Department of Theatre records

Record Group

Identifier: UA-16.118

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The collection contains Theatre Department records including faculty meeting minutes, brochures and flyers for productions which includes Summer Circle productions, handbooks and a report to the Board of Trustees. Also included are materials relating to children's theater including the Toyshop Theatre, as well as the Calumet Theatre program.

The electronic resources series consists of photographs from and web pages describing productions of the Department's Summer Circle Theatre, in additional to issues of the Friends of Theater E-News publication from 2014-2016.

Dates

Creation: 1936-2016, 2023

Creator

Michigan State University. Department of Theatre (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish material from this collection must be obtained from University Archives & Historical Collections, Michigan State University.

Historical Note

In 1937, the Department of Speech and Dramatic Arts was formed. However, productions had been staged on campus since 1902 with a production by the M.A.C. Chorus and the first play in 1910 by the professor teaching dramatic arts.

Construction started on the Auditorium and Fairchild Theater in 1937 and was finished in 1940. In 1954, the College of Communications Arts was formed and the Department of Speech, Dramatics and Radio was renamed the Speech Department. In the spring of 1968, the Department of Theatre was created as a separate entity within the College of Communication Arts. In 1971, the department was moved to the College of Arts and Letters.

Extent

1 Cubic Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Preservica Public URL

https://msu.access.preservica.com/archive/sdb%3Acollection|b15695eb-f9a5-4274-91ab-c685f811a6ca/

Related Archival Materials

See records for UA 16.17 (Department of Speech, Dramatics, and Radio Education)

Legal Status

Donor(s) have transferred any applicable copyright to Michigan State University but the collection may contain third-party materials for which copyright was not transferred. Copyright restrictions may apply. Property Rights: Michigan State University.