Use Restrictions

Copyright for materials authored or otherwise produced as official business of James Madison University is retained by James Madison University. Copyright status for other collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. For more information, contact the Special Collections Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu).

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection.

Preferred Citation

[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Student Theatre Productions Collection, 1912-1966, UA 0046, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.

Acquisition Information

Previously housed in Special Collections as a Vertical File labeled Drama - Class + Other Student Plays. Certain items (The Summer Theatre of Madison College presents Thursday the Thirteenth , July 13, 1939, The Play Production Class of Madison College presents An Evening of One-Act Plays , July 19, 1938, and Madison College presents The Hedgerow Theatre in Candida , February 9, 1939) were donated in March 2017 by Erica Borey, records manager at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

Bio/Historical Note

Initially an extracurricular activity, theatre at the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg received extensive participation from students. The first Senior Class Play, "Esmeralda" occurred in 1911 in Assembly Hall in Downtown Harrisonburg as an opening to the commencement activities of that year. From then on, Senior Class Plays became a school tradition and eventually expanded to freshmen, sophomores, and juniors. Some of these productions coincided with Class Days, which were also originally apart of commencement activities, or were performed between multiple classes, such as the junior class assisted by the freshmen class.

The Athletic Association was established in 1910 with a goal "to promote physical, moral, mental development." The association was overseen by the Department of Physical Education and promoted interclass activities by planning Field Day exercises and May Day celebrations. They also presented charitable entertainment events. The association sponsored theatre productions until at least the 1940s. Today, the Athletic Association has evolved into the Division of Athletics that oversees athletic programs and sports at James Madison University.

Scope and Content

The Student Theatre Productions Collection, 1912-1966 consists of programs and playbills for student plays at the State Normal School and Madison College. The vast majority of playbills are from Class Plays, productions put on by various classes of students throughout the decades. Other items in the collection are playbills from productions not directly associated with the any particular class as well as playbills from productions sponsored by the Athletic Association and the Y.W.CA. Photocopies of news articles about the productions from the 1910s are also included.

Noteworthy items include: a 1916 Shakespeare Pageant program, a 1939 playbill of Thursday the Thirteenth signed by the cast members, a 1925 playbill of The Junior Minstrels , and a 1927 junior class playbill of A Barrage of Fun featuring an image of blackface.

Arrangement

Arranged topically in two folders in chronological order.

Related Material

School of Theatre and Dance Records, 1930-2011 (bulk 1981-1993), UA 0045, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• James Madison University -- History
• Minstrel shows -- United States -- 20th century
• Newspaper clippings
• Playbills
• State Normal School for Women at Harrisonburg (Harrisonburg, Va.) -- History
• State Normal and Industrial School for Women (Harrisonburg, Va.) -- History
• State Teachers College at Harrisonburg (Harrisonburg, Va.)
• Theater -- Virginia -- Harrisonburg
• Theater programs