e g is tr a ti o n s a f t e r 1924-

25 were mixed In w ith th ose of o th e r s t a f f members so th a t i t was not p o s s ib le to determ ine c l e a r l y which were in dramatic a r t .

P rio r to t h i s tim e, th e number of

stu d e n ts had not exceeded l f v e , In any on© term . 4.

Graduate co urses in Speech Theory and Phone­

t i c s were o ff e re d during th e decade.

P ro fe ss o r Kerry

o ffe re d Seminar in Speech Theory a t l e a s t on one occasion. A pparently, t h i s was the only time t h i s course was o f fe r e d . Miss Sarah T. Barrows p re se n te d 209,210 Seminar In Phonetics in 1923-24 and in 1925-26 and 1927-28 u sin g th© numbers 211, 212.

C re d it was two sem ester hours

and r e g i s t r a t i o n s v a rie d from one t o f o u rte e n . 5.

Mrs. M ills o ffe re d a graduate cou rse,

S tudies i n Oral Reading f o r two hours c r e d i t to th re e studen ts during the f i r s t sem ester of 1924-25.

This was

the only time fo r which r e g i s t r a t i o n s f o r t h i s course could be found.

Ho d e s c r i p t io n fo r the course was a v a i l ­

ab le . 6.

During the second sem ester of 1929-50, Mr.

Mabi® r e g i s t e r e d two s tu d e n ts f o r 204 O bjective S tu d ies in A cting.

No d e s c r ip tio n appeared f o r t h i s co u rse, but

c r e d i t g ra n te d was two se m este r h o u rs.

This appears to

have b®@n t h e f i r s t a c t in g course p re s e n te d t o be l im i te d , s t r i c t l y , to g rad u a te stu d e n ts# Degree Sequences and Major Sequences Standard Course in L ib e r a l A rts At th e beginning of the 1920-30 decade, the candidate i n any f i e l d fox1 th e B.A* degree must have com­ p le te d 120 sem ester hours of c r e d i t plus the r o u tin e f r e s h ­ man l e c t u r e s , p h y s ic a l ed u catio n and m i l i t a r y scien ce requirem ents.

H© was normally re q u ir e d to complete twelve

to s ix te e n sem ester hours of f o r e ig n language; twelve semester hours i n E n g lish , evenly divided between r h e to ­ r i c and l i t e r a t u r e ; tw en ty -fo u r sem ester hours of e lo c tlv e s P r in c ip le s of Speech.

This meant f i f t y '- t o f i f t y - f o u r

semester h o u rs, minimum of re q u ire d courses out of the t o t a l of 120 hours of c r e d i t needed f o r the degree. 103 I n a d d it i o n , the department in which h© declared his major might s p e c ify a d d it i o n a l courses which would 104 reduce the number of h is fre e e l e c t i v e s . Not le s s than tw e n ty -fo u r or more than f o r ty semester hours of work might be subm itted in th e major field .

Not more than s ix courses could be c a r r i e d i n any one term. 105

Th© requirem ents of th© freshman y e ar were so f u l l t h a t In th® speech f i e l d only th® re q u ire d courses could be ta k e n . By 1925-26, a l i m i t a t i o n of s i x sem ester hours Kras placed on the work which on© might take in any one department in the sophomore y e a r , and th e l i m i t a t i o n to s ix courses i n any one sem ester was confi ed to f i r s t and 106 second y e a r s t u d e n t s . By 1928-29, freshman requirem ents had been r e ­ duced by approxim ately four h o u rs, and freshmen were r e ­ s t r i c t e d t o one course w ith in any on® departm ent.

This

allowed f o r more e l e c t i v e s in th® freshman y e a r but reduced the e l e c t i v e s In the sophomore y e a r by the same amount. 107 The stu d e n t could postpone h is r e q u ir e d spaech course to the sophomore y ear to allow more freedom of e le c t i v e in the f i r s t y e a r , but th e stu d e n t i n t e r e s t e d in dramatic a r t could not g a in by such a choice fo r the freshman speech course was p r e r e q u i s i t e to a l l o th er courses w ith in t h a t department. In e f f e c t , th ese requirem ents were such t h a t no student could begin h is work in the f i e l d of dram atic a r t u n t i l the sophomore y e a r .

And in th® sophomore y e a r he

was r e s t r i c t e d to s i x hours of work in dram atic a r t and speech.

How r i g i d l y t h i s was enforced i s not c l e a r , but

I t a p p e a r s c e r t a i n t h a t any e x t e n s i v e work on a m a j o r I n sp eech w ith em phasis I n d r a m a tic a r t c o u ld not have be gu n b e f o r e t h e

junior y ear.

S i t u a t i o n s s u c h a s t h i s w ere p r o b a b l y c o n t r i b u t i n g f a c t o r s t o th e e x te n s iv e r e v i s i o n s i n th e p la n of s e c t i o ­ n i n g w h ic h t o o k p l a c e i n th© r e q u i r e d f r e s h m a n s p e e c h course a t

t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e 1 9 30 *a .

$ a j o r S e q u e n c e i n S p e e c h k i t h Em pha sis i n D r a m a t i c A r t I n 1 9 2 0 - 2 1 t h e c a n d i d a t e f o r t h e B.A* d e g r e e i n p u b l i c s p e a k i n g was r e q u i r e d t o c o m p l e t e c o u r s e s i n gfe&itciples o f S p e e c h , two h o u r s ; A dv anced P u b l i c S p e a k i n g , s ix h o u rs ; O ral I n t e r p r e t a t i o n , fo u r h o u rs; (faction, s ix h o u rs.

109

Dramatic P ro -

Each s t u d e n t h a d r e q u i r e m e n t s t o

work o f f i n ' t h e d e p a r t m e n t t o t a l l i n g t w e n t y - f o u r s e m e s t e r h o u r s , e q u i v a l e n t t o t h e minimum amount w h ic h c o u l d b e subm itted fo r the m ajor.

Those r e q u i r e m e n t s r e p r e s e n t e d

& b a l a n c e o f work b e t w e e n a l l p h a s e s o f t h e d e p a r t m e n t a l offerings at th a t tim e.

Ko e m p h a s i s i n d r a m a t i c a r t was

provided f o r . By 1 9 2 2 - 2 3 , t h e r e q u i r e m e n t i n i n t e r p r e t a t i v e r e a d i n g h a d b e e n r e d u c e d by two s e m e s t e r h o u r s a n d fro m' ©&e t o two s e m e s t e r h o u r s w ere re mo ve d from t h e r e q u i r e ­ ment I n d r a m a t i c p r o d u c t i o n .

T h i s meant t h a t d e p a r t m e n ­

t a l r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r a l l m a j o r s h a d b e e n r e d u c e d from

tw e n ty -fo u r to twenty-one or tw enty-tw o sem ester hours* The balance between th e p u b lic speaking and i n t e r p r e t a t i v e no courses had been mad© a b i t more even* In t h i s same y e a r a sequence was s e t up f o r a dramatic a r t emphasis w ith in th e Department of Speech, In order t o c a re f o r th o se who wished to be " te a c h e rd i r e c to r s of schoo l and c o lle g e dram atics o r . . . d i r e c to r s 111 of community dram atic a c t i v i t i e s ♦” Courses r e q u ir e d In t h i s sequence In a d d it i o n to the minimum f o r the g e n e ra l speech major l i s t e d above were:

S t a g e c r a f t * and The

Contemporary S ta g e * which in c re a s e d the minimum s p e c i f i e d hours fo r the major to a t o t a l of tw enty-nine to t h i r t y ssemester h o u rs.

Basic co urses i n speech were not re p la c e d 112 but were supplemented by a d d it i o n a l dram atic a r t courses* This sequence changed s l i g h t l y In 1G24-25 with th© s u b s t i t u t i o n of the newly in trod uced course in A ctings Rehearsal and Performance f o r the Dramatic Production course which, I t w i l l be remembered, became a g e n e ra l or i n t r o 113 ductory course to the dram atic a r t f ie ld * Th© announcements f o r the y e ar 192 6-27 showed four s p e c ia l sequences in speech!

(a) fo r te a c h e rs of

speech, (b) f o r te a c h e r s and d i r e c t o r s of f o r o n s ic s , (c) f o r p la y e rs and d i r e c t o r s of dram atic a r t , teach ers of p h o n e tic s .

(d) fo r

In a d d itio n to P r in c ip le s of Speech

the drana t i e a n t sequence required*

Dramatic P ro d u c tio n ,

s ix hours? Argumentation and R ebate, fo u r h o u rs; Theory of Speech, th r e e h o u rs; Teacher*s Course, t h r e e h o u rs; Voice S c ien ce, th r e e h o u rs; Phonetics and P ro n u n c ia tio n , th r e e h o u rs ; A c tin g ; Theory and Performance. s ix h o u rs; and S t a g e c r a f t , s i x h o u rs .

This t o t a l l e d t h i r t y - s i x sem ester

hours of r e q u ir e d work w ith in th e department fo r th© major sequence emphasising dram atic a rt* 114 I t was re q u ir e d th a t th e two most elem entary c o u rs e s , Argumentation and Debate and Dramatic P roduction be completed w ith s u p e rio r grades. This sequence i n d ic a t e s a philosophy th a t a general background in speech was e s s e n t i a l t o s u c c e s s fu l work In dram atic a r t , t h a t on© should he ab le to perform well In more th an one asp ect of the speech f ie ld *

It

recognized m astery of b a s ic techniques i n speech as b a sic to performance in dram atic a r t . This sequence In dramatic a r t w ith in the Depart­ ment of Speech was s l i g h t l y m odified by giving an a l t e r n a t e choice of Acting or Stage D ire c tio n and s u b s t i t u t i o n of Experimental P honetics fo r Theory of Speech in 1929-30*

115

Of the nine courses r e q u ir e d only th re e were not performance c o u rs e s , which t o t a l l e d nine hours*

In

other words, tw enty-seven of th e t h i r t y - s i x hours re q u ire d

fop the major In speech w ith emphasis in dram atic a r t were i n performance courses*

I t should b© s t a t e d a t t h i s

point* however, t h a t a l l s tu d e n ts e le c t i n g t h i s sequence were re q u ir e d t o e l e c t courses in dram atic l i t e r a t u r e fro® o u tsid e t h e i r own department* I t i s p o s s ib l e t o see th e emergence of a p a t t e r n in th e s e sequences f o r a major i n speech w ith an emphasis in dramatic a r t at th e u ndergraduate l e v e l .

I t was

c h a r a c te r is e d by a g rad u a l in c re a s e in the number of re q u ire d hours from tw en ty-fo ur to t h i r t y - s i x w ith in a period of l e s s than t e n years*

The program precluded

s p e c i a l i z a t i o n a t th e undergraduate l e v e l by r e q u ir in g a balance between b a sic courses in dram atic a r t and b a s ic t r a i n in g in each a re a of th e speech f i e l d .

I t provided

fo r p r o f e s s i o n a l work in tea ch in g by the In c lu s io n of a methods course In the g e n e r a l f i e l d of speech.

I t pro­

vided f o r work In the dramatic a r t f i e l d by r e q u ir in g g e n eral b a sic work in a l l bpt the f i e l d of p la y w ritin g and was r e in f o r c e d with con ten t work in l i t e r a t u r e and y&s$ory Of th e th e a tre *

The performance work p laced a

s i g n i f i c a n t emphasis upon tho problem of the a c t o r by s t r e s s i n g voice work and a c t in g .

I t o rie n te d th© a c to r

to the t h e a t r e aa a whole by r e q u ir in g b a s ic work In s ta g e ­ c r a f t and g e n e ra l production*

I t appears to have been a

J*«5 realistic

a p p r o a c h t o th© g e n e r a l p r o f e s s i o n a l o p p o r t u n i ­

t i e s a n d t o h a v e , a t t h e same t i m e , m a i n t a i n e d t h e a s p e c t s of a g e n e r a l e d u c a tio n . specific

job, i t

R ather than t r a i n in g fo r a

was b r o a d l y f u n d a m e n t a l t o a v a r i e t y o f

jo b s , and t o l a t e r s p e c i a l i s a t i o n .

Graduate Work in Dramatic Art As s t a t e d i n t h o d l s o u s s i o n o f c o u r s e s , g r a d u a t e work I n d r a m a t i c a r t was f i r s t

i n t r o d u c e d i n t o t h e Iowa

curriculum In th e y e a r 1920-21,

I n t h i s same y e a r ,

the

f i r s t s t u d y i n d r a m a t i c a r t was a c c e p t e d a s a t h e s i s f o r the M aster of A r ts d e g r e e . th a t the f i r s t

There can be l i t t l e

doubt

d e g r e e s o f f e r e d w er e l a r g e l y i n s p e e c h

r a t h e r t h a n i n d r a m a t i c a r t f o r t h e number o f c o u r s e s s p e c i f i c a l l y i n d r a m a t i c a r t was s m a l l .

Bet ween 1921 a n d

1925, e i g h t d e g r e e s w i t h an e m p h a s i s a n d t h e s i s

in dram atic

a r t w era g r a n t e d . I t was n o t u n t i l t h e , y e a r 1 9 2 8 - 2 9 , h o w e v e r , t h a t t h e f i r s t f o r m a l a n n o u n c e m e n t a p p e a r e d i n t h e Iowa c a t a l o g u e t o t h e e f f e c t t h a t t h e M, A. d e g r e e would be g r a n t e d f o r work i n d r a m a t i c a r t .

I t read as fo llo w s !

The D e p a r t m e n t o f S p e e c h w i l l a c c e p t as c a n d i d a t e s f o r advanced deg ree s only s t u ­ d e n t s o f a d e q u a t e p r e v i o u s t r a i n i n g an d s p e c i a l fitn ess. G r a d u a t e s t u d e n t s may p u r s u e m a j o r s t u ­ d i e s f o r t h e It, A. d e g r e e i n t h e h i s t o r y a n d technique of the speech a r t s , in the te a c h in g of s p e e c h , and i n p h o n e t i c s . The d e g r e e Ph. D.

In speech is c o n f e r r e d f o r achievem ent In s c i e n ­ t i f i c s t u d y an d r e s e a r c h I n t h e p s y c h o l o g y o f speech and i n a p p l i e d p h o n e t i c s . Special f a c i­ l i t i e s for research In th is f ie ld are offered t h r o u g h th® c o o p e r a t i v e o r g a n i s a t i o n o f t h e S p e e c h C l i n i o . * 16 &o Ph. D. c a n d i d a t e i n d r a m a t i c a r t was p r e s e n t e d d u r i n g th is decade.

It

is im portant

t o hot© t h a t t h e p h r a s e ,

^h isto ry and technique of the speech a r t s ” Included dram atic a r t .

It

says th a t dram atic a r t i s e s s e n t i a l l y

a s p eech a r t , f o r w i t h i n t h e framework o f t h i s p h ra s e d e g r e e s e m p h a s i z i n g s t u d i e s i n d r a m a t i c a r t were g r a n t e d . I t w i l l be f u r t h e r shown t h a t t h e p h r a s e was i n t e r p r e t e d t o mean c r e a t i v e work a s w e l l a s h i s t o r i c a l a n d c r e a t i v e stu d ies. B et w ee n 1921 a nd 19 30 f o r t y - n i n e c a n d i d a t e s were g r a n t e d k, A# d e g r e e s i n d r a m a t i c a r t w i t h i n t h e D ep ar tm en t o f S p e e c h .

117

A ll of th e se can d id ate s d id

t h e s e s which grew out o f problem s in h i s t o r y , t e c h n i q u e s or education i n dram atic a r t .

Some o f t h e r e s e a r c h e s ,

c e r t a i n v o i c e an d s p e e c h s t u d i e s , h a d a p p l i c a t i o n s I n t h e e n t i r e s p e e c h f i e l d , b u t were s i g n i f i c a n t t o d r a m a t i c a r t as w ell.

The b a l a n c e o f t h e d e g r e e s were g r a n t e d i n

t h e l a s t two y e a r s o f t h e p e r i o d . S e v e n g e n e r a l c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s o f t h e s e s were presented fo r the d e g re e : 1.

Three s t u d i e s

in dram atic

te c h n iq u e as

a p p l i e d t o p l a y w r i t l n g were p r e s e n t e d .

One d e s c r i b e d t h e

c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n o f t h e comedy e l e m e n t i n c e r t a i n h i g h school p la y s,

an d one a n a l y z e d t h e Sa voy o p e r a s o f $'• S.

G ilb ert f o r Innovations in te ch n iq u e.

The t h i r d was a

s t u d y o f comedy o f s i t u a t i o n a s I t r e l a t e d t o t h e p s y c h o ­ lo g y o f l a u g h t e r . 3.

H a v e n h i s t o r i c a l s t u d i e s were c o n c e r n e d

with t h e a t r e developm ents along th e r i v e r v a l l e y s of th e A me ric an f r o n t i e r ,

or th e l i v e s ,

t e c h n i q u e s and m et hod s o f

c e r t a i n p r o d u c e r s , a c t o r s and actor-m & na gers, 3,

Five s t u d i e s I n v o i c e a n d s p e e c h were

p r e s e n t e d w h ic h d e a l t w i t h p h o n e t i c d e s c r i p t i o n s d i a l e c t problem s in s p e c i f i c p l a y s , tory a n a ly s e s of c e r t a i n a s p e c t s

of c e r t a i n

or o b j e c t i v e l a b o r a ­

of a r t i s t i c

s p e e c h an d

voice u s a g e . 4*

Among t h e n i n e t e e n s t u d i e s i n d r a m a t i c a r t

e d u e & t i o n t h e r e was c o n s i d e r a b l e r a n g e .

Some c o n c e r n e d

t e a c h i n g p r o b l e m s , m e th o ds o r o b j e c t i v e s . a t t e m p t s a t th© d e s c r i p t i o n o f t a l e n t .

O t h e r s were

T e x t b oo ks i n

d r a m a t i c a r t w ere a n a l y z e d ; c o u r s e s of s t u d y , d r i l l s a nd e x e r c i s e ® were c o m p i l e d .

On© s t u d y c o n c e r n e d t h e e d u c a t i o n ,

t r a i n i n g and e a r l y

t h e a t r i c a l e x p e r i e n c e s of t w e n t y p r o ­

fessional acto rs.

Some f o c u s e d on th© p r o b l e m s o f th©

h i g h s c h o o l t h e a t r e , a n d o t h e r s were c o n c e r n e d w i t h c o l l e g e

t h e a t r e problem s*

One o f t h e more s i g n i f i c a n t

s t u d i e s f o r th e f u t u r e co n ce rn ed th e r e q u ire m e n ts and s p e c i ­ fica tio n s fo r a u n iv e rs ity th e a tre building. 5*

Two s t u d i e s w er e done r e l a t i v e t o a r t p r i n c i ­

ples in dram atic p ro d u ctio n .

One o f t h e s e c o n c e r n e d i t ­

s e l f w ith th e a p p l i c a t i o n of d esign p r i n c i p l e s to t h e a t r i ­ cal production. /

6.

One s t u d y was made o f t h e p r i n c i p l e s a n d

f u n c t i o n s o f th© s t a g ® c o s t u m e . 7,

T h e r e w ere two t y p e s o f c r e a t i v e p r o j e c t s

s u b m i t t e d a s d i s s e r t a t i o n s f o r th® d e g r e e .

A, P a l e

R iley w rote and d i r e c t e d a p r o d u c ti o n of a f u l l - l e n g t h p l a y , Phe B a r o n g i n 1 9 30 ,

*

T h i s was t h e f i r s t

play t o be a c c e p te d a s a t h e s i s Iowa.

f o r t h e U, A. d e g r e e a t

Beginning i n 1926, a s e r i e s

of seven c r e a t i v e p r o ­

j e c t s i n p la y d i r e c t i o n were a c c e p t e d . pared a d i r e c t o r ^

o rig in al

Each c a n d i d a t e p r e ­

prompt book and d i r e c t e d a p u b l i c p r o ­

duction of a f u l l - l e n g t h p la y . From t h i s d e s c r i p t i o n i t s h o u l d be a p p a r e n t t h a t a l i b e r a l i n t e r p r e t a t i o n was g i v e n t o t h e r e q u i r e ­ ments f o r 1 th© M.A. d e g r e e , a l l o w i n g th© c a n d i d a t e s t o focus a t t e n t i o n upon p r a c t i c a l problems i n t h e f i e l d ,

as

w a l l a s t h e u s u a l p r o b l e m s o f h i s t o r y and c r i t i c i s m . C r e a t i v e work was b e i n g r e c o g n i z e d a s v a l i d f o r g r a d u a t e

cred it.

A l e t t e r f r o m m. 0 . l i a b l e t o Geprg* P i e r c e B a k e r

on A p r i l 2 2 , 19 30 w i l l i l l u s t r a t e th© d e g r e e .

f u r t h e r th e n a t u re of

I n r e s p o n s e t o an i n q u i r y f r o ® B a k e r f o r an

exact statem en t of c o n d itio n s

on w h ic h t h e d e g r e e was

g r a n t e d , M&bie w r o t e : . . . A t t h e p r e s e n t t i m e th© d e g r e e k .A , i s awarded i n t h i s departm ent un d er th e c o n d i t i o n s which h o l d i n o t h e r d e p a rtm e n ts of th e G rad u ate School. The minimum r e q u i r e m e n t f o r th© d e g r e e i s t h i r t y s e m e s t e r h o u r s o f work; tw e n ty s e m e s t e r h o u r s o f w h i c h mu st be done i n t h e m a j o r s u b j e c t ( D r a m a t i c A r t ) , a n d t e n s e m e s t e r h o u r s o f w hi ch must b© i n t h e m i n o r s u b j e c t ( D r a m a t i c L i t e r a ­ tu re ). B e f o r e a c a n d i d a t e i s a c c e p t e d , he must be a g r a d u a t e o f a n a c c r e d i t e d c o l l e g e o f f e r i n g t h e A,B. d e g r e e . He must a l s o o f f e r a s u b s t a n t i a l b a c k g r o u n d i n Drama i n h i s u n d e r ­ graduate co u rses. In a c t u a l p r a c t ic e during th© l a s t f i v e y e a r s o n l y th© r a r e s t u d e n t h a s b e e n w a r d e d t h e ft*A. d e g r e e a f t e r c o m p l e t i n g minimum r e q u i r e m e n t s o n l y . Time v a r i e s a c c o r d i n g t o t h e b a c k g r o u n d , p r e v i o u s a b i l i t y and t r a i n i n g o f th© s t u d e n t . The m a j o r i t y o f s t u d e n t s h a v e b e e n r e q u i r e d t o o f f e r from t h i r t y - s i x s e m e s t e r h o u r s t o f o r t y - f i v e s e m e s t e r h o u r s o f work i n th© g r a d u a t e c o l l e g e b e f o r e h e th© (sic) d e g r e e h a s b e e n granted. A student is req u ired to present a th esis. As a r e s u l t o f t h e l i b e r a l p o i n t o f v i e w o f t h e Dean o f t h e G r a d u a t e C o l l e g e an d o f t h e G r a d u a t e C o u n c i l , we h a v e f o r a number o f y e a r s b e e n a b l e t o a c c e p t a c a r e f u l l y worked out p r o d u c t i o n and th e p r o d u c t i o n of an o r i ­ g i n a l long s c r i p t as a t h e s i s . S u g g e s t e d c h a n g e s f o r th© a d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f t h i s d e g r e e were a l s o I n c l u d e d i n t h i s l e t t e r a n d w i l l b© i n t r o d u c e d In a l a t e r c h a p t e r of t h i s s t u d y .

Table I M. &* Degrees G ranted 1921-1930

1920-21 1921-22 1922-23 1925-24 1924-25

1 0 1 3 3

1925-26 1926-27 1927-28 1928-29 1920-30

6 2 4 11 18

Dramatic O rganizations

—to t • •■r.saiMs- l::^;»H&.u.;Maj,i.u.-8aw,a..i«'graa:

The l i t e r a r y tan t in the f i r s t

s o c i e t i e s were,

of c o u r s e , i m p o r ­

days of t h e U n i v e r s i t y T h e a t r e and th e

b u i l d i n g o f t h e t h e a t r e i n t o th© c u r r i c u l u m *

But a s

t h e work i n a r & m a t i c a r t became more f i r m l y r o o t e d i n t h e c u rric u lu m , th e f u n c t i o n of th e l i t e r a r y s o c i e t y as a dram atic p r o d u c t i o n o r g a n i z a t i o n o b v io u s ly l e s s e n e d so t h a t by 1926 t h e y were no l o n g e r e v e n m e n t i o n e d on t h e pr o gr am s o f t h e U n i v e r s i t y T h e a t r e ’ s p r o d u c t i o n s . The s i g n i f i c a n t l y a c t i v e o r g a n i z a t i o n s o f t h e p e r i o d 1 9 2 0 - 3 0 w ere t h e U n i v e r s i t y P l a y e r s , t h e P u r p l e Mask h o n o r s o c i e t y , t h e O u t - o f - D o o r p l a y e r s o f t h e summer s e s s i o n s and t h e c l a s s e s d e a l i n g w i t h v a r i o u s p h a s e s o f d r a m a t i c production.

I t h a s b e e n s a i d t h a t any on e o f c o n s e q u e n c e

t o t h e t h e a t r e on t h e campus b e l o n g e d t o one o r t h e o t h e r of t h e s e o r g a n i z a t i o n s .

This h e lp s

s h i n g i m p o r t a n c e of t h e l i t e r a r y

to e x p la in the d im in i­

s o c ie t ie s in the U niversity

T h e a t r e ' s p r o g r a m ; th® members o f t h e s e s o c i e t i e s who

were i n t e r e s t e d I n m a k in g s i g n i f i c a n t c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o t h e t h e a t r e w e r e a l s o members o f a t l e a s t organizations.

119

one o f t h e ab o v e

However, e v e n t h e U n i v e r s i t y P l a y e r s *

had l o s t i t s

i d e n t i t y as an in d e p e n d e n t p ro d u c in g group

b e fo re t h e end of th e d e c a d e .

A ll of th e p ro d u c tio n

a c t i v i t y h a d become c u r r i c u l a r . The U n i v e r s i t y F l a y e r s T h i s g r o u p was t h e s p a r k p l u g o f t h e e x t r a ­ c u r r i c u l a r groups in the o r g a n iz a tio n o f the t h e a t r e .

It

w i l l b® r e m e m b e r e d t h a t when t h e U n i v e r s i t y T h e a t r e was o r g a n i z e d I t was t h e o n l y o r g a n i z a t i o n w i t h two members on t h e B o a r d o f G o v e r n o r s .

I t was i t s p r o d u c t i o n o f M at er

t h a t i n a u g u r a t e d th© U n i v e r s i t y T h e a t r e , a n d i t was w i t h ­ i n t h e f r a m e w o r k o f t h i s g r o u p t h a t t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n of s e a s o n t i c k e t c a m p a i g n s a n d t h e faw o r g a n i z e d s o c i a l activ ities

of th e U n i v e r s i t y T h e a tr e to o k p l a c e .

The

grou p w o r k e d v e r y c l o s e l y w i t h t h o s e i n t e r e s t e d i n a new t h e a t r e b u i l d i n g f r o m t h e v e r y b e g i n n i n g , a n d was a l w a y s clo se ly a l l i e d w ith th e D ire c to r of th e U n iv e rs ity T h e a tre . During t h i s

period,

i t c h a n g e d fr om a n e x c l u s i v e

c l u b t o a d e m o c r a t i c o r g a n i z a t i o n w hi ch e x t e n d e d member­ s h i p t o a s many s t u d e n t s aa c o u l d p r o v e a n a c t i v e i n t e r e s t i n th© p r o d u c t i o n work o f t h e U n i v e r s i t y T h e a t r e .

120

$b©r© m e m b e r s h i p h a d r u n b e l o w f i f t y s t u d e n t s b e f o r e 1920, i t ; r o a e t o a t l e a s t e i g h t y - f i v e by December o f 1923 w i t h an a d d i t i o n a l f o r t y - t h r e e b e i n g I n i t i a t e d i n F e b r u a r y o f 1924#

121

The m i n u t e s o f t h e P l a y e r ’ s J a n u a r y 1 1 , 1925

m e e t i n g show t h a t th© g r o u p s t r u c k o u t t h e e n t i r e member­ s h ip c l a u s e from i t s

c o n s t i t u t i o n and s u b s t i t u t e d fo r i t

on© s a y i n g " t h a t members b© s e l e c t e d by t r y - o u t s o n l y . ” This I n d i c a t e s t h a t

other c o n s id e ra tio n s , p o l i t i c a l ,

s o c i a l , f i n a n c i a l , etc*, h a d e n t e r e d i n t o t h e s e l e c t i o n o f members p r e v i o u s l y , a n a s s u m p t i o n w hich h a s f r e q u e n t l y b ee n v e r i f i e d .

For ex a m p le , a few d i s g r u n t l e d s t u d e n t s ,

namely G r e g o r y F o l e y , F r e d A* S t e i n e r ,

/ a l t e r J.

D o h n e r , G e o rg e 0 . H u r l e y ,

a n d K e n n e t h S h u m a k e r, s e t o u t t o f o r m a n

o r g a n i z a t i o n o u t s i d e of t h e U n i v e r s i t y P l a y e r s t o b r e a k t h e m e m b e r s h ip s t r a n g l e h o l d an d g e t t h e t h e a t r e s e t up on a more s o un d e co no m ic b a s i s .

S e l f - s t y l e d "The D i r t y F i v e , ”

th e y were s u c c e s s f u l i n h e l p i n g Mr. Mabie p r o m o t e t h e i d e a o f a U n i v e r s i t y T h e a t r e an d t h e A s s o c i a t e d D r a m a t i c E n t e r p r i s e s a n d f o r m e d t h e g r o u p which Mr. Mabi® h a s c r e d i t e d w i t h making s u c c e s s f u l t h e s a l e o f t h e f i r s t s e a s o n t i c k e t c a m p a i g n which a m o u n te d t o a t o t a l o f 540 122 t i c k e t s a t $5.00 each. Some of t h e s e men were members ©f U n i v e r s i t y P l a y e r s a t th© t i m e a n d some were n o t . 1922, a l l h a d become members a n d wer® l e a d i n g

By

the. . o r g a n i z a t i o n .

Th© ^ n i v a r s i t y P l a y e r s

t h r i v e d a f t e r t h e member­

s h i p b a r r i e r s h a d b e e n b r o k e n down a n d g a i n e d t h e s u p p o r t of b o t h s t u d e n t s an d a d m i n i s t r a t i o n .

Dean Kay s t a t e d a t

th© P l a y e r s 1 C h r i s t m a s D i n n e r I n 1923 t h a t th© f a c u l t y was p r o u d o f t h e p l a y e r s a n d h o p e d t h e y w o u ld " c o n t i n u e i n t h e a d v a n c e t h a t t h e y h a v e h a d I n t h e p a s t few y e a r s . ”

At

t h e same t i m e , Mr. M b i e c o m p l i m e n t e d them on t h e i r " w o n d e r f u l work" i n t h e p a s t a n d h o p e d f o r them e q u a l success in the f u t u r e . C o m p e t i t i o n f o r m e m b er s h ip became s o k e e n i n t h e f a l l o f 1923 t h a t

o v e r 225 s t u d e n t s t r i e d o u t f o r

p laces In th e group.

C om petition, the f a c u lty supervision

o f t h e t r y o u t s a n d t h e e m p h a s i s on a c t i n g a b i l i t y

and

p r a c t i c a l worth to th e producing o r g a n iz a ti o n h elp ed t o 124 r a i s e t h e s t a n d a r d s o f th© m e m b e r s h i p . The s y s t e m o f t r y o u t s was s e l e c t i v e a n d c a n d i ­ d a t e s w er e j u d g e d u p o n a p p e a r a n c e , l i n e r e a d i n g a b i l i t y , s t a g e p r e s e n c e , a n d v o i c e a nd s p e e c h .

So metimes t h e y

p e r f o r m e d a s c e n e fr om a p l a y s i n g l y a n d i n o t h e r c a s e s In g ro u p s .

Time a l l o t m e n t s v a r i e d from t h r e e t o t w e l v e

m i n u t e s d e p e n d i n g on how many c a n d i d a t e s were c o m p e t i n g and w h e t h e r t h e y p e r f o r m e d s i n g l y o r i n g r o u p s .

F re s hm en

were p e r m i t t e d t o t r y o u t a n d become me mbers, a n d s t u d e n t s 125 f a i l i n g a t any t i m e w e r e p e r m i t t e d t o t r y a g a i n .

On© o f t h e more o u t s t a n d i n g a c t i v i t i e s

>>

21

o f th©

U n i v e r s i t y P l a y e r s was I t s a n n u a l p l a y w r i t i n g c o n t e s t w hic h was i n a u g u r a t e d i n 1 9 2 0 - 2 1 .

At t h e O c t o b e r 2 7 ,

1921 m e e t i n g o f the. g r o u p i t was a g r e e d t o g i v e a t o n dollar p riz e ,

p r o d u c t i o n o f t h e p l a y , m e m b e r s h ip i n t h e

P la y e rs and t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o p la y th e l e a d i n g r o l e to th© a u t h o r w i n n i n g t h e c o m p e t i t i o n .

The c a s h p r i z e was

i n c r e a s e d t o $50 b e f o r e t h e c o n t e s t c l o s e d .

Judges

s e l e c t i n g t h e w i n n i n g m a n u s c r i p t ware P r o f e s s o r s K, C, Mable, E. H. L a u e r , a n d P e r c i v a l H u n t ,

Twenty-fim r plays

were s u b m i t t e d by s t u d e n t s a n d a l u m n i i n t h e f i r s t c o n t e s t . I n 1 9 2 1 - 2 2 , t h e c o n t e s t was c o n t i n u e d w i t h th© U n iv e rs ity T h e a tre and th e P la y e rs each o f f e r i n g a p r i z e o f $55 an d $50 r e s p e c t i v e l y .

T h is tim e, only u n d e rg ra 127 d u a t a a o f t h e U n i v e r s i t y w ere a l l o w e d t o c o m p e t e . The c o n t e s t c o n t i n u e d t h r o u g h o u t 19 23 -2 4 when $100 was o f f e r e d f o r t h e b e s t l o n g p l a y a n d $35 f o r t h e best short play.

The p u r p o s e s b e h i n d t h e c o n t e s t w e r e ,

of c o u r s e , s t i m u l a t i o n o f i n t e r e s t i n p l a y w r i t i n g a n d d r a m a t i c s , a nd i n 1 9 2 3 - 2 4 , i t

was h o p e d t h a t p l a y s on

M d d l e - A e s t e r n t h e m e s m i g h t grow o u t of t h e c o n t e s t .

128

e work o f t h e O u t - o f - D o o r F l a y e r s h a s b e e n described e a r l i e r in t h i s chapter*

Suffice i t

to say ,

h e r e , t h a t t h e y s e r v e d t h e same f u n c t i o n d u r i n g t h e summer

12 6

se ssio n s as th e U n iv e rs ity P la y e rs se rv ed during th e r e g u la r academic y e a r . The P u r p l e k a s k T h i s , t h e only h o n o ra ry d ra m a tic o r g a n i z a t i o n t o e x i s t i n th© h i s t o r y o f t h e U n i v e r s i t y T h e a t r e , was o r g a n i s e d J u n e 5 , 1922 a t th© c l o s e o f t h e f i r s t s e a s o n of t h e new t h e a t r e . i n n u m b e r, n a m e l y :

The c h a r t e r members w e r e e l e v e n S. L u c i l l e E v e r e t t ,

W a l t e r «T. D e h n e r ,

M i l d r e d C. F r e b u r g , G r e g o r y F o l e y , T e o r g e 0. H u r l e y , He le n Lang w o r t h y , Edward C. f a b l e , Henry E. Ruwo, L, H en n at h S h u m a k e r , F r e d A. S t e i n e r , a n d A l b e r t Ward*

129

P u r p l e Mask was n o t c o n c e i v e d a s a p r o d u c t i o n s o c i e t y b u t a s a s e n i o r h o n o r g r o u p i n th© s e r v i c e o f t h e U n i­ versity T heatre,

ft em ber s w ere s e l e c t e d on t h e b a s i s

of

s c h o la rs h ip , m e rito r io u s s e r v ic e to th e U n iv e rs ity Theatre and s e n i o r s t a n d i n g .

One o f i t s p u r p o s e s was t o u n i t e t h e

s e n i o r l e a d e r s I n th© t h e a t r e on t h e campus w i t h t h e o u t ­ s ta n d in g alumni of th e U n i v e r s i t y T h e a tr e . t o e n c o u r a g e s c h o l a r s h i p , t o k ee p t h e a t r e

I t proposed in a prom inent

p l a c e on th© campus by d i s c o v e r i n g l e a d e r s who p l a c e d d r a m a t i c s f i r s t among t h e i r e x t r a c u r r i c u l a r a c t i v i t i e s ; t o c o n s i d e r ways a n d means o f r a i s i n g p r o d u c t i o n s t a n d a r d s on t h e campus a n d i n t h e s t a t e ;

to u n i t e those looking

f o r w a r d t o p r o f e s s i o n a l t e a c h i n g , d i r e c t i n g , an d a c t i n g

o a re ers I n t h e a t r e ; a n d t o u n i t e w i t h o t h e r g r o u p s i n o t h e r I n s t i t u t i o n s w ith s i m i l a r p u r p o s e s . ^ 5 The c r e e d o f t h e g r o u p r e a d a s f o l l o w s :

THE CREED. ( W it h a bow t o G or do n C r a i g ) The P u r p l e Mask b e l i e v e s i n t h e T h e a t r e U n i v e r s a l . I t b e l i e v e s I n t h e Drama, w h e t h e r w r i t t e n , s p o k e n , sung, or ac te d ; I t believes in scen eries, dancing;

in m usic, and In

I t b e l i e v e s i n m a r i o n e t t e s an d m a a k s ; I t b e lie v e s in the a c to r and in th e a c t r e s s ; I t b e l i e v e s i n th e dancer and i n t h e musi­ cian; I t b e l i e v e s i n e c e n e o g r a p h e r s and i n drama­ tists; I t b e lie v e s in every b le s s e d or cursed th in g t h a t e v e r w a s , i s , o r s h a l l be i n t h e T heatr© --if a r t i s t i c ; I t b e l i e v e s i n t h e f u t u r e of t h e T h e a t r e i n ev ery la n d and in ev ery to n g u e ; Above a l l , I t b e l i e v e s I n t h e U n i v e r s i t y T h e a t r e , a n d p l e d g e s i t s b e s t t o t h e en d t h a t t h e r e may be r e a l i z e d a t t h e U n i v e r ­ s i t y of Iowa, th e f i n e s t a r t i s t i c a o h ie v e m e r t s o f w h ic h s u c h a T h e a t r e i s c a p a b l e . P u r p l e Mask c o n t i n u e d t o b e t h e s e n i o r h o n o r o r g a n iz a ti o n of t h e U n i v e r s i t y T h ea tre thro u g h o u t the e n t i r e p e rio d c o n s id e re d in t h i s c h a p t e r ,

E l e c t i o n s were

a n n o u n c e d a t th® a n n u a l t h e a t r e

d i n n e r each s p r i n g and

were made by t h e s t a f f e n d t h e r e s i d e n t m e m b e r s h ip o f t h e organisation.

By t h e en d o f t h e y e a r 1 9 2 9 - 3 0 t h e r e w ere

s i x t y - e i g h t p e r s o n s who h a d a t t a i n e d m e m b e r s h ip I n th© Furpl© f^ask.

The P roduction Program SSSSB ofS ggw thegi»—U n iv e rsnwi.r'^ ity ■ Theatre mSSSSS CPTTB3fflffTr!!STr^SilfTff?B5B rl"; •

133

SSSSSB SSSSSSSSSSS

B e t w e e n t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e summer s e s s i o n o f 1920 a n d th® c l o s e o f t h e summer s e s s i o n o f 1 9 3 0 , t h e U n i v e r s i t y T h e a tr e and th e a g e n c ie s o f t h e Departm ent o f P u b lic S p eak in g which had p r e c e d e d I t s e s t a b l i s h m e n t had p r e s e n t e d a p p r o x i m a t e l y 200 s e p a r a t e p r o d u c t i o n s I n Iowa C ity.

One h u n d r e d a n d s i x t y o f t h e s e h&c b e e n pex>formed

by t h e U n i v e r s i t y T h e a t r e a n d i t s member g r o u p s s u c h a s th® l i t e r a r y s o c i e t i e s a n d t h e U n i v e r s i t y P l a y e r s , Tom Thumb T h e a t r e , a n d c l a s s e s i n d r a m a t i c p r o d u c t i o n . Fourteen of th e p la y s had been p ro d u c tio n s o f p r o f e s s i o n a l t r a v e l i n g companies of v a r io u s s o r t s , namely:

Che C l i f ­

f o r d D e v e r e u x P l a y e r s , The S h a k e s p e a r e P l a y h o u s e u n d e r t h e d i r e c t i o n o f P r a n k Jv'chntee,-

Tony B a r g ' s M a r i o n e t t e s ,

S t u a r t t a l k e r ' s Book o f Job Company an d t h e C o f f e r M i l l e r Players.

The r e m a i n d e r o f t h e p l a y s were p r o d u c e d by

th® c l a s s e s i n e d u c a t i o n a l D r a m a t i c s a n d th© O u t - o f - D o o r P l a y e r s b e f o r e t h e U n i v e r s i t y T h e a t r e was p l a c e d i n o p e r a ­ t i o n on O c t o b e r 2 7 , 1 9 2 1 .

A p p r o x i m a t e l y 150 o f t h e s e p r o d u c t i o n s were o f f u l l - l e n g t h p l a y s , a n d f o r t y - n i n e w ere s h o r t p l a y s .

The

p ro d u c tio n s of tw e n t y -f o u r of th e s h o r t p la y s took p la c e b e f o r e t h e U n i v e r s i t y T h e a t r e was d e d i c a t e d , a f t e r w h i c h r e c o r d s f o r s h o r t p l a y s a p p a r e n t l y w ere n o t o f t e n k e p t u n l e s s s u r r o u n d e d by u n u s u a l s i g n i f i c a n c e s u c h a s a p r o ­ d u c t i o n on a p u b l i c s e r i e s i n t h e t h e a t r e s t u d i o o r f o r some s p e c i a l o c c a s i o n .

It

seems r e l a t i v e l y

certain,

on

t h e b a s i s o f t h e way i n w h i c h r e c o r d s h a v e bo on k e p t I n recent y e a rs ,

t h a t many s t u d i o p r o d u c t i o n s

of s h o r t p la y s

were n e v e r r e c o r d e d e i t h e r b y n e w s p a p e r s o r by t h e p r i n t i n g Of p r o g r a m s . n i n e t e e n o r i g i n a l p l a y s were g i v e n t h e i r p r e m i e r e p e r f o r m a n c e s by t h e U n i v e r s i t y T h e a t r e b e t w e e n 1921 a n d t h e c l o s e o f t h e 1930 s u m m e r ■s e s s i o n ,

hla ven . o f

t h e s e were s h o r t p l a y s an d e i g h t w ere l o n g p l a y s .

Of t h e

lo n g p l a y s , t w o w ere by w e l l - k n o w n a u t h o r s , F r a n c i s K i e l s o n an d Don t e a r q u i s ; a n d f i v e w ere by s t u d e n t a u t h o r s s t u d y i n g i n t h e D e p a r t m e n t of S p e e c h .

Of t h e s t u d e n t

a u th o rs , a l l have been s u c c e s s f u l in e i t h e r or b oth th e c o m m e r c i a l t h e a t r e a n d t h e n o n - c o m m e r c i a l community o r educational t h e a t r e . Ioung, Darren

They ware P a u l F o l e y , J oh n Dray

L a e , R i c h a r d iiaib aum , an d A* Dale D l l e y .

In r e s p e c t i v e o r d e r ,

t h e s e men h a v e most r e c e n t l y b e e n

a s s i s t a n t t o th© l a t e Br oo k P e m b e r t o n ; d i r e c t o r o f th® S h r e v e p o r t , L o u i s i a n a community t h e a t r e }

d i r e c t o r of th e

t h e a t r e a t t h e U n iv e rs ity o f S o u t h Dakota a n d t h o B l a c k H i l l s P l a y h o u s e ; Broadway p l a y w r i g h t an d s c r e e n w r i t e r a n d p ro d u cer f o r Paramount P i c t u r e s I n c . } and u n t i l th e tim e of h i s d e a t h , R i l e y was d i r e c t o r o f t h e U n i v e r s i t y T h e a t r e a t th e U n iv e r s it y of M innesota, lo ng p l a y was a n Iowa h o u s e w i f e .

The a u t h o r o f t h e o t h e r Of t h e s h o r t p l a y a u t h o r s

two a r e s u c c e s s f u l c o l l e g e t h e a t r e d i r e c t o r s ,

one i s an

Iowa C i t y r e s i d e n t an d t h e o t h e r s w era n o t i d e n t i f i e d . P a u l F o l e y 1a A Man* s Job I n 1 9 2 6 - 2 6 was t h e f i r s t

134

fu ll-

l e n g t h s t u d e n t m a n u s c r i p t t o be p r o d u c e d by t h e U n i v e r s i t y T heatre. T h i r t e e n s e p a r a t e p r o d u c t i o n s o f Lh a k e sp e a r © were p r e s e n t e d i n t h i s p e r i o d , f i v e o f Georg© B e r n a r d Shaw; s e v e n o f t h e p l a y s o f Eugene O ' N e i l l were p e r f o r m e d ; R i c h a r d B r i n s l e y S h e r i d a n was r e p r e s e n t e d t w i c e , I b s e n tw ic e, G alsw orthy tw i c e , tim es, Rostand tw ic e ,

E uripides tw ic e , holnar th re e

A. A .

k il n © was p o p u l a r , a s w ere

P h i l i p B a r r y , A r t h u r king P in e r o , Y eats, Rachel C r o t h e r s , f i r

Lady G r e g o r y ,

B.

James B a r r i e , George P e l l e y ,

George S . Kaufman, Marc C o n n e l l y , Owen D a v i s , M a r t i n F l a v i n end o t h e r s .

A l l o f t h e s a a u t h o r s wore r e p r e s e n t e d a t

l e a s t t w i c e , a n d l.aufman a n d M i n e wera f r e q u e n t r e p e a t e r s .

The p o p u l a r i t y o f o n e - a c t p l a y s on t h e p u b l i c pr og ra m s l a

probably a cc o u n ta b le t o th e f a c t t h a t they

v a r a more a d a p t a b l e t o t h e n e e d s a n d e q u i p m e n t and b u d ­ g e t s o f t h e c l a s s e s b e f o r e t h e T h e a t r e was e s t a b l i s h e d # Another i m p o r ta n t p o i n t I s p r o b a b ly t h e f a c t t h a t th e p e r i o d o f t h e 1 9 2 0 ’ s a n d b e f o r e was t h e t h r i v i n g t i m e o f the o n e - a c t p l a y .

The o n o - a c t form was a l s o a c h i e f

m e d i u m o f many o f t h e l e a d i n g p l a y w r i g h t s o f t h e ti m e and i t was n o t e x c l u s i v e l y t h e p r o p e r t y school p ro d u c e r th e n as i t

of the h ig h

a l m o s t i s now#

The p r o g r a m o f m a j o r p r o d u c t i o n s i n t h e U n i ­ v e r s i t y T h e a t r e was a i m e d a t t h e g e n e r a l U n i v e r s i t y a u d i e n c e , t h e community of Iowa C i t y a u d i e n c e , a n d h a d a s i t s p u rposes e n t e r t a i n m e n t , r e c r e a t i o n , and e d u c a tio n f o r i t s audiences as w all as fo r the s tu d en t p a r t i c i p a n t s in the p la y s th e m selv es#

I t attem pted to p re se n t a stim u la ­

t i n g p r o g r a m t h a t w ou ld a p p e a l t o i t s e n t i r e well as t o th e d e s i r e s

of s p e c i a l g ro u p s.

te ly not a th e a tr e fo r th e l i t e r a r y people

elite,

a u d i e n c e as

I t was d e f i n i ­ b u t one f o r t h e

who c a r e d en ou gh a b o u t t h e t h e a t r e t o h e l p pay

Its b i l l s ,

and s e e i t s p l a y s .

On t h e o t h e r h a n d ,

not a t h e a t r e w i t h an a p p e a l t o th e I l l i t e r a t e minded#

itwas

and s i m p l e

Of t h e n o n - c o m m e r c i a l g r o u p s , i t was one o f th e

l e a d i n g t h e a t r e s i n t h e p r o d u c t i o n of f h a f c e s p e a r e , a n d t h e

’-a*

f i r s t academic t h e a t r e in the n a t i o n t o ta k a S hakespeare on t o u r .

135

w ith u e o rg e Piarc® B ak er, A lf r e d A rv o id ,

F r e d e r i c k Koch, a n d A l e x a n d e r bruwmond, t h e a c t i v i t i e s S. C. tV:abie a n d t h e U n i v e r s i t y T h e a t r e and. i t s

of

attendant

c u r r i c u l u m w ere l e a d i n g t h e n a t i o n I n t h e p r o d u c t i o n o f new m a n u s c r i p t s , a n d Iowa was b e g i n n i n g t o be a l e a d e r I n t h e p r o d u c t i o n o f new p l a y w r i g h t s .

I t s production pro­

gram was c o n s t a n t l y s e r v i n g a b r o a d , h e t e r o g e n e o u s an d c o n s i s t e n t l y la r g e audience with p ro d u c tio n s of q u a l ity * I t was n o t p l a y i n g s t r i c t l y

to an I n v i t a t i o n a l au d ien ce,

a stu d e n t a u d ie n c e , a f a c u l t y au d ien ce or a w ealthy group of p a t r o n s .

I t was p l a y i n g t o a c o m b i n a t i o n o f t h e young

p e o p l e o f t h e U n i v e r s i t y , t h e a d u l t s o f t h e community a n d s t a t e , and the f a c u l t y .

Its

auditorium or o u t-d o o r p lo t

endowment c o n s i s t e d o f an for perform ances, a kindly

a d m i n i s t r a t i o n which o c c a s i o n a l l y f o u n d ' b i t s sen d i t s

o f money t o

way, a n d t h e income f r o m a n a u d i e n c e o f fr om

1,000 t o 2 ,0 0 0 p e o p l e . C asting p o licy fo r the th e a tre v a rie d c o n s id e r­ ably over th e y e a r s , b u t t h e e s s e n c e of the p o l i c y a p p a r e n t ­ ly l a y I n t h e d e s i r e t o e s t a b l i s h r e s p e c t a b l e a r t i s t i c standards in perform ance.

137

T h i s f r e q u e n t l y meant g o i n g

o u t s i d e of t h e I m m e d i a t e g r o u p r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e p r o ­ duction of th e p la y in o rd e r t o g et s u i t a b l e t a l e n t f o r

tat

fch® parts* Th® c a s e o f t h e s e n i o r c l a s s p l a y i s an i n t e r e s ­ t i n g ex am ple *

T r a d i t i o n a l l y th e c l a s s play had been c a s t

from w i t h i n t h e g r o u p , a n d t h e p r o b l e m o f a s s e m b l i n g a e a s t h a d n o t a l w a y s b e e n an e a s y o n e .

The f i r s t t r y o u t s

f o r t h e 1921 s e n i o r p l a y , A S u c c e s s f u l C a l a m i t y , drew only t h r e e women a n d one man. "before th e p r o d u c t i o n d a t e .

T h i s was l e a s t h a n a mon th The B a l l y Iow an s u g g e s t e d

t h a t i t was t h e good w e a t h e r an d t h e r i v e r b a n k w h ic h k e p t t h e s t u d e n t s aw ay ,

T i t h e d i t o r i a l b l u d g e o n i n g an d

a c t i v e p r o m o t i o n by t h e d r a m a t i c ma nag er f o r th© g r o u p , f o r t y s e n i o r s f i n a l l y a p p e a r e d a n d t h e p l a y was c a s t .

138

The f o l l o w i n g y e a r , w i t h t h e U n i v e r s i t y T h e a t r e i n o p e r a t i o n , t h e p o l i c y was c h a n g e d .

The Iow an f o r

March 3 , 1 9 2 2 , two a n d o n e - h a l f months b e f o r e t h e p r o ­ d u c t i o n d a t e , a n n o u n c e d , ”A11 s e n i o r s who a r e I n t e r e s t e d i n d r a m a t i c s a n d p l a y work w i l l h a v e a n o p p o r t u n i t y t o try fo r p a rts In th i s

play.

T h i s p l a n w i l l nob e x c l u d e

o th e r s t u d e n t s from t r y i n g o u t , b u t p r e f e r e n c e w i l l be given t o s e n i o r s . ”

The p l a y was t o have b e e n Shaw1s

Arms a n d t h e Man, b u t b e c a u s e a s u i t a b l e c a s t c o u l d n o t be f o u n d i t was r e p l a c e d by Thomas B u c h a n a n ’ s A 'toman’ s 139 Way, 'When t h o c a s t was s e l e c t e d , i t was n o t composed of a l l s e n i o r s , b u t of p e o p l e t h e d i r e c t o r b e l i e v e d

eOBapetent a n d In te r e ste d i n playing t h e p a r t s *

140

This

s y s t e m replaced th© tr a d itio n a l s e n i o r p l a y . The U n i v e r s i t y P l a y e r s a n d t h e U n i v e r s i t y T h e a t r e w o r k e d i n c l o s e harmony w i t h th© p e o p l e o f t h e Iowa C i t y Drama L e a g u e , a n d i n t h e a t t e m p t t o r a i s e a r t i s t i c standards to a s a ti s f a c to r y le v e l,

i t was n o t

avers© t o t h e U n i v e r s i t y T h e a t r e p o l i c y t o s e l e c t an o c c a s i o n a l a c t o r f ro m th© f a c u l t y o r th© Iowa C i t y commu­ nity to play in a p ro d u ctio n .

h r , F r a n c i s P. S u e p p e l ,

an Iowa C i t y b u s i n e s s m a n a n d by a l l r e p o r t s a more t h a n co m p e te n t a m a t e u r a c t o r , was f r e q u e n t l y drawn ins t o p l a y such p a r t s a s S h y l o c k i n The M er ch an t o f V e n i c e , S i r P e t e r 5-n S c h o o l f o r S c a n d a l .

He was r e h e a r s i n g

r o l l i n R ic h e li e u a t th e time of h is

f o r th© t i t l e 141 death. The u s e o f

Mr. S u e p p e l n o t o n l y h e l p e d t o r a i s e t h e s t a n d a r d s o f a c t i n g I n th© p l a y s , b u t f u n c t i o n e d t o b u i l d th© t h e a t r e •more i n t e g r a l l y i n t o t h e c o m m un it y .

He was & v e r y p o p u l a r

a c t o r I n Iowa C i t y an d p l a y e d f o r t h e U n i v e r s i t y a n n u a l l y 142 u n t i l h i s death* I n 1 9 2 4 , f o r t h e p r o d u c t i o n of S c h o o l f o r S c a n d a l * Miss I s l e a O l e r l c h , an Iowa graduate i n 1923 , was drawn t o Iowa C i t y from h e r t e a c h i n g p o s i t i o n i n P o c a h o n t a s , Iowa, t o a l t e r n a t e I n p l a y i n g Lady T e a z l e w i t h Sue a graduate s tu d e n t.

143

Mrs. f l i c e

F ills,

Givey,

reportedly a

vary competent a c t r e s s , played P o r t i a at th e same time she was a member of th e d e p artm e n tal s t a f f * Most c a s t i n g s were made from the stu d e n t groups, but th e p r i n c i p l e of e s t a b l i s h i n g and m ain tain in g sta n d ard s was placed fo rem o st, and th© m a tte r of group i d e n t i t y be­ came a secondary thing*

Mr. Mabie has s t a t e d t h a t the

policy of c a s t i n g o u ts id e th e group was follow ed u n t i l the number of dram atic a r t majors became s u f f i c i e n t l y la rg e to make i t p o s s ib le t o f i n d s a t i s f a c t o r y c a s tin g s w ith in the group*

Th® o b l ig a t io n to use t a l e n t which had p a id

t u i t i o n i n o rd er to r e c e i v e t r a i n i n g in th e t h e a t r e was not sid e ste p p e d .

But th e thought t h a t t a l e n t must be

genuine In o rd e r to have th e p r i v i l e g e of p lay in g b e fo re 144 a paying audience was always t h e r e . The philosophy of the U n iv e rsity T heatre has from th e beginning ap p aren tly set a r t i s t i c achievement as i t s main g o a l, r a t h e r than the e x h ib itio n or development of s tu d e n ts in p lay s re g a rd ­ le s s of t h e i r q u a l i f i c a t i o n s to achieve a r t i s t i c a l l y . This p o in t of view seems t o have been r e a d i l y understood by th e s tu d e n ts during t h i s p e rio d and they welcomed performers such as h r. Sueppel.

They regarded him so

highly th a t, f o r example, when th e f i r s t s tu d io t h e a t r e was dedicated on the campus i t was named the F ran cis H. Sueppel S tu d io .146

D ire c tin g assignm ents in th e f i r s t days of th© U n iv ersity T h ea tre were handled on much the same b a s is as they had been p r e v io u s ly , except fo r the produ ctio ns of the c la s s e s in dram atic p ro d u c tio n .

That I s , each

group s t i l l had th e p r i v i l e g e of s e l e c t i n g i t s own d i r e ­ c to r fo r i t s own p la y s .

In the f i r s t y e a r , L* C. Mabie

was e le c te d d i r e c t o r f o r a l l th e p lay s of th e U n iv e rs ity 146 P lay ers. Mrs. A illlam R. Hart d i r e c te d Beyond the 147 Horizon fo r the Irv in g and E rodelphian s o c i e t i e s . Gladys Fie of the elem entary school s t a f f and a graduate student in th e department d id The Show Shop f o r P h ilo Octave. 148 On some o c c a sio n s, a t l e a s t , the o rg a n iz a tio n s 149 continued t o pay the d i r e c t o r a fee f o r t h i s job. It was not p o s s ib le to f i n d evidence t h a t s t a f f members were paid a s p e c i a l f e e . Advanced stu d e n ts in t h e department were freq u e ­ n tly given d i r e c t i n g assignm ents during t h i s p e rio d , and some of them such as Vance Morton, Helen Langworthy, Gregory Foley, George H urley, Ray D. Holcombe were ev ide­ ntly given s t a f f assign m ents, in th e Speech Department o r the U n iv e rs ity T h e a tr e .

l&O

As has been s t a t e d b e fo r e ,

however, the c o n tr o l on c a s tin g s and d i r e c ti n g assignm ents, and the g e n e ra l s u p e r v is io n of p rod uction was always in the hands of th© D ire c to r of the U n iv e rs ity T h e a tre ,

P rofessor E» 0 . Kabie. In o rd er t o I l l u s t r a t e more g r a p h i c a l l y how the p ro d u ctio n program b u i l t i n t o th e c u rric u lu m , a b r i e f d e s c r ip tio n of a c t i v i t i e s of th e c l a s s e s in dram atic a r t w ill be given* U n t i l th© summer s e s s io n of 1920, a p p a re n tly l i t t l e had been done w ith a c t u a l p u b lic p ro d u ctio n Of plays by any of the c la s s e s In dram atic a r t .

No r e a l l y

extensive work was done t h a t summer as can be seen by a glance a t Appendix A.

Th© a c t i v i t i e s were confined almost

e n ti r e l y t o th e o n e-act play and l i t t l e budget or produ­ cing space and equipment had been provided f o r them.

There

were no o u tsid e o r g a n iz a tio n s which could be drawn upon to supplement the p erso n n el of the S du catlonal Dramatics c l a s s e s , the enrollment of which was sm all. A ll t h i s was changed by th© e f f e c t i v e organiza­ tio n a l job which e s t a b l is h e d th e U n iv e rs ity T heatre and the A ssociated Dramatic E n te rp ris e s in the sp rin g of 1921, and the Out-of-Door P lay ers i n th© summer of 1921.

The

1921 summer s e s s io n , when only t h i r t e e n s tu d e n ts were ©n1 El

r o lle d In th e dram atics c l a s s ,

saw the production of

eleven s h o rt plays and one Shakespeare play In s i x se p a ra te performances.

This n e a rly doubled the output of th e c la s s

during th e previous summer when n early tw ice as many stu d e n ts

were r e g i s t e r e d f o r the c o u rs e . During th© f i r s t season of the U n iv e rs ity T h e a tre , two major p ro d u ctio n s (one a Shakespeare) and two o th e r public p ro d u ctio n s i n th© Tom Thumb T heatre were products of the dram atic p ro d u c tio n c l a s s .

Five of th© major

productions of th e e ig h t given on th e r e g u l a r community s e rie s of the U n iv e rs ity T heatre in 1924-25 season were the products of c la s s e s In dram atic a r t .

A fte r the f i r s t

production of th e 1925-26 season , Mlnlck, which was the product of th© U n iv e rs ity P la y e r s , a l l of the plays p re ­ sented during the rem ainder of th e p e rio d were th© work of the c la s s e s in dram atic a r t . The Impact of the c la s s e s can be observed in another way.

The enrollm ent in a l l of the dramatic a r t

classes more th an doubled i n 1920-21, doubled a g ain by 1922-23 and doubled ag ain by 1928-29 and showed about ten percent in c r e a s e in 1929-30,

B r i e f l y , w ith in th e ten

year p e rio d , enrollm ent In dram atic a r t courses had i n ­ creased about ten tim es over the f ig u r e s ©f 1919-1920. A t o t a l of 197 enrollm ents were recorded in the second semester of 1929-30.

This made a v a ila b le c o nsid erab ly

more persons f o r p rod uctio n work w ith in the c la s s e s than had been a v a i la b l e b e fo re 1920-21,

Enrollment In c re a se s

over the previous y e a r were evident In a l l but two y ears of th© p e r l G d . ^ ^

A ithih fiv e years th© U n i v e r s i t y T h e a t r e ,

o f th© e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f

i t was s t r i c t l y

a cu rricu lar

lab o rato ry f o r th e c la s s e s in dram atic a r t .

Space and Equipment B®for© th© e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f t h e U n i v e r s i t y T h e a t r e , t h e v a r i o u s p r o d u c i n g g r o u p s on th© campus h a d no t o n l y r e n t e d a t h e a t r e o f f t h e c am p us , b u t h a d , f o r t h e most p a r t , r e n t e d a l l t h e i r s c e n e r y a n d c o s t u m e s a s w ell.

Any s c e n i c e q u i p m e n t , c o s t u m e s , l i g h t s

or p r o p e r t i e s

were t h e p r o p e r t y o f t h e r e n t e d t h e a t r e , p r o f e s s i o n a l scen ic and costume s u p p ly h o q s a s , of p r i v a t e i n d i v i d u a l s or the s t u d e n t o r g a n i z a t i o n s which p ro d u ced t h e p l a y s .

152

The o n ly a u d i t o r i u m f o r p l a y p r o d u c t i o n on t h e campus o t h e r t h a n t h a t i n t h e N a t u r a l S c i e n c e B u i l d i n g was a r e l a t i v e l y s m a l l c l a s s r o o m w i t h a t i n y s t a g e i n Hoorn 308 of t h e O b s e r v a t i o n a l S c h o o l , now known a s t h e Old D e n t a l Building.

153

T h i s was u s e d by th© c l a s s e s i n E d u c a t i o n a l

D r a m a t ic s a n d th© Drama League f o r o c c a s i o n a l p r o d u c t i o n s . The N a t u r a l S c i e n c e a u d i t o r i u m was e v i d e n t l y n o t i n s h a p e f o r e x t e n s i v e work i n d r a m a t i c p r o d u c t i o n f o r i t w a s seldom u s e d f o r t h a t p u r p o s e . ment f o r t h e c l a s s e s

T h er e was no s p a c e o r e q u i p ­

t o us® f o r t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f s c e n e r y ,

and c o m m e n t a r i e s a b o u t t h e s c e n e r y , p r o p e r t i e s , a n d c o s t u m e s

?20 fwp the play s t h a t wer® given wculd I n d ic a te t h a t l i t t l e designing, c o n s t r u c t io n , or p a in tin g was dona by e i t h e r the o la se e s or th e clubs which produced playB.

th is

s i t u a t i o n obtain ed u n t i l a f t e r th e U n iv e rs ity T heatre was organized* 154 The remodeling of the N a tu ra l Science Auditorium was the f i r s t i n a s e r i e s of con crete a c tio n s during t h i s period t o provide s u i t a b l e space and equipment f o r the major dram atic p ro d u ctio n s on th e campus.

The a d m in is tra ­

tio n agreed t o remodel and equip the sta g e In r e t u r n f o r an agreement from th e A sso ciated Dramatic E n te rp ris e s that a l l of t h e i r p ro d u c tio n s would b© performed in t h i s lo c a ­ lity . The N atu ral Science Auditorium, or M cBride Auditorium as i t Is r e f e r r e d to a t p r e s e n t, was f a r from the I d e a l s i t u a t i o n in terms of p h y sic a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s for a t h e a t r e .

The s ta g e was very shallow with a q u a rte r-

sphere p l a s t e r doms fo r an upstage w a ll.

An apron extended

about s ix f e e t in f r o n t of the c u r t a in line*

The only

e x its from th e sta g e were two stan dard siz e d doorways, one on e i t h e r s i d e , p ie r c e d through the p l a s t e r dome a t i t s downstage e x tr e m itie s almost a b u ttin g the proscenium arch. The dome wore a motto or q u o ta tio n e n c ir c lin g the stag e and painted on a dark c o lo re d band in g i l t l e t t e r s about two-

th ird s ©f th® d is ta n c e toward the c e i l i n g above th© stag© 155 floor* For i n t e r i o r s t h i s could b© masked, but e x t e r i o r scenes must have found I t an in tru s io n *

'h a t usa b la o f f ­

stage space th e r e might h ve been was ren d ered extremely d i f f i c u l t , though not u s e l e s s by th e permanence of the dome*

T his space c o n s is te d of a narrow runway between

the dome and the curved o u tsid e w all of the b u ild in g which was more th an ad eq uately p ie rc e d with windows t h a t l e t In lig h t when i t w a sn 't wanted* Access to the stag e fo r scenery was by means ot a narrow and d i f f i c u l t s t a i r s , or by means of a small fre ig h t e l e v a t o r .

I f scenery could be managed to the

second f l o o r i t s t i l l had t o c le a r a double-width door of standard h e ig h t and a low hanging balcony and high-backed auditorium s e a t s b e fo re i t could get to th© s ta g e . on the stag e th e re was no place to s to r e i t cin u^je* 'u n le s s " i t doorways

could

pass

through

Once

when, not the

sm all

6 Th© auditorium had 1206 s e a t s , 446 of which ware

in a horseshoe shaped balcony and 760 of which were on the main f l o o r . A

low s ta g e , no rake to the main f l o o r ,

and g r e a t auditorium width mad© s i g h t l in e s poor in t h i s lo c a lity .

The horseshoe shaped balcony had i t s ends a tta c h e d

to the same w all in which the proscenium arch was s e t ,

sp o ilin g s i g h t l i n e s f o r many of the aid© s e a t s .

Among

other t h i n g s , th e low-hanging balcony made h e a rin g d i f f i ­ c u lt in some p a r t s of th e a u d ito riu m , and o th e r a c c o u s t i e a l p ro p e rtie s made e x tr a work f o r the a c t o r s in p r o j e c ti n g t h e i r words t o th© au d ien ce,

i n a l l , approxim ately 700

seats were u s a v-i b le . 158 A new f r o n t v e lv e t t r a v e l e r c u r t a i n , a s e t of four s p o t l i g h t s , savon f l o o d l i g h t s and a bank of dimmers were purohased f o r th e opening of the U n iv e rs ity T h e a tre . 159 No foot l i g h t s or b o rd er l i g h t s were used. The Dally Iowan r ep orted on October 27, 1921 t h a t "This curiou s ( lig h tin g ) arrangement so fte n s the atmosphere and makes the audience f e e l they are in the same room with the a c to r s ."

Six new l i g h t s were added with in d iv id u a l and

master dimmer c o n tr o ls in 1922*

In 1925, s i x more new

s p o t l i g h t s , some border l i g h t s , s i x 300 watt dimmers and some 5,000 watt m aster dimmers, a s e t of black s a t i n drapes, a s e t of s i l v e r drapes and some sc en ic gauzes were 161 added. By e a rly 1924 th e t h e a t r e was using four switchboards w ith in d iv id u a l c o n tr o l on

every

lig h t

on

sta g e.

Twenty s p o t l i g h t s were In use and foot l i g h t s and 162 border l i g h t s had been added. The U n iv e rs ity T heatre tofes fceginnihg to accumulate t h in g s . This was th e home and n a tu re of the equipment of

fch« U n iv a rs ity T h e a tr e ,

tfith th e e x c e p tio n of new p ie c e s

of equipment, t h i s i s e s s e n t i a l l y the way i t sta y e d u n t i l the opening of th e new U n iv e rs ity T heatre in 1936. Nothing, s h o r t of a new b u i l d i n g , could have been devised t© overcome th© many shortcomings of t h i s apace.

But w ith

great in g en u ity and e n d le ss hours of work, i t was made to do extremely w e l l .

A glance a t the photographs of such

productions as He fho l e t s Slapped in 1926 stand as t e s t i * 163 mony to t h i s . The c r i t i c a l opinion expressed i n the newspapers and magazines of the time o f f e r f u r t h e r t e s t i ­ mony . The f i r s t s e t t i n g s to be executed by s tu d e n ts and the s t a f f of the U n iv e rs ity T heatre were f o r Beyond the Horizon produced in December of 1921.

For the previous

two plays of th© y e a r , a new box s e t t i n g had been purchased from a sc e n ic supply house in Minneapolis and o th e r items wore r e n te d .

The work on th e s e t t i n g f o r Beyond the

Horizon e v id e n tly c o n s is te d la r g e ly of p a in tin g the i n t e r i o r and. making s e t p iec es fo r the e x t e r i o r scen es.

This was

the beginning of scen ic work a t the U n iv e rs ity of iowa. The work was done by f i v e s tu d e n ts who formed th© perma­ nent stag© crew of the T heatre:

Gregory Foley, Fred

S te in e r , Kenneth Shumaker, Harold Of©It, and George Hurley. Th© f i r s t tim e any c la s s wag re s p o n sib le fo r

164

executing scenery fo r a p ro d u c tio n in th e U n iv e rs ity Theatre was i n th e sp rin g of 1922 when th e c la s s i n Drama­ t i c Production made and d e c o ra te d the s e t t i n g s f o r A Woman1s Way. 165 These s tu d e n ts a ls o worked out the l i g h ­ ting e f f e c t s fo r th e p la y .

In October of 1922, i t was

announced t h a t every play f o r t h a t season would have new scenic designs and the work would be la r g e ly done by the stu d e n ts in the new S t a g e c r a f t c l a s s . 166

This p o l i c y

was followed* The f i r s t s t a g e c r a f t shop f o r the U n iv e rsity Theatre was lo c a te d on the upper f l o o r of K aealester*s

\ 1

storehouse, an old commission house on the southwest cor-j ner of C a p ito l and College s t r e e t s , p re s e n tly occupied

\

by an automobile d e a l e r .

*

This space was secured by the

U niversity to p rovide room f o r p a in tin g and b u ild in g stage s e t t i n g s .

Soon the shop was moved to the c a r barn

on Bloomington S t r e e t , between Linn and G i l b e r t s t r e e t s , and the fo llow ing y e a r , 1922-23 to th e south h a lf of th e f i r s t f l o o r of the Bahd B u ild in g , r e f e r r e d to by some as the Old Medical L ab o rato ry , lo c a te d between the Physics Building and th e space now occupied by U n iv e rsity H all and west of Old C a p ito l.

This l a s t was the f i r s t s ta g e ­

c ra f t shop on U n iv e rs ity p r o p e r ty . temporary.

T h is, to o , was only

The Band B uilding was to rn down.

166

In th© f a l l of 1923, th© f i r s t permanent shop far th© U n iv e rs ity T heatre was c o n s tru c te d on the a ll e y north of th© Law B u ild in g . s t r u c tu r e .

I t was a 24 X 30 fo o t frame

I t was supposed t o have boen l a r g e enough so

th a t s e t t i n g s could be p lac ed u p rig h t f o r p a i n t i n g , r e ­ h e arsa ls could be c a r r i e d on, p r o p e r t i e s and equipment not in us® could be s t o r e d .

I t a ls o was planned to serve as a classroom , and e l e c t r i c a l l a b o r a to r y . 167 Th© purpose behind th e e stab lish m en t of a s ta g e ­ c ra f t shop was to provide space and op portu n ity fo r teaching th e fundam entals of l i g h t i n g , sc e n ic design and c o n stru c tio n , and to p rovide stu d e n ts w ith p r a c t i c a l experience in th e s e c r a f t s .

I t was co nsidered as a la b o ra ­

tory fo r e x p erim e n tatio n with vario u s s t a g e c r a f t tec h n iq u e s. On November 8 , 1924, Mr. Mabie p re s e n te d to th® U niversity P la y ers a plan f o r se cu rin g a room f o r the p re s e n ta tio n of s t u d i o produ ctio n s by the c la s s in Drama­ t i c P rod u ctio n .

The group passed a motion f o r a s p e c ia l

request to be made to the a d m i n i s t r a t io n fo r such a room. On January 14, 1925 th e p re s id e n t of the U n iv e rs ity Players announced to the group t h a t © " l i t t l e T heatre" in the 169 L iberal A rts Annex was r e a r i n g com pletion. This t h e a t r e was named the F ra n cis T’. Sueppel Studio and became the meeting p lac e f o r the U n iv e rs ity P lay ers and prod uction

9A t t u d l o f o r p l a y s © t h o r t h a n t h o s e p r e s e n t e d on t h e m a j o r production s e r i e s .

The L i b e r a l A r t s Annex was a two s t o r y

frame b u i l d i n g l o c a t e d on S o u t h C a p i t o l s t r e e t n e x t t o the S n g i n e e r i n g B u i l d i n g , and Is p r e s e n t l y a p ip e shop, The S u e p p e l S t u d i o o c c u p i e d t h e s e c o n d f l o o r .

'

170

T h i s s p a c e was r e l i n q u i s h e d i n F e b r u a r y o f 1928 when t h e S t u d i o T h e a t r e i n t h e new M em o r i al U n io n was opened w i t h a p r o d u c t i o n o f A e s c h y l u s ’ The P e r s i a n s .

171

The new s t u d i o i n t h e U n io n o c c u p i e d t h e s o u t h w e s t c o r n e r of t h e b a s e m e n t f l o o r o f t h e b u i l d i n g Room*

j u s t o f f the R iver

A c o s t u m e s h o p a n d s c e n e s h o p and two l a r g e d r e s s i n g

rooms i n t h i s s p a c e w ere p r o v i d e d .

S eating capacity of

th© new s t u d i o was 150 p e o p l e , w h i c h p r o v i d e d c o n s i d e r a b l y more a c c o m o d a t i o n s t h a n t h e s i x t y s e a t s o f t h e o l d S u e p p e l S tu d io *

172

I t was t h e p l a n t o e r e s e n t a s e r i e s o f p l a y s

of i n t e r e s t t o s p e c i a l a u d i e n c e s i n t h i s

t h e a t r e which

would s u p p l e m e n t t h e r e g u l a r U n i v e r s i t y T h e a t r e p r o g r a m .

175

The o p e n i n g p l a y , f o r e x a m p l e , was p r e s e n t e d f o r 1 0 t h Annual C l a s s i c a l C o n f e r e n c e which was h e l d on t h e campus February 10, 1928.

Plays of i n t e r e s t t o c h i l d r e n , e x p e r i­

m e n ta l p r o d u c t i o n s o f new m a n u s c r i p t s , an d c l a s s p r o d u c ti o n s of o n e - a c t p l a y s w ere t h e s o r t c f t h i n g s p l a n n e d f o r t h i s new t h e a t r e .

T h is is r e p o r t e d to have been a v ery s u c c e s s ­

f u l a r r a n g e m e n t a n d was o c c u p i e d w e l l i n t o t h e n e x t d e e a d a

by th® U n i v e r s i t y P l a y e r s a n d t h e c l a s s e s i n d r a m a t i c a r t of t h e Department of Speech, The s p a c e s u s e d by th© O u t - o f - D o o r P l a y e r s o f t h a summer s e s s i o n s h a v e b e e n l i s t e d e l s e w h e r e i n t h i s chapter. To s u m m a r i z e , d u r i n g t h e d e c a d e 1 9 2 0 - 3 0 , b e ­ ca u s e o f h i g h r e n t a l s o f t h e

i n g l e r t T h e a t r e a n d th© u n i ­

f i c a t i o n o f th© d r a m a t i c o r g a n i z a t i o n s o f th© campus i n t o a s i n g l e o r g a n i z a t i o n , a n d th© a g r e s s l v e d e v e l o p m e n t of a c u r r i c u l a r p r o g r a m i n d r a m a t i c a r t , th© U n i v e r s i t y a d m i n i s t r a t i o n p ro v id e d funds to remodel th e N a tu ra l S c i e n c e A u d i t o r i u m f o r t h e o c c u p a n c y o f th© ne w ly o r g a n i ­ zed U n i v e r s i t y T h e a t r e ,

Use o f t h e E n g l e r t T h e a t r e waa

made f o r t h e s p e c i a l p e r f o r m a n c e s o f The Book o f J ob by t h e S t u a r t W al k er Company a n d t h e p r e m i e r e p r o d u c t i o n o f t h e B a t h Road a t t h e t i m e o f t h e 1923 Drama League c o n ­ v e n t i o n I n Iowa C i t y ,

O therw ise,

only U n i v e r s i t y p r o p e r ­

t i e s were u s e d f o r p r o d u c t i o n p e r f o r m a n c e s .

Tem po rary

o u t - d o o r t h e a t r e s were a r r a n g e d i n t h e v i c i n i t y of Old C a p i t o l , on Iowa F i e l d ,

in th e Q uadrangle C o u rt, and the

Ra vi n e n e a r t h e K e l l o g S c h o o l ,

A f t e r 1 9 2 5 , two s t u d i o

t h e a t r e s were p r o v i d e d f o r t h e u s e o f t h e p l a y e r s ,

one I n

t h e L i b e r a l A r t s Annex from 1925 t o 1928 an d one i n t h e new M em o ri al U n i o n a f t e r F e b r u a r y o f 1 9 2 8 ,

The l i t t l e

t h e a t r e i n t h e O ld D e n t a l B u i l d i n g was n o t u s e d a f t e r th© o rg an izatio n of th e U n iv e rs ity T h e a tre .

S t a g e c r a f t shops

.were p r o v i d e d cbmmanoing w i t h t h e f a l l o f 1 9 2 1 , a n d a p erm an en t one b u i l t i n 1 9 2 3 .

The U n i v e r s i t y T h e a t r e

accumulated a s t o c k of w orkable l i g h t i n g and s c e n ic e q u i p rBfOht an d b e g a n t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n o f i t s

own c o s t u m e s , a n d

scenery. S t a f f Cgvelo^M nt ThO names o f s t a f f members a n d t h e i r a s s i g n ­ ments t o c o u r s e s

durin g t h i s p e r i o d , 1920-30, have been

given p r e v i o u s l y

In th e d is c u s s io n of c o u rse s.

It

is

d i f f i c u l t to s e p a r a t e i n d e p a rtm e n ta l b udgets th e item s which w ere a s s i g n e d t o t h e t e a c h i n g o f s p e e c h an d t h o s e assigned to th e te ac h in g of dram atic a r t ,

f o r i n most

e a s e s s t a f f members w ere s e r v i n g i n b o t h c a p a c i t i e s . i s , most t e a c h e r s o f d r a m a t i c a r t

That

were a l s o t e a c h e r s o f

s p e e c h a n d what p r o p o r t i o n o f t h e i r s a l a r i e s was f o r t h e -work t h e y d i d i n d r a m a t i c a r t i s n o t a l w a y s c l e a r .

A lso,

f o r m a l b u d g e t r e c o r d s f o r t h e D e p a r t m e n t o f S p e e c h an d t h e U n iv e r s it y T h e a t r e f o r t h i s p e r i o d a r e not always a v a i l ­ able.

* I t was n e c e s s a r y

by o n e , a n d t h e y

t o t r a c k down i n d i v i d u a l i t e m s one

do n o t a l w a y s a p p e a r

i n t h e BoardR e c o rd .

T h e r e f o r e , t h e d i s c u s s i o n o f s a l a r i e s which i s i n c l u d e d

tii t h i s s e c t i o n I s o c c a s i o n a l l y b a s e d upon^ an i n t e r p r e ­ t a t i o n of th e f i g u r e s found In th e Board R eco rd . passible ca se s,

In a l l

i t e m s h a v e b e e n s i n g l e d o u t w h ic h w ere

C learly b e in g u s e d f o r th e te a c h in g of dram a tic a r t , and i t e m s w h ic h w e r e c l e a r l y b e i n g s p e n t f o r t h e t e a c h i n g Of the o th e r a r e a s o f s p e e c h were ig n o r e d .

For example, th e

s a l a r y o f t h e d e p a r t m e n t h e a d who was o c c u p i e d w i t h a d m i ­ n i s t r a t i o n ©f t h e e n t i r e d e p a r t m e n t and t h e U n i v e r s i t y T h e a t r e a n d who t a u g h t m o s t l y i n d r a m a t i c a r t , b u t h a d some t e a c h i n g i n s p e e c h p r e s e n t s c d i f f i c u l t p r o b l e m i n salary a n a ly s is .

A l s o , a n i n s t r u c t o r who t a u g h t some-

courses i n d r a m a t i c a r t and p a r t tim e i n P r i n c i p l e s o f Speech p r e s e n t s & s i m i l a r p r o b l e m when i t i s

known t h a t a

great percentage of th e enrollm ent in h is P rin c ip le s c l a s s e s was n o more composed o f d r a m a t i c a r t s t u d e n t s t h a n t h o s e o f some o t h e r a r e a o f s p e e c h o r e v e n a n o t h e r d e p a r t ­ ment.

In

s p i t e of th e s e problem s, however, i t

t h a t c e r t a i n f i g u r e s w i l l h a v e some

is believed

m e a n in g t o t h i s s t u d y ,

and t h e y w i l l b e u s e d . No f i g u r e s w er e a v a i l a b l e but i t

l a known t h a t t h e r e were two

courses in d ram a tic a r t b a r g a r e t Sherman.

f o r th e y e a r 1920-21, persons teach ing

d u r i n g t h a t y e a r , S . 0 . A a b ie an d

B o t h w er e a l s o o c c u p i e d w i t h t h e

teaching of o th e r co u rses in speech,

k o s t of kr* k a b l e r s

U m was d e v o t e d t o t h e

c o u r s e s I n th© f o r e n s i c ® f i e l d .174

I n 1 9 2 1 - 8 2 , Mr• Mabie was t h e o n l y one t e a c h i n g d r a m a t i c a r t c o u r s e s a n d h i s s a l a r y was $. 2,750. follow ing y e a r ,

175

The

1 9 2 2 - 2 3 , f o u r p e r s o n s w ere e n g a g e d i n

teaching dram atic a r t ,

Mr. M ab ie , Vance M o r t o n , h Qi©n

Langworthy a n d A l i c e M i l l s .

A l l b u t Mr. Mabie w e r e d o i n g

most o f t h e i r w o r k i n o t h e r a r e a s o f s p e e c h , b u t t h e 176 combined t o t a l o f t h e i r s a l a r i e s was $ 8 , 3 0 0 . It would seem r e a s o n a b l e t o a s s u m e t h a t n o t more t h a n $ 5 , 0 0 0 of t h i s was a c t u a l l y s p e n t f o r i n s t r u c t i o n i n d r a m a t i c a r t , and probably c o n sid e ra b ly le s s because I r . t e a c h i n g some work i n s p e e a h a s w e l l .

Mabie was

T h e s e same p e r s o n s

d i d t h e t e a c h i n g t h e f o l l o w i n g y e a r an d th© t o t a l o f t h e i r s a l a r i e s cam© t o $ 9 , 6 0 0 , a b o u t $ 6 , 0 0 0 o f w h ic h was p o s s i bly f o r t h e a t r e i n s t r u c t i o n .

177

Rank i n c r e a s e d fr om a s s i ­

s t a n t t o a s s o c i a t e p r o f e s s o r f o r Mabie i n 1 9 2 3 - 2 4 , a n d from g r a d u a t e a s s i s t a n t t o a s s i s t a n t p r o f e s s o r f o r M i l l s . Morton was an a s s o c i a t e a n d L an g w o rth y an i n s t r u c t o r . In 1924-25,

178

W. H. T r um b au er was b r o u g h t i n t o

r e p l a c e Mo rto n a n d most o f h i s work was i n t h e a t r e .

His

r an k was a s s i s t a n t p r o f e s s o r a n d s a l a r y was | 2 , 7 5 0 .

Lang­

worthy a n d M i l l s r e t a i n e d p o s i t i o n s a t t h e same r a n k , Mabie was now a c t i n g h e a d o f t h e d e p a r t m e n t , an a s s i g n m e n t w hich became p e r m a n e n t b e f o r e t h e y e a r was over.

H is s a l a r y

bad r i s e n t o $ 4 * 0 0 0 , Langw orthy's to $ 1 , 7 0 0 , and M i l l s * b© $ 8 , 5 0 0 , ma k in g t h e t o t a l $ 1 0 , 9 5 0 f o r t h o s e e n g a g e d i n 179 dramatic a r t t e a o h ln g In 1924-25. Ray E» Holcombe was a d d e d t o t h e s t a f f a s i n ­ s t r u c t o r I n 1 9 2 5 - 2 6 a n d d i v i d e d h i s wor k b e t w e e n s p e e c h a n d theatre*

T h i s mad® t h e t o t a l number o f p e r s o n s e n ­

ga ged i n t e a c h i n g d r a m a t i c a r t c o u r s e s r i s e t o f i v e . The f o l l o w i n g y e a r T r u m b a u e r l e f t t h e s t a f f , a n d W a l t e r Roach, a s t u d e n t i n t h e d e p a r t m e n t a t t h e t i m e , was h i r e d t o do some o f t h e t e a c h i n g an d a c t a s a r t d i r e c t o r f o r the t h e a t r e .

H i s s a l a r y , w h i c h i s n o t known, p r o b a b l y

cam® f r om U n i v e r s i t y T h e a t r e income f o r h e i s n o t l i s t e d on t h e r e g u l a r d e p a r t m e n t a l b u d g e t , a n d e x p e n d i t u r e s f o r s a l a r i e s a n d wages f r o m t h i s T h e a t r e f u n d Jumped from a p p r o x i m a t e l y $ 1 , 5 0 0 i n 1 9 2 5 - 2 6 t o $ 3 , 0 5 7 . 0 9 i n 1926-27*

18 0

I n 1 9 2 7 - 2 6 t h e d e p a r t m e n t a l b u d g e t shows t h a t $ 8,100 i n t e a c h i n g s a l a r i e s was b e i n g drawn fr om t h e U n i v e r s i t y T h e a t r e ' s i n c o m e , a n d i n 1 9 2 8 - 2 9 , $3850 o f t h i s income was u s e d f o r i n s t r u c t i o n *

l&l

So metimes t h i s

money made u p th© e n t i r e s a l a r y f o r t h e t e a c h e r a n d i n other eases i t

su p p lem en ted h i s s a l a r y from th e sp eech .

budget. I n 1987-28.

M o r to n r e t u r n e d . t o t h e s t a f f a s an

a s s i s t a n t p r o f e s s o r f o r a s a l a r y of $3,000,

Roach r e c e i v e d

ft sa la r y f r o m t h e a t r e inc om e o f $ 1 8 00 a s an i n s t r u c t o r and L a n g w o r t h y was r e c e i v i n g $ 2 0 0 0 , a n d M i l l s was s t i l l r e c e i v i n g $2500*

H a r r y B a r n e s was a g r a d u a t e a s s i s t a n t

w o r k in g i n d r a m a t i c a r t f o r $800 f r o m t h e a t r e i n c o m e . Mr. M a b i e ’ s s a l a r y h a d now r e a c h e d | 5 , 0 0 0 .

I t w o ul d

not be r e a s o n a b l e t o assu m e t h a t a l l of each of t h e s e s a l a r i e s was b e i n g p a i d f o r i n s t r u c t i o n i n d r a m a t i c a r t . I n 1 9 2 8 - 2 9 , L a n g w o r th y was a d v a n c e d t o a s s i s t a n t p r o f e s s o r at a s a l a r y o f $ 2 5 0 0 , o f w h i c h $5 00 came f r om t h e a t r e incom e.

H a r r y Rarn©B was g i v e n a $2400 ap p oin t-

m e n t, a l l o f w h ic h came from t h e a t r e i n c o m e .

183

Morton

and Mabie w e r e g r a n t e d i n c r e a s e s i n s a l a r y t h a t y e a r * The y e a r 1 9 2 9 - 3 0 was a t r a n s i t i o n y e a r I n w h i c h t h e S c h o o l o f F i n e A r t s was e s t a b l i s h e d .

Budgets had

a l r e a d y b e e n made a t t h e t i m e o f I t s e s t a b l i s h m e n t an d t h e s e p a r a t i o n o f s p e e c h from d r a m a t i c a r t h a d n o t b e e n c le a rly defined b u u g e ta rily .

Two new a p p o i n t m e n t s a f f e c ­

t i n g t h e d r a m a t i c art: i n s t r u c t i o n were mad© t h i s y e a r .

A.

Dale R i l e y was g i v e n a n a s s o c i a t e ’ s a p p o i n t m e n t a t $ 2 , 0 0 0 and Don Ament f i l l e d

out t h e second se m e s te r of t h e y e a r

a s a r t d i r e c t o r a n d t e c h n i c i a n f o r th© t h e a t r e b e c a u s e o f t h e t r a n s f e r o f H a r r y 3-. B a r n e s fr om t h a t p o s i t i o n t o f u l l - t i m e work i n P r i n c i p l e s o f S p e e c h . H e l e n e

B lattn er

was now l a r g e l y c o n c e r n e d w i t h s p e e c h i n s t r u c t i o n f o r

dram atic a r t s t u d e n t s . It is

s i g n i f i c a n t t o note th e g rad u al tre n d

toward s p e c i a l i s a t i o n i n i n s t r u c t i o n a l assig n m e n ts and U n i v e r s i t y T h e a t r e d u t i e s b e t w e e n 1920 a n d 1 9 3 0 .

This

move b eco m es p a r t i c u l a r l y m a rk e d a f t e r Mr. Mabie h a d s u c c e e d e d Merry a s h e a d o f t h e d e p a r t m e n t .

P r io r to

t h i s time everyone h ad been a j a c k - o f - a 1 1 - t r a d e s In th e t h e a t r e and t h e c o u r s e s had b een few,

Mr. t a b l e an d

o t h e r s o f t h e s t a f f w e r e o f t e n t h e i r own s c e n e d e s i g n e r s , t e c h n i c i a n s , a n d d i r e c t o r s , a n d s t u d e n t s w ere t h a n a s s i g n e d p o s i t i o n s t h a t a r e now h a n d l e d by r e g u l a r f a c u l t y a p p o i n t ­ m ents.

H ow ev er, a l l s t a f f members w o r k i n g on t h e p r o d u c ­

tio n courses in dram atic a r t continued to d i r e c t re g a rd ­ le ss of th e n a tu re of th e i r s p e c ia l assignm ents.

This

was, th© one a c t i v i t y w h i c h a l l h a d i n common a f t e r s p e c i a ­ liz e d assignm ents began.

ls 5

S p e c i a l i z a t i o n a p p e a r s to have begun i n 1924-25 w i t h t h e a p p o i n t m e n t o f T r u m b a u a r who t o o k most o f t h e work i n h i s t o r y a n d a p p r e c i a t i o n o f t h e a t r e .

At t h e same

t i m e Miss L a n g w o r th y b e g a n t o c o n c e n t r a t e on t h e i n t r o ­ d u c t o r y p r o d u c t i o n c o u r s e , a n d Mr. Mabie on t h e a c t i n g and d i r e c t i n g .

W ithin a s h o r t tim e ,

W a l te r Roach was d o i n g

most o f t h e s t a g e s e t t i n g s and Mis s L a n gw o r th y t h e c o s t u m e s . When B a r n e s came t o t h e s t a f f ,

h i s work was l a r g e l y i n

th® s t a g e c r a f t a n d s c e n i c d e s i g n a s p e c t s o f t h e work* T r u m b a u e r , Holcombe a n d M o r t o n , I n t h a t o r d e r o f s u c c e s cftloil, w er e l a r g e l y o c c u p i e d w i t h d i r e c t i n g a s s i g n m e n t s .

186

The summer a p p o i n t m e n t s o f C h e s t e r It. W a l l a c e were clearly s itu a tio n s

o f t a k i n g a d v a n t a g e o f th© s p e c i a l i z e d

t a l e n t s ha p o s s e s s e d i n t h e t e a c h i n g of a c t i n g and i n th e d ir e c tin g of p la y s .

S i m i l a r c a s e s i n s c e n i c d e s i g n avera

t h e summer a p p o i n t m e n t s o f O l i v e r W, L a r k i n a n d C a r o l S a x , an d t h e a c a d e m i c y e a r a p p o i n t m e n t o f Don Ament.

187

A nother p a t t e r n o f s i g n i f i c a n c e which I s c l o s e ­ l y r e l a t e d t’oe s b a c k t o th© v e r y o p e n i n g p e r f o r m a n c e o f the U n i v e r s i t y T h e a t r e . th© s p e c i a l t a l e n t s

I t was th© p r a c t i c e o f u t i l i z i n g

o f o u t s t a n d i n g t h e a t r e p e o p l e fr o m

other p la c e s fo r l e c t u r e s , b r i e f teach in g appointm ents, d irecto rs of p la y s, program.

e tc . as a stim ulus to the re g u la r

P e r c y MacK&ye, a u t h o r o f M a t e r , came t o t h e

eampus t o l e c t u r e ,

to d ir e c t

fcha l a s t few r e h e a r s a l s o f

h i s p l a y an d d e d i c a t e th© U n i v e r s i t y T h e a t r e . d etails

138

The

of h is c o n t r i b u t i o n a r e not e a s il y m easurable,

but w hile here he l e f t a b i t

o f p h i l o s o p h y w h ic h p r o b a b l y

s e t some p e o p l e t o t h i n k i n g .

He was a g r e a t b e l l e v a r I n

community t h e a t r e a c t i v i t y a n d p a g e a n t r y a n d th© c o n t r i ­ b u t i o n I t c o u l d make t o t h e a t r i c a l a r t .

He s a i d ,

MI .

cftme f r om a f a m i l y o f t h e a t r e p e o p l e an d h av e grown up i n

1 n o t i c e d t h a t t h e community h a d t h e

t h a t atmosphere*

Spirit w i t h o u t t h e a r t , a n d t h e d r am a h a d t h e a r t w i t h ­ out t h e s p i r i t ;

s o by t h e p r o d u c t i o n o f community ( p a g e a n t )

drama t h e two c o u l d be c o m b i n e d *n

log

lie f e l t t h a t t h e

t h e a t r e p r o j e c t a t Iow a was c o m p a r a b l e *

He e x p r e s s e d a

b e l i e f a s t o t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p .of t h e U n i v e r s i t y w i t h t h e th eatre*

"Th® U n i v e r s i t i e s h a v e come t o r e g a r d t h i s a r t

dllgMA a n d i t s

p r o d u c ti o n and a c t i n g

The e s s e n c e o f d r a m a t i c l i t e r a t u r e own h e a r t s a n d m i r r o r v o i c e •"

the

He f u r t h e r f e l t

as a v i t a l m a tter*

i s to look i n t o our

b e a u t y I n th e m by

the

human

th a t the people in the u n iv e rs ity

were t h e o n es t o l e a d t h e drama o u t o f t h e " s l o u g h " wh ich h a d - e n g u l f e d i t .

190

The f r e q u e n t v i s i t s

persons as le o rg a F ie rc e Baker,

of such

W alter P r i c h a r d E ato n ,

Thomas 'Wood S t e v e n s , F r a n c i s K i e l s o n , K e n n e th hacGowan a n d o t h e r s u n d o u b t e d l y c o n t r i b u t e d much t o t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f th© p r o g r a m by p r e s e n t i n g art*

th e ir perspectives

on d r a m a t i c

B ak er a n d Mabie s h a r e d e x p e r i e n c e s i n t h e c o n s t r u c ­

t i o n of t h e a t r e c u r r i c u l a I n o r d e r t o a d v a n c e t h e i r own work*

This exchange of id e a s and B ak er’ s f r e q u e n t p re s e n c e

,©n t h e campus must h a v e c o n t r i b u t e d t o t h e s t i m u l a t i o n o f the l o c a l p r o g r m ,

191

b a i t e r P r i c h a r d b a t o n v i s i t e d t h e campus o f t e n and w i t h Liable was a c t i v e i n t h e n a t i o n a l a f f a i r s

of th e

J&ftroa League o f A m er ic a*

His i n t e r e s t a n d f a i t h i n th®

p r og r am o f th® U n i v e r s i t y T h e a t r e a n d th® D e p a r t m e n t o f S p e e c h g a v e n a t i o n a l p u b l i c i t y t o th® U n i v e r s i t y i n maga­ z i n e s , n e w s p a p e r s a n d i n l e c t u r e s b e f o r e th© A m e r ic a n A ca det y o f A r t s a n d L e t t e r s .

192

H is f a i t h

i n t h e work

i n t h e U n i v e r s i t y Theatr® and i n th e d r a m a tic a r t c u r r i ­ culum t o w a r d k e e p i n g t h e t h e a t r e a l i v e i n Am eri ca o u t s i d e of New Y o r k a n d t o w a r d s t i m u l a t i n g t h e New Y o rk t h e a t r e must h a v e b e e n s i g n i f i c a n t t o th© b u i l d i n g o f th© t h e a t r e i n t o t h e Iowa c u r r i c u l u m .

The id,©a o f b r i n g i n g c r e a t i v e

work i n t o t h e c u r r i c u l u m was ' t h e d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n a b a r r e n an d a r i c h a p p r o a c h t o e d u c a t i o n t o him* b e lie f th a t ^r.

Mabie was c o n t r i b u t i n g

193

His

as much t o t h e

A merican t h e a t r e a s men l i k e B a l a a c o ^ ^

must h a v e h a d a

t e l l i n g e f f e c t u p o n t h o s e who m i g h t h a v e b e e n w a v e r i n g i n t h e i r s u p p o r t o f t h e t h e a t r e i n th© U n i v e r s i t y ’ s c u r r i c u l u m * Time ha® sh own , o f c o u r s e , t h a t p e o p l e s t i l l

w ill actively

re fu se the t h e a t r e a l e g i t i m a t e p la ce i n th e u n i v e r s i t y c u r r i c u l u m , b u t t h e g r o w t h o f s u c h work s i n c e t h e p i o n e e r ­ ing a f f o r t a

o f B a k e r , Labi®, l o c h , Drummond, a n d o t h e r s ,

shows t h a t a s t r o n g g r o u p o f b e l i e v e r s does e x i s t . U n i v e r s i t y t h e a t r e Finances I n th® b e g i n n i n g , t h e U n i v e r s i t y T h e a t r e ,

handled i t s

own f i n a n c e s w i t h o u t u t i l i z i n g

c h a n n e l s o f th© U n i v e r s i t y o r i t s

th© p u r c h a s i n g

b o o k k e e p i n g an d a u d i t i n g

facilities.

T h e r e f o r e , r e c o r d s f o r th© f i r s t

are s p a r s e ,

By e a r l y 1 9 2 6 , h o w e v e r , l i k e

few y e a r s

other student

o r g a n i z a t i o n s i t s b o o k s w er e a u d i t e d by th© U n i v e r s i t y auditor.

195

A f t e r J u n e, 1929, a l l p u r c h a s in g and d i s ­

b u r s e m e n t s w er e h a n d l e d by o r c l e a r e d t h r o u g h th© U n i v e r ­ s i t y B u s i n e s s O f f i c e a n d a l l c a s h b a n k e d w i t h th© U n i v e r ­ s i t y C a s h i e r . 196 It

i s q u i t e a p p a r e n t t h a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y Th e a tr ©

did w ell f o r i t s e l f

financially, in the f i r s t season 197 540 s e a s o n t i c k e t s w ere s o l d , and t h e f i r s t p l a y was s o w e l l a t t e n d e d t h a t i t was n e c e s s a r y t o i n c r e a s e t h e r u n t o two n i g h t s f o r most o f t h e s u b s e q u e n t m a j o r p r o Auctions o f t h a t s e a s o n .

198

By 1 9 2 3 - 2 4 a l l m a j o r p r o d u c ­

t i o n s o f th© a c a d e m i c y e a r h a d a two n i g h t r u n , a n d th© number o f p e r f o r m a n c e s was e x t e n d e d t o t h r e e on t h e m a j o r p r o d u c t i o n s i n 1 9 2 6 - 2 7 where i t the decade.

s ta y e d f o r the rem ainder of

A few p r o d u c t i o n s s u c h aa S t ,

Joan i n 1927-28

ftD

Id* I M i . w* M i * #

1921,

20. Ib ld . i R eq u isitio n s on f i l e In U n iv ersity th ea tre Archives* t l , 1 * C, la b ie and Gregory F o ley , Interview s between author and, 19k9~50. 22. jPjffclXlf Iowan. September 2 3 , 1921, October 25, 1923, *3* Ib id *, October 21, 1921, 2tt» Ib id , , February 12, 1922, 25* Ib id * 26* Walter Prichard Eaton to E. C, Mabie, January 21, 1923, Scrapbook, 1922-23, U n iv ersity Theatre Archives; P a lly Iowan, September 28, 1923* 27* W, F. Eaton to the P resident and D irectors of th© Drama League, undated copy in Scrapbook, 1922-23*

.

28 «*£0 Between 1931 and February o f 19$0# Master o f Arts degrees have been granted in Speech and Dramatic Art in the follow in g areas 8^ 1*

Scenic and costume design*

In th is area have been completed*

Thirty-one p ro jects

Of th e s e , twenty-one have

been o r ig in a l problems in sta g e design# some o f which have included lig h tin g or costuming design s or te c h n ic a l plans* Ten have been o r ig in a l p r o je c ts in costume design* 2*

Stage D irection*

area have been completed*

S ix ty -n in e stu d ies in t h is

Eighteen o f them Involved the ac­

tu a l d ir e c tin g o f the production o f a play# and o f th ese eighteen# seventeen Included the preparation o f a prompt book o f the p lay and one an a n a ly sis o f the background and d ir ec tin g methods Involved In the production*

Forty-nine

were producing director*® stu d ie s o f In d ivid u al p la y s from g ig h ifle a n t h i s t o r i c a l p eriod s or authors in the th e a tr e , ranging from th e Greeks to the presen t modern periods*

Sev­

er a l Elizabethan# Be® tor at io n and s ix Eighteenth Century B ritish; p la y s# and play® from v a r io u s American period® are represented.

Of th e se fo r ty -n in e s tu d ie s , many in clu d e de­

sig n s and plans a® w e ll as prompt books and the director*® ether s tu d ie s .

One study concerned the adaptation o f the

chorus o f the Ores t e l an t r ilo g y to the modern stag©.

One

other study concerned the problems involved in producing a play fo r t e le v is io n . 3.

P layw rltin g.

Twenty-six persons presented

these® in p layw rltin g fo r Master o f Arts degrees.

On© was

a tr a n sla tio n o f a play from a fo re ig n language? on© con­ s is te d o f a dram atization and production o f the C a n terv ille Ohoat by Oscar W ilde.

Th® remainder were o r ig in a l p la y s .

Six stu dents presented c o lle c tio n s o f o r ig in a l one-act p la y s , and eigh teen stu dents subm itted long p la y s .

Most o f the

short p lays and a l l o f the long plays were given experimen­ t a l production. I?.* Dramatic Art Education. In t h is a rea were p resen ted .

T h irty-nine stu d ies

S ixteen o f them were problems

dealing s p e c if ic a lly w ith the education o f the a c to r.

Some

of them d e a lt w ith teaching acting? some concerned education­ a l experiences and apprenticeship tra in in g o f actors? and some were d ia g n o stic stu d ie s o f a c to r *s a b i l i t i e s .

Ten stu d ie s r e -

la ted to dramatic a rt education in the secondary school® «3»d: c o n siste d o f survey,® and analyse® o f problem®, courses o f study# l i s t s o f p lays su ita b le fo r production, and other s tu d ie s ,

two stu d ie s d e a lt w ith dra&atic a r t in r e lig io u s

education.

Four th e se s d e a lt w ith s p e c if ic educational or

community th eatre problems or both, r e la tiv e to p o lic y , per­ son nel, or fu n c tio n s.

Of these

four,

of the community th eatre director* was presented*

one was a job a n a ly sis

One manual on puppetry

S tu d ies r e la t iv e to copyright law, finan ce

methods# curriculum c o n stru ctio n , student p a r tic ip a tio n in p la y s, e t c e te r a , which applied to the non-commercial th eatre were submitted in t h is area o f stu d ie s. £.

H istory and Criticism *

T h ir ty -six th eses in

the area of h is to r y and c r itic is m war® accepted.

F ifte e n of

these were stu d ie s in various asp ects of dramatic technique and su bject matter*

S ix were stu d ies in s p e c if ic American

l o c a l i t i e s , and one d e a lt w ith th© th eatre in Chungking during World War 11*

Eight c r i t i c a l stu d ie s in actin g d e a lt

with famous E n glish and American a c to r s, and one concerned E nglish a c tin g techniques in th© 18th century* of two important d ir e c to r s were studied*

Contributions

Thro© other stu d ies

concerned c e r ta in h is t o r ic a l asp ects of l ig h t , d esign , and arch itectu re in the th e a tr e . 6.

Technical P r a c tic e .

Nine tec h n ica l stu d ie s in

lig h tin g , costuming, or sc e n ic con stru ction were submitted as

9.n

theses*

Two were p r a e tle a l p r o je c ts la th© design and exe­

cution o f the lig h tin g fo r s p e c if ic plays#

The remainder

were experim ental stu d ies in e s t h e t ic s o f stag© lig h t in g , measurements, v is u a l a c u ity , measurement o f optimum le v e l o f illu m in a tio n in the theatre# 8*

C reative p r o je c ts in Acting#

S ix students

presented c r e a tiv e in te r p r e ta tio n o f actin g r o le s as major p ortions o f th e ir theses#

In each case an a n a ly sis o f the

problems in volved comrosed the w ritten p ortion o f the study# Some a ls o contrib uted h i s t o r i c a l t r e a t is e s on the r o le or r o le s involved as part o f the w r itt e n work#

The numbor o f

r o le s in terp reted fo r each study varied from one to six# 9#

Voice and Speech*

Ho l e s s than s ix stu d ie s in

voice and speech with d ir e c t bearing on problems in actin g were submitted*

I t i s p o s s ib le th a t more were done#

These

f iv e stu d ie s concerned c e r ta in asp ects o f a r tic u la tio n , pro­ n u n ciation , p itc h or qu ality#

One d r i l l book fo r stage d ic ­

tio n In the U n iv ersity o f Iowa Theatre was submitted# 10.

S tu d ies In F a cia l Expression#

Two students

submitted exploratory stu d ie s o f f a c i a l expressions o f stu ­ dent actors and a c tr e sse s#

Two other students did exp eri­

mental stu d ie s an f a c i a l exp ression as part o f a projected group o f stu d ie s in th e experim ental e s t h e tic s o f th© theatre# 11*

M iscellaneous, studies#

One student submitted

the w r itin g and production o f a sound film about hearing con-

»©rvaiion a s h i s t h e s i s .

One study concerning author and

audience p a r tic ip a tio n in drama was a lso presented# Between 1931 and February o f 19!?0, masters degrees have been granted to approxim ately 2^0 stu dents who submit­ ted stu d ie s In dramatic a r t to f u l f i l l the t h e s is requirement# Of th e se , 12 have done p r o jec ts for the I* F# A# degree# remainder have taken the Master o f Arts degree#

The

E s s e n tia lly

the same so r t o f su b ject matter as has been accepted for the Master o f Fine Arts degree has been accepted fo r the degree Master o f Arts#

A broader rang© o f su b ject matter

has been accepted fo r the Master of Arts d egree, however, and t h is degree has been granted throughout th© e n tir e per­ iod#

The Master o f Fine Arts degree was f i r s t granted in

19 iv0 and s e t fo r I t s e l f a higher minimum standard than th at

for th® Master o f Arts d egree. G enerally i t has required a longer minimum period o f r e sid e n t stu d y, greater s p e c ia l­ iz a tio n in the th eatre f i e l d , and more s p e c if ic evidence of 2< achievement in some aspect of work in the theatre# With­ out studying each in d iv id u a l student and h is program, however, i t would be dangerous to gen eralize e x te n s iv e ly on the re­ la t iv e q u a lific a tio n s fo r th© r e c ip ie n ts o f the two degrees. Many o f th© voice and speech stu d ies which have been subm itted e ith e r as m aster’s or doctoral d is s e r ta tio n s may as properly belong to the f i e l d of speech scien ce as to th© f i e l d o f dramatic a r t.

In fu n c tio n , se v er a l o f them belong to many asp ects o f the speech and dramatic a r t fie ld *

Because they bear oh

dramatic a rt problems they have been c ite d In t h is d iscu ssion *

m g ffftlniP .,^e.{^epoes l& Dramatic Art

'^ B S S K

n

i w i w f h u . '« I .!■m .m .iH' w H w i

n m i■>mw n » > .ih k w ii.

U n til the inauguration of the new curriculum in lib e r a l Arts in 19l44**fy5* the b a sic requirements fo r the Bach­ e lo r o f Arts degree remained e s s e n t ia lly the same as they had been during the 1920* s , which were described in Chapter III*

The major change in th® program appears to have been

the a lte r a tio n o f the freshman and sophomore E nglish req u ire­ ments to combine th e lit e r a tu r e and composition work in both years* rather than p resen tin g com position in the f i r s t year and lit e r a t u r e in the second#

The number o f required hours

and the general areas In which students were required to study remained e s s e n t ia lly the same* 0 uring the e a rly years o f the 19 ^0 *s* a new cu rric­

u lar pattern fo r the C ollege o f L iberal Arts was evolved, and adopted by vote o f the fa c u lty o f the C ollege on A pril 5*

1914.26 The new requirements fo r the Bachelor o f Arts degree for any student in th© C ollege werei

126 semester hours

completed w ith a s a tis f a c to r y scholarship record; demonstra­ tio n o f competency In handling the b a sic s k i l l s of reading* w ritin g and speaking o f English* and In reading or speaking

#£ a fo r e ig n language*

Four sem esters o f p h y sic a l education

vara required o f a l l students during, th© freshman and soph­ omore y e a r s| and four sem esters o f m ilita r y scien ce during the freshman and sophomore years were required o f a l l men. Alee required were a t o t a l o f

sem ester hours in core cour­

ses* 8 hours o f which were to he taken from each o f four tr e e st

scien ce* s o c ia l science* lite r a tu r e * and h is t o r ic a l

end c u ltu r a l ptudie#* which l a s t group included a p o ssib le course in

and ap p reciation o f one o f th e fin e a r ts .

An area o f concen tration was to be s e le c te d which would in ­ clude ( 1 ) courses in the stu d en t1a major department* ( 2 ) courses r e la te d to and supporting th e major stu d ies* and* ( 3 ) courses s e le c te d prim arily fo r th e ir lib e r a liz in g v a lu es. No more than $0 sem ester hours could be taken in any one de­ partment under th© new p lan .

The remainder o f the student fs

program was to be e le c t iv e so long as i t met c o lle g e and de­ partmental r e g u la tio n s and secured the approval of the ad­ v is e r .

Up to 30 hours o f e le c t iv e s were to be allowed

from approved courses in other c o lle g e s on the campus* which would permit some stu dents to combine work from th ese other c o lle g e s with L iberal Arts* thus reducing the t o t a l amount o f time required to complete general* lib e r a l and p r o fessio n ­ a l education.

A fa c u lty ad viser was to plan and approve the 27 e n tire four year ©ours® program w ith th© stu dent. F aculty perm ission has sin c e been granted to allow

the stu dent to omit th® cor® course in the d iv is io n in which th® student *g major f a l l s , i f in th e opinion o f h is adviser i t would be d u p lica tio n o f m aterial th at would be included »%o id h is eth er major requirements* I f such an om ission were granted, th e student must e le c t a second core course ori w ith the recommendation o f h is a d v ise r , a minimum o f at le a s t s i x hours o f other in s tr u c tio n in on® o f th® other three core areas* I t beeam© p o s sib le under t h i s new curriculum fo r the student to be granted the degree upon completion o f as few as 32 sem ester hours o f required work ou tsid e o f h is area o f con cen tration , provided, o f course, he could demon* stra ta competency in a l l the b a sic s k i l l s and In the foreign language*

Under th© o ld curriculum , th© required courses had

amounted to a minimum o f from 50 to 54 sem ester hours, exclu­ siv e o f p h y sic a l education and m ilita r y scien ce and the r e ­ quirements o f th@ major $i@ld*

The new curriculum required

& minimum o f 32 sem ester hours w ith the p o s s i b i l it y up to

$Z sem ester

hours being necessary i f th© student could not

meet th® competency requirements in fo reig n language and the b a sic s k i l l s w ith le s s than the maximum amount o f w ork for which h© would be credited* Further provided in the new curriculum was th© p o s s ib ilit y o f the student acquiring up to 50 sem ester hours o f work in h is major department, which amounted

to 10 sem ester h o w s more than he had p rev io u sly been allowed* The ob j e c t o f t h is new curriculum was to provide more f l e x i b i l i t y and I n t e lle c t u a l stim u la tio n in the program of the in d iv id u a l student*

I t was to allow him to plan a

program ih ie h more nearly s a t is f ie d h is in d iv id u a l needs and at th® same time guaranteed competency in the b a sic s k i l l s and fundamental areas o f knowledge necessary fo r meeting l i f e In modern s o c ie ty w ith understanding and sense o f resp n n si-

In e ffe c t* then* th© new curriculum mad©- p o ssib le the achievem ent of a greater degree o f s p e c ia liz a tio n while at the same time guaranteeing a fundamental understanding o f and competency w ith a common core o f knowledge and s e t o f basic s k ills * S s s a t e iaasffl ace In Dramatic Art fo r the B* A. Degree The catalogue announcements fo r the year 1930*31 provided the follo w in g required courses fo r the major in dramatic arts V o le © and D ictio n - 4 sem ester hours Acting - 6 sem ester hours Dramatic Production, a survey course - 6 semester hours Scenic D esign, h is to r y and p r in c ip le s - 6 semester hours Teaching Methods, in dramatic art - 3 sem ester hours H istory o f the Theatre - 6 sem ester hours Stag© D irectio n - 3 sem ester hours«*u This t o t a lle d 34 semester hours o f requirements la

the dramatic a r t area* Th© fo llo w in g year, 1931- 32, the basic require* manta lh dramatic art were lessen ed to £4 sem ester hours to adju st to the minimum requirement o f the L iberal Arts C oll­ ege fo r the major*

Th© courses in th eatre h is to r y , a c tin g ,

and scen ic d esign were removed*

A course in sta g e c r a ft was

added, and th© requirem ents in v o ice and ph onetics were in ­ creased to .six from four sem ester hours* Other requirements remained e s s e n t ia lly th© sam e *8^ How* ever, the com pletion o f two semester® o f H istory and Brin* d o l e s of Stage Design was s p e c ifie d fo r candidates who ex­ pected to go on fo r th© m asterTs degree, beginning in 1932-33. 32

In 1935-36, 1?5 Fundamental* o f Speech was added

to the required l i s t , making the new t o ta l o f hours required 33 27 to 33. In 1938- 39, th© te a c h e r ’s methods course was not on the required l i s t fo r those who were not in te r e ste d in acquiring a tea c h e r ’s c e r t i f i c a t e , but courses in actin g and dramatic in te r p r e ta tio n were added*

However, at th is time

no s p e c ific a tio n s were mad© as to th© number o f hours re­ quired In any o f these courses*

Only the term " sa tisfa c to r y

completion of courses in th© follow in g su b jects i s required** was u s e d * ^ By 1945“46 ji requirements had been lib e r a liz e d to th® extan t th a t only th© course in Voice and P hon etics* demon-

z m

a ir a tlim o f s k i l l in performance in reading and a c tin g

S|ni public d iscu s s i on and com pletion o f one advanced year course in theatre a t the a enior l e v e l were s p e c ifie d in the catalogue**^*

it.se e m s reasonable to. assume th at any addi­

tional requirement® would be the matter fo r the d e c isio n of the student*® a d v iser vho would attempt to t a ilo r a program

to f i t the in d iv id u a l's needs rather than to comply w ith ar­ bitrary rulings* The p a ttern which seems to emerge from t h is chron­ o lo g ic a l l i s t i n g o f degree sequence i s that o f a minimising o f requirements which would a r b lt r a r ily apply to a l l major® so th at programs fo r the in d iv id u a l could more e a s ily be arranged*

The im plic a tio n s in t h is minimi sin g o f require­

ment® are not that no* d e fin ite program fo r the student would be p rescrib ed , but th a t when such a p r e sc r ip tio n were to be made I t would probably be done in terms o f needs and a b i l i t i e s * Among the announcements fo r 1930-31 was a statem ent to the e ff e c t that opportunity fo r s p e c ia lis e d train in g in tech n ica l work, actin g and d ir e c tin g would be provided, and that admission to a major program in the f i e l d was dependent 36 upon w ritten perm ission from th® head o f the department* A statem ent was made that enrollm ent o f majors fo r undergrad­ uate and graduate study was lim ite d and only the maximum num­ ber which could be taught e f f e c t iv e ly with e x is tin g f a c i l i t i e s and s t a f f would b® accepted*^?

Each candidate would have to

f i l l out a s p e c ia l a p p lic a tio n form g iv in g M s age, pre­ vious education and th e a tr e experience and submit a tran s­ c r ip t o f M s c r e d its from other in s titu tio n s *

Persons

would be accepted as majors on th© b a s is o f inform ation sub­ m itted in t h i s manner and through personal in terview s and exam inations*38

Th© theory behind th is procedure apparently

was to screen s u f f ic i e n t ly to guarantee that those se le c te d fo r the major study could su c c e s s fu lly carry th© work fo r which they reg istered *

E s s e n tia lly th ese same requirements

fo r admission to major study have been In e f f e c t sin ce th is f i r s t announcement was made*

With th© in trod u ction o f the

Bachelor o f Fine Arts program, con trols on th© Bachelor of Arts in th® th ea tre were relaxed , but registration ® through advisory means or a screening process has always been in e f f e c t fo r majors in dramatic- a r t sin ce th® establishm ent of the School o f Fin© A rts, An attempt was made a lso to c o n tro l the e le c t iv e s o f students majoring in dramatic a r t by ad visin g the exten­ s iv e © lection o f courses in dramatic lite r a tu r e o ffer ed in the departments o f E n glish , French, German, Spanish and Greek.

to

In 1932- 33, i t became a requirement fo r th© undergraduate major to complete courses in Shakespeare and Modern Drama*

He was

f

a lso ad vised , a t th a t tim e, to pursue th© study o f one modern language to a p o in t which would enable him to read the dram­ a tic lit e r a t u r e in that language.

Freehand drawing, elemen-

tary d e sig n In th e d epartm ent o f Graphic and P la s tic Arts

m d h i s t o r y and a p p re c ia tio n o f music i n th© department o f Music were a ls o a d v i s e d ^ 0 in 193&*39t f o r th e f i r s t tim e , i t was announced i n th e c a ta lo g u e “S tu d e n ts a re s tr o n g ly recommended to tak e a course i n t h e i r m ajor departm ent in t h e i r freshm an y e a r ." ^ 1 This appeared under th e announcements f o r th e School o f Fin© A rts, and was a com plete r e v e r s a l o f the ph ilo so p h y which had p re v io u s ly c o n tr o lle d L ib e ra l A rts r e g i s t r a t i o n s end which had made i t d i f f i c u l t f o r th e stu d e n t to s t a r t any s o r t o f work in h is m ajor b e fo re th© sophomore y e a r. Announcements fo r 1939-4-0 in d ica ted a s lig h t s h i f t in philosophy concerning ele ctiv e® fo r the major in dramatic a r t.

Freehand drawing and elementary d esign were now being

advised fo r majors in tec h n ic a l production, and the music appreciation work was advised fo r th ose majoring in stage d ir e c tio n .

At t h is same time European h is to r y and two years

of French and German became requirements fo r a l l undergrad­ uate m a jo r s ,^ A fter the advent o f the new curriculum, however, the announcements regarding e le c t iv e s were l e s s s p e c if ic and Stated th at "Courses in tangent areas o f psychology, p h y sic s, h is to r y , s o c ia l s t u d ie s , and lit e r a t u r e and fin e a r ts should be e le c te d both to round out th® c u ltu r a l development o f the stu dent, and to deepen h is in s ig h t in to a p r o fessio n a l f ie ld ."

lift 1939*49

catalogu e announcement® read

that majors tho war© candidates fo r th© B* A* and M* A. de­ gress would b© d esign ated majors In Speech, and th® candi­ dates fo r the B* F, A. and M* F« 'A* degrees would b© d e sig ­ nated majors in Dramatic Art*

This would appear to in d ic a te

that the amount o f work in other areas o f speech would there­ a fter be con sid erab ly la rg er for' the B* A, and M, A, candid­ a tes than had p rev io u sly obtained*

This was d ir e c tly th© re­

s u lt ®f job a n a ly s is stu d ie s carried out by th© department which showed that teachers were more o fte n than n ot required t© teaoh in more than ju s t the dramatic a r t f i e l d *44 i t can be seen from th©' above d e sc rip tio n s that th© requirements fo r the Bachelor o f Arts degree in dramatic art emphasised c o n s is te n tly a broadening program in su b jects t from a llie d f i e l d s as w ell as sp e c ia liz e d work In th© major department*

There i s nothing to in d ic a te th at only the as­

p ects o f teachin g the techniques of the "trade" were being presented*

I t was always a broad, general program which com­

p lie d with the b a sic reg u la tio n s o f the C ollege o f L iberal Arts in the same manner as was required o f the other depart­ ments o f the College*

Th® in s is te n c e th at students secure

formal adm ission to the program o ffer ed a q u a lity con trol and made p o ssib le the c a r e fu l advisin g o f students en terin g the work*.

This probably helped to insure p r o fita b le programs

©f study fo r students and a t the same time maintained stand-

m &$ of work* is y s £ .^ f lB m s .A a

a a a U ff

m

1 2 s

jsj*

s

* £ • £ •■

A program fo r th® Bachelor o f Fin® Arts degree was Approved in 1938 and th® f i r s t announcements o f a sequence for t h is degree to appear In the catalogu e were fo r th® year 1938-39*

The statem ent read as follow s*

This degree o ffe r s opportunity fo r greater con cen tration in the major f i e l d In th e freshman and sophomore years than i s p o s sib le in the B. A. cou rse. I t a ls o provides an opportunity fo r a la rg er proportion o f work In the major f i e l d throughout a l l four years than i s p o s s ib le in the ®* A* course* I t i s Intended only fo r talen ted stu dents w ith a seriou s p r o fe ssio n a l in t e r e s t in a r t, dramatic a r t, or music* Students proposing to proceed to the B. F . A* degree must secure the |gpr©va1 o f th® head o f th© department coneerThe program fo r t h is degree provided the opportunity for th© dramatic a r t candidate to take up to 9 sem ester hours in h is major f i e l d throughout the freshman year as w e ll as in each aucceeding y e a r .4^ European h is to r y was required in e ith e r the fre sh ­ man or sophomore year a© was P rin cip le* o f Speech.

A fo reig n

language, two years (12 sem ester hours} o f which were requi­ red, could be sta r te d in e ith e r th® freshman or sophomore year but had to be taken in consecutive y ea rs.

Courses in

L iterature and the Art o f Writing were to be completed w ith­ in the freshman and sophomore years*

These and the routine

requirements o f a l l L iberal Arts students in Freshmen L ectures,

p h ysical ©duaatioii and m ilita r y tr a in in g mad© up a 32 semester hour t o t a l o f required work s p e c ifie d by th© Lib­ e r a l Arts C o lleg e, and the School o f Fin© A rts.

Further r e ­

quirements in th® major and r ela ted f i e l d s were s p e c ifie d by the s tu d e n t1* departm ental

a d v i s e r * 4 ?

From 28 to 32 sem ester hours o f e le c t iv e s were pro­ vided fo r in ad d itio n to th© 32 hours p rescrib ed .

Th© remain­

der o f the 120 hours needed fo r graduation could be acquired in the major f i e l d o f study* Theatre courses which were l i s t e d in the suggested sequence fo r 1940-ip. wares

m m * Jkm&M

The Theatre 1 an Introductory

vgp each fo r three hours c r e d it

per sem ester in the freshman year* Foie© and Phonetics and Stagecraft fo r the same amount o f c r e d it during the sophomore yearj Experimental Theatre * f i r s t course> Theory and Technique o f Acting* and Scenic Design in th® junior year fo r three semester hours, each, per semester $ and In the se n io r year Stage D irection* Stag© L ig h tin g H istory o f th© Theatre, each running throughout the year fo r three sem ester hours per term, and a t h r e e ' semester hour course In Dramatic A c tiv itie s In Community L ife and another In Community Theatre Adminis­ tr a tio n * This l i s t t o t a lle d 66 sem ester hours*

Related e l ­

e c tiv e courses suggested were Modern Drama. Shakespeare.

Meek Drama. R ise o f the E nglish P g y a ican h is to r y .4^

a n d E n g l i s h or Amer­

I t wsui announced a t t h is cam® tim e, 1940-14, th at

elective* should be made In accordance with a Job a n a ly sis Under th© guidance of th© head o f the department..

Recommend­

ed ele c tiv e s were grouped as follow s 2

A# Courses which provide background in h is to r y and dramatic lite r a tu r e * European, American, E nglish h istory* dramatic lite r a tu r e from the Greeks to the p r e sen t. B. Courses which provide understanding o f commun­ i t y ©rganluafciom Municipal and lo c a l government* o rgan isation o f th® community fo r s o c ia l progress and r e c r e a tio n . C. Courses itilc h provide background for th eatre adm inistrations b u sin ess organ isation accounting, fin a n ce , a d v e r tis in g , news w r itin g , personnel man­ agement, psychology o f p e r so n a lity in b u sin ess and in d u stry, and p u b lic d isc u ssio n , D. Courses which provide background and prepara­ tio n fo r b a sic th eatre techniques* gym nastics, tum­ b lin g , fe n c in g , and the d&hoej a c o u stic s, lig h t and color* a r t, d esig n , and m usic. E. Courses in a llie d c u ltu r a l and educational a c t iv it ie s * aesth etic® , h is to r y and ap p reciation o f a r t, music and arch itectu re* modern language* educational psychology and methods* program mak- kq Ing and production methods in radio broadcasting. 4,7 I t seems apparent from looking at these requirements and suggested e le c t iv e s fo r the Bachelor o f Fin© Arts degree that the program was r ic h in m aterial e s s e n t ia l to a general education, as w e ll as th at necessary fo r sem i-p rofession al tra in in g .

In a d d ition to a s e t o f techn iqu es, one can see

a plan fo r o r ie n tin g th e stu d en t In the s o c ia l purposes of h is art by g e ttin g a background in h is to r y , government, l i t ­ eratu re, psychology, and other f i e l d s .

The s p e c if ic p o lic y announced by th e departm ent was fco "ad ap t th e program o f t r a i n in g to the a tu d e n t1s i n d iv id u a l t a l e n t s , s p e c ia l a b i l i t i e s , objectives and p re v io u s t r a i n i n g * T h a t t h i s p o lic y was more than- a p r in te d s t a t e ­

ment l a In d ic a te d by th e f a c t th e head o f th e departm ent i n ­ sisted upon h a n d lin g a l l a d v is o ry work on th e program w ith­ i n the d a p a rtm e n t and became g r e a tly d is tu rb e d when r e g i s ­ t r a t i o n p ro ced u res permitted some s tu d e n ts to g e t in to th e program w ith o u t f i r s t having been a d v ise d by the departm enta l s ta f f *

$1

I t was b e lie v e d n e c e ssa ry fo r th e departm ent

head to approve each c a n d id a te 's program each sem ester and m ain tain a r e g u la r and continuous a n a ly s is o f h is re c o rd s and re g u la r c o n fe ren c es w ith th e stu d e n t and h is p a re n ts , and to make p la n s f o r h is job placem ent*

T his could n o t be

done i f a d v is e rs from th e g e n e ra l L ib e ra l A rts f a c u lty were allow ed to approve th e B* F* A, c a n d id a te s ' p ro g ra m s* ^ Under th e new cu rricu lu m In L ib e ra l A rts adopted in 191*4, th a B. F . A* c an d id a te was re q u ire d to meet th e B asie S k i l l s and Cor® Course req u irem en ts in th e same manner as th e c a n d id a te f o r th e B, A* degree*

The number o f hours

to be tak en i n th e m ajor became somewhat more f l e x i b le than i t had under th e o ld c u rric u lu m , changing from a range of 0 * 6 8 sem ester hours to a ran g e o f 1*0 -6 8 sem ester h o u rs* J d ep artm en tal announcements p rep a red A p ril £ , 1949 s e t the minimum f o r d ram a tic a r t a t 64 h o u r s * ^

The range o f e le c -

liv e s was lik e w is e changed from 2 0 -3 8 hours to 20 - 1*8 hours* ©lose c o n tr o l was s t i l l m a in tain ed over th e s © le ctio n o f e le c tiv e s a s w ell as th e s e l e c t i o n o f c o u rse s i n th e m ajor f i e l d , and th e ph ilo so p h y s t a t e d was th a t a l l s e le c tio n s should he made in term s o f s tre n g th e n in g p re p a r a tio n f a r p ro fe s s io n a l work I n th e t h e a t r e , and o f p ro v id in g a broad c u ltu r a l background*

"Courses i n h is to ry # s o c i a l s tu d ie s ,

sc ie n c e , lan g u a g e, l i t e r a t u r e and th e o th e r a r t s a re a l l i e d to s tu d ie s in th e t h e a t r e ," I t was stated#® * One o f the unique f e a tu r e s of th e B. F* A. program has been I t s su c ce ss as a " l a t e l e a r n e r ' a ** program*

F re­

q u en tly s tu d e n ts have p re s e n te d them selves w ith unique back­ grounds I n t h e a t r i c a l work, b u t l i t t l e i n th e way o f form al ed u catio n beyond th e h ig h school*

Two o u tsta n d in g examples

o f t h i s s o r t o f th in g a r e to be found In th e re c o rd s of Herman F . F e lto n and Thomas Gregory# b o th B# F . A* g rad u a tes ©f Io w a's program i n dram atic a rt* F e lto n came to th e U n iv e rs ity as an u n c la s s if ie d 1 stu d e n t i n te r e s te d in p lay w ritin g *

E n g lish born and re a re d

in a fa m ily n o t s u f f i c i e n t l y endowed w ith money to provide him w ith even the E n g lish e q u iv a le n t o f th e American h ig h school e d u c a tio n , he m ig rated to th e U nited S ta te s when he was in h i s tw en ties#

From jobs such as departm ent s to re

c le r k , h a rv e s t hand, m ig ra to ry w orker, lo g g e r, ste v e d o re , and tru c k d r i v e r which c a r r ie d him over most a l l o f th e c o u n try ,

he ©merged, to ta k e work In th© theatre a t th e U n iv e rs ity of Iowa* F e lto n had worked a g r e a t d e a l in community t h e a tr e s , and workers* t h e a t r e s , In S e a ttle ,. C leveland and o th e r Ameri­ can c i t i e s , and as a s p e c ta to r knew the B r i t i s h th e a tr e w e ll. A fter a y e a r o r two as an u n c la s s if ie d s tu d e n t a t Iowa where he had g a in e d much form al e d u c a tio n in dram atic l i t e r a t u r e and a r t s o f th e t h e a t r e , F ro fe ss o r Mabie planned w ith him a program f o r eom pleting h i s h ig h school tr a in in g and g e ttin g a c o lle g e d e g re e . h is n eed s.

The E. F . A. program could be adapted to

H© had th e e x p e rie n c e and. m a tu rity which n u l l i ­

fie d th e need f o r much o f what was Included i n the o f f i c i a l B* A. req u irem en ts o f th e tim e .

He re c e iv e d h is B achelor of

Fla© A rts degree and c o n tin u ed on a t Iowa u n t i l he had com­ p le te d th e master*® degree as w ell*

Since th a t tim e, he has

been employed as d i r e c t o r o f two community th e a tr e s and in re c e n t y e a rs has been a ra d io and t e l e v i s i o n producer fo r n a tio n a l B ro ad castin g Company In Chicago and H©w Y o r k .^ The case o f Gregory i s s im ila r in t h a t he was in h is l a t e tw e n tie s o r e a rly t h i r t i e s when he e n te re d Iowa in 1946.

He p re s e n te d e x te n siv e th e a tr e tr a i n in g and experience

a t th e Pasadena P layhouse, elsew here i n so u th ern C a lifo rn ia and in h is home community o f M inneapolis.

A man o f obvious

ta le n t and achievem ent, i t appeared unwise f o r him to fo llo w through on th e re g u la r B. A. program .

Accepted in to the

298 B achelor o f F lu e A rts ■program* h© com pleted I t , ta u g h t a t th e U n iv e rs ity o f M innesota f o r a y e a r and i s p r e s e n tly a t Iowa com pleting th e r ©qutrement© f o r th e mas t e r *s d e g re e. He has been a l l o y e d to se rv e as d i r e c to r o f th e Tacoma Washington C iv ic The&tr© f o r th e y e a r 1950-51 where he w i l l c a rry on an a d u lt e d u c a tio n program In dram atic a r t . ^ The B. F. A, has s u c c e s s fu lly se rv ed ”l a t e le a r n ­ e r a ” in o th e r a re a s o f employment, to o .

James Waery, r e ­

c e n tly p a s to r o f th e C ongregational Church i n Iowa C ity com­ p le te d t h i s d e g re e In d ram atic a r t and has found i t s u ita b le to h i . n e .d s I n church work . * 8

The program f o r th e deg ree

has been broad enough to p ro v id e g e n e ra l e d u ca tio n as w e ll as t r a i n in g o f le a d e rs w ith a r t i s t i c and s o c ia l v is io n .

The

I n t e r p r e t a ti o n o f i t s c o n te n t has been broad and aimed a t the p ro fe s s io n a l placem ent o f th e in d iv id u a l. One h u rd le th e B. F, A. has not been ab le to c ro ss and on© i t was n o t In ten d e d to c ro ss has been t h a t o f p ro ­ v id in g tr a in in g which would q u a lif y th e can d id ate f o r an Iowa te a c h in g c e r t i f i c a t e .

In 19^0* ©can P. C, Pecker o f the

C ollege o f E ducation ru le d t h a t I t would b© im possible fo r B* F . A# c a n d id a te s to s a t i s f a c t o r i l y m©et requirem ents f o r te a c h e r c e r t i f i c a t i o n under i t s c u rre n t p la n and th a t i t •th e re fo re seemed a d v is a b le n o t to admit them to co u rses in e d u c a ti o n .^ The s p e c ia l aim o f the B, F, A. in Dram atic Art

has been to p re p a re e i t h e r 'director® - and a c to r s o r su p e r­ v is o r s o f,sta g ® d e sig n and te c h n ic a l p ro d u c tio n f o r th e community th e a tre #

C andidates whose g o a ls have been sec­

ond a ry sch o o l te a c h in g , r a d io , p la y w r itin g , th e a tr e h i s ­ to ry and c r i t i c i s m have been advised to fo llo w th e B achelor of A rts program in d ram atic a rt# ^ ° Recent a d v ices to candidate® f o r th e B achelor o f Fine A rts degree have in d ic a te d t h a t a t th e end o f the freshman y e a r and b e fo re r e g i s t r a t i o n f o r th e sophomore y e a r, th e head o f th e d ep artm en t, a s s is te d by th e s t a f f , would d es­ ig n a te th o se #10 m ight con tin u e th e program .

Those who chose

to con tin u e would be review ed a g ain b e fo re th e J u n io r y e a r, and p e rm issio n g ra n te d f o r co n tinuance a f t e r c o n s u lta tio n w ith s t a f f member®*

This announcement s ta te d f u r th e r t h a t

the Ju n io r and s e n io r y e a rs o f t h e program were to be p re ­ sc rib e d and would n o t p erm it th e f r e e e le c tio n s p o s s ib le 61 under th e B# A* program# I t would appear t h a t th e p h i l ­ osophy o f th e B# F# A. program was now to make th e freshman and sophomore y e a rs p a r a l l e l th o se o f th e B„ A* to a g re a t e x te n t, thus allow ing th e s t a f f and s tu d e n t more time i n which to Judge w hether th e c an d id ate p o ssessed th e q u a litie s n e ce ssa ry to s u c c e s s fu lly p ursue tr a in in g fo r a p ro f e s s io n a l degree w ith adequate hope o f placem ent In h is chosen v o c a tio n . I t would f u r t h e r appear t h a t under th e new c u rr ic u ­ lum in L ib e ra l A rts , which p e rm its th e s tu d e n t to take up to

$ 0 'sem ester hours In th e m ajor departm ent tow ard th e B. A. degree* t h a t th e n e c e s s ity and d e s i r a b i l i t y o f d e f i n i t e e le c tio n o f th e B* F * A. p r i o r to th e ju n io r y e a r had con-* s id e ra b ly lessened*

The a d v is e r could now more e a s i l y p la n

& program which would n o t r e s u l t i n lo s s o f c r e d i t f o r th® can d id ate i f i t was found a f t e r a y e a r o r two t h a t he la c k ­ ed p o t e n t i a l i t i e s f o r p r o f e s s io n a l work.

At th© same tim e ,

th® s tu d e n t could be p u rsu in g h is I n t e r e s t in co u rses in th e th e a tr e and com pleting many o f h is g e n e ra l e d u ca tio n req uirem ents • One o f th e most im p o rtan t p o in ts i n t h i s e n t i r e d isc u ssio n o f th© degree programs i s t h a t each Iowa dram atic a r t degree has c o n s ta n tly been planned w ith r e a l i s t i c o b je c t­ iv es in mind*

C e rta in ly t h i s I s im portant in a f i e l d where

employment i s as e lu s iv e , u n c e r ta in , co m p e titiv e and unten­ able as i t i s in a l l b u t th e e d u c a tio n a l and, sometimes, th e community th e a tre *

I t seems c le a r th a t I t has been more

than a p lan o f e d u ca tio n i n an a rt*

I t has been a p la n o f

tr a in in g f o r o b ta in a b le p o s itio n s and g e n e re l ed u catio n fo r the g e n e ra l problem s to be fa c e d In liv in g * Th© p r o f e s s io n a l d e g re e s , have been co n sid ered u n d e s ira b le

programs for

of stu d e n ts m ajoring in th e th e a tr e , ted employment o p p o rtu n itie s and b e s t ad ju sted *

for

B* F. A, and M* F, A.,

th©

because of th©

a l l b u t th e most

T h e re fo re , th e re

majority

has

re s tric ­

talented

grown in th e d e p a rt-

'of Speech and Dram atic A rt a s e t o f plan® which would p rovide student® w ith th e s o r t o f t r a i n i n g they need to c a r ry m a c tiv e work i n .t h e t h e a t r e , b u t which a t th e same tim e s u i t s 'them' f o r employment i n th e r e l a t e d f i e l d s o f speech o r o th e r a re a s where th e y m ight have In te re st® and opportun­ itie s *

T eacher candidate® under th e B, A* program have

c o n s ta n tly been a d v ised to secure s u f f i c i e n t background In a t l e a s t two o th e r f i e l d s to p e rm it them to tak e p o s itio n s which would combine th e a tr e and speech w ith work i n o th e r areas*

I t would appear th a t the in te r lo c k in g r e la tio n s h ip

between Speech and Dramatic A rt which has e x is te d in th e S ta te U n iv e rs ity o f Iowa has been most fo r tu n a te f o r th o se I n te r e s te d in th e th e a tr e b u t p o ss e s sin g lim ite d a r t i s t i c ta le n t,

The problem® o f te a c h e r c e r t i f i c a t i o n which have

e x is te d in departm ents such as Oklahoma1s , where o n ly the B. F* A, degree has been g ra n te d a t th© u n d erg rad u ate le v e l have been avoided a t Iowa by th© Bf A, degree In speech and dram atic a r t .

The problem s o f what to do w ith th e B. F , A,

g rad u ate have been met by r e s t r i c t i n g th© program la r g e ly to those whose t a l e n t and in d u s try would q u a lif y them f o r com­ munity t h e a tr e p o s itio n s o r g rad u a te work. The M aster o f A rts Sequence In Dramatic A rt As has been s ta te d i n C hapter I I I , th© M aster o f A rts degree f o r work in dram atic a r t had been g ran te d a t Iowa

8t® e a r ly as

c o n tin u ed to b© o f fe re d under the same

G raduate C ollege re g u la tio n s as o b ta in e d f o r o th e r d e p a rt­ ments*

W ithin th e framework of th ese, r e g u la tio n s , c r e a tiv e

work in s ta g e d i r e c ti o n and p la y w ritin g had been accep ted f o r th e t h e s is as w e ll as s tu d ie s in dram atic a r t e d u c a tio n , vole© and sp eech , American T h eatre h i s t o r y and c ritic is m * A t h i r t y sem ester hour minimum, a t l e a s t te n o f which had t© be dene In th e m inor f i e l d o f d ram atic l i t e r a t u r e , had obtained*

The deg ree had r a r e l y been g ran te d to anyone com­

p le tin g only th e minimum re q u ire m e n ts, b u t th e requirem ents v a rie d acco rd in g to background, p rev io u s tr a in in g and a b il ­ i t y o f th e s tu d e n ts .

The m a jo rity had o ffe re d from 36 to

i|5 sem ester hours o f work fo r th© d eg ree. The ph ilo so p h y w ith in th© departm ent a t th e time of th© fo rm atio n o f th e School of Fine A rts was to in c re a s e the minimum req u irem en ts f o r th e degree*

P ro fe sso r Mabie

s ta te d in a l e t t e r to George P ie rc e Baker d ated A p ril 22, 1930 , th a t whereas th© proposed changes had n o t been worked

out e x a c tly , th e y would in c re a s e th© minimum requirem ents beeause i t was f e l t t h a t on® y e a r was n o t s u f f i c i e n t time to com plete the p re p a ra tio n of a s tu d e n t In t h i s f ie ld * s ta te d , The minimum req u irem en ts c e r ta in ly w ill be f o r t y sem ester hours and p ro b ab ly f o r ty -f iv e * The work w i l l be more p r o f e s s io n a l In c h a ra c te r th an I t i s now. To d is tin g u is h i t from o th e r degrees which a re g ra n te d in th e G raduate C o lleg e, we p la n to

H©

203

glT# a C e r t i f i c a t e o f th e School o f P in e A r ts .®2 He s t a te d t h a t only th© b e a t s tu d e n ts w ith adequate p re p a ra tio n would he accep ted in to th e program , and t h a t th e t o t a l number o f m ajors would be lim ite d to f o r ty o r f i f t y d u rin g th e f i r s t y ears*

T h e re fo re , I t would be p o s s ib le to

hold to a h ig h e r s ta n d a r d , and t h a t in tim e the degree w ith th e C e r t i f i c a t e o f th© School of Fin© A rts would e v e n tu a lly b© awarded a f t e r two f u l l y e ars o f g ra d u a te w o rk # ^ Th® f i r s t c a ta lo g u e announcements f o r th© m a s te r1® degree In d ram a tic a r t appeared f o r 1 9 3 0 -3 1 end s ta te d th a t th e degree would be awarded a f t e r th e s tu d e n t had com pleted a w e ll rounded p re p a ra tio n f o r work In th© th e a tr e , a p ro cess which would norm ally tak e two years#

Th© m inor in

dram atic l i t e r a t u r e was s t i l l re q u ire d , b u t I t could be acquired i n th e departm ents o f German, E n g lish , Romance ban** guages, ha t i n o r Greek #^* Announcements f o r 1932-33 war® more c o n se rv a tiv e than i n 1930-31#

They now s ta te d th a t th e stu d e n t who p re ­

sen ted as background courses in dram atic a r t and dram atic l i t e r a t u r e e q u iv a le n t to th o se re q u ire d f o r th© Iowa B# A* degree could e n te r upon th e program w ith th e e x p e c ta tio n of com pleting i t w ith in th e minimum time of one c alen d a r y e a r. However, any d e f ic ie n c ie s In p re p a ra tio n would have to be made up#

Five q u a li f ic a ti o n s f o r th e degree were l i s t e d ;

th® ©andldat© must have ( 1 ) s a t i s f i e d th© g e n e ra l requirem ents

®C th e araduab© C o lle g e , (2) com pleted p re s c rib e d c o u rs e s w ith s a t i s f a c to r y g rad es w ith a m ajor In- d ram atic A rt In th e School o f F ine A r ts , (3) p re s e n te d a s a t i s f a c t o r y t h e s i s , (it) dem o n strated to t he s a t i s f a c t i o n o f th e head o f th e depOrfc&erafe a b i l i t y , to ach ieve r e s u l t s as a d i r e c t o r , and {$) passed s a t i s f a c t o r i l y f i n a l w ritte n ' and o r a l exam inations*^* The c o u rs e s l i s t e d f o r s a t i s f a c t o r y com pletion by a l l c a n d id a te s w srei

A ctin g , Theory 'and E ehearsal* s i x h o u rsj

H isto ry *£d F r in c ip le s o£ 3 ta ^ c S S itiB * ' aiaE h o u rs; ffly sic a

s i iisM j&i Mlad

SBsa 4toS22E»

*»»*»

Ifo frery o f Costuming .Design f o r the •Stage* s ix h o u rs; H isto ry o f th e T h e a tre * s i x h o u rs; Advanced Dramatic P ro d u ctio n (sta g e d i r e c ti o n ) , no s p e c if ie d amount o f c r e d i t ; and th e t h e s i s . Most o f th e s e c o u rse s were open to ju n io rs and s e n io rs a s w e ll as g ra d u a te s tu d e n ts and many o f them appear­ ed ©n th e l i s t o f req u ire m e n ts f o r th e B. A* d eg ree; so i t may w e ll be assumed t h a t com pletion o f some o f them or t h e i r e q u iv a le n t a t th e un d erg rad u ate le v e l would have s a t i s f i e d th e requirem ent*

This w ould, th e r e f o r e , make i t p o s s ib le

f o r th e c an d id ate who had com pleted p a r t of th ese re q u ire d co urses as an u n d erg rad u ate to com plete th e M. A* degree r e ­ quirem ents w ith th® minimum o f 30 sem ester hours o f g rad u ate work* Some o f th e above l i s t e d req u ire m e n ts, i t was announced, m ight be m odified f o r s tu d e n ts of dem onstrated

t c l c a t I n p la y w ritin g and stag® d e sig n i n o rd e r to b e t t e r promote t h e i r developm ent in th o se f ie ld s * At t h i s same tim e th e sta te m e n t was made t h a t in In sta n c e s In which th e th e s is o r r e s e a r c h problem made i t d a sirea b l© , th e head o f th e departm ent would recommend t h a t a l l o r p a r t o f th e m inor be tak en in th e departm ents o f Music* G raphic and P l a s t i c A rts , Psychology, o r H istory*

Or*

d in a r ! ly th e d ram a tic l i t e r a t u r e m inor would be expected and In any c ase th e com pletion o f c o u rses i n Hlpe o f th e S h a lla h Drama and E n g lish Drama 1660-1860 would be re q u ir e d .

B efore

p re s e n tin g h im se lf f o r exam ination f o r the d e g re e , "he must have com pleted, a s g ra d u a te o r u n d e rg ra d u a te , th e stu d y o f dram atic l i t e r a t u r e in E n g lish eo'verlng th e im p o rtan t p e rw ..- * I t seems a p p a re n t t h a t th e s e req u irem en ts were more f l e x i b le th a n th o se l i s t e d i n 1930^31*

They p e rm itte d

a b ro ad e r scope o f work to be covered in th e m inor, b u t a t th e same tim e re q u ire d a good background in d ram atic l i t e r ­ a tu r e ,

Being a b le to use th e co u rses in more o f th© f i e l d s

tan g e n t to th© work i n th e th e a tr e made i t p o s s ib le f o r s tu ­ d ents to pursue a w ider v a r i e t y o f t h e s is and re s e a rc h prob­ lem s. These same g e n e ra l req u irem en ts have remained in e f f e c t thro u g h o u t t h i s e n t i r e p e rio d w ith only one m ajor m o d ificatio n #

With i n th e y e a r 19if9-50, the s t a f f voted to

g ra n t th e Blaster o f A rts w ith o u t th e s is to q u a lif ie d c a n d l-

d ata# who had com pleted 3 ® se m este r hours, o f g ra d u a te work#^® T hat 30- sem ester hours p lu s th e t h e s i s was eon*id* •ra d th# a b s o lu te minimum f o r th e 1* A, degree i s c le a r* ®t*b no committments would be made a s to th e le n g th o f tim e beyond th e minimum i s evidenced by « l e t t e r from Mr* Mable to an anxious p a re n t who had wondered how long i t would be b e fo re h i s d a u g h te r would com plete th e degree*

Mr* Mable

wrote t h a t th e q u e s tio n could be answered only i n term s o f *♦•(h er) own i n t e r e s t and a b i l i t y t© com plete h er work w ith s u p e rio r grades * # * It i s im p o ssib le f o r any member o f my s t a f f o r me to t e l l you when she can secu re th® • • .degree* * *( I t ) w ill be c o n fe rre d when she has com pleted h e r work***.The o r d i n a r i ly good s tu ­ dent w ith p ro p e r background i s a b le to com plete th e work w ith one y e ar and a summer sessio n * Th# G raduate C ollege re q u ir e s th a t th e t h e s is problem occupy some a tt e n t i o n on th e p a r t o f th e s tu d e n t f o r a minimum p e rio d o f s ix months* l a August o f !93£* th e head o f th e departm ent pro­ posed a p la n to th e Dean o f th e G raduate C ollege and th e f a c u lty o f th e departm ent f o r e lim in a tin g th e o r a l examina­ tio n o f M a ste r1a can d id ates*

The p la n Inclu d ed a m a ttin g o f

the ran k in g members o f th e s t a f f to be h e ld a f t e r a l l w r itte n exam inations had been completed*

A r e p o r t o f th e exam inations

would be ta k e n to th e m eeting and each c an d id a te d isc u sse d In tu r n and v o ted on se p a ra te ly *

O pportunity f o r o r a l exam­

in a tio n would be p ro v id ed f o r th o se who f a i l e d to g e t approval o f th e conanittee*

T ra n s c rip ts and copies o f a l l ex am in atio n s,

r e p o r ts from th e m inor departm ents and a l l i e d departm ents in

wtdeh ©ouraes were ta k e n , end c o p ie s o f th e th e s e s would be a v a ila b le a t th e meeting} and o p p o rtu n ity f o r f r e e d i s ­ c u ssio n o f e ach c a n d id a te would be provided*

The d e p a rt*

m ental comm ittee would b© approved by the g rad u a te Dean and a r e q u e s t made o f th e Dean to a tte n d th e m eeting*

C e rta in

ran k in g s t a f f members from o th e r departm ents were to b© in ­ v ite d as v i s i t o r s to allow th© Speech and Dramatic A rt s t a f f to g e t su g g e stio n s which m ight h e lp In t h i s p ro ced u re.

The

o b je c t behind t h i s p la n was to save tim e and ex p ed ite the exam ination o f th e In c re a s in g number o f c a n d id a te s who were p re s e n tin g them selves fo r d e g r e e s * ^ The p la n was e v id e n tly approved by Dean Seashore and by Dean Stoddard when he became Dean o f the G raduate College*

T his i s e s s e n t i a l l y th e same p lan which i s in e f f e c t

a t th e p re s e n t tim e in th e Department o f Speech and Dramatic A rt. In J u ly o f 1937# P ro fe ss o r Mable re p o rte d to Dean George X>* Stoddard o f the G raduate C ollege t h a t d u rin g th e p a s t two y e a rs th e s t a f f had been examining th® s i t u a t i o n in reg a rd to th e M aster o f A rts d e g re e , and had w ith in th e p a s t year com pleted an a n a ly s is o f th® Jobs i n which M, A* gradu­ a te s had been p la c e d .

Evidence o f th e p rev io u s te n y e a rs

in d ic a te d (1) th a t the M aster o f A rts degree in Speech and Dramatic A rt was a p ro f e s s io n a l d e g re e, (2) th® departm ental s t a f f had concluded t h a t a minimum o f 60 sem ester hours were re q u ire d f o r s a t i s f a c t o r y p re p a ra tio n o f the c a n d id a te ,

1m 8 Aid*

They were to vote soon on (X) r a is in g th is min-

t e a to 60 sem ester hour®} (2) req u irin g 45 sem ester hours o f resid en ce fo llo w in g prescribed sequences one o f which the candidate must e le c t at the o u tset and change only fo r ju s t­ if ia b le reasons} ( 3 ) allow ing course® to make up undergrad­ uate tra in in g d e f ic ie n c ie s and courses a llie d to the can­ didate* s main purpose to c o n stitu te the remaining

1$ sem ester

hours} ( 11*) su ggestin g th a t candidate® who d esired to con­ tinue fo r the Ph. D. would probably have to complete both language requirements before the M. A, was grantedj and ( 5 ) p lacin g t h is r eg u la tio n in e f f e c t for a l l r e g is tr a tio n s a f t e r May 1# 1938*

I t had been agreed th at th e th e s is would

71 s t i l l be required*' At a co n feren ce between Dean Stoddard, R. H* F i t z ­ gerald , and P ro fe s s o r Mabi© on Ju ly 30* 1937* i t was decided to change the minimum requirement to 45 in ste a d o f 60 semes72 ter hours and lea v e most o f the other reg u la tio n s the same. A s t a f f m eeting was held on July 31* 1937, which was also attended by Deans Packer and Stoddard*

A formal prop osition

sta ted in the R egistrar*s terms to th® e f f e c t th at the min­ imum requirements fo r the M, A* degree would be increased to 45 sem ester hours and th© maximum requirement of 60 semester

hours was p resen ted .

The action had th© f u l l approval o f

Dean Stoddard but the s t a f f refrain ed from a ctio n on the matter because o f a fea r expressed by Dean Packer th at i t

would result?, i n .'«, s u b s t a n t i a l drop; in e n ro llm e n t,

Th©

m a tte r was l e f t a t a s t a n d s t i l l e n d i n g f u r t h e r c o n s id e ra t­ io n and c o o rd in a te d a c tio n w ith o th e r departm ents In th e G raduate C o l l e g e ,^ S h o rtly t h e r e a f t e r , th e M aster of Fine A rts p ro­ gram was worked o u t, and on January 19 , 1938, I t was p r e s e n t©d to th© G raduate C ouncil and approved.

7I1

T his program sub­

s t a n t i a l l y embodied th© su g g e stio n s l i s t e d and d isc u sse d above f o r th e r e v is io n o f th e M aster of A rts d e g re e , T&& l e t t e r &f Fin© .Arts $©qu©nc© jjj Dramatic Art Deeply ro o te d i n th # philo so p h y o f P ro fe ss o r Mabie has been th e id e a t h a t th e M, F . A, should be a p ro fe s s io n a l degree awarded to s tu d e n ts com pleting co u rses o f stu d y p re ­ sc rib e d i n term s o f th e needs o f th® In d iv id u a l and th e p ro ­ f e s s io n a l req u irem en ts o f th e f i e l d .

I t was h is b e l i e f from

th e o u ts e t t h a t i t should r e p r e s e n t a h ig h degree o f a r t i s t i c accomplishment a s w e ll as th e a c q u is itio n o f n e ce ssa ry s k i l l s , He d id n o t b e lie v e i t p o s s ib le f o r th e c an d id a te to o rd in a r­ i l y com plete a s u c c e s s fu l program in th e a tr e i n le s s than two y e a r s .

T h e re fo re , i t was hi® p o s itio n t h a t any announce­

ment f o r t h i s new degree program should avoid s t a ti n g th© minimum req u irem en t as on© y e a r , which would Imply an o b li­ g a tio n on th e p a r t o f th e departm ent to p la n a program which could be com pleted i n t h a t le n g th o f t i m e , ^

fh© l a s t d r a f t o f th© p la n f o r th e d agree as work­ ed o u t 0*1 January 17* 1938 by Professor® E. C. Mabie, P h ilip 0* C lapp, L e s te r D, Longman* D ire c to r

H, F its g e r a ld o f the

School o f F ine A rts , and Dean George D. Stoddard o f the Grad­ u a te C ollege and l a t e r v o ted on by th e G raduate C ouncil read m follow #* th e purpose o f th e d eg ree M aster o f Fin© A rt# i s to encourage g ra d u a te student® i n th© v a rio u s bran ch es o f th e f in e a r t s to u n d ertak e work a t a h ig h te c h n ic a l and p r o f e s s io n a l le v e l* I t d i f f e r s from th e sta n d a rd M aster o f A rts in t h a t i t p la c e s l e s s emphasis upon academic sub­ j e c t s , w hile demanding a h ig h e r o rd e r o f a r t i s ­ t i c accom plishm ent in a p a r t i c u l a r medium* I t I s designed f o r s tu d e n ts p re p a rin g them­ s e lv e s p r o f e s s io n a lly i n such f i e l d s as p a in tin g , m ural d e c o ra tio n , s c u lp tu r e , commercial a r t , p la y w r itin g , a c tin g , producing,- stag© d e sig n in g , m usi­ c a l perform ance, in s tru m e n ta tio n and m m positian* I t i s ex p ected t h a t such p re p a ra tio n can be under­ tak e n by a group o f © a rtfu lly s e le c te d stu d e n ts who have a lre a d y shown unusual t a l e n t . At th® same tim e such s tu d e n ts must have s u f f i c i e n t b re a d th o f i n t e r e s t to e x p lo re , in a m arginal way, th e r e ­ la te d academic f ie ld s * S tu d e n ts h o ld in g a b a c c a la u re a te degree from a recognized c o lle g e o r u n iv e r s ity may be adm itted i n candidacy tow ard the M* F. A* upon th e recommen­ d a tio n o f th© head o f th® departm ent concerned, Such m atter# a s s p e c ia l ex am inations, th© comple­ t io n o f work a t th© u ndergraduate l e v e l, th e program of c o u rs e s , sem inars and re s e a rc h a re l e f t to th e d i s c r e t io n o f th e re s p e c tiv e departm ents in th e School o f Fine A rts , On th© b a s is o f in d iv ­ id u a l c o n feren ces w ith th e stu d e n t i t is expected t h a t a program w i l l be designed to f i t h is p a r t i ­ c u la r needs* O rd in a rily th e program fo r th e M. F, A, w i l l re q u ir e two r e s i d e n t y e a r s . At th e d i s c r e t io n of th e head o f th e d ep artm en t, stu d e n ts may be recom-

mended f o r th e degree a t th e end o f th® m ini* mum re s id e n c e req u ire m e n t w hich i s one y e a r. Only s tu d e n ts who have had a r i c h te c h n ic a l and academic background, to g e th e r w ith some p r o f e s s io n a l e x p e rie n c e , may count upon appear* in g f o r th e degree a t th e end o f the minimum re s id e n c e p e rio d . I n th e f i n e a r t s , th© M, A. w i l l be design* ed f o r th o se s tu d e n ts who look forw ard to c a re e rs In te a c h in g and s c h o la r s h ip . For those o f th® h ig h e s t p ro m ise, i t le a d s norm ally toward th® d o c to ra l d e g re e . While th® M« F , A* i s p o in te d p r im a r ily toward te c h n ic a l and p ro f e s s io n a l ex­ c e lle n c e , t h i s d i s t i n c t i o n does n o t p re v e n t ho ld ­ e rs o f th® M. F . A, from e n te rin g te a c h in g o r academic f i e l d s , p ro v id ed they meet sta n d a rd te a c h in g re q u ire m e n ts In e d u c a tio n . A lso, f o r S e le c te d s tu d e n ts , work f o r th e M* F* A. re p r e ­ s e n ts one p a th tow ard th e Ph. D, I n th e f i n a l recommendation o f a can d id ate f o r th© degree M. F, .A* a th e s is w i l l ho ld a c e n tr a l p la c e . I t may c o n s i s t , f o r exam ple, of a p a in tin g , a s c u lp tu r e , m u sical com position o ffe re d In c o n ju n c tio n w ith re p ro d u c tio n s , d e s c rip tio n s and i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s which o u tlin e th© n a tu re o f the o r i g in a l c o n tr i b u ti o n ,* Th© degree could be achieved i n dram atic a r t , m usic, o r graphic and p l a s t i c a r t s .

Th© program was f i r s t o ffe re d

in th e academic y e a r 1938 - 3 9 , In

Dram atic

A rt,

ad m ittance to the program was

to be achieved by p re lim in a ry exam ination and c e r t i f i c a t i o n of th e head o f th e d ep artm en t.

Th© degree was to be awarded

in th re e s p e c if ic f i e l d s , ( 1 ) a c tin g and d i r e c ti n g , ( 2 ) stag© design and te c h n ic a l work, and ( 3 ) p la y w ritin g and experim en­ t a l th e a tr e work.

A b ility to achieve r e s u l t s in one o f th e se 77 f i e l d s was to ba dem o n strated .

In 194 .0 * 1^.1 , th® &apartm ent a l announcement a fo r th® M. F . A, In D ram atic A rt wore c o n sid e ra b ly expanded. I t was s t a te d t h a t th e program had been designed to p e r­ m it

«•* a c o n c e n tra tio n o f a tt e n t i o n and energy and p rep ­

a r a tio n com parable to th® c o n c e n tra tio n p rovided in o th e r p r o f e s s io n a l f i e l d s such as law , m edicine and e n g in e erin g * 1*' Five s p e c if ic a s p e c ts o f tr a in in g wore l i s t e d f o r comple­ tio n !

(1)

th e a tr e , (2 )

B asic c o u rses i n h is to r y and l i t e r a t u r e o f th e c o u rses in b a s ic th e a tr e te c h n iq u e s, ( 3 )

co u rses d e s ig n a te d on th e b a s is o f in d iv id u a l needs to round out p r e p a r a tio n , ( 4 )

d em o n stratio n o f a b i l i t y to

achieve r e s u l t s in a s e le c te d f i e l d o f s p e c i a li z a t io n w ith in th e t h e a t r e , and {$)

advanced c o u rses and a t h e s is

in t h a t f i e l d o f s p e c i a l i z a t i o n .

A knowledge o f modern

drama, S hakespeare, b a s ic voice and p h o n e tic s , p la y produc­ tio n , a c tin g , s t a g e c r a f t and p ro d u c tio n methods were p re ­ r e q u i s it e to stu d y f o r th e M* F, A, and would have to be made up in a d d itio n to th e minimum req u irem en ts f o r th© degree i f n o t p re s e n te d upon a p p lic a tio n f o r ad m issio n to th e program* The program o f co u rses would In c lu d e : 1 . l 8- 2 lf, sem ester hours in background courses in w orld th e a tr e h i s t o r y , American T heatre h is to r y and dram atic l i t e r a t u r e *

2 , 2jp»30 sem ester hours In (a) a c tin g , and voice and p h o n e tic s , (b) sta g e d e sig n and stag© lig h t i n g ,

U ) P la y w rltln g and ex p erim e n tal tb e & tr© ,a n d (d) m ethods end p r a c t ic e o f stag© d i r e c t i o n . 3 . 8-lJ> se m este r hours in p r a c t i c a l work in a producing t h e a t r e , spending a minimum of e ig h t weeks i n a p roducing th e a tr e company ta k in g p a r t in i t s p r a c t i c a l 'o p e r a t i o n as p la y w rig h t, a c to r , d i r e c t o r , scene d e s ig n e r, l ig h t i n g s p e c i a l i s t , o r in o th e r te c h n ic a l work. This c r e d i t could be achieved by working i n the summer producing company o f th e U n iv e rs ity T heatre o r In c e r ta in approved community th e a tr e s o r summer th e a tre ® , 4* 6 - l 4 sem ester h ours i n advanced co u rses and t h e s i s In th e f i e l d o f s p e c i a li z a t io n . Announcements a t t h i s same tim e s ta te d t h a t advanced sta n d ­ ing would be g ra n te d o n ly to those p re s e n tin g s u p e rio r back­ ground i n academic and p r a c t i c a l th e a tr e ex p erien ce upon r e c ­ ommendation o f th e s t a f f and departm ent head.

This m ight a l ­

low th e com pletion o f the degree w ith in a s in g le y e a r . ^ I n a l e t t e r to Dean Stoddard d a te d May 20, 1941i lk» Mabie s t a te d t h a t he thought o u tsta n d in g work which had been done elsew here should be accepted f o r t r a n s f e r c r e d i t g iv in g th e stu d e n t advanced sta n d in g .

T his was n e c e ssa ry ,

he s a i d , In o rd e r to p re v e n t th© ”e lim in a tio n o f many i n t e r ­ e s tin g and ta le n te d p eo p le,” o r the re d u c tio n o f th e two y e a r req u ire m e n t.

81

Two c a se s under c o n s id e ra tio n a t t h a t time

were Bess Whitcomb and V erner Haldene b o th o f whom had a c h ie ­ ved s u c c e s s f u lly i n community t h e a t r e , F e d e ra l T h e a tre , and 82 p ro fe s s io n a l th e a tr e ov er a p e rio d o f s e v e ra l y e a rs . In th© c a ta lo g u e announcements fo r 1944*45 i t was s ta te d t h a t req u irem en ts as to t h e s i s , p u b lic perform ances

and exam inations would to© met as the departm ent s p e c if ie d ' in each in d iv id u a l c a s e , and t h a t em phasis in aw arding th® degree would toe "p lac ed upon prom ise o f s o c ia l minded lead* ©rship In th e t h e a tr e and upon a h ig h degree o f a r t i s t i c 8^ achievem ent.* The c r e a tio n o f th© M aster o f P in e A rts degree was an o th er way in which th e U n iv e rs ity o f f i c i a l l y reco g n ised c re a tiv e work as a v a lid p u r s u it w ith in th e framework o f h ig h e r e d u c a tio n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s a t th e g rad u ate l e v e l.

It

appears to have been a method f o r b rin g in g to th© i n s t i t u ­ tio n p erso n s w ith s u p e rio r t a l e n t who m ight wish to combine an a r t i s t i c I n t e r e s t w ith an academic background w ithout s a c rific in g e ith e r . The development o f th e M aster o f Pine A rts p ro gram seems to have been th© r e a l i s a t i o n of a d e s ir e of th e d epartm ental a d m in is tra tio n f o r a p ro f e s s io n a l degree in dram atic a r t .

I t could be c o n tr o lle d so as to re q u ire min­

imum q u a li f ic a ti o n s based upon in d iv id u a l needs and a b i l i t i e s and r e l a t i v e l y more f re e from p re s s u re s of tim e and compari­ sons w ith deg rees o ffe re d in o th e r departm ents of th e Grad­ u a te C o lle g e.

Xt was a ls o a degree based upon Job an aly ses

which tended to show th a t th© minimum req u irem en ts o f o th e r f i e l d s were not com parable to th e demands mad© o f p r o fe s s ­ io n a l a s p ir a n ts in th© th e a tr e f i e l d , ^

I t was r e a l l y ano­

th e r means o f a tte m p tin g a c o n tro l on q u a lity of c a n d id a te s .

©foe wiehed t o pursue t h e a tr e a s a p ro fe s s io n . SS& SsaM e o f P hilosophy f o r C re a tiv e fo r k in Dramatic A rt As e a r ly as 1932 th e d e c re e , Doctor o f P hilosophy, was g ra n te d a t Iowa f o r re s e a r c h in more o r le s s t r a d i t i o n a l f i e l d s o f d ram a tic a r t ed u ca tio n and v o ic e and speech s c i ­ ence,

These s tu d ie s had a p o s itiv e b e a rin g upon th e problems

and v a lu e s o f te a c h in g of dram atic a rt,® ^

I t was n o t u n t i l

1936 , however, t h a t th e f i r s t c r e a tiv e d i s s e r t a t i o n was

p re se n te d f o r th e Ph. D.

In 1930# th e M aster o f A rts degree

had been g ra n te d to A* Dale H iley f o r th e w ritin g and prod­ u c tio n o f The S arong, a p la y about l i f e in the P h ilip p in e s , For f iv e y e a rs b e fo re , o r i g in a l p r o je c ts in sta g e d ir e c tio n had been c o n sid ere d s u ita b le f o r th© m a s te r’ s t h e s i s ,

Th©

p re s e n ta tio n o f c r e a tiv e work In pl& yw riting f o r th© d o c to r­ a l d i s s e r t a t i o n was a slo w e r, more d e lib e r a te p ro c e s s , how­ e v e r,

E llsw o rth P. Conkle was th© f i r s t can d id ate to o f f e r

work o f t h i s s o r t .

His p re p a ra tio n had covered a p e rio d o f

fo u r y e a rs t r a i n in g a t th© U n iv e rs ity o f Iowa i n a d d itio n 86 to e x te n siv e t r a i n i n g and e x p erien ce elsew h ere. P ro fe s s o r Mabie has s ta te d t h a t h© had been asked by Dean Seashore as e a r ly as 1926 what th e departm ent was going to do about th© Fh, 0 . In dram atic a r t .

Hi® answer

had been to th e e f f e c t t h a t h© c o n sid ered i t a m a tte r o f growth and a f t e r ap p ro x im ately X$0 M. A. degrees had been

/

e e n fe rre d I n th© departm ent he would p re s e n t a s p e c if ic p la n ,

As e a r ly as 1926, however, he had been aware o f th e

p o s s i b i l i t y o f p r e s e n tin g a d o c to ra l c a n d id ate w ith a t h e s is c o n s is tin g o f th© c r e a tiv e w r itin g o f long p la y s ,

About

ISO M* A, d e g re e s were c o n fe rre d in the departm ent and te n y ears ©lapsed b e fo re such a c an d id ate was p r e s e n t e d , I n th e m eantim e, however, much s e rio u s c o n s id e ra tio n had been given to th e problem . In a d d itio n to th e co nferences on ed u ca tio n In th e Fine A rts h e ld a t th© U n iv e rs ity in 1928 and 1930, a most n o ta b le round ta b le on th© problem o f th e n a tu re o f g raduate work In th© Fine A rts was h e ld a t th® U n iv e rs ity In c o n ju n c tio n w ith th© c e le b r a tio n o f th e t h i r t i e t h an n iv er­ sa ry o f I t s G raduate C o lleg e.

This round ta b le h e ld f o r t h

©n th e sun porch o f the Iowa Memorial Union from 9*30 bo 11130 A, M., November 29, 1930*

Georg© F ie rc e Baker p re ­

sid e d , and th e d is c u s s io n le a d e rs were George L. S to u t of th© Fogg Museum a t H arvard; H&sel M. S ta n to n , p ro fe s s o r of th© psychology o f music a t the Eastman School o f Music; and B, Xden Payne, New York producer and form erly head of the De­ partm ent o f Dram atic A rt a t Carnegie I n s t i t u t e o f Technology, and, a t th a t tim e, a v i s i t i n g le c tu r e r in dram atic a r t a t Iowa,

O ther c o n tr ib u to r s to th® d is c u s s io n were Henry

S u szalo, P re s id e n t o f th e Carnegie Foundation f o r th e Advance­ ment o f Teaching; Dean C arl E* Seashore of th® U n iv e rs ity o f

317 Iowa’s G raduate C o lle g e | and P ro fe s s o r E» C, Mable, head o f th® Departm ent o f Speech and D ram atic A rt.

P re s id e n t W alter

A. Je ssu p o f th e U n iv e rs ity 9 D ire c to r R, H# F itz g e r a ld o f the School o f Fine A rts end P ro fe ss o r Norman M eier o f th® u n iv e r­ s i t y 1» d e p artm e n t o f Psychology were among th o se present*® ^ S to u t and S ta n to n p re s e n te d p ap ers on the s c i e n t i ­ f i c a sp e c ts o f c e r t a i n problem s in Fine A r ts .

Payne d is c u s ­

sed th e needs o f th e th e a tr e f o r c a rry in g on g rad u ate work l a th e U n iv e rsity #

Two c e n tr a l Iss u e s which emerged in th e

m eeting concerned!

( 1 ) what should be the n a tu re o f g rad ­

u a te work i n F ine A rta # and (2) how could degrees b© granted* S to u t and S ta n to n were the f i r s t speakers a t th e meeting# th e a rts #

Each o f them was I n t e r e s t e d in s c i e n t i f i c stu d y o f Then th© t a l k tu rn ed to d eg rees#

Dean do ashore

remarked t h a t he could see th® p o s s i b i l i t y o f a degree being g ra n te d w ith o u t any s p e c if ic re q u ire m e n ts, only the c re a tio n ©f som ething which proved t h a t young a r t i s t the m a te r ia ls o f c re a tio n In h is p a r t i c u l a r f ie ld * and tim e l i m i t would b© b e sid e th® p o in t,

knew C re d it

Th© degree would

be g ra n te d when th e c r e a tio n came fo rth # P ro fe ss o r Baker commented t h a t i f th e g raduate schools would se© t h a t th e p re p a ra tio n of people In th© c r e a tiv e a r t s was s o l i d i n fo u n d atio n and th a t c re a tiv e work was g iv en c o o rd in a te re c o g n itio n w ith o th e r work th a t would be a l l t h a t th© te a c h e r o f f in e a r t s could ask*

318 B* Id ea Payne e x p la in e d to th e m eeting t h a t th e th e a tr e i n e d u c a tio n had th re e im p o rtan t needst

( 1 ) p h y si­

c a l equipm ent in c lu d in g a b u ild in g housing a t l e a s t two t h e a tr e s , one la r g e and one sm a ll, adequate workshop and e th e r n e c e ssa ry spaces} ( 2 ) adequate endowment to make I t p o s s ib le f o r much o f th e work to be a b s o lu te ly independent o f b o x -o ffic e c o n s id e ra tio n s i n o rd e r to be ab le to c a rry on e x p e rim e n ta tio n o f th© w id est p o s s ib le n a tu r e , and ( 3 ) freedom from a l l a d m in is tra tiv e d e t a i l s fo r th© f a c u lty member engaged i n th e a r t i s t i c work o f d i r e c ti o n .

These

th re e th in g s he s a id to be of paramount im portance, and w ithout them he d id n o t b e lie v e th© f u l l a r t i s t i c p o t e n t i a l ­ i t i e s o f th e U n iv e rs itie s ' program in dram atic a r t could be tapped.

T ools were e s s e n t i a l s f o r e x p erim en tatio n in c re a ­

tiv e work, and they w ©re composed o f an ex p erim en tal th e a tr e p l a n t , money enough to ru n i t f r e e l y in an u n lim ite d f i e l d in c lu d in g p la y w ritin g , dance, l i g h t i n g , p u p p e try , and a l l a r t s having l a t e n t p o s s i b i l i t i e s .

He c ite d t h a t the c o n tr i ­

bution, of George P ie rc e Baker to p la y w ritin g in the Ameri­ can th e a tr e c o u ld n ev er have been achieved i f h is produc­ tio n s had been fo rc e d to pay t h e i r way f i n a n c i a l l y .

The

encouragement o f n a tiv e p lay w rig h ts d e a lin g w ith th e Ameri­ can sc en e , h© s a id , was extrem ely Im portant and needed to b© f ime from f i n a n c i a l l i m i t a t i o n s . C o n c en tratio n f o r th© te a c h e r in th e th e a tr e was

eeeetibiftl b u t he had to be f r e e from a d m in is tra tiv e work to be a b le to c o n c e n tra te #

I t was e q u a lly im p o rta n t, he s a id ,

to f r e e s tu d e n ts from t h e i r academic s tu d ie s d u rin g r e h e a r s a l p e rio d s i f th e y were to develop t h e i r a r t i s t i c g if ts #

Given

th ese th in g s he c o n fid e n tly b e lie v e d t h a t drama departm ents in u n i v e r s i t i e s would n o t only su rp a ss t h e i r p a s t achievem ents b u t would h e lp to develop th e drama o u t o f a l l re c o g n itio n even to th e sta g e o f th e reform o f th e audience *

T his he

thought m ight be th e most Im p o rtan t th in g o f a l l , because he b e lie v e d th e r e could be no f in e drama w ith o u t a f in e audience# As a p a r tin g rem ark, he s a id he a p p re c ia te d the f a c t t h a t h i s rem arks were a l l very u n s c i e n t if i c and t h a t he was on ly beg in n in g to a p p re c ia te th e work o f th e i n v e s t i ­ g a to r, b u t he warned t h a t i t was h is o b se rv a tio n t h a t i t was q u ite p o s s ib le to h in d e r th e development o f c e r t a i n c la s s e s o f c r e a tiv e a r t i s t s by depending too much upon th e causes o f a r t i s t i c a b il i ty #

S p o n ta n eity was e s s e n t i a l , he s a id , and

dw elling too long upon a r t ' s s c i e n t i f i c a sp e c t was to h is mind, in S h a k e sp e a re 's words, »* clim bing o 'e r th e house to unlock th e l i t t l e g a te # ” * At t h i s p o in t, P ro fe s s o r Mabie to o k th e f lo o r to re c o n c ile th e dichotomy betw een sc ie n c e and c re a tiv e work th a t had been opened by Payne and th o se speakers p receding him#

S to u t and S ta n to n were I n te r e s te d in th© s c i e n t i f i c

phenomena o f a r t* • **.T h ere i s a r e c o n c i l i a t i o n f o r th e two p o in ts Of View which l i e s In a co n cep tio n o f c re a tiv e work b o th In sc ie n c e and i n fin® a r ts * I th in k t h a t X m r i g h t In i n t e r p r e t i n g t h a t t h i s has been h e ld by Dean Seashore f o r a number o f years* **«»fhe word c r e a tiv e as a p p lie d to achievem ent i n r e s e a r c h and s c ie n c e and th e word c re a tiv e as app­ l i e d to g e n e ra l a r t in th e creation***-these mean much t h a t I s th e same* C re a tiv e minds and q u a li­ t i e s in any f i e l d a re th e same* C r e a tiv ity i s c r e a t i v i t y w herever i t i® found. He s a id he had u n d ersto o d t h a t Bn* Suss s a l e , i n h is keynote speech f o r th e c e le b r a tio n th e day b e fo re , was i n te r e s te d in th e s e le c tio n and s e p a r a tio n o f th e g e n u in e ly c re a tiv e minds among th e c a n d id a te s in g rad u a te sch o o ls in th e scien ces* I t was av o id in g th e i s s u e , Mable s a i d , f o r the people I n t e r ­ e ste d In th e f in e a r t s n o t to speak o u t f o r th e same p r i v i l ­ ege in t h e i r f ie ld s *

Baker and Payne had spoken a lo u d , and,

now, he waa to c o n trib u te h is remarks* • • .th e c r e a to r s f o r whom we want r e c o g n itio n , f o r whom we want f a c i l i t i e s f o r t r a i n i n g , f o r whom we want tim e f o r c o n c e n tra tio n a re th e a r t i s t s them­ s e lv e s * I t i s th e l e v e l o f achievem ent in th e a r t which we a r e i n t e r e s t e d —and w ith th e g r e a t­ e s t r e s p e c t f o r a l l th e p s y c h o lo g is ts and h i s t o r ­ ia n s and p h y s i c is ts — they must fo re v e r b© i n th e f i e l d o f th e fin e a r t s th o se who com© i n by the back door***,The c h em ist, the p h y s i c i s t , th e h i s ­ to r ia n w i l l a l l h e lp us so lv e problem s t h a t are p re s s in g f o r d e cisio n * One o f th e most Im portant problem s i n t h i s s c i e n t i f i c in v e s tig a tio n i s th e one to which th e Bean has g iv en alm ost h is e n tir e l i f e t i m e , th e f i e l d o f d isc o v e rin g ta le n t* Those s c i e n t i s t s w i l l throw l i g h t upon our problem s o f s o r tin g from th e mass o f s tu d e n ts those e s p e c ia lly ta le n te d * We must fo re v e r be te a c h e rs who must f in d t a l e n t , and w ith o u t t a l e n t we cannot a ch iev e .

fh ftl* re s e a rc h e s w i l l add t o 'o u r ts c h n lq u s s * . * , 1 th in k I am r i g h t i n b e lie v in g t h a t th e r e i s no ^ .p o s s i b i l i t y o f avoiding, the,, i s s u e 'o f c r e a tiv e work* In th e sc ie n c e s i t w i l l re c e iv e re c o g n itio n In th e way t h a t D r. Suz 2 a lo and o th e r s have e x p la in ­ ed* *»• I n th e f i e l d o f f in e a r t s i t seem® to me we a re b e tra y in g o u r t r u s t n o t to go ahead on the b a s is o f e v e ry th in g sc ie n c e can g iv e us and a sk f o r such r e c o g n itio n and freedom f o r c o n ce n tra tio n * Such s tim u la tio n o f re s e a rc h e s w i l l h e lp us move forw ard more r a p i d l y . There i s a r e c o n c i l i a t io n , I b e lie v e , i n th e se two point® o f view, B e la tiv e to deg rees in f i n e a r t s , he co n tin u ed t I am n o t c e r t a i n t h a t th e d e g re e , w hatever i t may b e , s h a l l be c o n fe rre d a f t e r an a r t i s t ha® com­ p l e t e l y a ch iev e d . I f I i n t e r p r e t th e tre n d in g ra d u a te c o lle g e s and th e th in k in g o f th o se who have spoken h e re , i t I s th is * th e degree D octor o f P hilosophy has n o t been c o n fe rre d a f t e r th e man has a r r iv e d , b u t a f t e r he has serv ed an a p p re n tic e ­ sh ip to e n ab le th o se mho a re working w ith him to d e sig n a te him a s one who has a lre a d y achieved and who g iv es prom ise o f .achieving th in g s In th e f u t ­ ure* But he h a s n f t a rriv e d * The Ph* P* I® n o t g ra n te d to th e -man who -has a rriv e d * N e ith e r should we th in k o f g iv in g th e degree o n ly to those p erso n s who have p a in te d p ic tu r e s o r become o u t­ s ta n d in g in t h e i r f i e l d s , b u t to th o se who w rite p la y s somewhere between th e le v e l o f achievem ent which may be s a t i s f a c t o r y to elem entary and in ­ tro d u c to ry c o u rses and th e o u tsta n d in g achieve­ ment o f th e p e rio d in th e h is to r y o f th e drama* In o th e r w ords, the degree should be awarded a f t e r a s u c c e s s fu l a p p re n tic e s h ip fo llo w in g a s o l i d p e rio d o f tra in in g * Dr* Henry S u ssalo she had given th e keynote address f o r th e e n t i r e G raduate C ollege a n n iv e rsa ry c e le b r a tio n took the f lo o r fo llo w in g Mr* Matoie to c l a r i f y p o in ts o f h is own ad d ress which he c h a ra c te riz e d as having been an attem p t to save th e tr u e g ra d u a te school*

He s a id t h a t th e academic

world was i n a g r e a t s t i r over academic v a lu e s , th a t w e ll

e s ta b lis h e d minds* such a s Howard iU skU s* In e d u ca tio n were c e r t a i n t h a t a r t had no p la c e i n a u n iv e r s ity "based la r g e ly upon t r a d i t l o n a n d h i s t o r i c a l p re c e d e n ts o f th e European ty p e .*1 But Dr* Susa,ale. would n o t a c c e p t a Euro­ pean d e f i n i t i o n o f th e u n iv e r s ity * and f e l t t h a t European sta n d a rd s were n o t a p p lic a b le to American e d u c a tio n a l s i t ­ u atio n s*

He su g g ested s e v e r a l th in g s f o r th e U n iv e rs ity 1s

program i n f i n e a rts * ♦♦••Have your own *•*.f a c u l ty o f f in e a r t s I f you can g e t i t * Get a c e r ta in autonomy and freedom . S cience w i l l do much to c a s t s i d e li g h t s on th e fo u n d atio n s o f th e v a rio u s a rts* * * ♦ th e more i n t e l l ­ e c tu a l and te c h n o lo g ic a l emphasis becomes th e dom­ in a n t th in g and th e feelin g * ju d g m en t a sp e c t be­ comes su b o rd in ate* your tr a i n in g p la c e i s d e stro y ­ ed as a workshop f o r genuine a r t i s t s * X do n o t mean by such a p o s itiv e sta te m e n t to condone th e i l l i t e r a c y o f a r t i s t s * • • *1 on ly want to g iv e them th e d ig n if ie d p la c e o f working w ith fe e lin g * This s u b tle b u sin e ss o f working on a p a la te o f human f e e lin g i s so u t t e r l y d if f e r e n t* b u t t h a t d o esn ’t mean t h a t you should have n o th in g b u t a p rim itiv e f e e lin g to e x p r e s s .. • .th e r e i s a good d e al o f drama today t h a t co u ld w e ll be w r itte n by th e men who g e t th e applause o f t h e i r p re s e n t audiences I f they d id n ’ t go around on th e p e rip h e ry o f genuine s a n ity . . * .I can se e very c le a r l y th a t you need your la b ­ o r a to ry , t h a t you need e m p h a sis.*.The h i s t o r y o f a r t and th e h i s t o r y o f drama and the p sy ch o lo g i­ c a l a n a ly se s—a l l th e se i n t e l l e c t u a l i n t e r p r e t a ­ tio n s * how th e th in g happens—a re a l l o f value pro v id ed th ey a re s u b s id ia ry a id s . I don’ t know an ything more tr a g ic than th e way l i t e r a t u r e has been robbed o f i t s s o c ia l purpose In the academ­ i c c la s s room* L ite r a tu r e i s an i n te r p r e t a t i o n o f l i f e * b u t n o t in th e average c o lle g e c la s s room d e a lin g w ith l i t e r a t u r e . I t i s as much l iv e a r t as th e bones In th e anatom ical departm ent and ( s ic ) r e a l human b ein g s • . . . .S tand on your own f e e t .

Today a r t has

323 a rr iv e d i n Am erica, and i f th e academic does­ n ’t lo o k k in d ly a t you, don’t look in h is d i r ­ e c tio n * hook o u t to th e r e a l w o rld * * .I don’t know why yon should be ashamed o f a M aster1a in f in e a r t s o r a d o c to ra te in f in e a r t s . I have always remembered my experience* I l ik e to t e l l I t in th e p resen ce o f P re s id e n t Jesup* Hf® s t a r t e d o u t In th e U n iv e rs ity o f W ashington, and th e o n ly way we could g e t freedom was to o rg a n ise a c o lle g e o f Fine A rts* The q u e stio n t h a t cam© up Was the- q u e stio n i f we would be ab le to giv© p e o p le d o g re e s on th® b a s is o f c r e a tiv e work* In th e E n g lish Department they g iv e degrees f o r t e a r in g l i t e r a t u r e to pieces#.. And te a r in g th in g s to p ie c e s i s v ery im p o rtan t b u s in e s s , f o r a f t e r a w hile th e peo p le who t e a r i t to p ie c e s w ill g e t some Id e a s about th e way i t was p u t to g e th e r* # , . .* 1 can remember how people joked me in th e academic w orld a t th e n e x t m eeting o f th e c o lle g e p r e s id e n ts because I had done t h i s thing* I d id ­ n ’t mind them* They were m erely more academ ically re s p e c ta b le th a n I was. But when i t tu rn ed to th e Chicago T ribune and th e Hew York Times re p re s e n tin g a sounder p u b lic o p in io n , they took o ccasio n to say t h a t t h i s was a sp le n d id in tim a tio n * When you can prove t h a t you a re genuine in I n t e l l e c t u a l s p i r i t , why n o t g iv e a d o c to ra te ? In th e f i e l d o f f in e a r t s l e t a p erso n go a l l over th e p lac e i f he can tu rn o u t a p ie c e in drama, g rap h ic and p l a s t i c a r t s , in music* Give him h is M aster’s o r h is Doc­ t o r a t e in fin© a rts * He d oesn’t have to a rr iv e any more th an a Ph. D. has a rriv e d * They have only h a lf a r r iv e d . Some o f them n ev er do a r r i v e ,,* Dr# Suzzalo s ta te d t h a t h® had g re a t sympathy and an a c tiv e i n t e r e s t in every p ro ce ss t h a t concerned th e devel­ opment o f th e em otional l i f e and i t s e x p re ssio n In a e s th e tic term s, and t h a t he b e lie v e d the Iowa em phasis on th e f in e a r t s was sound*

He d id n o t want them to be m isled in to

borrowing th e academic plumage o f th e Fh, D ., b u t they should give a degree o f t h e i r own in f in e a r t s .

He re fu se d to g rap -

p ie w ith th e problem o f th e a r t i s t who must te a c h , however. The m eeting was c lo s e d by some remarks from Pro­ f e s s o r Baker r e l a t i v e to B, Iden Payne’s sta te m e n ts concern­ ing th e c r e a tio n o f a new audiencef.

Be s a id an audience was

needed which was i n t e r e s t e d in th e drama fo r i t s own sa k e, a la rg e group o f p eople who would be i n te r e s te d in a p la y because o f what th e a u th o r was tr y in g to do and because i t was an a tte m p t.

Be wanted p e o p le , and had them a t bo th

Harvard and Y a le, who would a tte n d r e g u la r ly th e p ro d u c tio n ©f new p lay s and send In an h o n est comment r e l a t i v e to the perform ance.

T his he f e l t was in v a lu a b le , to have an audi­

ence which co u ld be b u i l t up w ith o u t f i n a n c ia l s t r a i n and Which would be a b le to fo llo w the development o f th e new p lay w rig h t making com parisons o f p a s t and p re s e n t e f f o r t s . Through such an audience he f e l t th e th e a tr e could g e t what i t needed f o r th e tr a i n in g o f a r t i s t s .

Be had e n tir e sympa­

thy w ith th e audience made up o f th e g e n eral American pub­ l i c , b u t was convinced t h a t a s p e c ia l audience f o r embryo authors* e f f o r t s was e s s e n t i a l and t h a t any u n iv e r s ity could provide one. The im pact o f many o f th e id ea s expressed in t h i s round t ab le has been r e f l e c t e d In th e p r a c tic e s and p o lic ie s of th e U n iv e rs ity o f Iowa In dram atic a r t ever sin c e I t s occurence,

Mr. Mabie has commented, t h a t to him, t h i s meet­

in g was the. most m eaningful and s a t i s f a c t o r y conference o f

n s

it # sd r t'h e had w w attended*

It# in ta c t can he seen in

Iowa*s la t e r developments * A fter the experiments with c r e a tiv e th eses fo r the m aster's degree in the tw en ties and the f i r s t playw ritin g degree in 193°i Iowa moved along c a u tio u sly .

In 1932 more

m aster1a degrees were given fo r playw riting* and the pro­ gram was feeing watched*

On July 18, 1932 Mr* Mabi© recom­

mended to Dean Seashore a f 1,000 research a sso cla tesh lp fo r Haworth P* Conkle, whom he f e l t presented th© so r t o f back­ ground which would make him a d e sir a b le candidate fo r the doctorate Conkle had both the A. B, and A. M. degrees from ! Hebraska*

His teaching reeord at both th© U n iv ersity of

Delaware a d the U n iv ersity o f North Dakota had been such a# to draw f in e recommendations from th e ir p r e sid e n ts, re­ la tiv e to h is p e r so n a lity , sch o la rsh ip , and manner.

H© had

traveled in Europe on a Guggenheim fello w sh ip in c r e a tiv e work in dramatic a r t.

lie had stu died two years w ith George P ierce

Baker at Y ale, published a volume o f plays and don© further graduate study at Nebraska toward th© d octorate.

With ten

semester hours and the d is s e r ta tio n to complete, h© was pre­ pared to come to Iowa to g e t h is degree in p layw ritin g. Baker had characterized Conkle as o f obviously mature mind, a# a promising playwright and one o f th© most resp on sib le o f hia stu d en ts.

B arrett Clark said Conkle had extraordinary

talen t: as a playw right and a genuine and deep seated in ­ te r e s t In dramatic work.

Some o f h is work had been given

experim ental production and was r e c e iv in g favorable eoneidQ2 ©ration from the Theatre G uild, Conkle and Mr, Mabi© had agreed th a t he was in th© part o f h is ap p renticeship where an appointment a t Iowa by sM eh he could complete h is cou rses, and devote the major portion o f h is time to th© preparation o f h is plays and to experim ental production work would be h e lp fu l to him,

For

h is d is s e r ta t io n , he was to p resen t three o f h is own s c r ip ts teecnapenled by a c r i t i c a l ©valuation o f them, based upon th© r e s u lt s o f th e ir experimental productions, and a c r i t i c a l study of h is own methods o f work as a theatre a r t i s t , ^3 On July 21, 193^t a sim ila r appointment at $$00 was reooimnended fo r Richard Maibaum, who had fo r two and one-half years been a student In the department at Iowa, during which time he had w ritten 12 long p la y s, a l l o f which showed evidence of progress.

One o f h is p la y s, The Tree, ,had

been accepted as h is M, A, th e s is and had received produc­ tio n in New York,

Mr, Mabi© f e l t that appointments o f Mai­

baum and Conkl© were r e s p o n s ib ilit ie s which the U n iversity should assume in ta le n t evalu ation development and g u id a n c e .^ Already the U n iv ersity Theatre was b u sily engaged in exp eri­ mental production o f new plays by esta b lish ed playwrights such as Owen D&vl® and Paul Green,

I t was Mr, Mabi© *s R e lie f th at more work o f t h is so rt should be don© for embryo playw rights and th at such work should b© worthy o f f u l l academic c r e d it at th© high* a»t l e v e l s ,

Th© appointments o f Maibaum and Conkle war© o f

vary c lo s e personal concern to him fo r they represent©! th© Opportunity to e s ta b lis h resp ecta b ly the legitim acy o f c re a tiv e d octoral l e v e l work in dramatic a r t. D irector F itzg era ld and Dean Seashore supported the appointments, degree.

Maibaum did not complete the work fo r th®

In the meantime, he became p r o fe ssio n a lly and f in ­

a n c ia lly w e ll e sta b lish e d in New York and in the motion p ic ­ ture Industry as a w r ite r o f plays and motion p ictu re s c r ip t s . On August 8 , 1935# Dean Seashore wrote to a l l de­ partments which accepted c re a tiv e work fo r th© d is s e r ta tio n to th© e f f e c t that some seemed to f e e l there was a c o n flic t between the id e a l o f th© c r e a tiv e d is s e r ta tio n and th© fa c ­ u lty r u lin g th at a th e sis should b® b r ie f .

In the cre a tiv e

d is s e r ta tio n , he sa id , Iowa was proceeding without precedent, and th erefore must s e t not only precedent but standards which would j u s t if y t h is bold experiment in which they a l l believed#

Fundamental to a conception o f standards was the

p rin cip le that the work o f art should not be merely sporadic e f f o r t , no matter how s u c c e s s fu l, but should be based upon aerious research and a thorough grounding in theory.

This

would make I t c le a r ly commensurate w ith requirements o f th©

328 tr a d itio n a l s o r t , he sa id .

Dramatic Art was s e ttin g a good

p&c©, he thought In req uiring the acceptable experimental production o f plays

m

w e ll as the w ritin g o f them, and in

the

Conkle plays p a tie n t research and foundation in theory were evident By 1936, Conkle had e sta b lish ed the precedent and s e t the standard, and was granted the ph. D, w ith d is t in ­ c tio n fo r c r e a tiv e work In pl&ywriting*

two o f the plays h©

submitted fo r h is d is s e r ta tio n were in page proof and one had been so ld fo r production in Hew fo rk at the time he was granted h is degree • of graduate work,

He had completed 1£8 sem ester hours

md

was ab le to present two published v o l­

umes o f o n e-a ct plays and rep resen tation in ten anth ologies to h is degree committee in add ition to the d is s e r ta tio n ,

The development o f th is d octoral program in crea­ tiv e work in p layw ritln g had been slow and painstaking in the s e le c tio n o f the candidate and the establishm ent o f precedent and standard, but i t was recognized as genuine. Georg© D. Stoddard in a speech given at northwestern Univer­ s it y on A pril 1, 1938 p u b lic ly appraised such e f f o r t s .

In

d iscu ssin g some current is s u e s in graduate work, he stated that Iowa wanted to see young a r t i s t s on the campus; that reco g n itio n o f high achievement in art was in accord w ith ancient c u ltu r a l tr a d itio n , and that in men lik e % bie in

33*0 th e a tr e , Clapp and Muenzer in Music, Engle, Piper and Schramm In c r e a tiv e w r itin g , and Grant Wood in p a in tin g , the U n iv e r sity had men o f high ta le n t and r ic h experien ce, "whose in ta c t upon the mental and productive l i f e o f stu ­ dents i s n ot surpassed by th at of any other group in the U n iversity*H . Iowa graduate students and young s t a f f members are having th e ir plays produced on Broad­ w a y ....B u t when they face the standards committee of seven p r o fe s s o r s ,. . . .none o f thes© a c t i v i t ie s w i l l s u f f ic e to g iv e adequate answers to th© nec­ essary q u estio n s, o ra l and w r itte n , which comprise: th© d octoral exam ination. C reative work simply takes the place o f a research fragment or an ex­ e r c is e in sch o la rsh ip , We do not claim th at crea­ tiv e work Is more appropriate, but only that i t is eq u ally v a lid as an o r ig in a l contrib ution at th© doctoral le v e l* ....T h e Ph. D. flcw ers may bloom as r io to u sly In on© f i e l d as in a n o t h e r . “v Dean Seashore fo r years had led the b a ttle for equal reco g n itio n o f th© c r e a tiv e d is s e r ta tio n at both Iowa and in

other academic c ir c le s *

In 19I4 at the Toronto meeting

o f the American A sso cia tio n o f U n iv e r s itie s , i t was given the unanimous approval o f the Deans o f the Graduate Schools to take the p lace in th©' f i e l d s o f th© humanities and fin® a r ts , o f the Ms o -c a lle d sc h o la r ly p u b lic a tio n ” because i t seemed more "nearly in the s p i r i t o f research than that which sometimes p asses fo r sch olarsh ip in these fie ld s * " ’*'®0 The rec o g n itio n at .Iowa th a t high achievement in a r t i s t i c c r e a tio n was as Important as high achievement in other f i e l d s was c le a r ly demonstrated through the e s ta b lis h ­ ment o f the Bachelor and Master o f Fin© Arts degrees, the crea tiv e program fo r th© Doctor of Philosophy degree and in acceptance o f p r a c tic a l and c re a tiv e work fo r academic c red it w ith in the more standard degree programs of th© Lib­ e ra l Arts and Graduate Colleges*

By 193&* a complete pro­

gram in dramatic art had been e sta b lish ed and was in opera­ tio n at a l l of these le v e ls at the Bt&te U n iversity o f Iowa. B uilding and implementing th is program in to the U n iversity was not a matter o f sim ple adm in istrative d e c is­ ion to do s o .

Gathering o f funds fo r s t a f f , b u ild in g s, re­

search, equipment and a l l o f the d © ta ils necessary for a su cc essfu l program in dramatic art was a d i f f i c u l t struggle* To be e f f e c t iv e an idea must b© implemented and vigorou sly pursued.

Implementation requires funds, and funds for un­

usual programs in education are not always e a s ily found,

p a r tic u la r ly when they ar© needed in abundance and during the depth o f an economic d ep ression .

The School o f

*'lm

Arte was organised in the same month in which th© bottom f e l l out o f the Wall S tr e e t Market*

Within two y ea rs, the

U n iversity o f Iowa was being in v e stig a te d by the Iowa S tate L eg isla tu re,

Banks were c lo sin g and corn was Very cheap.

A s u it o f c lo th e s at $21.50 was an expensive item*

But a

goodly number were s t i l l buying tic k e ts to the U n iversity Theatre fo r $1.00 per performance, and the season tic k e t could s t i l l command a p r ice proportional to pre-depression days.

However, b u ild in g plans fo r a new th eatre and money

for exten sion o f a graduate program In c re a tiv e work and r e s ­ earch did not stim u late much cooperative in te r e s t in l e g i s la t iv e c ir c l e s even w ith the vigorous and respected lead er­ ship o f P resident Walter A* Jessup.

The great bulk o f the

money fo r th ese p r o jec ts had to come from other sou rces, and i t d id . Shortly a fte r P resident Jessup was e le c te d to h is p o s itio n in 1916 h is con tacts with the R ock efeller Foundation and the Carnegie Foundation and Corporation became w e ll e s­ ta b lish ed ,

From that time on, he was in intim ate contact

with the leading fig u res c o n tr o llin g the purse strin g s of these org a n iza tio n s.

These men knew o f h is plans for edu­

cation a t the U n iv ersity o f Iowa and respected them.

They

were w ell acquainted w ith h is id eas for th© fin© arts as

m il

as w ith h is plans fo r m edical e d u c a t i o n ,^

From th®

R o ck efeller Foundation and Carnegie Corporation came much o f th® money to support the b u ild in g and research and crea­ tiv e work programs fo r th e fin e a r ts

on the

Iowa Campus.

E xactly how the contact for the program in Dram­ a tic Art was made w ith the R ock efeller Foundation has not been com pletely found, but i t seems reasonable to assume that the lon g-stan d in g r e la tio n sh ip o f Dr. Jessup was re­ sponsible in great part fo r the i n i t i a l contact as w e ll as much o f the la t e r support which the Foundation saw f i t to g iv e, David H, Steven s, D irector and John M arshall, Asso* ciat© D irector o f the Humanities D iv isio n o f the R ock efeller Foundation wrote a l e t t e r on January 15, 1934- t ° fr o fe ss o r E, C, liable o f Iowa, Frederick Koch o f the U n iversity of lo r th C arolina, Alexander Drummond of Cornell U n iv ersity , Arthur Hobson Quinn of the U n iversity o f fen n sylvan la, and Allardye© H lc o ll of Tale in v itin g them to a conference on Drama in American C olleg ©3 &nd U n iv e r sitie s to

b©

held at

B ellevu e-S tratford H otel In P hilad elp hia on January 20, 21,

1934

*

In part th® l e t t e r read as follo w s? We hope th at t h is d iscu ssio n may center on two points? f i r s t , the e s s e n tia ls fo r s ig n ific a n t work in dramatic com position and production at u n iv e r si­ tie s * and second, the tra in in g needed to develop personnel fo r more e f f e c t iv e teaching in th® second-

ary sch ools and c o lle g e s* . , . Judgment o f the group (to whom the l e t t e r was addressed) w i l l be u se fu l to the o f f ic e r s o f the Foundation in determ ining whether or not a lim ite d program o f work in th is f ie ld is fe a s ib le . Topics fo r d isc u ssio n w i l l , o f cou rse, occur to a l l members o f the group, as a r e s u lt o f th e ir p r a c tic a l exp erien ce. To s t a r t the d isc u ssio n , rath er than to d e fin e i t s gouts®, we propose the fo llo w in g questions? 1 , $hat c o lle g e s and u n iv e r s it ie s have de­ monstrated th at w ritin g and production o f drama In such in s t it u t io n s have reg io n a l or n a tio n a l sig n ific a n c e ?

2 , What p r e sc r ip tio n Can be made fo r devel­ opment o f personnel to meet the demand o f c o lle g e s and secondary schools fo r te a c h e r s and d irecto rs? 3 , In shat way could fin a n c ia l a ssista n c e to s e le c te d in s t it u t io n s over a lim ited period help them to g iv e American Drama a greater region al and n a tio n a l s ig n ific a n c e ?*02 Two thin gs are r e a d ily apparent In th is le tte r *

th® Founda­

tio n was in te r e s te d in ( 1 ) stim u latin g the w ritin g and pro­ duction o f plays on reg io n a l and n a tio n a l themes, and ( 2 ) the development o f teachers and d ir ec to rs fo r th© education­ a l theatre o u tsid e o f the lew York area. At the meeting i t became apparent to Mr. Mabi© that funds would be a v a ila b le to Iowa fo r scholarship s and fe llo w ­ ships fo r playw rights recommended by him fo r " fin ish in g off" tra in in g a t the U n iv ersity o f Iowa.

He a lso received encou­

ragement fo r an id ea he had presented concerning research in voice and speech fo r the th e a tr e .

And b u ild in g plans for

the new th eatre a t Iowa were o f I n te r e s t to th© R ockefeller

people «» w l l * •

others o f the group.

David H. Ste­

vens was to v i s i t the Iowa campus soon and in v e stig a te first-h a n d the Iowa s itu a t io n in th eatre Kooh had receiv ed from the Foundation $7500 fo r operating expenses fo r the current year but h is I n s titu tio n was not w illin g to support h is program.

N ic o ll o f Yale was

doing h is t o r ic a l research* and foresaklng the c r e a tiv e work developed there under George F ierce Bakerj Quinn was doing* without a d m in istrative support* outstanding h is t o r ic a l re* searches In the American th eatre in the East; and Drummond* mho was c lo s e r to the d e sir e s of the Foundation than the others* was spending most o f h is e f f o r t s along c rea tiv e U n a . on th e cm e-act p l a y . 10^ I t appeared to Mr. Mabi® th at o f a l l the plans presented, those a t Iowa were o f the so r t to in te r e s t the Foundation#

Two reasons for th is seemed apparent*

{1} Iowa‘s

adm in istrative set-u p and (2 ) i t s w illin g n e ss to support the program#

The Foundation was In terested in ^pending i t s mon­

ey on the support o f promising young persons w ith ta le n t In playwrifcing rath er than In th© operation o f a production program, which could be supported lo c a lly in the opinion o f the Foundation r e p r e se n ta tiv e s•

Iowa was asked to submit 105 plans fo r th© p r o jec ts i t had in mind. E xtensive plans were under way on the Iowa campus fo r a b u ild in g development fo r the fin e a r ts .

R elative to

%a t h is «nA th® ©oat®, P resident Jessup saint a telegram t© David H. Stevens at h i a r eq u est, o u tlin in g the stop a v a ila b le and how they were earmarked fo r expenditure#

Of

« t o t a l o f $306,000 gathered from various sou rces, $69,000 wa« a v a ila b le fo r th e con stru ctio n o f a new th e a tr e ,

fh©

remainder was to go fo r a graphic and p la s t ic a rts b u ild in g , a scu lp tu re stu d io and e s s e n t ia l se r v ic e s which Included a brid ge.

This telegram , dated March 21, 1934# expressed an

urgent need fo r on a d d itio n a l #25,000 to supplement the theatre a llo c a tio n so as to provide a workshop, $2,500 fo r curriculum study in secondary dramatic a r t education, $3,500 fo r a ssista n c e to th e d ir e c to r o f th® th e a tr e , $1,500 fo r eaperiment&l dramatic productions, and $2,500 fo r a graduate research p r o je c t in v o ice and speech in the th e a tr e .

106

Mr* Mabi© had p rev io u sly and subsequently se n t de­ ta ile d o u tlin e s o f h is needs and plans for the theatre pro­ gram to Dr* Stevens*

They had included item s t o t a llin g

o f which $7,000 was planned fo r a p la y w r ig h ts wing fo r the th eatre and an outdoor th e a tr e , #10,000 fo r secondary education dramatic work, $2,000 fo r research in Stage lig h t in g , $7,50Q fo r development o f r e lig io u s drama, and #7,500 fo r sp e c ia l research in th eatre in clu d in g play* w lg h U n s .107 A telegram from Dr, Stevens to P resident Jessup on A pril 24, 1934 sta te d that formal n o tic e would be sen t r e -

p arting a grant o f #32,500 from the R ock efeller Foundation fo r th e work in dram* a t th© U n iv e r s ity ,100

This sum was

earmarked, $25,000 fo r b u ild in g and equipment o f a workshop fo r th e new th e a tr e , and #7#500 fo r the development o f the department’s work during th e year beginning July 1, 1934. th ree thousand nine hundred tw en ty -fiv e (#3,925) t f the #7,500 was budgeted fo r a ssista n c e to playw rights, $1,800 fo r graduate a s s is ta n ts h ip s In dramatic a rt r e la t iv e to the production o f new m anuscripts, $1,050 fo r research and expenses in dramatic a rt In secondary sch ools in Iowa, and $725 fo r an o b je c tiv e study o f v o ice and speech in the th ea tre.

The major p ortion o f th is money was to go in to

payment o f personnel which would make p o ssib le the con tin ­ uous experim ental production o f new plays on region al themes* 110 l a May o f 1935, &r* Mabie prepared a rep ort on the r e s u lt s o f the expenditures o f the $7,500 grant*

S ix

o r ig in a l plays had been produced and three more were sched­ uled fo r summer production.

These plays represented the

works o f Conkle, V ir g il Geddea, Donald Breed, and Richard Maibaum.

Several o f Conkle*s plays were being published by

Samuel French! Maibaum’s play had been published! Geddea had w ritten a sh ort book o f c r it ic is m and on© o f h is plays was to appear in American Caravan*

Plays by s ix other playwrights

In resid en ce were ready fo r the follow in g season.

Th© money,

he sa id , had been spent fo r p layw righ ts, te c h n ic ia n s, and dlrebborB o f experim ental plays and fo r two p r o jec ts in eeaammlty and c o lle g e th ea tre in Cedar Rapid*«

Other por­

tio n s o f th e money had been spent in th© In v e stig a tio n o f teaching o f dramatic a r t in sm all high schools of under. 150 Students*

Donald W inbigler vho was carrying out th is

p roject as p art o f a d octoral program was v i s i t in g th© schools during th e ir production and reh ea rsa l periods in order to g et an understanding o f the problems.

He was a lso

making con tacts to improve the annual play production f e s t i ­ v a l fo r the high sc h o o ls.

Royalty reduction plans had been

worked out w ith p lay p u b lish ers fo r the high sch ool groups, and plans were worked out to use the U n iv e r sity ’s experi­ mental sch ools l a the p r o ject fo r the follow in g y ear.

Twen­

t y - f iv e records o f the voice and speech in performance of ten actors and a c tr e s se s in the Hew fo rk Theatre had been made and were being analyzed o b je c tiv e ly r e la t iv e to th e ir p itc h . I n te n s ity and time fa c to r s by J* M ilton Cowan as a 111 p roject fo r a d octoral d is s e r ta tio n . Accompanying t h is report was a request fo r $12,500 to continue the work fo r another y ea r.

This request was

Supported by D irector F itzg era ld and P resident Gilmore, who 112 wrote to Dr. Stevens o f th© Foundation to that e f f e c t . I t appears, however, th at th® R ock efeller people were not w e ll convinced o f th® U n iv e r sity ’s s in c e r ity in

supporting a program in dramatic a r t , and wlshod evidence of th® P roaid en t1s w illin g n e s s to continue to emphasise th© 113 program* r During th© f i r s t year U n iv ersity funds amount­ ing to $ 1 ,0 0 0 had been a llo c a te d to pay the production c o sts of the experim ental th ea tre program, and #2,650 a llo c a te d to carry out a summer p ro jec t w ith high school s t u d e n t s . ^ P o lit e ly , on June 3 , 1935* John Marshall addressed a l e t t e r to P resident Eugene A, Gilmore asking fo r inform ation on the phases o f emphasis in P rofessor Mabie's work.^1^ A l e t t e r to the e f f e c t th a t Iowa had emphasised playw riting and production o f experim ental p la y s , but that i t was im possible to bring to the campus the talen ted young playwrights and produce th e ir plays w ith a v a ila b le S tate funds, was se n t to the R ock efeller p eop le•

Because they

b elieved t h is an opportune time fo r dramatic art to become firm ly rooted in American s o i l , Iowa was asking R ockefeller to support t h is program, which i t was im possible to do w ith th© lim ite d funds a v a ila b le from th® S ta te .

Iowa had for

fiv e years encouraged dramatic art in the secondary schools through, th® annual p lay f e s t i v a l , which had en ro lled 505 players in 71 d iffe r e n t c a s ts that year alo n e.

I t was fur­

ther supporting a program in the summer for high school play­ ers in connection w ith the regu lar theatre production and teaching program.

Vole© and speech work at Iowa had mad® a

n ation al rep u tation fo r i t s e l f in connection w ith th© Seashore

j^berabory* th® f a c i l i t i e s o f which were a v a ila b le fo r study la cew neetlon w ith the present th eatre p r o je c ts ,

I t was s ta ­

ted in t h i s l e t t e r th at the U n iv ersity was committed to a d e fin ite p o lic y o f developing a la rg e program, in dramatic art,, but th at i t would, o f co u rse, be im possible to pledge a s ta te beard o f education to a d e f in it e program in regard to any phase o f th e U n iversity*a development, there being too many u n con trollab le f a c t o r s ,

116

Meanwhile Mr, Mabi© had been in New York to die* euss h ie plans p e r so n a lly w ith Dr* S teven s•

He reported

Stevens was concerned about th© a ttitu d e o f the Iowa adminis­ tr a tio n , p a r tic u la r ly that

of

the P resid en t,

He wanted to

see the P resident "pounding h is desk** in support o f the pro***» W gram* The above mentioned l e t t e r and Mr, Mabiets v i s i t and plans o ffer ed some reassurance to the Foundation, and they agreed th at another v i s i t to the campus would be made in order to review what had been done w ith in the p ast year and to go over plans fo r the next two or three y ea rs.

This

pleased P resident Gilmore who wrote back that the adm inistra­ tio n was zealous fo r the program in dramatic a rt and had sup­ ported i t as no other s ta te u n iv e r sity in the country and 118 would continue to do so . The subsequent v i s i t o f th© R ock efeller o f f i c i a l s

%©, the campus and other n e g o tia tio n s r e su lted in a e o n tin nation o f a id to the c r e a tiv e work and research programs and an a d d itio n a l sum fo r con stru ction and equipment o f the new theatre*

This, grant t o t a lle d $ij.O,0GQ o f which #15,000

was to support th© department *s work and #2 5 ,0 0 0 fo r mater­ i a l s needed in th® con stru ction of the new th e a tr e , and was to be expended between October 1 , 1935 and December 31, 1937 This brought the t o t a l of the R ock efeller p a r tic ip a tio n in the Iowa dramatic a r t program to $50,000 fo r a ssista n c e on the new th eatre b u ild in g and $2 2 ,5 0 0 In support o f research ahd c r e a tiv e work* In December o f 193&, Mr*. labi© in it ia t e d a c tio n through the U n iv ersity A dm inistration for a three year ex­ ten sion o f the #7 ,5 0 0 annual grant which had been sta rted in 1 9 3 k * R e q u e s t s were made, but Dr, Stevens o f the Foun­ dation countered w ith the statem ent that before he could pre­ sent the matter to h is board, he would need to have Informa­ tio n p r e d ictin g the amount o f funds from U n iv ersity sources which would a lso go in to support o f the program*

Other good

requests were coming in from other p laces and the Foundation was beginning to f e e l that the U n iversity should begin to take over th® program* P resident Gilmore r e p lie d on March 18, 1937 that of the $2 2 ,5 0 0 needed to carry the program fo r three years beginning January 1 , 1938, the U n iv ersity could be te n ta tiv e ly

341 committed t o $ 4,500, of which f 1,500 would bo a l l o c a t e d the second y e a r of th® g ran t and $4,500 i n th e t h i r d y e a r .

Th®

r e a l i s a t i o n of t h i s sum would to© dependent upon t h e g e n e ro s ity of th® l e g i s l a t u r e f s a p p ro p ria tio n s f o r th® 1937*3© biennium , however.

ipo H® thought the l e g i s l a t u r e would supp ort th© program.

BSr. Stevens delayed p r e s e n tin g the r e q u e s t t o h i s board u n t i l i t s f a l l meeting because he f e l t t h a t i t was ’’unwise1' b e fo re 123 th a t tim e . And i n September 24, 1937 h® wrote to P re sid e n t Gilmore s t a t i n g t h a t he was oblig ed to r e p o r t t h a t th® U niver­ s i t y ' s re q u e s t would not be recommended to the R o c k e fe lle r tru ste e s.

This was due t o t h e i r d e s ir e t o support o th e r worthy

re q u e sts which had been accum ulating and because i t seemed wise to d isc o n tin u e " g e n e ra l support of such work a t your U niver­ s i t y . M They would con tinue to be w illin g t o examine p r o j e c ts th a t did not com© under th e d e s c r i p t io n ofM general support", however?^4 On September 16, 19S6, a n o th e r attem pt was made to secure fu n d s, b ut the U n iv e rs ity a d m in is tr a tio n was d e f i n i t e l y reb u ffed in t h i s a tte m p t. the U n iv e rs ity f o r

Dr. Stevens se v ere ly c r i t i c i z e d

p i l i n g stone upon stone* upon the f a c u lty

of the U n iv e rs ity of Iowa u n t i l 'n o t an o th er stone could be added*"*

The lo ad upon th© f a c u l ty of the Department of

Speech and Dramatic Art was to o g r e a t , he s a i d , and s a l a r i e s too low to allow them s u f f i c i e n t time and funds to accomp­ l i s h t h e i r purp o ses.

The U n iv e r s ity ,

in h i s o pin io n .

34 * d id s e t S e e d m op# b u i l d i n g s

m ent

I n w o r k in g c o n d i t i o n #

Io w a w a s

a

In

p o s itio n *

h e s a id *

M id d le

t h e ir o p p o r tu n itie s

and th e

le a d

to

o p p o r tu n itie s

th e a tr e w ork i n

If it

t h a t h e c o u ld s e e

s a id

it

S te v e n s}

to

fa ile d

d e v e lo p

to

th is get

th e

U n iv e r s ity

and d e te r m in a tio n

T h is w as th e th a n

Iow a p ro g ra m

in

th e se

d e v e lo p m e n t o f

its

t h e U n iv e r ­

e d u c a tio n a l a r ts,

to

In

and

its

new p r o j e c t o t h e r t h a n so m e m o n e y f r o m th © F e d e r ­ d id n o t Im p ress D r. even i f

a d m in is tr a tio n su p p o rt i t s

It

coat

w o u ld s h o w

d r a m a tic a r t

126

end o f R o c k e fe lle r su p p o rt f o r

a fe w g r a n t s - I n - a i d

fo r

I n d iv id u a ls

any­ in

th e

d r a m a tic a r t*

F rom t h i s

it

F o u n d a tio n w as a n x io u s program in

c o u ld

up to

an y new f e a t u r e s

G overnm ent p a r t i c i p a t i o n

p rogram m ore v ig o r o u s ly *

o th e r

th is

th e y

liv e

s u p p o r t o f th ® f i n e

no e v id e n c e o f

# 1 0 0 * 0 0 0 , p r o v id e d

th in g

o f p la n s

t h e F o u n d a t io n w o u ld p a y t h e b i l l

sto r e I n t e r e s t

In

t h e y m e a su r e d up t o

w as im p o r ta n t f o r

th © r e q u e s t f o r

G o v e r n m e n t*

and I f

th e y

t h e h o p e t h a t t h e y m ig h t a l s o

al

im p r o v e ­

sta n d a r d s

w o u ld h a m p e r t h e

p h ilo s o p h y w it h r e f e r e n c e t o

In

set

e x p e c ta tio n s

o f Io w a * e a d m in is t r a t io n

p h ilo s o p h y

needed

a l l o t h e r m id -w e s te r n i n s t i t u t i o n s * ^ *

D r. S te v e n s s ity

to

W e st*

t h e w ay*

and p la n s *

it

and a d v a n cem en t o f s a l a r i e s .

w ork f o r a l l o f t h e

c o n tin u e

a s m uch a s

d r a m a tic

seem s to

e v id e n t th a t

h e lp

th e

R o c k e fe lle r

th e U n iv e r s ity o f

a r t w e ll e s ta b lis h e d

by

Iow a g e t i t s

p o u r in g

la r g e

su m s

of

into

m oney

su p p ort

of

th e

w ork p r o g r a m .

But I t

b e lie v e d

th # U n iv e r s it y

s h o u ld

C arry th e

a n c ia l burden in

o th e r

w ith in s u lts

so

th a t

U n iv e r s ity

p o s itio n

a d m in is tr a tio n

to

le a d

th © a t r e

fo llo w s

d c e to r a te

i;

(1)

th e ir

th e

program , b e c a u se

r e s u lts

o f th is

N in e s t u d e n t s

or p art o f

w ar© a s s i s t e d

th e w ork f o r

in

w h ic h t h e i r

v a r io u s

s u b s id is e d

th e ir

w ork*

w ith th e

re­

th a t th e

p h ilo s o p h y

fo r

th e

a

reason s

fa ilu r e

to

rem oved w en t o n to

c o m p le te

w ith o u t a s s i s t a n c e

fr o m

w ork f o r

th e

b y t h e F o u n d a tio n (2 )

s u b s id ie s

At le a s t

e le v e n

and c o m p le te d g r a d u a te d e­

d id n o t c o m p le te

o r w ere rem o v ed fr o m t h e i r

liv e

up to

th e

c o n d itio n s

At le a s t

tw o o f

th © m a s t e r ’ s d e g r e e

th © F o u n d a t i o n .

reason s*

su p p o rt w ere

a year o f p o st­

Som e f e w w ho s t a r t e d

s u b s id ie s w ere g iv e n .

fo r d is c ip lin a r y

w ork

le a d e r s h ip

R o c k e fe lle r

w ho c o m p l e t e d

g r e e program s u n d er R o c k e fe lle r

a p p o in tm e n ts f o r

fin ­

Iow a w as i n

th ® m a s t e r ’ s p r o g r a m

th © d e g r e e *

th e d eg ree f o r

th is

fu n d s to

a m ore a c t i v e

a t I o w a a n d on© w h o c o n t i n u e d

th r o u g h o u t a l l

sh a re o f

b u t th e y w ere d e s ir o u s

d e v e lo p

d o c to r a l w ork w ere d i r e c t l y

o th e r s

la r g e s t

t h e w ay*

Som e o f

as

o n e® w e l l u n d e r w ay*

T h e a tr e an d w er# p le a s e d

e x p e n d itu r e s ,

In su p p o r t o f t h e

and c r e a t iv e

T hey w ere c o n fid e n t o f t h e

U n iv e r s ity

o f th e ir

th a t*

t h e y m ig h t f r e e

s itu a tio n s *

th e

resea rch

in

under,

th o se th e a tr e

On© w a s d i s m i s s e d

a n d on© w a s f o r c e d

to r e tu r n

hom e

( 3)

because o f hom esickness. under

p la y ® w r i t t e n

f i r s t time* Four o f

as

w e ll

th ® p l a y s

B efore

M arch 1 9 3 7 *

18 lo n g

th © p r o g r a m h a d b e e n p r o d u c e d

as

s e v e r a l program s

w er© p r o d u c e d

of

fo r

th e

s h o r t p la y s *

I n J fe w Y o r k *

and o t h e r s p r o -

/ duced in

th ® F e d e r a l T h e a t r e p r o g r a m *

U n iv e r s itie s

w ere a s k in g f o r

under th e p rogram . a c t p la y s r e v is e d *

at

th a t tim e ,

S om e e s t a b l i s h e d m a n u s c r ip ts

a u th o r s*

w ere w r it t e n stu d e n ts r e s u ltin g fee t h e (5 )

in

s u c h a s M a r tin F la v in *

w it h w o r th y

w ho w e r e n o t i n

sch ool but

w ere r e c e iv in g

so m e

M o s t o f th © p l a y s p r o d u c e d * h o w e v e r * a n d n o n e w ho w e r e n o t I o w a

(tj.) A

a n y s u b s i d y f r o m th © g r a n t *

a d o c to r a l d is s e r ta tio n

stu d y

a n d m uch s t i m u l a t i o n

Io w a s e c o n d a r y s c h o o l d r a m a t ic p r o g r a m w as c o m p le te d *

O ne d o c t o r a l d i s s e r t a t i o n

sp eech in

th ©

th e a tr e

d r a m a tic

c o m p le te d ,

w as c o m p le te d i n

v o ic e

an d tw o m ore w e r e p r o j e c t e d

and

and l a t e r

( 6 ) On© P h * D* I n A m e r ic a n T h e a t r e h i s t o r y

c o m p le te d * on© i n

one-

f u t u r e p r o d u c tio n u n d er th e g r a n t*

by stu d e n t a u th o r s,

r e c e iv e d

of

lo n g p la y s w ere b e in g

o n r e g i o n a l th em es*

a s s is ta n c e .

and

w r itte n

a n d tw o v o l u m e s

N in e

and o th e r p la y w r ig h ts ,

W ere w r i t i n g p l a y s p r o d u c tio n

fo r

c o lle g e s

an d p r o d u c in g p la y s

F ou r lo n g p la y s

h ad b e e n p u b lis h e d *

O th e r

te c h n iq u e

a t le a s t

in

r e la tiv e

p a r t b y th ©

( 7 ) An i m m e a s u r a b l e a m o u n t o f o th e r g r a d u a te th e program *

stu d e n ts

to p lo t a id

w ho w e r e n o t

c o n s tr u c tio n

fr o m

s tim u la tio n a b le

and

t h e F o u n d a tio n *

w as g iv e n to

w ar©

to

p a r tic ip a te

in

( 8 ) # 50,000 o f v e r y s o r e l y n e e d e d f u n d s mad©

p # « * ib le # v e r s ity

in

g r e a t m easu re,

th e

c o m p le tio n

of

th © n e w U n i ­

T h e a tr e b u ild in g .1 ^

S&S IS Ko l a t e r e r a b ly b e f o r e , h o u s in g f o r

t h a n May

th e

fir s t

v e r s ity

e s s o r C h a r le s a th e a tr e w as t o

in c lu d e

C a p a c ity o f o ffic e ,

in

tim e

1 ,0 0 0

to

on,

c o n s ta n tly p r e s e n t In p e r so n n e l c o n n e c te d

w ith

On M ay 2 3 ,

and i t

t r e w o u ld b e g i n a U n iv e r s ity S ta te

1923

w as a g r e e d

s a t i o n w o u ld h e l p b u ild in g ,

th e

w ith

w ith r a k e d

1 ,2 0 0 , fo r

e ig h t

to l i e

of

t h e U n i­

th e

p la n s

room s, b o x P la y e r s *

d o r m a n t*

128

I t w as

o f a d m in is tr a tio n

a m e e tin g every

of

T h e a tr e B u ild in g to

It

and s e a t i n g

d r e s s in g

c o m p le te ly

and

of

th e

U n iv e r s ity

ca m p u s p r o d u c i n g o r g a n i ­

o f $ 2,000 p e r y e a r

w as announced th a t th e f a l l

flo o r

fo r

d r a m a tic a r t p rogram *

at

th a t

B oard o f - E d u c a tio n

P la y e r s

P r o f­

a n ew U n i v e r s i t y T h e a tr ©

th in k in g

on a p le d g e

in

th e

th © U n i v e r s i t y

th e m a tte r o f

b u ild in g w as n o t a llo w e d

F la y e r s , i t

a t a m e e tin g

o n b y cam *

t h e n e w I o w a M e m o r ia l U n io n *

an a u d ito r iu m

fr o m

c a r r ie d

a d e q u a te

t h e hom e o f G le n n X . M e r r y ,

an d a m e e tin g p la c e

F ro m t h i s

d a te ,

H* W e l l e r d i s c u s s e d

to be b u ilt

an d p r o b a b ly c o n s id ­

a rt a c tiv itie s

On t h i s

P la y e r s h e ld a t

1920,

m ove w as m ade t o p r o v id e

t h e d r a m a tic

pus o r g a n is a tio n s *

26 ,

c o n s tr u c tio n

1925>#^^

to w a r d

th©

on th e

th e a ­

On J u n e 2 1 ,

F u a d w as e s t a b l i s h e d

1923

b y th ®

w h i c h w o u ld b e d e p o s i t e d

p r o fits

ftm B t t » ^ e d u c t i o n # o f t h e T h e a t r e , a d a l a a i o n f e e s f o r i t s o v t - o f - to w n p r o d u c t t o n s , a n d l i k e s u m s , w i t h a v ie w to w a r d th * a e e u n u la tio n o f e n o u g h m oney to b u i ld a t h e a t r e . ^ 0 A ft* * * t h * O n i o n w a a o p e n e d i n 1927* i t w a s d e c i d e d t o m o b i l i s e s t u d e n t f o r c e s a n d o t h e r s I n t e r e s t e d i n t h e U n i­ v e r s i t y t o r a i s e fu n d * t o t h a t th * t h e a t r e u n i t i n t h e U n io n 131 e t u l d b© c o n s t r u c t e d * Boyd and M o o r e , a r c h i te c t a f o r th® U n i o n b u i l d i n g , w e r e r e ta in e d to draw th e plana# end in 1928 a brochure o n th ® p lan a and accom plishm ents o f th® T heatre w a a published*

I t w a a e stim a te d t h a t $225#000 would b® need­

ed t o c o m p l e t e th ® th e a tr e u n it# which sum i t was In ten d ed s h o u l d c o m e f r o m g i f t s o f stu d e n ts# fa c u lty # alumni and f r i e n d s o f th ® T h ea tre and from th e sal® o f bonds J u s t i f i e d by th ® i n c o m e o f th® t h e a t r e . ^ 2 Th® stag® was to have a f l o o r

f e e t wide and

$& f o o t deep and a g r id ir o n h e ig h t o f ?0 foot*

T w enty-five

rows o f seat® In an unbroken t i e r from f r o n t to back w ith a l l p a r t s o f th® stag® v i s i b l e from every s e a t and a u d ib il­ i t y g u a ra n tee d were to have been provided*

The p la n in c lu ­

ded d re s s in g rooms# shops# g ree n room# sto ra g e space# o f f i c e s , lounges# a s tu d io th e a tre # o r c h e s tr a p i t and o th e r u s e fu l fe a tu re s *

A is le s were to be e lim in a te d by having s ix p o r t -

lo s s on e i t h e r s id e o f th e a u d ito riu m through which th e aud­ ien ce could f in d i t s way to i t s se ats*

This would p re v e n t

th e lo s s o f v a lu a b le s e a tin g apace in th® c e n te r p o rtio n s o f

th e a u d ito r iu m Seat

mm

a n d m ake s e a t s

w ere to

a p a r t th a n

in

have been

and e x it®

sp aced

ty p ic a l th e a tr e s ,

room a n d e a s i e r

p assage.

12 to

l6

In ch es fa r th e r

th u s a llo w in g f o r m ore l e g

W hat# a t

th a t tim e ,

b e e n m odern s t a g e

lig h tin g

c lu d e d

o th e r m odern f e a t u r e s

as w e ll as

m ore a c c e s s i b l e *

fa c ilitie s

w ere

w o u ld h a v e

to

of

have b een in ­

s t a g e m a c h in e r y

and e q u ip m e n t .* ^ On M a r c h 2 7 , U n io n f o r r e s u lte d

a d in n e r t o in

p le d g e s

1 9 2 8 , i|DO s t u d e n t s

la u n c h a m oney r a i s i n g

o f o v e r # 5 0 ,0 0 0 .

l a u n c h e d On O c t o b e r 1 0 , at le a s t

$ 2 0 ,0 0 0

in

p le d g e s

so

th a t

n e t fo r th c o m in g , h o w e v e r , f o r be sta r te d

p r e s s io n e c u tin g

in

1929

f o r som e t im e .

c o n s tr u c tio n

a d d i-

su m s w e r e of

th e b u ild ­

The o n s la u g h t o f t h e to

de­

th e d e la y i n

ex­

th e

d e te r m in a tio n

to

co n str u c t a th e a tr e

w as

c o n s id e r a tio n s

of

th e d e p a r tm e n t h e e d

and

th e a d m in is tr a tio n * in

F o r e x a m p l e , M r. M a b ie * s t r i p

January o f

th e R o c k e fe lle r

fo r

S u ffic ie n t

fo r

th e p la n s .

never ou t o f

w ith

w a s h o p e d w o u ld n e t

u n d o u b te d ly c o n t r ib u t e d

B ut th e

a d e lp h ia

th e

c a m p a ig n w h i c h

a bond is s u e

13&

th e

in

A se c o n d d r iv e w as

1 9 2 8 w h ic h i t

t i o n a l a m o u n ts c o u ld b e f l o a t e d .

in g t o

g a th ered

1 9 3 ^ f®** h i s

p e o p le w as e x te n d e d

t h e a t r e b u i l d i n g m en r e l a t i v e t h e new t h e a t r e * " ^

to

P h il­

i n i t i a l m e e tin g w it h to to

New Y o r k t o m a te r ia ls

c o n s u lt

and p la n s

M r. M a b ie a n d t h e n e w a r c h i t e c t s

B* C . S a n d b e r g a n d G e o r g e H o r n e r mad© a t r i p

to

C h ic a g o

on

34 $ May l V ,

1 9 3 4 t © e x a m i n e l e g i t i m a t e ,t h e a t r e p

in fo r m a tio n p la n a

fo r

end id e a s

th e

w h ic h w o u ld h e l p

th e a tr e ,

in

in

o f new b u ild in g s U n io n , th is

The s t a t e

1932 ao th a t

th e

and th e

of

th e

and r e c la im e d . As w as s t a t e d

f o r b u ild in g s th e U n iv e r s it y # 3 0 6 ,0 0 0 , g ift

of

to

in c lu d in g ,

lo c a te

a l l , 1^

t h e F in e A r ts g ro u p its

p r e se n t lo c a tio n

in

c h a p te r ,

193V *

th is

th is

th e fu n d s A r ts

and

w hat had b een c o n tr ib u tio n s

# V ® #°00 w a s d o r m it o r y e a r n i n g s ,

e r a l P* W* A« g r a n t * su m w a s a l l o c a t e d

to

S ix ty -n in e th e b u ild in g

su m , # 1 0 0 ,0 0 0 w as a

# 7 ^ ,0 0 0 w as fr o m o t h e r g i f t s ,

tr e !

sh o p *

It

f o r G r a p h ic a n d P l a s t i c

C o r p o r a tio n !

and o th e r

th e

th e

la n d w as # 3 5 ,9 0 0 # ^ ®

d r iv e s

to

p r o je c t

o f th is

tio n

#25, 000

a r ts

T h e a t r e w e r e a c c u m u la t e d a n d a m o u n te d t o

s u p p o s e d ly ,

tim e ,

fin e

sw am p a n d d u m p in g g r o u n d s w a s

p r e v io u s ly

and s e r v ic e s

C a r n e g ie

at th is

th e

a c q u ir e

The c o s t

a s o f M arch 2 1 ,

th e

la n d n o r th o f

c o n n e c te d w ith

Iow a R iv e r i n

la n d w h ic h h a d b e e n

p u rch a sed

fin a l

p la n n e d c o n d e m n a tio n p r o c e e d in g s a g a i n s t

P la n s w e r e c h a n g e d t o s id e

d r a w in g t h e

e n tir e

c o u ld b e p h y s ic a lly

p r o p e r t y , b u t w ere u n a b le

on th e w e t

and o b t a in

136

An a t t e m p t w a s m ade t o a c q u i r e U n io n b u i l d i n g

th e r e

r e a lis e d fo r

on th e

th e U n iv e r s it y T hea­

and # 9 2 ,0 0 0 w as a F ed ­

th o u sa n d

( # 6 9 ,0 0 0 )

o f a th e a tr e *

139

t h e R o c k e f e l l e r F o u n d a tio n a d d ed i t s su m f o r

th e

s u b s c r ip ­

c o n s tr u c tio n

o f th ©

o f th is T hen, fir s t

th e a tr e

work­

l a A p ril o f 193V* © t o t a l o f #9V#000 was a v a ila b le for th ea tre c o n str u c tio n , and th® estim ate fo r i t s c o st was se t a t #100,000*

Bids fo r th® b u ild in g were opened on Oct­

ober 9 , 193 W

amounted to a t o t a l o f $ 121 , OGG. 3^ 5

Obviously, the d is p a r ity between $9V,OO0 and #121,000 made the beginning o f c o n stru ctio n im p ossib le.

I t was necessary

to fin d more funds or d iscon tin u e the p r o j e c t .^ I t was decided to attempt to get more funds from the government.

The PWA grant fo r the Fine Arts Group at

Iowa had been based upon 85 percent o f the estim ated c o o t. Shortly a f t e r t h is grant had been approved* the Federal gov­ ernment had auth orised PWA grants fo r other p r o jec ts based upon 100 percent o f the estim ated c o s t.

I f the U n iv ersity

could g e t the PWA people to reconsid er t h is gran t, i t might be p o s sib le to g e t an a d d itio n a l #17,000 toward the th eatre lk 2 p r o jec t. The attempt was made, but the government d is ­ approved the req u est.

Other attem pts were made to g e t addi­

tio n a l grants from th© R ock efeller and Oarnegl© p eop le, but i )i 1

they, too were not s u c c e s s fu l. ^

A ccordingly, the th eatre b u ild in g committee went to work on plans to reduce th® c o s ts o f the th eatre b u ild ­ ing p r o je c t.

Some con sid eration was given to returning th©

bid checks to the contractors on December 3, 193^*

George

T, Baker o f the S ta te Board o f Education and P resident G ilmore both favored t ills procedure.

But George Horner, the

a r c h ite c t, and Hi H» l^ltagerald thought they should d iscu ss with the oon traetore th® p o s s i b i l i t y o f reductions on c e r ta in ©oats.

I t was a ls o discovered* a t th is m eeting, that #6,000

in te r e s t ®a th® Ranney g i f t would be a v a ila b le in time to be used on t h is p r o je c t.

Perhaps, t h is would h e lp ,1^

2?he fo llo w in g day, December

Ij.,

193i{,, Georg© Horner,

W. H. Cobb, th® U n iv e r sity B usiness Manager, and Mr. Mabie and Mr. Fifeagerald mat w ith the general contractor and suc­ ceeded l a g e ttin g h is agreement to over $9 ,0 0 0 in contract red u ction s.

Mr. Horner was to see the other contractors

about red uction s on c e r ta in items under th e ir ju r is d ic tio n , and Mr. Cobb volunteered th at #2,500 estim ated fo r grading around the b u ild in g could be elim inated fo r a tim e, also* These reductions and th® a d d ition o f the Ranney in t e r e s t S t i l l l e f t a shortage o f about #7,000 needed in order to l e t c o n tr a c ts. Mr. Oobb wrote to P resident Gilmore recommending that th e Board o f Education a llo c a te $7,000 from the general operating fund o f th© U n iv ersity so that th© p ro jec t could move ahead.

This was done and there was now $102,625.18

a v a ila b le fo r the con stru ction o f th e th e a tr e .

Contracts

were l e t fo r $96,115 which Included only th e .p ilin g contract for general w iring o f th© b u ild in g , There was s t i l l no p ro v isio n made fo r heating equipment, a se r v ic e tu n n el, plumbing, p a r titio n w alls In

the basement, p la s te r in g , flo o r f in is h in g , e le c t r ic a l wir­ ing* f ix t u r e s , v e n t ila t in g equipment.

A ll o f these item®

had been elim in a ted on b id s received in order to make i t p o ssib le to l e t any c o n tr a c ts.

In a d d itio n , I t had been

aeeeasary to e lim in a te a s e c tio n o f the b u ild in g i^O*

x

6 o>

in s iz e which had been planned fo r the sta g e c r a ft workshop.*^ The #25,000 grant which the R o ck efeller Foundation had contributed was made s p e c i f ic a ll y fo r th© con stru ction ©f a workshop fo r the b u ild in g ,

The elim in a tio n o f th is

wing, from the b u ild in g then made I t questionable as to whether the money was being used fo r the purpose s p e c if ie d . Ground had been broken fo r the b u ild in g on February 28, 1935, and on A pril 12, 193? Dr. Stevens o f the Foundation asked ' President Gilmore fo r d e t a ils to show th a t the con d ition s o f the grant were being f u l f i l l e d ,

He did not w ish to have any

d i f f i c u l t qu estion s to answer for to h is board, Mr. Mabie wrote Stevens on A pril 19, 1935 show­ ing th at whereas the North wing o f the b u ild in g had been elim in ated , the 1*2 '

x l$x s e c tio n

o f the b u ild in g adjoining

the north end o f th© stage area would serve the double pur­ pose o f shop and space fo r s h iftin g devices for th© sta g e . I t was estim ated that t h is space would b© used fo r shop work nin ety-fiv© percent o f the tim e.

Also th® basement flo o r

©f t h is s e c tio n was to house design and costume classroom® and shop®,

Dr. Stevens agreed these fa c ts met the condition®

o f th© g ra n t, and a l l q u estion s o f the p o s sib le lo s s o f th® $ 25#000 ware removed. S t i l l no p r o v isio n had been mad© to equip the building*

S e a tin g , lig h t in g c o n tro l hoard, the revolvin g

sta g e , fu rn ish in g s and f ix t u r e s , grid iro n and couterw eight system, cyclorama and many other item s would have to be purchased and paid fo r .

In August o f 1935 Mr, Mabie i n i t ­

ia ted a c tio n to g e t more funds from the R ock efeller people for th is purpose.

Dr. Stevens had suggested to him th at the

Foundation might h e lp , which they did by providing an add­ it io n a l $25,000.

This brought the amount o f money a v a ila b le

for the con stru ctio n and equipment o f the b u ild in g to #13^,600*

Other item s were s t i l l needed, and were pro­

vided by the U n iv ersity as time went on u n t i l, by March 1, 1936 , the c o s ts fo r b u ild in g and equiping th© th eatre had

come to $ 1 7 6 ,^ 8 3 .

Of th is l a s t amount, $50,000 had been

provided by the R o ck efeller Foundation, $56,900 by other g i f t s and g ra n ts, ^27,600 by the Federal Works Administra151 tio n , and $ a » 982 from s ta t e funds. For th is money, a b u ild in g was provided with a ,» 1^77 se a t auditorium , a stage

l\2 f e e t

deep by 55 f e e t wide

adjoining a workshop area 1*2* x 75 ** The stage and work­ shop adjoined so as to provide an unbroken flo o r area o f i|2* x 130 1 .

The b u ild in g contained a fo y er, lobby, lounge

two checkrooms, two d ressin g rooms, b o x -o ffic e , two public

1

vtilhvooaSi ©. d esign ''Classroom and workshop, a dye room'and ft OMbiffli shop*

space under th© sta g e , one sm all room and

semi© a d d itio n a l space under the auditorium flo o r could be used fo r starage*

A lig h tin g co n tra ! board room, p r o jec tio n

room, And sm all organ l o f t and two sm all storage rooms were provided at the roar o f the auditorium .

Of se a ts

The seventeen rows

were arranged in s in g le t i e r unbroken by a i s l e s and

with p len ty o f leg-room between*

Access to the auditorium

for the audience was by 3 archways on e ith e r s id e , each fed by a separate ramp or stairw ay from the lobby#

An e le c ­

tron ic c o n tro l board w ith I4.S in d iv id u a l reactan ce-type dimmers, in d iv id u a l, group master and grand master co n tro l was provided.

This co n tro l board was wired to an In ter-co n -

meeting p a n el, which made p o s sib le th© connection o f any o f the 100 sta g e lig h tin g o u tle ts to any o f the I4.8 dimmers# This provided extrem ely f l e x ib le use fo r the board*

A mov­

a b le , s t e e l lig h t bridge was located Just to the upstage sid e o f th e proscenium arch#

A grid iron and counterweight

system f i t t e d w ith 18 s e t s o f lin e s was provided.

There was

a revolvin g sta g e flo o r 36 f e e t in diam eter, and a c lo th horseshoe shaped sky cyclorama e n c ir c le d the e n tir e s ta g e . These were some o f the p r in c ip a l fea tu res o f the new th eatre as o f March o f 193$ • In June o f I 9 I4I , plans were mad© to add th© present north shop wing to the b u ild in g , which now houses th© costume

a *>£

and scene sh ops« Funds used fo r t h is co n stru ctio n were $12, 000 o f accumulated surplus In th© U n iv ersity Theatre Operating Account and $13*000 o f accumulated in te r e s t from th© Mark B&nney Memorial Fund,

This added $25,000 to th©

cost o f tb© th ea tre p la n t making the t o t a l com© to apx>rox1t o im ately $201,500« Mr, Mabie 1ms r e c e n tly sta te d th at th© investm ent in the b u ild in g , i t s se r v ic e s and equipment to date have amounted to a t o t a l o f n early

0 ,0 0 0 ,

Plans which were p rojected b e fo re , during and sh ortly a fte r th© b u ild in g o f th© Hew U n iv ersity Theatre in ­ cluded a wing to the south o f approximately th© sarn® s iz e and e x te r io r shape as the p resen t north wing, and an ad d ition to th© west*

These wer© to house a sm all experim ental thea­

tre for th© p la yw rltln g work, seminar and classroom s, re­ hearsal sp a ces, lib r a r y , o ffic e s ,* * ^

There have been addi­

tio n a l plans fo r a separate b u ild in g which would be an op­ eratin g r o p lic a o f a Shakespearean th e a tre , and fo r an out­ door

th eatre o f a m odified

Greek

t y p e ,

*^3

s t i l l held th at th ese ad d ition s can b® mad©.

^h© hop© Is Lack o f c la s s ­

room, reh earsal space and a sm all experimental and stu dio theatre have mad© working con d ition s d i f f i c u l t in recen t y ea rs• This b r ie f summary o f the con stru ction o f the U n iv ersity Theatre b u ild in g barely .suggest© some o f th© problems Involved in securing funds.

L it t le has been sa id

©f th©, d etail© ©f th© s t r u g g l e t o g e t s u f f i c i e n t funds to give th e U n iv e r s ity T h ea tre a p la n t which would c o n ta in the minimum neo essary f e a t u r e s f o r carrying; f o r t h a modern and complete program i n dram atic a r t education*

Th©

u t i l i t a r i a n a sp e c t of the design of th© t h e a t r e b u ild in g was probably th e prime c o n s id e r a tio n i n terms o f i t s con­ stru c tio n •

I t had t o be more th an an aud ito riu m f o r s e a t i n g

an audience*

As an e d u c a tio n a l t h e a t r e , I t had to be

f u n c tio n a l i n terms of tea ch in g and exp erim en tatio n In dramatic a rt*

With th e d i f f i c u l t i e s In f i ding s u f f i c i e n t

funds t o c o n s t r u c t th e new U n iv e rs ity T h e a tr e , came th e problem of i t s d e sig n and equipment#

How f a r could the

funds a v a i l a b l e be s t r e tc h e d toward g e t t i n g the i d e a l edu­ c a tio n a l and community t h e a t r e p la n t?

This q u e stio n appears

to have boon answered in terms of u t i l i t y In almost every ©ass i n th e c o n s tr u c tio n of the U n iv e rs ity Theatre*

F lex­

i b i l i t y of use of th e working spaces and equipment aupers e d e d 'd e t a i l s of d e c o ra tio n and e la b o ra te a r c h i t e c t u r e and c o n s id e r a tio n s f o r th e audience or b o x - o ffic e which had no re g a r d f o r th© fu n c tio n s of tea ch in g and p rodu ction of the play* ^With th e funds a v a i la b l e f o r the c o n s tru c tio n of th® t h e a t r e , many s a c r i f i c e s i n n o n - u t i l i t a r i a n d e t a i l s were made i n o rd e r to p re se rv e f e a tu r e s which were necess&py to make I t a f u n c t i o n a l p l a n t .

Concrete re p la c e d t e r r a z o

til® f o r th® f l o o r s ; ] p l a s t a r i n g and plumbing was delayed; items whioh could se rv e only one purpose were o fte n s a c r i f ­ ice d f o r th o se which could serve twoj/^some p a r t i t i o n s were 154 e lim in a te d .) C o n stru c tio n techniques wore m odified to get th® most b u ild in g a t th e l e a s t c o s t , and a t the same time w ithout s a c r i f i c i n g to o much in terms of q u a l i t y .

It

appears t o be a f a c t t h a t i n the planning and c o n s tr u c tio n of th® Iowa t h e a t r e , money was made to fu n c tio n up to i t s capaolty i n terms of p ro v id in g space and equipment which eould f u n c tio n .

The new t h e a t r e appears t o be g e n e ra lly

regarded by t h e a t r e fo lk and audiences a lik e as one of th e f in e s t examples of modern t h e a t r e a r c h i t e c t u r e i n the U nited S ta te s .

I t s p lan s and the b u ild in g i t s e l f have been s tu d ie d

and admired by e d u c a tio n a l t h e a t r e le a d e rs and t h e a tr e b u ild e rs and a r c h i t e c t s from a l l p a r t s of the United S t a te s 155 and many f o re ig n c o u n t r i e s . 156

Space and equipment During the p e rio d 1929-1950,

the dram atic a r t

a c t i v i t i e s of th e Department of Speech and Dramatic Art have u t i l i z e d th© follow ing spaces; 1.

MacBrid© Auditorium was the main producing

space u n t i l th© Dramatic Art B uilding (New U n iv e rs ity T heatre } was completed In 1936. 2.

The s t a g e c r a f t shop north of the Law B uilding

was s t i l l i n u s e , but supplemented by an o ld Church on th e corner of Iowa Avenue and C lin to n S t r e e t ,

I n 1933 most of

the shop f a c i l i t i e s were moved i n t o Old North H a ll which had p r e v io u s ly housed th e Home Economics departm ent.

The

©Id shop n o r th of t h e Law B uilding then became a s to ra g e space f o r t h e a t r e equipment and was t o r n down In r e c e n t y e a rs. 3.

The s t u d i o t h e a t r e contin ued i n o p e ra tio n in

the basement of the Union u n t i l November of 1933 when I t , to o , was moved to Old North H a ll.

I t remained In o p e ra tio n i n t h i s

b uilding u n t i l a f t e r th e completion of th e shop wing on th e New T heatre i n th e y e a r 1941-42.

Since th a t time th e r e has

been no apace f o r a s tu d io t h e a t r e , except f o r temporary f a c i l i t i e s i n th e Green Hoorn of th e new t h e a t r e b u ild in g . 4.

I n the summer of 1941, a sta g e was b u i l t on

the grounds of the Lakeside Laboratory a t Lake Oklboji with

a view toward summer p ro d u ctio n company being lo c a te d t h e r e . I t was used some In t h a t season, and plans a re underway f o r its rea ctiv atio n .

The i n t e r r u p t i o n s by the war and o th er

problems of the post-w ar e ra have prevented i t s f u r t h e r use and development u n t i l t h i s tim e. 5.

The Dramatic Art B u ild in g , or the new Univer­

s ity T h e a tre , was d e d ic a te d on November 7, 1936 w ith a 157 production of L.P. Conklef s Two Hundred ffere Chosen. Since 1936, i t has been the main producing space of the Department

Of Speech and Dramatic Art and has housed a l l shop f a c i l i t i e s . 6.

During th e p a s t seaso n, th e t e l e v i s i o n

f a c i l i t i e s of WOC-TV, Davenport, Iowa have been a t the d isp o sa l of th e U n iv e r s ity T h eatre a t two week i n t e r v a l s f o r the p ro d u ctio n of t e l e v i s i o n p la y s . The space p ro v id ed In Old North H all was extremely u s e f u l.

On th e main f l o o r of the b u ild in g were two very

larg e rooms which provided shop, classroom and r e h e a r s a l space.

One of th e s e rooms was f r e q u e n tly used f o r arena

s t y l e p ro d u ctio n s of p l a y s .

Two rooms s u i t a b l e f o r o f f i c e s

were a ls o l o c a te d on t h i s f l o o r .

The second s to r y of th e

bu ild in g c o n s is te d of a sm all au ditoriu m with sm all stage and some d re s sin g room space.

Another la rg e room on t h i s

f lo o r was s u i t a b l e fo r classroom and r e h e a r s a l space.

There

was a ls o some space fo r scenery and p ro p erty sto ra g e on t h i s flo o r. C o n siste n t improvements were made in equipment during th e p e rio d i n a l l of th e s e sp aces.

The larg;est item

of ex pend itu re f o r equipment u n t i l the new t h e a t r e b u ild in g was completed appears t o have been

m or more hour®, depending upon the n a tu re or th® p r o j e c t being c a r r i e d out by the student*

I t has been open only

to advanced s tu d e n ts i n d ic a t i n g a c e r t a i n m atu rity and t a l e n t , and has always been ta u g h t by Mr. Mable w ith the a s s i s t a n c e of c e r t a i n o th e r s t a f f members and v i s i t i n g playw rig hts and c r i t i c s of d i s t i n c t i o n . 2.

Another course f o r l e s s mature people i n

t h i s f i e l d has been o f fe r e d f a i r l y r e g u l a r ly sin ce 1936-37* I t has been v a rio u s ly t i t l e d 197,198 Theory of Dramatic Art * Elementary Dramatic Technique. Experimental T h e a tre : F i r s t C oursef and has r e c e n tly u t i l i z e d th e numbers 175,176. This has been a th re e sem ester hour course and has been open to th© r e l a t i v e l y beginning stu d e n t in w r itin g . Within th© p a st year work In th e f i e l d of ISxperlmental T heatre a t Iowa has branched I n to the f i e l d of t e l e v i s i o n b oth i n p rod uction and in w r i t in g .

F u rth e r

developments w i l l probably take p lace In t h i s f i e l d . The p la n of th© seminar has been f l e x i b l e and included p ro d u ctio n as w ell as w r itin g .

Students whose

i n t e r e s t i s In p la y w ritin g may be re q u ire d t o work i n other a sp ec ts of the f i e l d in order t o c a rr y out th© program and b o l s t e r t h e i r background i n th e a r t s and c r a f t s of th© t h e a tr e which w i l l c o n tr ib u te to t h e i r development as w r i t e r s . I t has been c o nsidered im portant fo r th© w r ite r t o know in d e t a i l th© requirem ents of a l l a sp ec ts of th@ medium fo r

shioh he was w r i t in g . Cinematography and T e le v isio n I n the summer of 1930 a course Cinematography which o f f e r e d WA survey of motion p ic tu r e in d u s try and d isc u s s io n of c u r r e n t problems of motion and sound f i lm s ’* was tau g h t by 1VR. MacDonald from th e U n iv e rs ity of Southern C a li f o r n ia .

Ho f u r t h e r work i n t h i s area appears t o have

been done u n t i l 1941-42 when P ro fe sso rs Mabie, Sellman, and le e Cochran of th e U n iv e rs ity Extension D ivision o ffe re d a course c a l l e d 168 Stag© D lreo tio n fo r Cinema. T h is, to o , app aren tly was sh o rt l i v e d .

In 1944-45, 173 Cinematographic

was in tro d u c e d again and has been o ffe re d f a i r l y r e g u la r ly since t h a t tim e.

Within the p a s t y e a r , the developments

of o p p o r tu n itie s f o r t e l e v i s i o n p roduction a t WOC-TV have added new impetus to the c o u rse, and i t Is a p p aren tly hoped th a t s i g n i f i c a n t developments In b o th t e l e v i s i o n and cinema can b© made w ith in th e near f u t u r e .

C redit fo r t h i s work

has g e n e ra lly been th re e sem ester ho u rs. Community T heatre A ll th© work in th e U n iv e rsity T heatre and the dramatic a r t curriculum i s , in a p o s itiv e sen se, community th e a tr e work.

The concept of t h e a t r e a t Iowa has always

been one of th© t h e a t r e as a s o c i a l in s titu tio n im portant in the c u l t u r a l , r e c r e a t i o n a l , I n t e l l e c t u a l and emotional l i f e of th e mass of p eo p le.

The T heatre a t Iowa has

fu n ctio n ed as a community playhouse as w ell as a te a c h in g la b o r a to r y .

T h e re fo re , i t seems l o g i c a l to assume th a t

the concept of community se rv ic e has t o a la rg e e x te n t permeated th e e n t i r e tea ch in g program,

however, only sin ce

the summer s e s s io n of 1940 have s p e c i f i c o ffe r in g s having to do w ith th e a d m i n i s t r a t io n , o p e ra tio n , and a c t i v i t i e s of the community t h e a t r e as an i n s t i t u t i o n been o ff e re d . The f i r s t course at,Io w a of t h i s s o r t was 157 Community T h ea tre A d m in istra tio n o f f e r e d by Thomas Wood Stevens and E#c . Mabie i n the summer of 1940.

Since t h a t

time courses such as t h i s and Dramatic A c t i v i t i e s in Com­ munity L i f e , and Community T heatre Operation have been o ffe re d more or l e s s r e g u l a r l y .

C re d it in th ese various

courses has v a r ie d from two t o e ig h t sem ester h o u rs.

It

has been s t r e s s e d more f re q u e n tly Ira summer se ssio n s because ©f the a v a i l a b i l i t y of lead ing community t h e a t r e adm inis­ t r a t o r s and d i r e c t o r s such as F re d e ric McConnell, T.W. S tev ens, Theodor© Vlehman and Gregory Foley.

Mr. Foley

has w ith in th e p a s t y e a r become a r e g u l a r member of th e s t a f f and w i l l continue to te a c h t h i s work.

Courses

o ffe re d a t Iowa i n t h i s f i e l d have s t r e s s e d c o n s id e ra tio n of the permanently organized community th eatres* p o l i c i e s , o rg a n iz a tio n p la n s , program, c r e a t i v e p r o j e c t s , fin an ce and p u b lic r e l a t i o n s .

C o n sid e ratio n has been given to

the

fu n c tio n of th e t h e a t r e on th© playground. In th e p la y ­ house and i n the a r t i s t i c and s o c i a l l i f e of the community. The a c t u a l p r a c t i c a l o p e ra tio n of th e Uni Ve r a i t y T heatre as a summer t h e a t r e p r o je c t f o r the group e n r o l l e d has been c a r r ie d out on s e v e r a l o c c a sio n s, w ith those r e g i s t e r e d i n the course doing most of the p ro d u ctio n work of the summer program under th e su p e rv is io n of the s t a f f .

S tudents

r e g i s t e r i n g f o r t h i s course have u s u a lly on th e s e occasions c a r r ie d no o th er c la s s e s i n th© U n iv e rs ity . One of th© c h ie f reasons f o r th e community t h e a t r e courses In th© Iowa t h e a t r e curriculum has been to prepare B.f.A . and M.F.A. can didates to provide e n lig h te n e d le a d e r ­ ship f o r th© community t h e a t r e s in which many of them w i l l work, History and A p p re ciatio n As has been I n d ic a te d above, p a rt of th e respon­ s i b i l i t y of such beginning courses in the Iowa curriculum as the in tr o d u c to r y t h e a tr e survey and dramatic production courses has been to provide some inform ation to the stu d e n t oh the h i s t o r y and l i t e r a t u r e of th© t h e a t r e . in p a r t , t o t h i s a r e a .

Those belong,

A v a r ie ty of mor© comprehensive or

advanced courses in s p e c i a l f i e l d s has been o ffe re d a t I oca during th© p e rio d under c o n s id e r a tio n .

This m a te r ia l o ffe re d

w ithin th e department has been co nsiderably b o l s t e o d by the

offering® in dram atic l i t e r a t u r e and h i s t o r y g iv en i n the English and o th e r language departm ents and the Department of History*

The f a c i l i t y w ith which departm ental l i n e s could be

crossed and the c o o p e ra tio n of th e s e o th e r departments in advising and i n s t r u c t i n g s tu d e n ts In dram atic a r t has made extensive d u p l ic a t i o n of course c o n te n t and s t a f f unnecessary* The stu d e n t has been a b le to get not only th© s p e c i f i c courses h® needed but a b ro ad e r poin t of view* 1*

A g e n e ra l co u rse, 161, 162 H isto ry of th e

Theatre has been o ffe re d r e g u l a r ly in th® Department of Speech and Dramatic Art sine© 1930-31 w ith th© excep tio n of th re e y e a rs , 1933-34 through 1935-36*

This course has d e a lt with

the development of th e t h e a t r e as an i n s t i t u t i o n and empha­ siz ed those a s p e c ts of s p e c ia l i n t e r e s t t o p la y e rs and d ire c to rs.

In r e c e n t y e a rs I t has emphasized s o c i a l , l i t e r a r y

and a r t i s t i c developments of the perio d s co n sid ere d .

At has

been a th r e e sem ester hour course o ff e r e d throughout the y e a r . 2*

Since the In tr o d u c tio n of the new curriculum

In L ib e ra l Arts In 1944, th e department has fre q u e n tly o f f e r e d 11*141, 142, H isto ry and A p p re ciatio n of th e T heatre as one of the core course o f f e r in g s i n th© h i s t o r i c a l and c u l t u r a l s tu d ie s s e c t i o n .

This has been a fo ur sem ester hour course

o ffe re d throughout th© y e a r t o stu d e n ts not majoring in th e departm ent• 3.

During th© p e rio d previous to th e one under

389 e o n a id a ra tlo n c o u rses in th® development of the American Theatr® were o f f e r e d quit© r e g u l a r ly a t advanced and graduate le v e ls *

This p r a c t i c e was contin u ed and b o l s t e r e d

a f t e r the fo rm atio n of th© School of Fine A rts u n t i l , during the war y e a r s , a s h i f t i n p e rso n n el caused i t s temporary 109 abandonment. M t h i n th e p a s t th r e e y e a r s , co urses in t h i s area have been r e i n s ta te d * A g radu ate course v a rio u s ly t i t l e d Development ef the Amerioan S t a g e . Development of American T h e a tre , Re­ search in Amerloan T h e a t r i c a l H isto ry and u t i l i z i n g numbers SOS,804 has been o f fe r e d from 1931-32 u n t i l 1943-44.

This

course has v a rie d from two to f iv e hours. An advanced course 171,172 Development of the Amerloan T h eatre has been o ffe re d i n t e r m i t t e n t l y sin c e 1939-40, fo r th r e e se m este r hours c re d it* 4*

A graduate course 205,206 Contemporary Move­

ments i n the T h ea tre has been o ffe re d o c c a sio n a lly since 1939. The p a t t e r n of a h i s t o r y and a p p r e c ia tio n course or re s e a rc h course i n contemporary t h e a t r e has not been a r e g u la r f e a t u r e of the program a t Iowa s in c e th e 1920*s , however.

American

th e a tr e h i s t o r y has re c e iv e d emphasis a t Iowa in th© dramatic a r t curriculum l a r g e l y because of th© p o s s i b i l i t i e s f o r resea rch in t h a t a r e a , according to ^ r . Mab i e . posed t o i n t e n s i f y t h i s program In th e f u t u r e .

x t i s pro­

Teaching: ^ethoda During th e p e rio d 1929-50, th e r e has always been at l e a s t one course In methods of te a c h in g speech o ffe re d during th e academic y e ar and summer s e s s io n .

S p e c ia l

methods courses f o r te a c h e rs of dram atic a r t have not been r e g u la r o f f e r i n g s .

Usually, t h i s work has been given as a

p a rt of th e methods course in speech. However, during summer se ss io n s and on c e r t a i n occasions when tea ch in g personnel w ith s p e c i a l background in dram atic a r t e d u c a tio n i n the secondary schools have been a v a i l a b l e , s p e c i a l courses i n the teach in g of dram atic a r t i n secondary scho ols have been o f f e r e d .

During th e summers

of 1930 through 1933 such a cours© was o ffe re d by tiugene A. Davis, who had a stro n g background of experience in t h i s 170 work i n Ohio school system s. Vance Norton continued the work during the next two summers,

Pina Sees Evans, whose

m aster’ s and d o c to r a l work had been done i n t h i s a re a a t the U n iv e rs ity of Iowa,

171

o ff e r e d th e course in th© summer

of 1936 a s s i s t e d by Donald ^ in b i g l e r ,

Morton again o ffe re d

the course during th© 1937 summer s e s s io n , and l i n b i g l e r took i t over during th e next th re e summer s e s s io n s .

L o rreta

Wagner o ff e re d I t In th© 1941 summer s e s s io n , a f t e r which i t r e v e r te d to ^ r , wo rton again u n t i l i t was dropped a f t e r the summer of 1944*

391 The summer courses In t h i s f i e l d have been g ener­ a l l y o f f e r e d i n c o n ju n c tio n with s p e c i a l dram atic a r t p r o j e c ts fo r high scho ol s t u d e n t s .

These summer p r o j e c ts f o r the h igh

school p u p ils have been open t o y o u n g sters with p a r t i c u l a r t a l e n t and i n t e r e s t i n speech and dram atic work*

As a p a r t

of t h e i r program, a play has been produced on almost ©very occasion aa may be seen by a glance a t Appendix A. This group was u s u a lly r e f e r r e d to as th e A l l - S t a t e High School P la y e r s . The rem ainder o f t h e i r program c o n s is te d of work i n funda­ m entals ©f speech#

The p r o j e c t has been c a r r i e d forward only

I n t e r m i t t e n t l y s in c e th e l a t t e r p a r t of World War I I and i s c u r r e n tly being re v iv e d in a lim i te d sense#

The group w i l l

not produce i t s own play t h i s summer# Hiring th© academic y e ar 1930-31, a course i n methods i n secondary school dram atic a r t was offered#

Donald

Winbigler had done a study of th e teach in g of dram atic a r t in th© Iowa h ig h schools as h i s d o c to ra l d i s s e r t a t i o n under a R o c k e fe lle r fou ndation g r a n t. 173 Play Production i n the Secondary Schools was o ff e re d In 1941-43, 1942-43#

Since 1948, th e r e has been a

s p e c i a l course fo r te a c h e rs of dram atic a r t o ff e re d during summers and one has been o ffe re d during the p a s t academic year#

These have not been d i r e c t l y a f f i l i a t e d with any

o b s e r v a tio n a l work in th e h igh s c h o o l, however.

S t a f f Developments I n h i s l e t t e r of l a r c h 4 , 1950 t o R.H, F i t z g e r a l d , Hr* Mabie had c i t e d a need to develop a s t a f f of t r a i n e d s p e c i a l i s t s t o o f f e r a d d i t i o n a l courses In the department* In a l a t e r r e p o r t subm itted to th e D ire c to r of th® School of Fine A rts on Jun.© 15, 1936, he made the sta te m e n t t h a t the c h a r a c t e r of th® s tu d e n t body was changing w ith a t r e n d toward more and more graduate s t u d e n ts .

I n h is e s tim a tio n ,

t h i s meant i t was n e cessary to develop and m aintain a s t a f f of a u th o r i ty and experience i f Iowa were t o c o ntinue to be a le a d e r in the f i e l d .

S tu dents were t r a n s f e r r i n g from la rg e

I n s t i t u t i o n s such as I l l i n o i s , Wisconsin, Michigan, and Columbia as w e ll as from small c o ll e g e s , and much of th e 172 group coming i n had e x ten sive tea ch in g and t h e a t r e ex p erien c e. Sy 1931, he had a c q u ire d a s p e c i a l i s t In th© f i e l d of scen ic design and t e c h n ic a l p r a c t i c e , and one In sta g e l i g h t i n g i n th© persons of Arnold D, G i l l e t t e and Hunton D, Sellman.

iSach of th e s e men had a background of t r a i n i n g

from Yale which was c o n sid ere d th® lead ing g raduate school in t h e a t r e work in th e n a tio n a t t h a t tim e,

G i l l e t t e was

completing a one y e a r European study to u r .

Sellman, one of

th re e s p e c i a l i s t s i n t h i s f i e l d In th© c o u n try , had engin­ eerin g background from Purdue and a graduate degree in eng in eerin g from A rizona, e x te n siv e th e a tr e background and was th e a u th o r of two widely used books in stage l i g h t i n g .

173

He re s ig n e d i n 1946 t o head h is own department and has not been r e p la c e d by a permanent a p p o in te e . The needs as o u tlin e d a t t h i s time were fo r (1) a costum er, (2) and I n s t r u c t o r t o b u i ld up the work in te a c h e r p r e p a r a t i o n f o r th e secondary s c h o o ls , (4) an ex ec u tiv e s e c r e t a r y and b u sin e ss manager, and (4) funds s u f f i c i e n t t o m a in tain a r e g u l a r p o lic y of se cu rin g the s e r v ic e s of o u tsta n d in g v i s i t i n g l e c t u r e r s and d i r e c t o r s such as Payne, S te v en s, Paul Green, B a r re tt C lark and 174 o th e r s . During t h i s p e rio d no s t a f f costumer was appointed with p r o f e s s o r i a l s t a t u s u n t i l 1944.

Authoritative persons

such as Lucy B arton, danet K. Smith, Helen Forest L a u te re r, and F a irfa x P. Walkup were u t i l i z e d fo r b r i e f p eriod s of time on temporary or summer appointm ents.

C o ntin uity of

i n s t r u c t i o n was m aintained by u t i l i z i n g graduate s tu d e n ts , and o th e r temporary p e rs o n n e l.

Since September 1949 the

p o s i t i o n has been f i l l e d by temporary a p p o in te e s, ag ain . During most of the p e rio d the voice and speech work was handled by perso nnel d iv id in g t h e i r se rv ic e s between the t h e a t r e and o th er a re as of speech, and t h i s item on the budget was fr e q u e n tly d ivided a c c o rd in g ly .

Dur­

ing most of the p a s t f i f t e e n y e a r s , a s p e c i a l i s t with the d o c to ra te In th e f i e l d has ta u g h t t h i s work. T heatre h i s t o r y was tau g h t by s p e c i a l i s t s with

the d o c to r a te i n t h e a t r e h i s t o r y sine® 1939, and p r i o r t o t h a t tim e , th e more advanced work and r e s e a rc h In th© f i e l d of American t h e a t r e was d i r e c te d by th e head of the d e p a r t­ ment whose background was e x te n s iv e . The te a c h in g of a c tin g and d i r e c t i n g a t th© elementary l e v e l s was su p e rv ised by Vance Morton during most of t h i s p e rio d , and shared with P ro fe ss o r Mabie a t th e more advanced l e v e l s .

Since Morton l e f t th e s t a f f In 1946, t h i s

work has been sh a re d by s e v e r a l s t a f f members.

At a l l

times th e element ayy dram atic i n t e r p r e t a t i o n work u t i l i s e d graduate a s s i s t a n t s and i n s t r u c t o r s f o r tea ch in g under th© s u p e rv is io n of a ranking s t a f f member. The work i n experim en tal prod uction and p la y w ritin g was under the I n s t r u c t i o n o f Mr. ^abi© during th e e n t i r e p e rio d of tim e.

is.P. Conkle se rv ed as h i s a s s i s t a n t

in th e course b o th as a graduate stu d e n t and as a ranking member of th© s t a f f between 1932-33 and the f a l l of 1939 when he l e f t to d i r e c t s i m il a r work a t th© U n iv e rs ity of Texas.

I n o th e r y e a rs t a l e n t e d graduate stu d e n ts have

provided a s s i s t a n c e , and s in c e 1946, Marian Gallaway or Harold C rain have a s s i s t e d i n the program, both being s p e c i a l i s t s who had o ffe re d p io n ee rin g s tu d ie s In dram atic technique as d o c to r a l d i s s e r t a t i o n s . S p e c i a l i s t s in secondary school dramatic a r t

39 work were f r e q u e n t ly employed during th e summer se s s io n s throughout t h i s p e rio d u n t i l th e p e s t te n years*

Eugene

C. Davis of the C lev elan d, Ohio schools and Dina Rees ISvans, both of whom were p re v io u s ly r e f e r r e d t o , c o n tr ib u te d to t h i s program.

During th e p e rio d of the R o c k e fe lle r g r a n t,

1954-38 Donald Winbigler conducted e x te n siv e r e s e a r c h in the te a c h in g of dram atics i n th e Iowa high schools and stay ed a t Iowa t o te a c h In t h i s program u n t i l 1940-41.

Also

during t h i s p e rio d Harry 0 . Barnes and Vance Morton, both of whom had done e x te n siv e high school teach in g in dram atic a r t , supplemented the work of t h i s f i e l d . The b u sin e ss management of the U n iv e rs ity r h e a tre •' has g e n e r a lly been the burden of the head of th e department with the a s s i s t a n c e of a graduate a s s i s t a n t and some c l e r i c a l h e lp .

A fte r World War I I , i t was combined with a teach in g

appointment i n some o th er asp ect of the f i e l d , and sup ple­ mented w ith c l e r i c a l h e lp .

During the p a st y e a r with th e

appointment of Gregory Foley to a ranking p o s i t io n in th e department as b u sin e ss manager and te a c h e r of courses in community t h e a t r e management and o r g a n iz a tio n , the b usiness o f f ic e has serv ed as a la b o ra to ry f o r s tu d e n ts In th ese c o u rs e s • During a g r e a t share of th e p e rio d from 1930-50 the p o lic y of u t i l i z i n g o u tstan d in g p la y w rig h ts, c r i t i c s , d i r e c t o r s , a c t o r s , and community t h e a t r e a d m in is tra to r s

to supplement th e te a c h in g and p ro d u ctio n work In p la y w r i t in g , d i r e c t i n g , a c t i n g , and community t h e a t r e organ­ i z a t i o n and a d m in is tr a tio n was fr e q u e n tly pursued*

thifc-

fo rd Kane and Mary Agnes Doyle were h e re to a ct and te a c h In th e summer o f 1930*

B* Iden Payne d i r e c te d twelve

Shakespearean p ro d u ctio n s and a t l e a s t fo u r o th e r plays f o r the U n iv e rs ity T heatre over a span of f i f t e e n years# Payne a l s o c o n tr i b u te d in the classroom as a te a c h e r of a c t in g , d i r e c t i n g and the producing of Shakespeare#

He

l e c tu r e d a t g e n e ra l U n iv e rs ity fu n c tio n s and gave th e 175 major ad dress a t a re c e n t summer convocation. Thomas Wood Stevens c o n tr ib u te d to the t h e a t r e tea ch in g and pro duction program as a le c tu r e r } te a c h e r of p la y w ritin g , a c tin g and d i r e c t i n g , and community t h e a t r e a d m in is tra tio n ; and as a d i r e c t o r of many of the U n iv e rs ity T h e a tr e ’ s p la y s . B a r r e t t H. C la rk , Walter P ric h a rd Baton, Paul Green, ^ n n Higgs, Sidney Howard, George P ie rce Baker, and Frederic McConnell have been among those t o make Important con­ t r i b u t i o n s t o th e te a c h in g , p ro d u c tio n , and w ritin g work 17 6 of th e U n iv e rs ity T h eatre during t h i s p e rio d . Appendix A I n d ic a te s t h a t most ranking s t a f f members working in th e dram atic a r t program a t Iowa had as a major p o r tio n of t h e i r work th e d i r e c ti n g , scene desig n in g , l i g h t i n g or costuming of the plays produced by the U n iv e rs ity

T h ea tre .

G en erally t h i s was c a r r i e d in a d d it i o n t o a f u l l

classroom te a c h in g load*

The head of th e department and

some o th e r te a c h in g p e rso n n el c a r r i e d th e se d u t i e s , a f u l l teach in g lo a d i n th e c la s s room, th e s u p e rv is io n of numerous advanced degree c a n d id a te s , and a d m in is tr a tiv e work con­ c u rre n tly *

Mo d e t a i l e d a n a ly s is of s t a f f load over th e years

was made, but I t i s quit© apparent from sp o t checks of t h e a t r e programs and f i n a l grade r e p o r t s t h a t th e d i r e c ti n g of two or th r e e p la y s per y e ar andthe tea ch in g of approx­ im ately tw elve sem ester hours of work in the classroom was normal*

S p e c i a l i s t s i n d e sig n , l i g h t i n g and costuming

have c o n s i s t e n t l y done the c r e a t i v e work in vo lved in those f i e l d s , made the working plans and su p e rv ise d t h e i r e x ecu tion f o r most of the major p rodu ctio ns of th e U niver­ s i t y T heatre d u rin g t h i s period*

In ad d itio n , th e ir c la ss­

room te a c h in g loads have approximated te n or more sem ester hours*

The d i r e c t i n g lo ad has r e g u l a r ly been d i s t r i b u t e d

between two or more s t a f f members during t h i s p e rio d .

De­

s ig n in g , l i g h t i n g , and costuming has been th e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y of a s i n g l e in d iv id u a l i n each of those a re as f o r a l l major play s each y e a r with few exceptions* The p o lic y of r e q u ir in g a l l s t a f f members in dram atic a r t t o assume the r e s p o n s i b i l i t y of doing c r e a t i v e work In d i r e c t i n g , d e sig n in g , l i g h t i n g or costuming has been

39g reg u la r•

I n o rd er t o make a place fo r h im s e lf on the Iowa

s t a f f , th e te a c h e r of courses In th e t h e a t r e has had to dem onstrate some a b i l i t y i n one of th e s e f i e l d s as a g e n e ra l ru le*

There have been few cases where the te a c h e r could

concern h im s e lf p r im a r ily w ith theory* The U n iv e rs ity has had no p o lic y f o r s a b b a t i c a l leav es or o th e r s i m i l a r p ro v isio n s f o r s t a f f members i n dramatic a r t t o supplement t h e i r t r a i n i n g and e x p e rie n c e . On th r e e occasio ns s p e c i a l p ro v isio n s have been made f o r leaves of absence*

On® of th e s e was s u b s id iz e d by a

R o c k efe ller grant} on© J o in tly su b s id iz e d by R o c k e fe lle r and U n iv e rs ity fund s; and the o th e r was paid f o r by th e s t a f f 177 member*s own fu n d s. A f o u r t h s t a f f member was g r a n te d leave w ith pay during i l l n e s s , and h is d u tie s were shared 178 among the s t a f f . T o ta l tea ch in g s a l a r i e s i n dram atic a r t f o r th e academic y e a r averaged approxim ately $15,500 from 1931-32 through 1932-33} $13,500 from 1934-35 through 1936-37; $15,500 from 1937-38 through 1942-43; #18,000 from 1943-44 through 1944-45; I n 1945-46, te a c h in g s a l a r i e s In c re a se d to #21,706; I n 1946-47, to #25,233} i n 1947-48, to $33,793} 179 and in 1948-49 t o $40,987. The number of s t a f f appointments i n dramatic a r t from 1931-32 through 1938-39 was e i t h e r s ix or seven*

This number in c lu d e d th e department head, one or two d i r e c t o r s , a d e s ig n e r, l i g h t i n g s p e c i a l i s t , costum er, and voice and IB© ph o n etics t e a o h e r . The R o c k e fe lle r funds which were a v a ila b le during p a r t of t h i s time p aid fo r a d d it i o n a l assist* anc© i n d i r e c t i n g and t e c h n i c a l work, but as th e s e a p p o in t­ ments wore not p a id f o r from U n iv a rs ity funds they a re not l i s t e d h a re . Fhom 1939-40 through 1942-45, th e costumer and voice and p h o n e tic s appointm ents were not in clu d ed in the dramatic a r t b u d g e t, a n d th e r e were only f i v e f u l l - t i m e s t a f f appointments f o r the t h e a tr e work.

The number in c re a se d to

s ix in 1943-44 when th e costuming p o s i t io n was again f i l l e d * In 1946-47, the voice and ph o n etics appointment was r e i n ­ s t a t e d ; and i n 1947-48, an a d d it i o n a l d i r e c ti n g appointment was made; and i n 1948-49 th e b u sin e ss manager*s s a la r y was 18T

added t o the budget and t h a t of an a d d it i o n a l d i r e c t o r . During the e n t i r e p e rio d , the voice and pho netics item has been d iv id e d between th e dram atic a r t and speech b u d g e ts, as has t h a t of the department head.

S a la rie s for

the teach in g of p a r t of the t e c h n ic a l work were drawn from U n iv e rs ity T h eatre income in 1930-31 and 1931-32 r a t h e r than from s t a t e a p p ro p r ia te d fu n d s.

U n til 1940-41 only an oc­

c a s io n a l g rad u a te a s s i s t a n t s h i p was provided fo r in th e dram atic a r t bu d g et.

Since t h a t time t h e r e has been a t l e a s t one

gradu ate a s s i s t a n t s h i p and from 1946?*47 through 1948-49 t h e r e

182

were three*

No s e c r e t a r i a l h e lp was provided f o r in th e dram atic a r t budget u n t i l 1942-43 when a p a rt-tim e a p p o in t­ ment was made. appointm ent.

I n 1948-49, t h i s was. made a f u l l - t i m e Itaring p a r t of th e tim e s in c e 1942-43 h a l f -

time c l e r i c a l h e lp f o r th e b o x - o f fic e was provided f o r in th e 183 dramatic a r t budget* U n t i l 1936, the t e c h n ic a l personn el of the department had rank of I n s t r u c t o r or a s s o c i a t e .

I n 1936,

appointments to a s s i s t a n t p ro fe s s o r were mad© fo r G i l l e t t e and Sellman.

I n 1944, an a s s i s t a n t p ro fe s s o r s h ip was pro­

vided f o r th e costumer.

P ro fe sso ria l s ta tu s fo r d irec tin g

and o th e r te a c h in g perso n n el in the department has been r e g u la r ly p ro v id ed .

At the time of t h i s w r i t in g , th e re a re

two p r o f e s s o r s , two a s s o c ia te p r o f e s s o r s , and th re e a s s i s t a n t p ro fe s s o rs i n th e departm ent. Though slow in coming during th© y ears of world wide d e p re s s io n , rank and s a la r y in c r e a s e s have been q u ite r e g u la r fo r most te a c h in g p e rso n n el.

m Jfe* p ro d u c tio n Program of the U n iv e rs ity T heatre Between the f a l l of 1950 and June ©f 1950, th e U n iv e rs ity T h ea tre p re s e n te d 408 s e p a ra te p ro ductio ns of plays of which th e r e Is a re c o r d .

Approximately 545 of

th ese were long p l a y s , and 65 were s h o rt plays*

Of the

s h o rt p lay s approxim ately 50 were new m anuscripts which were g iv en as exp erim ental p ro d u c tio n s.

Of a t o t a l of

150 new m anu scripts given ex perim ental p ro d u ctio n , 100 of them were long p l a y s .

Approximately 95 of the new manu­

s c r i p t s were produced p r i o r to 1942, and the remainder sine® 184 1945-46. S ix te e n plays were given in the S tudio T h eatre i n th© Union as a p a r t of a c h i l d r e n 's t h e a t r e p r o j e c t which o p e ra ted r e g u l a r ly from 1950-51 through 1938-53. This p r o j e c t was under the su p e rv isio n of Margaret MaryYoung in 1931-52 and Helen hangworthy i n 1952-33.

Only

o c ca sio n al p lays s p e c i a ll y planned f o r c h ild r e n were o ffe re d 186? a f t e r t h i s tim e. A few to u r in g companies were sponsored by and p re s e n te d in th e U n iv e rsity T heatre during t h i s period in clu d in g th e Ban Greet Players in 1931, th e Jean Gros M arionettes in 1931, th e ^©dgerow Theatre in 1935, the Old Globe T heatre P lay ers from the Chicago World's F air in 1937, and th e N a tio n a l T h eatre Conference Touring Company i n 1948. This l a s t group was a s p e c i a l group organized by th e

n a t i o n a l T h ea tre Conference w ith h e a d q u a rte rs a t th e U n iv e rs ity of In d ia n a where the p la y e rs were g rad u a te stu d e n ts in th e Department of Spa@oh and Dramatio A rte , faoh of th e p la y e rs was a fe llo w of the Conference.

The

Old Globe company was one of th© groups organized by Thomas Wood S teven.

The Company produced s h o rt v e rsio n s

of Shakespearean plays with young p r o f e s s io n a l p la y e rs a t s e v e r a l of th e la r g e e x p o sitio n s which were popular during the 1930*s I n such c i t i e s as Chicago, D a lla s , San Diego, C leveland, and New York.

The Hedgerow company was a sm all

non-commercial t h e a t r e group of p r o f e s s io n a l p lay e rs under th® d i r e c t i o n of Jasp er Deefcer.

This group had h e ad q u a rte rs

I n a sm all t h e a t r e in the Moyl&n Hose Valley near P h ila ­ d e lp h ia , Pen nsy lv an ia, and devoted i t s e l f la r g e ly to exp erim en tal p ro d u c tio n . The program of th e r e g u la r community s e r i e s during th o se y e a rs follow ed a p a t t e r n s i m il a r to t h a t of th© p e rio d 1920-1930, but included many more pro ductions of new m anuscripts by both e s t a b l is h e d and a p p re n tic e a u th o rs .

The community program c o n s is te d of popular modern

p la y s , and p lay s of h i s t o r i c a l p e rio d s .

Shakespeare was

r e p re s e n te d 29 d i f f e r e n t tim es In 20 d i f f e r e n t plays during 185 t h i s p e rio d . M ollere was r e p re s e n te d with th r e e d i f f e r e n t p la y s ; Shaw w ith f i v e ; Maxwell Anderson w ith e i g h t ; Lynn

Higgs w ith f o u r , and George D# Kaufman and h is collaborator® with f o u r .

Humorous contemporary a u th o rs were r e p re s e n te d

more th an once, in c lu d in g Paul Green, James I . B a r rie , Sidney Howard, M artin f l a v i n , Hoa© Franker}, Lindsay and Crouse, Susan G l a s p e l l , Noel Coward, Dugans O 'N e ill, Kichard Maibaum, ^ lls w o rth P. Conkle, Baohel O ro th e rs, Dan T othereh, and some o t h e r s .

There were s e v e r a l e a r ly and

n in o ta e n th c entury American p la y s ; s e v e r a l o r i e n t a l playsm an o c c a s io n a l Greek p la y , and a few plays of the sev en teenth and e ig h te e n th c e n t u r i e s . C re a tiv e work i n d i r e c t i n g , l i g h t i n g , and designing of s e t s and costumes f o r th© major pro duction s of t h i s p e rio d was g e n e ra lly th e province of th© proved s p e c i a l i s t s on the sta ff*

Higher s ta n d a rd s probably r e s u l t e d than had obtain ed

p re v io u s ly w ith a g r e a t p ercentag e of stu d e n t p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n t h i s work and th e d i f f u s i o n of each s t a f f member's e f f o r t s over th e many a s p e c ts of production*

M.A. th e s e s In s ta g e

d i r e c t i o n which inclu d ed f u l l - s c a l e productions were gen­ e r a l l y d isc o n tin u e d a f t e r 1935 a p p a re n tly because of the g r e a t in c re a s e i n gradu ate stu d e n ts and d i f f i c u l t i e s of a d m i n i s t r a t in g , fin a n c in g and o a stln g plays f o r each of them.

A lso, the demand f o r g r e a t e r a u th o r ity f o r the

teaching of g ra d u a te s probably c o n trib u te d to l i m i ti n g auch assignm ents t o th© s t a f f and th© more ab le stu d e n t d i r e c to r s *

40/1

Curing th ia p eriod , the U n iversity Theatre and the Department o f Speech and Dramatic Art made other con­ tr ib u tio n s which had th e ir roots in the idea o f serv ic e to the s t a t e .

Th© annual play production f e s t i v a l , sta r ted

in 1926, continued, except fo r part o f th© war year$ to serve the high sch ools and community th eatres throughout the s t a t e .

In some oases, Junior c o lle g e s continued to be

In v ited to p a r tic ip a te .

An approximate average o f s ix ty

groups have been served each year.

The annual U niversity

investm ent In th ia p ro jec t has amounted to approximately |2 ,000 annually. Another p r o jec t which i s y e t to be developed s u f f ic ie n t ly so that i t w ill become a regular part o f the program has been a summer theatre a t the Lakeside Labora­ tory on Lake Okoboji.

This p ro ject was interrupted by the

war, a f te r a su c c e ssfu l s t a r t with the production o f The Winter1s Tale there In 19^1.

A complete survey o f the

area was made in the summer o f 19**0 by Wallace A. Goates and P eter R, Marroney.

This ind icated the ex isten ce o f

genuine op p ortu n ities fo r se rv ic e. Within the year 19^9-50, the department began a regu lar p o lic y o f producing te le v is io n plays on a bi-w eekly schedule over WQC-TV, Davenport.

The p o t e n t ia lit ie s o f th ia

medium as a p r o fe ssio n a l o u tle t fo r graduates o f the dramatic

405 a r t program are feeing stu d ied ,

The prosp ects o f te le v is io n

a t an ed u cation al se rv ic e are commanding the thinking o f the departmental s t a f f . Perhaps the most d is tin c t iv e asp ect o f the en­ t ir e U n iversity Theatre program during th is period was th© emphasis upon the experim ental production o f new manu­ s c r ip ts .

This development had precedent in the student and

e sta b lish e d author’ s plays produced In the 1 9 2 0 's , 1930’ s , however, i t took on six© and sta tu re .

In the

One o f the

c h ie f purposes o f producing the plays o f e sta b lish ed authors was to bring them in contact w ith stu d en ts, and thereby stim u late the w r itin g o f the embryo playw right, and b u ild 187

p r o fessio n a l co n ta cts fo r them.

One o f the f i r s t o f these

plays was Owen Davis* Harbor L ig h t. and perhaps the most noteworthy was the Tread the flreen Orass by Paul Oreen, In the Mew York Times fo r July 2k, 1932, B arrett H. Clark wrote that the U n iversity Theatre under Mr. Mables ...a c h ie v e d the p a r tic u la r ly d i f f i c u l t task o f carrying over in to th© theatre the widely d i­ verse elem ents that togeth er make th is play one o f th© most o r ig in a l and s t ir r in g ly Imaginative works y e t w ritten by an American d ra m a tist.. , . (The play) made demands on the resources o f the a r ts and c r a fts o f lig h tin g , dancing, a c tin g , and scenery th at have frigh ten ed o f f p r o fe ssio n a l theatre managers.. . . (The Iowa production s t a f f ) — not to mention the author and composer—produced a harmonious whole that held a large audience more than two hours with­ out In term ission in a h a ll where the temperature never f e l l below 100 d e g r e e s ....

Thia play was an experiment that blended the technique ©f film , stag®, dance, and music togeth er In a p o e tic fan tasy which attem pted to u t i l i z e a l l o f the theatre a r ts in a u n ifie d , in te g r a l, rather than in c id en ta l manner,

Music, pantomime, dance, lig h t were e s s e n t ia ls in

the same sense as were th© words and the a cto rs.

In

experiments suoh as th e se , both th© e sta b lish e d and the embryo playwright could learn. Th© e x p erim en tal program caught the im agin ation s o f many n o ta b le t h e a tr e people.

Eugene O 'H e ill wrote;

I f your p la n can be worked out w ith the f u l l c o o p e ra tio n o f the b e s t community t h e a t r e s throughout the co u n try , i t whould be of immense s e r v i c e to the f u tu r e o f th© American T heatre. I t w i l l mean a new freedom and o p p o rtu n ity f o r the American p lay w rig h t. Sidney Howard s a id ; Your scheme comes most hap p ily . E verything I see about me seems p asse in the most jaded senae. To f r e e the p lay w rig h t o f t h i s atmosphere i s c e r t a i n l y to b e n e f i t the h e a l th of' p la y w rig h ting. The country needs o th e r ly in g in wards than Broadway.. . . The t h e a t r e cannot enjoy i t s p ro p er le a s e on l i f e u n le ss i t i s a p a r t o f the p u b l i c 's l i f e . I am not one t h a t f e e l s i t i s dying in New York nor am I one t h a t f e e l s t h a t New York i s a l l o f America. The g r e a t v ir tu e of the l i t t l e th e a ­ t r e s and t h e i r value to the drama a t la rg e i s t h a t every l i t t l e - t h e a t r e i s a p a r t of the l i f e of I t s community. Most o f the 1932-33 season was devoted to the p ro d u c tio n of new m anuscripts.

F in a n c ia lly i t was not a

su c c e ss, but as a teaching d ev ice, i t was.

on May 1?, 1933,

when Oonkle'fi p la y , Oxy genera to r , was produced, the program announced: Thia experim ental production i s presented in a new s e r ie s d edicated to the in te r e s ts o f play­ w rights. I t i s presented before an audience assembled by In v ita tio n . Th© U n iversity Theatre's p o lic y provides fo r a continuous s e r ie s o f exp eri­ mental productions o f new plays as a part o f the teaching o f dramatic a rt in the School o f Fine A rts. This p o lic y functioned not only to tr a in playw rights, but a lso to tr a in a c to r s, tech n icia n s, d esign ers, and d ir ec to rs as w e ll.

I t s Importance, not only to the p r e stig e and

teaching o f the department, but a lso to the actu al p h y sica l growth o f i t s f a c i l i t i e s should not be underestim ated. seems qu estion ab le

whether the adm inistration o f the

U n iversity and the

R ock efeller

f i t to finance the

b u ild in g o f a theatre on the

It

Foundation wouldhaveseen

I f i t had not been fo r th is se r v ic e .

Iowa campus

M ot es and R e f e r e n c e s C h a p t e r IV

U M m &.tor Vs C.qf,ms,po.n4,®nc©. 1 9 2 9 - 3 0 , Z* ' D a l l y

I o w a n . October 9 ,

1929,

3* R u f u s H« F i t z g e r a l d , i n t e r v i e w b e t w e e n a u t h o r S e p t e m b e r 13, 1 9 4 9 , 4# E* 6* V a b i e t o ft. H* F i t z g e r a l d , March 4 , C o rresp o n d en ce. 1929-30,

and,

193 9, D i r e c t o r ' s

5 , T h i s i s a p p a r e n t f r o m a l l r e c o r d s and c o r r e s p o n d e n c e e x a m i n e d and s u p p o r t e d by I n t e r v i e w s w i t h many U n i v e r s i t y people* 6* friable

t o F i t z g e r a l d , I.'arch 4 ,

193 0,

7 , F i t z g e r a l d t o Geo rge F* Kay, March 14, 1930, D i r e c t o r ' s Cor r e s p o n d e n c e . 1 9 2 9 - 3 0 , 8 , Mab ie t o F i t z g e r a l d , d e n c e . 1929-30,

June 9,

193 0, D i r e c t o r ' s C o r r e s p o n ­

9* See Appendix A, 1930-33, 10, E , C, M a b i e , I n t e r v i e w b e t w e e n a u t h o r a n d , | Church B e g t i v a 1 C o r r e s p o n d e n e e , S p ee ch an fre q u e n tly R a t l i n P r i n c ip l e s of Speech in order to get more speech tra in in g .

41 g

163* See Appendix B* 164# See Appendix A, Wings Over Europe and (H rIs in Uniform. 1933-34-3 Spxjfifl Dance and Goose llanos High. 1935-39, 165* Staias S s s p s jg w ith Samuel Selden* Modern ■ P r a c t i c e y w ith H ubert H effner and 5amue1 S efden• 166# A# Dale R ile y ; See Appendix B* 167# Warren Hu Lee; R ichard Mai beam; see Appendix B# 168* ,ynrive_rsity T h e a tre Pre 1 im 1nary Announcement. 1932-33, 169# The T ra n sfe r of W, D* Coder to o th e r U n iv e rs ity d u tie s* 170* B u lle t in of th e S ta te U n iv e rs ity of Iowa. School g f Fine A p ts. New S e rie s No* 599," May 30, 1930* 171* Sec Appendix B, 1929, 193R* 172* t a b i c to F itz g e r a ld , March 4, 1930; D ir e c to r ’s C o rres­ pondence . 1929-30* 173* MaMe to F itz g e r a ld , "Needs fo r the Biennium 1937-39,11 June 15, 1936* 174. Mabie to F itz g e r a ld , March- 4, 1930* 175* J u ly 30, 1943, U n iv e rs ity o f Iowa News S erv ice R e le a se , J u ly 31, 1943# 176* F in a l Grade R e p o rts, 1930-50; Scrapbooks, 1930-49* 177# Mabie to E a rl E* H arper, A p ril 29, 1943; Gilmore to B* H* S tev en s, January 8, 1937; Dabic to Kay and F itz g e r a ld , June 15, 1936. D ir e c to r ’s Correspondence. 1935-49* 178* H arper to Dean Kay March 26, 1940, D ir e c to r 1s C o rres­ pondence ; 1939-40* 179# Com parative A n aly sis ExpeMLtuX&s L ib e ral A r ts , 1930-49* 180. Board R ecord. "D ram atic A rt Budgets” 1931-39# XS1* I b id *. 1939-49* 162, Ib id # . 1931-49#

183# I b i d *. 1942-49* 184* See Appendix A, 1930-50* 185* I b id * . 1930-33* 166* I b id *.. 1930-1950* 18T* Mabie to F itz g e r a ld , May 3, 1932, D ir e c to r ’s Correspon­ dence . 1931-32* 188* U n iv e rs ity T heatre P re lim in a ry Announcement 1932-33*

420 BIBLIOGRAPHY C o lle c tio n s of m a te r ia l of p a r t i c u l a r value to

this d i s s e r t a t i o n were th e f i l e s of th e D ire c to r of th e School of Fine A rts and th e Head of th e Department of Speech and Dramatic A rt.

These f i l e s a re lo c a te d in th e Iowa

Memorial Union and Rooms 10 and 8B S c h a e ffe r H a ll, re s p e c ­ tiv e ly .

They c o n ta in a w ealth of corresp o n d en ce, and

c o l l a t e r a l m a te r ia l such as b u d g e ts, re p o rts and plans r e l a ti v e to th e a f f a i r s of th e School of Fine A rts and Dramatic Art* U n iv e rs ity T heatre A rchives c o n ta in th e v a lu a b le c o lle c tio n s of program s, announcements, scrapbooks, manus c r i p t s of p lay s and g rad u a te th e s e s , p ro d u ctio n photo­ grap h s, and m inutes of some U n iv e rs ity T h ea tre X o rg a n iz atio n s. Other very u s e fu l m a te ria ls were th e Pi rial" grade R eports and Schedules of Courses in th e R e g i s t r a r ^ O ffic e ;

The Board Record, A nalysis of O perations of the

Dramatic A rt L ab o ra to ry , Comparative A nalysis of Expendi­ tu r e s of L ib e ra l A rts , Annual Report of S tudent O rganiza­ tio n s , Annual F in a n c ia l Report f i l e d in th e U n iv e rs ity B usiness O ffic e ; and one G raduate C ollege f i l e r e l a t i v e to th e M aster of Fine A rts deg ree. The D aily Iowan f i l e s i n th e S ta te H is to r ic a l S o ciety and U n iv e rs ity L ib r a r ie s , and the f i l e s of

421 Hawkeye and U n lv e ra lty C atalogue In th e l ib r a r y and the o f f ic e of th e Department of Speech and Dramatic A rt were a le o o f g re a t h e lp . Interview ® w ith s e v e ra l persons In a p o s itio n to know the n a tu re and causes of v a rio u s s ta g e s and d e t a i l s of th e developm ents in dram atic a r t a t Iowa have a ls o been very im p o rtan t to t h i s stu d y .

They have served to give

both m a tte rs of f a c t and to a u th e n tic a te i n t e r p r e t a t i o n . The w r i t e r ^ p e rs o n a l ex p erien c es and m a te ria ls g ath ered as both stu d e n t and te a c h e r in th e Iowa program have been of c o n sid e ra b le v a lu e , to o . Books 1. 2. 3.

F lanagan, H a l li e , A rena, D uell, Sloan and P earce, New Y ork, 1040. , Dynamo, IX iell, Sloan and F earce, New York, Houghton, N o rris , Advance From Broadway, H arco u rt, Brace and Company, New York', l$4lT

4. Macgowan, Kenneth, F o o tlig h ts Brace and Company, 192$.

Across America, H a rco u rt,

5. S eash o re, C arl D ., P io n eerin g in Psychology, U n iv e rsity of Iowa S tu d ie s , No. 398, U n iv e rs ity of Iowa P re ss , Iowa C ity , Iowa, 1942. 6.

Wanerus, Theodora, H isto ry of the Z etag ath ian S o ciety of The S ta te U n iv e rs ity o / Iow a, Iowa C ity , 1911•

7 . Cowan, M ilto n , ”P ite h and I n t e n s it y C h a r a c te r is tic s of Stage Speech” , A rchives of Speech, Supplement, U n iv e rsity o f Iow a, Iowa G ity , Iowa, December 1936,

4 9 0M *

-

'

9*

"D ram atics in th e Secondary S chool” , P repared fo r The B u lle tI n of th e n a tio n a l A s so c ia tio n of Secondary* School F rT n clp ala by the American E d u catio n al t h e a tr e A sso c ia t 1 on, V ol. 33, 1949,

10*

H e ffn e r, H u b ert, C ., "The D ecline of th e P ro fe s s io n a l T heatre In America1*, R eprinted from Q u a rte rly Jo u rn a l of Speech, Vol. 35, 1949, pp. 170-1771

11#

I s a a c s , E dith J .R ., "The American T heatre in S o c ia l and E d u catio n al L ife 1*, H a tio n a l T heatre C onference, New York, no d a te .

19#

Mabie, E.C. f*Color M ixture in Stage L ig h tin g ” , Q u a rte rly Jo u rn a l of Speech E ducation, Vol. 11, 1925, pp. 1-$'.

13.

, "More C om pilation of P la y s” , Q u a rte rly J o u rn a l of Speech E ducation, Vol. 9, 1922, pp. 308-10,

14.

, "O p p o rtu n itie s f o r S erv ice in D epart­ ments of Speech”, Q u a rte rly Jo u rn a l of Speech E ducation, Vol. 6, 1920, pp. m

15.

» "U ssearch In Speech and th e Fine A rts ” , R eprinted from Baconian L ectu res B u lle tin fo r 1944, S ta te U n iv e rs ity of Iowa, pp. 97-169^

16. Jo u rn a l of 17.

18.

, "Speech from Another Angle” , Q u a rte rly Vol. 9, 1923, pp. 530-33.

Speech E ducation,

Merry, Glenn N. "Accessory S inuses and Head Resonance” , Q u a rte rly Jo u rn a l of Public Speaking, Vol. 2, 1917, pp. 273,75. , "C ollege Plays in th e U nited S ta te s ” , of P ublic Speaking, Vol. 2 , 1916,

Quarterly Journal pp. ^83-96.

19.

____________ "High School Plays in Iowa” , Q u a rte rly Jo u rn a l of P u b lic S peaking, Vol. 2, 1916, pp. 936-43.

20.

, "R esearch In Speech E ducation", Re­ p r in te d fro m Q u a rte rly Jo u rn a l of Speech E ducation, A p ril 1921.

21.

» ” R o entgenological Method of M easuring th e P o t e n t i a l i t y of Voice Resonance1*. Q u a rte rly Jo u rn a l of Speech E d u catio n . Vol. 5, 1919, pp. 26*30*

22*

Proceedings of th e Conference on th e Drama in American K T d "a f1 'Parnegf'e i n s t i t u t e o t fechnology , P itts b u r g h , ften n iy Iv an la , fovem ber 27728,1925, Carnegi e 1n a t i t u t e oi Y echnology. H H s E u r g T ^ H ’n iy H a n la , 180 pages.

85.

S e a sh o re, C a rl £ . , "Advanced Degrees in Speech” , R eprinted from Jo u rn a l of H igher E ducation, Vol. 16* 1945, pp. 3 7 8 -e i; ----------------------

24.

■ ”C r i t i c a l T ra in in g Vs, A r t i s t i c P e rformance**, R ep rin ted from E d u c a tio n a l, Music Magazine* Septem ber-O ctober, 1941, pp. 4 -5 .

25.

* ”An E d u catio n al Decalog” , R eprinted ^rom Sefaodl and S o c ie ty * Vol. 58, 1943, pp. 353-58.

26.

. "B U thentca, A Design f o r L iving” , je p r in ie d from The E ducational Forum, January 1948, pp. 149-55.

27.

i The G raduate C ollege in the S ta te U n iv e rs ity of* Towa* A Review and F o re c a s t, P resen ted a t th e C e le b ra tio n of tb a i*fciiriietta A nniversary of the Founding of the C ollege Hovember 28-29, 1930, 54 pages.

28.

, "G raduate Work in th e School of Fine A rts a t th e fctate U n iv e rs ity of Iowa” , U n iv e rs ity o f Iowa S tu d ie s . Ho. 413, Aims and P ro g ress of R esearch, f o T W T S S T . ------------------------------ ------------------------------

29.

, "Hew Approaches to th e Science of Voicew7 R ep rin ted from S c i e n t i f i c Monthly * Vol.XIIX, 1939, pp. 340-50.

50.

* "The S c h o lar As a Person” , R eprinted jfrom Sigma Xl Q u a rte rly , September 1932, pp. 1-14.

51.

. "S e c tio n in g on th e B asis of A b ility ” , im p rin ted f r o m B u lle tin of th e American A sso c ia tio n of U n iv e rs ity P ro fe s a o rs , VoT. 9 , 1923, pp. 9-24.

32.

S to d d ard , George D ., "Some C urrent Is s u e s in G raduate Work” , R ep rin ted from School and S o c ie ty * Vol. 48, 1938, pp. 125-32.

Universities andL1t ^ l e ^ h e a t r e a

4^4

55.

The B illy Iow an, (Iowa C ity , Iowa) U n iv e rs ity P u b lic a tio n s

S4* 2*®. H»wkeye, 1903-1927. 35.

S ta te U n iv e rs ity of Iowa C a ta lo g u e s, 1856-1950.

36.

S ta te U n iv e rs ity of Iowa I n t e n sio n B u lle tin s . The E roduotlon C o n te s t. o r F e s t i v a l . 1926-42. 1946-60.

37.

S ta te U n iv e rs ity of Iowa Schedule of C ourses, 1912-1960.

38.

U n iv e rs ity of Iowa P u b lic a tio n , New S e rie s No. 1350, January X, X§45, The &qw Program i n l i b e r a l A rts ” .

39.

The U n iv e rs ity T h e a tre , T hird U nit of th e Iowa Memorial Union, U n i v e ra l ty of Iowa, Towa C ity » l9S'8.‘ ‘ A brochure p re p a re d f o r th e purpose of prom oting funds f o r th e c o n s tru c tio n of a th e a tr e b u ild in g .

40.

C arsten so n , Vernon H, "The S ta te U n iv e rs ity of Iowa; The C o lle g ia te Department from th e Beginning to 1878” , u n p u b lish ed Ph.D. d i s s e r t a t i o n , S ta te U n iv e rsity of Iow a, 1936.

41.

C rary, Hyland f t,, nH isto ry o f th e S ta te U n iv e rsity of Iowa. The C ollege of L ib e ra l Arts? in th e Gilmore and Hancher A d m in is tra tio n s” , u n published Ph.D. d i s s e r t a ­ t i o n , S ta te U n iv e rs ity of Iowa, 1946.

42.

D avies, F re d e ric k Gould, "H isto ry of th e S ta te U n iv ersity of Iowas The C ollege of L ib e ra l A rts 1916-1934, u n p u b lish ed Ph.D. d i s s e r t a t i o n , S ta te U n iv e rs ity o f Iowa, 1948.

43.

Doty, F ra n k lin , A ., "H isto ry of th e S ta te U n iv e rsity of Iowa: The C ollege of L ib e ra l A rts , 1900-1916” , u n p ublished Ph.D. d i s s e r t a t i o n , S ta te U n iv e rsity of Iowa, 1946.

44.

B bgdall, V e rg il S ., "H isto ry of th e S ta te U n iv e rsity of Iowa; The Governing B oards, 1847-1947, u npublished Ph.D. d i s s e r t a t i o n , S ta te U n iv e rsity of Iowa, 1947.

4 9 c*j

45.

H e ffn e r, H u b ert, “ C ollege D ram atics” , m anuscript of an a r t i c l e p re p a re d f o r e a r ly p u b lic a tio n In Encyclopedia AjBorloana, S ta n fo rd U n iv e rs ity , S ta n fo rd , C a lif o r n ia , 1949*

46.

* E d u catio n al T h eatre - 1949, unp u b lish ed m anuscript of an a d d ress d e liv e r eI' a t th e Convention ©f The Speech A s so c ia tio n of Am erica, The American Speech and H earing A s s o c ia tio n , and The American E ducatio n al T h eatre A s s o c ia tio n , Stevens H o te l, Chicago, I l l i n o i s , December 98, 1949.

47.

Howard, Donald , “H isto ry of th e S ta te U n iv e rs ity of I owes The G raduate C ollege” , u n p u b lish ed Ph.D. D is s e r ta ­ t i o n , S ta te U n iv e rs ity of Iow a, 1947.

48.

Dang, W illiam C ., “H isto ry of th e S ta te U n iv e rs ity of Iow a: C o lle g ia te D epartm ent, 1879-1900” , unp u b lish ed Ph.D. d i s s e r t a t i o n , S ta te U n iv e rs ity o f Iowa, 1941.

49.

Lavender, Helen E ., “A H isto ry of th e E rodelphian and H esperian L ite ra ry S o c ie tie s of th e S ta te U n iv e rsity o f Iow a, w ith a B rie f Summary of Octave T hanet, I h itb y , A thena, and Hamlin G arland S o c ie tie s ” , unpublished M.A. t h e s i s , S ta te U n iv e rs ity of Iow a, 1937 Correspondence and C o lle c tio n s

50.

D ir e c to r 1a C orrespondence, 1929-49, School of Fine A rts , Xowa M emorial"Union, S ta te U n iv e rs ity of Iowa.

51.

E xperim ental T heatre M anuscript F i l e , U n iv e rsity T heatre A rch iv es, Dramatic A rt H u ild in g , S ia te U n iv e rs ity of Iowa.

52.

P erso n al C o lle c tio n of T heatre M a te ria ls belonging to i'a fiie , U n iv e risty T heatre A rch iv es, Dramatic A rt A rt B u ild in g , S ta te U n iv e rs ity of Iowa.

53.

P ro d u ctio n Photograph F i l e , 1921-50, U n iv e rsity T heatre p ro d u c tio n s , U n iv e rs ity 'ifheatre A rch iv es, Dramatic A rt B u ild in g , S ta te U n iv e rs ity of Iowa.

54.

Program F i l e s , 1921-50, U n iv e rs ity T heatre A rchives, DramatIc"'ArtTBuilding S ta te U n iv e rs ity of Iowa.

55.

Scrapbooks, 1920-50, U n iv e rs ity Theatre A rchives, Dramatic A rt B u ild in g , S ta te U n iv e rsity of Iowa.

49C 86*

Speech and Dramatic A rt C orrespondence, 1921~50, O ffice s of th e Head o r th e Department and E r e c t o r of th e U n iv e rs ity T h e a tre , S ta te U n iv e rs ity of Iowa* Heporta and M inutes

57•

A n aly sis of O perations Dramat i c Art L ab o rato ry , 1923-34 to 1 ^ 8 - 4 1 7 U n iv e rs ity B usiness O ffic e .

88*

Annual F in a n c ia l R e p o rt, 1936-37 through 1948-49, U niver­ s i t y Busina ss O ffle e , "ContaIns d e ta ile d a n a ly s is of income and e x p en d itu re s of U n iv e rs ity T h ea tre ,

59.

Annual R eport of Stu d e n t O rg a n iz a tio n s, 1925-35, Uni verHty "Business "O ffice,' Contains University T heatre Income and e x p e n d itu re s for th e se y e a rs , Board Record, 1900-1949, U n iv e rsity B usiness O ffic e . C ontains m inutes of th e Iowa S ta te Board of E ducation, th e m inutes of th e Finance Committee, budgets f o r th e L ib e ra l A rts C o lla te and th e Summer S e ss io n s .

61*

Comparative A n aly sis of E xpenditures L ib e ra l A r ts , 1925-26 through 1948-49, University Business O ffic e . Shows totals expended each y e ar f o r each school and departm ent in th e C ollege of L ib e ra l A rts . F in a l Grade R e p o rts, 1911-1949, R e g istra r* s O ffice These Records a re on m icrofilm through 1942 and a re in bound volumes of the o rig in a ls through 1948-49. C ontains c la s s r o l l s , c oux‘se t i t l e s and numbers, i n s t r u c t o r 's s ig n a tu r e s , c r e d i t hours g ra n te d , and s e c tio n numbers. This appears to be th e most c o n clu siv e re c o rd of th e s e ite m s. C atalogues and Schedules of Courses e v id e n tly are only in d ic a tiv e of th e se t h in g s • G raduate C ouncil F o ld e r, January 19, 1938, Graduate C o lleg e. C ontains a c o lle c tio n of d a ta r e l a t i v e to th e M aster of Fine A rts degree which was voted th a t d a te ,

64.

M inutes O ut-of-D oor P la y e rs , 1921-25, U n iv e rsity T heatre A rchives.

65•

M inutes U n iv e rs ity P la y e rs , 1916-1927, U n iv e rsity T heatre Archi v e s .

P e rso n a l In te rv ie w s 66#

F itz g e r a ld , Rufus I I ,, In te rv ie w between a u th o r and, P itts b u r g h , P en n sy lv a n ia , September 13, 1949.

67.

F oley, G regory, In te rv ie w s between au th o r and, Iowa C ity , Iow a, Ju ly 11, 1949 and r e g u la r ly t h e r e a f t e r u n t i l June 1, 1950.

68.

F o le y , Verne R ., In te rv ie w s between a u th o r and, Iowa C ity , Iow a, June 11, 12, 1950.

69* H arp er, S a ri E ., In te rv ie w s between au thor and, Iowa C ity , Iowa, January 17 and June 21, 1950. 70. Je ssu p , Mrs. f a l t e r A ., In te rv ie w between au thor and, Iowa C ity , Iowa, June 18, 1950. 71.

Mabie, Edward C ., In te rv ie w s between a u th o r and, Iowa C ity , Iowa, fre q u e n tly sin c e October 1949.

72.

M erry, Glenn N ., In te rv ie w between a u th o r and, Hew lo rk C ity , September 11, 1949.

73.

S eash o re, C arl E ., In te rv ie w s between a u th o r and, Iowa C ity , Iowa, June 10, 12, 1949.

74.

S lo a n , Sam B ., In te rv ie w between a u th o r and, Iowa C ity , Iowa, A p ril 18, 1950.

i28 A p p e n d ix A

CALENDAR OP PLAYS, FROM SUMMER SESSION 1920 TO JUNE 1950, WITH TITLE AND AUTHOR INDICES This appendix la a rra n g ed In th r e e p a r t s t (1) a l i s t i n g of th e p lay s perform ed In Iowa C ity under th e au sp ice s of the U n iv e rs ity T h e a tre , o r, p r io r to I t s e s ta b lis h m e n t, th e Department of P u b lic S peaking; (2) a l i s t i n g of a l l th e se p ro d u ctio n s by t i t l e s ; and (3) a l i s t i n g of them by a u th o rs .

The f i r s t and second l i s t s employ a s e t of a lp h a ­

b e t i c a l symbols in o rd er to conserve space.

The fo llo w in g

legend w ill I d e n tif y them I Legend of Sgmbolsi Used Dt S: T: Cl L: As Ts

D ire c to r Scene D esigner and T ech n ician (u n le ss l i s t e d se p ara tely ) T echnician (whan l i s t e d s e p a ra te ly ) Costume D esigner or Costumer L ig h tin g S p e c ia lis t Author (seldom used) Touring company sponsored by th e U n iv e rs ity T h eatre or the P u b lic Speaking Departm ent. Xs E xperim ental p ro d u ctio n of an o r ig in a l play by stu d e n t or o th e r a u th o r. U sually means prem iere p ro d u c tio n . R3 Community s e r i e s p ro d u c tio n , open to g e n e ra l p u b lic S ts S tu d io p ro d u c tio n , e i t h e r p u b lic or p r iv a te showing Chs C hildren*s T heatre p ro d u ctio n HSs A ll- S ta te High School P lay ers or U n iv e rs ity High School p ro d u c tio n done under th e d ir e c tio n of th e U n iv e rs ity T heatre and the Department of Speech and Dramatic A rt. LP| Long p la y , o r f u l l - l e n g t h play SP: S hort p la y , o r o n e-act play S3: Summer S essio n (n o .) Number of perform ances of the pro d u ctio n The p lac e of perform ance i s in d ic a te d i f i t i s o th e r than th e house f o r th e U n iv e rs ity T h e a tre ,

N atu ral

429 Science (M aebride) A uditorium u n t i l November of 1936, and th e Dramatic A rt B u ild in g (New U n iv e rs ity T h e a tre ), th e r e a f te r * The group perform ing th e p lay i s in d ic a te d i f i t p o ssessed an i d e n t i t y in any way s e p a ra tin g i t fro® th e U n iv e rs ity T h e a tre , or I f i t was a s p e c ia l group w ith in the U n iv e rs ity T heatre o rg a n isa tio n *

I f n o t named, the group perform ing th e p lay

was th e Department of Speech and Dramatic Art* a stu d en ts* D isc rep a n cie s which may appear to e x is t between th e d a te s l i s t e d and th e number of perform ances l i s t e d may be reco n ­ c ile d by th e f a c t t h a t th e U n iv e rs ity T heatre has seldom p e r­ formed on Sundays, except in t e l e v i s i o n , and t h a t m atinee and evening perform ances on th e same day have been fre q u e n t. I n th e index of t i t l e s , th e only d a te s in clu d ed are th e season o r seasons of production*

Names of persons a re

s p e lle d out in f u l l only th e f i r s t tim e used or when they occur in f r e q u e n tly . used th e r e a f te r *

I n i t i a l s f o r f i r s t and m iddle names are

The a b b re v ia tio n , ”0-Q-D P la y e rs” i s used

to I n d ic a te th e U ut-of-D oor P lay ers group.

An attem pt has

been made to keep each Item in th e same o rder in each e n try in each l i s t .

Follow ing i s a sample e n try vfrom each l i s t :

Both Your H ouses, Maxwell Anderson; LP; R* (4)s Nov. 4, §7"1F, 11, 1933,* Pi E.C. Mabie; Si A.S. G i l l e t t e ; i s H.D* Selim an; 0: M ildred S u th erlan d T w elfth N ig h t, Shakespeare; Hi 1920-21; T; SS 1922; R; 1923-24; T; 1930-31; R; 1932-33; R; 1943-44 S hakespeare, T w elfth N ight

430 T ra n s la te d , th« f i r s t e n try means t h a t Both Your Houses by Maxwell Anderson i s a f u l l - l e n g t h p lay and was produced fo r fo u r perform ances on th e d a te s in d ic a te d under th e d ir e c tio n of E*C* Mable w ith s e t ti n g s by A.S. G i l l e t t e , l ig h tin g by H.D* 3®lim an, and costumes by M ildred Sutherland* The re c o rd s used in com piling th e s e l i s t s were th e program f i l e s , v a rio u s p ro d u ctio n l i s t s and scrapbooks of th e U n iv e rs ity T h eatres

The D aily Iowan and The Hawkeye; and, in

th e case of a few p lay s l i s t e d fo r which no o th e r re c o rd could be found, a s t a f f member’ s memory*

Ho claim i s made fo r th e

a b so lu te com pleteness of the l i s t *

I t i s apparent t h a t some

programs have been l o s t or th e supply ex h au sted , and th a t o th e r re c o rd s d id not e x i s t or were not file d *

Newspaper accounts

of many o f th e ex p erim e n tal and s tu d io p ro d u ctio n s were never w r itte n because th ey were o fte n p r iv a te showings fo r audiences assem bled by i n v i t a t i o n , and re q u e ste d to give no p u b lic s t a t e ­ ments to th e p a p e rs. I t i s b e lie v e d , however, t h a t t h i s l i s t does re p re s e n t n e a rly a l l of th e p ro d u ctio n s which have been open to th e g e n e ra l p u b lic , and th e g r e a te r percen tag e of th e h i s t o r i c a l l y s i g n i f ic a n t p ro d u ctio n s of th e p r iv a te perform ances.

An

attem p t was made to make a com plete and a u th o r ita tiv e re c o rd , but i t became ap p aren t th a t a b so lu te com pleteness was probably Im p o ssib le.

However, i t i s c e r t a i n th a t t h i s Is the most

complete and o f f i c i a l re c o rd in e x iste n c e of th e plays produced by o r under th e a u sp ic e s of the U n iv e rs ity T h e a tre .

'&i mm Bwmv S oaaion 1920

h B* 'Sfcf.taf 3F| E| ( i ) i % 7 $ 3?|

Ci )| Hj &*««; in Eteat*

Ds E# B* Itafc

* Alia© 0 ©iwt«a'b©jpg> 3P* {1} j B# 308 (%®©wa* "C lonal S ah o o lj OX&m i n Bdnam tianai B rtm tte # ? f>i S a m le t WsNartwHtt* Helm© BX&tbftcry, E* 0 * M&fei© ftff tjfa© jfeflffiy Bady Ga%ga^|. 3Pj (X}f Rj Boom 308 w s e ^ a t i o m X b©h*w>li OXat# lit H te a fc lo n a l'^ a B ia tio a .| J?t H* E* B&djtnon* 'S.* 0 , M&bt®

%BJ©nd 3F| {X)| Hf Aug* X^* 19301 Old capital Oral| 0X&8®: in ISdneatim&t Btfamiie&i 'f>i

S, € . liable

Lmnmm

£ ? j {1)1 Rj Haturad

S IS a© B S iw r iiM Olaa© in S&uoatiemal f&msmtiesf «t'i

Us il* BX&fct&MS# and B:» 0 * Mabi©

Engband*s Au^aafcu* fb©3»$|'EPf ( % } $ f $ Oct.. ?# 19301 Eatm *al 3el*& ee A«4 * | Deveapeux F lay1©?*® 0 h o sfcar H e n r ik Xba«*if B P | f j 0©%# 7# X9B®'J: E & tn r a l S cio n a©

And, | Pereraux Players

S

b

"

SS^MS s- $•• B* Sh©ri&s»ij bP| ( l ) f Pj- dan. I l f m m Sentence AndU| CMtfiw*. i& iM m Player© _ j - r - n c .ft B© b©.2?% -B* B©gerS|3Pj: ( 1 ) | "j uSSa"' in E dnm tlm aX Dramtelaa

432

I r e , f . B. Y e a tsi SFj (1 ); 3; A p ril w* * w * i ajx v waw iuvu uxu vfUvaji xaxugj a a Tbro ra , Old D ental jdux B u ild in g ; C lass In

Id u e a tio n a l D ram atics; Ds M argaret 8* Shaman Fourteen* A llo a G ersten b erg ; SP; (1 ); 0; A p ril 6, 1921; L i f t l a T h e a tre , Old D ental B u ild in g ; Class in u o a tio n a l D ram atics; D: M* S, Sham an The lan d eX H e a rts Deal r e , f* B. Y aata; SB; (1 ); C; A p ril I S l t l e f K e a f r e » Old D ental B u ild in g ; Class In E d u catio n al D ram atics; Ds l« S , Sham an J o in t O m ars in S p a in , Alio© B ro w ; SB; ( l ) j Rj A p ril 4 , l 8 s i | l i f l i « T h e a tre , Old D ental B u ild in g ; Class in E d u catio n al D ram atlos; Ds M« S# Sham an The Twelve Bound Look, Jamas M. B a r rla ; SB; (1 ); R; A p ril I'OSl; ~ 'ii t f IS T h e a tre , Old D ental B u ild in g ; C lass in E d u ca tio n a l Drama t i e s ; Ds M* s« Sham an T w elfth l i g h t (scenes from}# is* flha&eapeara; SF; (1 ); ~n I; 1981; C lass in E d u catio n al D ram atics; Ds M. S , Sham an Summer S essio n 1921 The Wonder H at, Ban Hecht and %* S. Goodman* SP; (1 ); R| T o S lj Old C a p ito l Oval; O ut-of-D oor P la y e rs ; Ds t* C« Stable, £. P* Hunt , A* f* P in e ro , SP; (1 ); Rj Ju ly 1 , 1921; ‘t e l Oval; 0-©*D P la y e rs ; Pi I* C, M abie, I* P. Bunt A Marry D eath, M icholas D vreinav; SP; (1 ); R; Ju ly 8* ** ~ i & 2 l | OXd C a p ito l Oval; 0*0-0 P la y e rs ; Ds E. C. Mabie; and E* P* Bunt le ifs h b o rs , Bona Gala; SP; { ! ) ; R| Ju ly 8* 1921; Old CapI f o I O ralf 0-o-D P la y e rs ; Ds 1. C. l a b i a , S. P. Hunt n , A llo a B ro w | SP; (1 ); H; Ju ly 8 ioi Oval; Q-o-D P la y e rs ; Ds E. C. M abie, B* P. Hunt

Mmn&

Maurice M aeterlinck; W t (D ? Kj July 11, l i l l j O ld C apitol Ovalj Dev e rs u s Players

H J to U iB i Bulwer Lytto a ) LP; (1}J T; Jbly 12; 1921; Old C apftol Oval| Deversux Players Daniel Draec, William $» G ilb ert; LP; { !) ; T; Auditorium; Devereux Players The Man ^bo Marrlad a Dumb f ilf e v Anatole France; Tri H ^rlEir I . Page 5 SI T T l T l f j July 15, 1991; H c n ic in City Park; Q-o-D P layers; Ds E. c. Mabie, «* P. Hunt A Comedy o f Errors, %i. Shakespeare; LPj (1 ); R; Jbly §17 XS'fi-X'j dut-of-Door Theatre; Q«*o**D P la y ers; Ds B, c- Mabie, ft. P. Hunt The Melon T h ief, S h lg to si obata; SP; (1 ); ft; Aug. 12, &»©-D P layers; Ds E. P. Hunt, Robert West 3&I

Mary MacMillan; SP; (1 ); Rj August 12, 1921; 61 a Capitol Oval; 0-o-D Players; Ds S* P. Hunt, R. tfes t

m ree Vianet tea In Rhyme, Austin Dobson; SP; (1 ); l ; A u g 7 l2 ,1 6 2 l5 1 oltTCapi t o l Oval; 0-o-D Flay era Suppreased D ealres. Susan G lasp ell; SP; { !} ; ft; Aug. 25, ' 'Igg'li' bla Capl to l Oval; 0-©*«D Players m e B lu ffe rs or Dust In the I r e s , W. L. George; SP; (1 ); ""R jfiW C ap l OT^OvSl } i-b -D Flayers 1921-1922 Mater, Perey MaeKaye; LP; (1 ); R; Oct. 2 7 , 1921; Univer­ s i t y P layers; Di E. C. Mabie; A ss’t D: Charles Broun; Mgr; Gregory Foley; (Author was guest a r t i s t ) ; F irst U n iv ersity Theatre production Admirable Crichton, James M. B arrie; LP; (1 ); R; Hov. 16, 1 Hesperi an and Zetag&thlan Literary S o c ie t ie s ; Ds Bdward H. Lauer

434

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