Dramatics Files, 1878-1949
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Smith College Archives Northampton, MA
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Dramatics Files
Creation of Dramatics Files
Time of Creation of Dramatics Files
Smith College.
Biographical History for: Dramatics Files
Historical Note The first dramatic productions at Smith were performed by members of societies in the individual student houses on campus. The first of these was formed by Hatfield House in January of 1878 and was named Alpha Society. Washburn and Hubbard Houses soon followed with Olla Podrida in the fall of 1878 and Tertium Quid in 1879, respectively. Houses also occasionally banded together into groups under one name. Sarm Ganok was the name for the Stoddard- Dewey-Hatfield Houses group, and was adapted from the Chinese words for "Three Houses." To these was added Senior Dramatics in 1883 as a feature of Commencement week, although not officially added to the program until 1887. In 1889 the various dramatic societies had achieved official recognition by the administration of the College and in 1891 it became customary for performances to be held in town at the newly-opened Academy of Music. In 1896, owing to the tremendous popularity of Alpha Society, a sister organization was formed, called Phi Kappa Psi, and by 1901 most of the academic departments were also putting on shows. By 1908 the number of productions had out-paced itself to such an extent as to require limitations. The house dramatic groups were dissolved and in their place a divisional system based on class year was instituted. Four new groups were thus formed, each giving one show per year. The groups were called Cap and Bells, Sock and Buskin, The Players and The Mummers. This system was in turn discarded in 1919 when Samuel A. Eliot, of the Department of English Language and Literature, developed the Dramatics Association to replace it and added a course in play production to the Spoken English curriculum. In 1927 even the Senior Dramatics were taken over and all productions were given through the Dramatics Association and the Theatre Workshop, as the performances by Eliot's students were called. That same year also marked the first year of an actor/actress exchange with Amherst College and an end to the tradition of all-female casts in Smith plays. The Department of Theatre was not formed until the 1942-43 academic year, at which time Hallie Flannagan was made its chair. Seven years later, due to flagging student interest and lack of funds, the Dramatics Association voted to merge with the theatre department. All productions thereafter were produced by the department.
Scope and Contents of the Collection The Dramatics files consist of approximately 8 linear feet of programs, photographs, press releases, articles, notes and prompt books relating to the student productions at Smith between the years 1878 and 1949. These include all House Dramatics, Division of Dramatics, Alpha-Phi Kappa Psi, Theater Workshop, Dramatic Association and early Theater Department performances. For the early productions of the Theater Department, one should also consult the departmental production files, which are more complete. Senior Dramatics files are kept with the records of that class, departmental productions with the records of the department and faculty shows are filed with the faculty records. Brackets around any title, date, or organization indicate an uncertain attribution due to ambiguities in the content of the file. Dramatics files are arranged in chronological order.
College and school drama--Massachusetts--Northampton.
lcsh
Theater--Massachusetts--Northampton.
lcnaf
General
Dramatic Association - Correspondence 1931, 1947-48
History
Council - Photographs
Dramatics - list by house and dramatics association, etc
Organization
Unidentified photos
Anniversaries
List of plays, index (not complete) 1883-1960
Dramatics no date
Dramatics, informal and skits
Olla Podrida
Oct. 2, 1880
A Smith Optimal
An Early Phase of Civilization
Pygmalion
Catacombs
A Surprise Party
A Pretty Piece of Business
Magic Mirror
Charades
Merton's Laws of Motion
A Take-off on Yale Serenades
Dutch Dolls
Kafoozalum
A Scene in a Railway Car
Tertium Quid
Pinafore of the Revolution
May 11, 1881
A Love of a bonnet
Love Epic of the 18th Century
The Hunchback
May 28, 1881
Shooting Star
Oedipus Tyrannus
Nov. 2, 1881
A Syllogism
The Flower Greeting
scenes from Faust
Development a la Chinois
An Apology
Masonic Initiation
Sketch showing effect of higher education on the feminine mind
Place aux Dames
Mrs. McWilliams in a Thunderstorm
Mar. 8, 1882
The Lost Heir (a reading)
The Bashful Man
Robby Shaftoe
Boston Dip
Apples
Widow Larkin's Bonnet
May 29, 1882
Circle
May 31, 1882
Tableaux
My Uncle's Will
Among My Books
Mother Michel and her Cat
The Spirit of the Ninety-two, or the Coming Woman
Matrimonial Advertisement
Shadow Pantomimes
May 2, 1883
Pictures
The Loves of a Lover
[House Dramatics]
Jun. 4, 1884
The Cricket on the Hearth
Lights Out
What Katy did at School
Feb. 4, 1885
Little Nell
Peggoty
Mrs. Macstinger
May 6, 1885
The Spanish Student
May 9, 1885
Which is Which
May 7, 1885
Sleeping Beauty
Evangeline
The Beggar Maid
The Register
Oct. 7, 1885
The Baron's Gloves
Oh! The Sparkling Genius of Washburn Hall
Dewey House - photographs [1885-1886]
The Honeymoon
Engaged
Feb. 3, 1886
The Garroters
Duodecette
Past and Present
A Train of Thought
May 19, 1886
Cinderella
Sweethearts
The Three Little Kittens and the Land of Pie
Married for Money
Oliver Twist (scene)
Five Sisters of York tableau
Nicholas Nickleby (scenes)
Our Mutual Friend (scene)
Feb. 2, 1887
The Decorative Sister
photographs
Young Mr. Pritchard
Atchi
Dec. 7, 1887
The Sacred Flame of Torinji
Mar. 7, 1888
The Rose and the Ring
Lend Me Five Shillings
May 16, 1888
A Husband to Order
May 30, 1888
The Cool Collegians
One Summer
Esmerelda
Our Mutual Friend
May 29, 1889
The Sleeping Car
Jun. 5, 1889
A Browning Courtship
fall 1889
Russian Honeymoon
Jufrow van Steen
Wallace House
Oh Madame
Mar. 5, 1890
Midsummer Night's Dream
May 21, 1890
My Lord in Livery
Jun. 4, 1890
A Scrap of Paper
Hatfield House
Jun. 7, 1890
A Box of Monkeys
Change Partners
Cricket on the Hearth
Turn Him Out
The Vicar of Wakefield
[81 Bridge Street]
The Girl he Left Behind him
Kitchen Colonels
Sarm Ganok
She Stoops to Conquer
May 6, 1891
Heir at Law
May 16, 1891
Who's to Win Him
May 20, 1891
The Snowball
Willful Ward
A Fair Barbarian
Dec. 5, 1891
A Rice Pudding
Portrait of a Lady
Mar. 2, 1892
B.B. and P.
Aunt Serena
May 15, 1892
May 18, 1892
David Copperfield
Colombe's Birthday
Box and Cox
Feb. 4, 1893
The Obstinate Family
The Rivals
Mar. 1, 1893
Much Ado About Nothing
Lawrence House
May 3, 1893
Marie Stuart
Scenes from Schiller's
Dewey House
May 11, 1893
The Unexpected Guests
May 17, 1893
Prince Karl
Morris House
May 24, 1893
[Hubbard House]
Huckleberry Finn
Pepperpot's Little Pets
Elsie Dinsmore
Hubbard House
Proverbs in Porcelain
The Russian Honeymoon
[Mrs. Snowe's House]
Tulu
May 29, 1894
Overheard in Arcady
Dickinson House
A Veneered Savage
to Lawrence House by Class of 1895
Children's Party
May 2, 1894
Masque of Culture
The Mousetrap
[Morris House]
The Love Chase
Voice Club
Achilles in Scyros
(see Vox Club Dramatics, 52.Speech.VC)
Cranford
May 8, 1895
A Man of Letters
The Amazons
The Amazons - photo album
[Elm Street]
The Jack Trust
The Critic
Fair Barbarian
Phi Kappa Psi
Nov. 7, 1896
Donna Diana
A Man from Blakely's
Elocution Department
(see English Department - Dramatics 59.2 / Eng. Cl)
Money
Latin Club
Adelphoe of Terence
(see Department Clubs - Latin Club Dramatics 59.2 Clubs / La Dr. / 1897)
May 5, 1897
[Alpha - Phi Kappa Psi]
May 26, 1897
Nance Oldfield
Mar. 2, 1898
Wheel Of Love
Miss Tucker's, 84 Elm
Alice in Wonderland
A Russian Honeymoon
Jun. 1, 1898
Fanchon the Cricket
Rouge et Vert, or Five Long Years
Cool Collegians
Dec. 1898
The Belmont
Mar. 4, 1898
Ingomar
The Belle's Stratagem
Tyler House
The Best Laid Plans
For Half a Million
A Husband No More
9 Belmont
Dec. 2, 1899
A Perplexing Situation
Dec. 6, 1899
Lovers of Romance
The Cranford Play
Informal skits [1899-1900]
Marriage Ceremony
Ralph Roister Doister
(unidentified)
Plymouth Hall
An Engaging Position
The Christmas Boxes
(unidentified) - photograph [1899]
Fourth of July, or Any Old Thing
Oct. 2, 1900
Julius Caesar
Tenney House (classes '00, '01, '02)
A Pair of Lunatics
Dec. 5, 1900
To Serve for House and Fee
The Golfiacs
Adventure of Lady Ursula
Bataille des Dames
White Aprons
French Club
Les Deux Sourds
Les Precieuses
Ridicules
(see Department Clubs - French Club - Dramatics - 59.2 Clubs / E-F)
May 1, 1901
Dewey, Hatfield, Haven - Wesley Houses
Dec.4, 1901
Albright House
Feb. 8, 1902
Perils of the Sea
Lady of Lyons
Mar. 5, 1902
The Benefactress
The Sevres Cup
May 10, 1902
Nov.4, 1903
Little Lord Fauntleroy
Washburn-Tenney Houses
The Lord of Braunfels
Trelawny of Wells
May 6, 1903
Who's Who
The Fatal Message
The Baron's Victim
Haven House
Dec. 2, 1903
A Cup of Tea
S.C. Council
Dec. 9, 1903
Monsieur Bouquet
From the West
Dewey-Hatfield Houses
The Land of the Heart's Desire
Mr. Bob
Mar. 2, 1904
A Rose of Plymouth Town
Alice In Wonderland
Alpha-Phi Kappa Psi
May 25, 1904
Captain Jinks
Owl's Nest
May 21, 1904
King Rene's Daughter
Chapin House
Mar. 8, 1905
Pride and Prejudice
May 3, 1905
May 24, 1905
A Royal Family
Allen Recreation Field Benefit
Nov. 4, 1905
The Princess of Ming
Miss Hobbs
Ham Omelet
The Homemade Chaperone
Merely Mary Ann
The Manoeuvres of Jane
May 5, 1906
Little Princess
May 26, 1906
Monsieur Beaucaire
Fussing in Hades
The Bird's Christmas Carol
The Shoes that Danced
The Little God and Dicky
Haven-Wesley Houses
Mar. 2, 1907
Jun. 1, 1907
A Road to Yesterday
Lady Bountiful
You Never Can Tell
[General - photographs] [1908]
Electra
May 23, 1908
Her Great Match
Sock and Buskin
unidentified 1908-1909
Maud Muller
The Players
Quality Street
Cap and Bells
O My Land
The Mummers
May 22, 1909
Le Malade Imaginaire
Men and Mice
King Alfred's Jewels
Latin Department
Rudens of Plautus
(see Classics Department - Plays, Latin)
Dec. 3, 1910
Trelawney of the Wells
German Club
(see Department Clubs - German)
American Spirit of Today
May 20, 1911
Pot of Broth
The Far Away Princess
The Progress of Mrs. Alexander
Pity
May 4, 1912
The Melting Pot
May 8, 1912
A Cyclone for a Cent
May 21, 1912
The Importance of Being Earnest
Greek Club
May 22, 1912
Iphegenia at Aulis
(see also: Department Clubs - Greek Club - Dramatics)
Gillett House
Fall 1912
Sept. 5, 1912
Macbeth Burlesque
The Policy of the House
Beau Brummel
[Division of Dramatics]
Lost, Strayed or Stolen
Cousin Kate
Dewey - Clarke Players
Mar. 7, 1914
Classy Vaudeville
Baldwin House
The Inventor
The Piper
May 16, 1914
Mice and Men
Major Barbara
Mar. 6, 1915
A Rose o' Plymouth Town
Cyrano de Bergerac
The Rising of the Moon
Mar. 4, 1916
Lady Windermere's Fan
May 29, 1916
Master Skylark
The Truth
Dec. 9, 1916
Chinese Lantern
[for benefit of Dormitory Fund]
The Bear
Maker of Dreams
Hat Shop
Mme. Beacharmarescha
How the Rhinoceros Got His Skin
Two Hearts that Beat as One
Pygmalion and Galatea
Twig of Thorn
Dorinda Dare
[Theater Workshop]
Abraham and Isaac
Behind a Watteau Picture
Slave with Two Faces
Theater Workshop
On est Mieux ici Qu'en Face
Pericles
Dramatic Association
May 5, 1920
[Alpha-Phi Kappa Psi]
Devil's Disciple
What Every Woman Knows
Dec. 1, 1920
Man of Destiny
Tom Thumb the Great
Gloriana
Outcasts of Poker Flats
Pierre and Jean
An Ideal Husband
Dress Skit Contest
Alice through the Boudoir Glass
Three Inches from the Floor
A Million A la Mode
A Corner in Spring
May 5, 1921
Avenues
May 13, 1921
A Thousand Years Ago
Duchess of Pavy
Three Pills in a Bottle
Fall 1921
Henry IV
Hecuba
Wandering Scholar
The Sabine Women
Torches
May 3, 1922
If I Were King
May 25, 1922
Gamesters, Father and Son
The Immortal Sand
The Token
A Division of Despotism
[Dramatic Association]
The Romancers
Will o' the Wisp
The Locked Chest
Scorpio
The Superfluous Soul
Lima Beans
Medea
Dec. 1, 1922
Scarecrow
Dec. 1922
Everyman
Never Be Pinned Down
The Second
Shepherd's Play
Jan. 1923
Mrs. Adis
The Wrong Cue
The Eyes of the Panther
The Rat-Trap
May 9, 1923
Makers of Song
The Gift of God
Gloria Mundi
Eight Plumbers and a Bootlegger
Deirdre
The Knave of Hearts
Beauty and the Jacobin
The Shepherd in the Distance
Dec. 5, 1923
Jeanne d'Arc
Theater Workshop and Glee Club
Peter Crouch
A Triple Coincidence
The Wonderous Tales of Wen Chun Chin
Thy Kingdom Come
The Man Who Married a Dumb Wife
The Chinese Lantern
Shakuntala
Cobweb Kings
The Queen of Sheba
Vote the New Moon
The Faithful
The Porcelain Cups
Cross-currents
'Op o' Me Thumb
Teja
Pearl of Dawn
May 16, 1925
Misalliance
May 20, 1925
Grauch
Patelin
Spring 1925
Plas and Mlisande
A Marriage of Convenience
Great Catherine
Compromise of the King of the Golden Isles
Tragedy of a Man
Spring 1926
Ruy Blas
May 1926
A Puppet Play
[for benefit of Smith College Stage Fund]
Dec. 1926
Sappho and Phaon
Noah
Misgeneration
Mock Beggar
Bliss
The Sire de Maletroit's Door
May 1927
The Golden Door
May 11, 1927
L'Anglais Tel Qu'on
Le Parle
Man Who Married a Dumb Wife
(see Department Clubs - French Club 59.2 / Clubs / Fr.)
May 18, 1927
Jael
A Dramatic Play
Dear Brutus
Extra-Curriculum
The House of Ulna
Apr.1928
Beaux Stratagem
Apr. 1928
Twelfth Night
More Matter for a May Morning
May 24, 1928
A Merry Death
Servant of Two Masters
Miracle Play
On Trial
Sir David Wears a Crown
Bocaccio's "Untold Tale"
May 22, 1929
King Lear's Wife
Spring 1929
Lilies of the Field
Caesar and Cleopatra
Pyentsa
Nov. 6, 1929
Flight of the Queen
The Chocolate Soldier
The Player Queen
[for the benefit of the stage fund]
And So On
May 7, 1930
The Widow's Veil
Mary Rose
May 16, 1931
Illuminati in Drame Libre
The Giant's Stair
A Marriage Proposal
Dec. 1931
Can You Hear Their Voices
The Treasure
Knight of the Burning Pestle
Mar. 5, 1932
Night Club
The Pretty Sabine Women
Pot of broth
The Old Lady Shows her Medals
Finished
Berkeley Square
Mar. 7, 1933
The Laughter of the Gods
White Wings
"L"
Inheritors
The Enchanted Christmas Tree
The Wise Men
The Nursery maid of Heaven
The Swan
Mar. 7, 1934
Concerning Spring
The Cradle Song
One for the Money
Holiday
Autumn Crocus
The World We Live In
The Distaff Side
May 14, 1936
Toad of Toad Hall
Maedchen in Uniform
Feb. 1937
Hay Fever
Apr. 1937
Nov. 1, 1937
Moor Born
Feb. 1938
Hotel Universe
First Lady
Nov. 8, 1938
Ardiane et Barbe-Bleue
The Infernal Machine
Angel Wings
Mar. 2, 1939
Bargains in Cathay
Sarah, Wife of Simon
On that Day
Old Maid
Living Newspaper
Nov. 2, 1939
Fumed Oak
Monday
Theater of the Soul
Everybody's Doing It
Dec.7, 1939
Vest Pocket Standby
Foursome
The Artist
Woman's Honor
Workshop of the Arts
Mar. 6, 1940
A Good Woman
Over the Teacups
Number Ten
A Kiss in Xanadu
Call it a Day
The Cracked Teapot
Cracked? Who Isn't? or, The City Slicker
The Romance of the Willow Pattern
This is Leap Year
May 8, 1940
Pork Pie
The Purple Door-knob
May 16, 1940
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Sanctuary
Nov. 6, 1940
Shadowy Waters
Jonah and the Whale
Recital
Of Time and the Blizzard
Kind Lady
The Three Sisters
Brief Music
Bander-log
Ladies on the Loose
Riders to the Sea
Two Sides of the Triangle
So Wonderful, In White
The Layette
Ladies in Retirement
The Clod
Just No Good
Still Stands the House
Curse You, Jack Dalton!
May 12, 1942
A Man Who Married A Dumb Wife
World Without End
Arts Guild
May 18, 1942
The Shoe-maker's Prodigious Wife
Susan and God
Departments of Music and Theater
Department of Theater (Factory Follies)
Make with the Maximum
Department of Theater
Wake Island
Dept. of Theater and Dramatic Assoc.
A Watch on the Rhine
Cry Havoc
Antigone
Between Whistles
The Women
In this Short Spring--
Underground
Contact Unlimited
The Silver Cord
A Mirror for Witches
The Little Foxes
Dr. Faustus
Blithe Spirit
Style
General 1946-1947
Fanny's First Play
Home of the Brave
Spreading the News
Lodestar
La Giara
May 21; June 13-14, 1947
General 1947-1948
Oct. 30- Nov. 1, 1947
Tartuffe
Dangerous Corner
E=mc2
Rocket to the Moon
May 19, 1948
Skin of Our Teeth
The Corn is Green
The Lady of Larkspur Lotion
Lord Byron's Love Letter
This Property is Condemned
Day of the Play
Escape
Way of the World
General 1949-1950
Street Scene
[Faculty Production]
Feb. 6, 1950
Double Door
(see Faculty Shows 40.SH)
Prompt Books
As You Like It [1946?]
The Taming of the Shrew n.d.
The Pretenders (2 vols.) n.d.
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark [1956]
As You Like It n.d.
The Winter's Tale n.d.
Oversize Box
Julius Caesar - music arranged by Helen C. Marble Oct. 2, 1900