{"links":{"self":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Baccess_subjects%5D%5B%5D=Theater+--+United+States\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1998","last":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Baccess_subjects%5D%5B%5D=Theater+--+United+States\u0026f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1998\u0026page=1"},"meta":{"pages":{"current_page":1,"next_page":null,"prev_page":null,"total_pages":1,"limit_value":10,"offset_value":0,"total_count":6,"first_page?":true,"last_page?":true}},"data":[{"id":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","type":"collection","attributes":{"title":"Arena Stage records, 1949/2010","creator":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416#creator","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)","label":"Creator"}},"abstract_or_scope":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416#abstract_or_scope","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from its beginnings in 1950 to the present, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, handwritten correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records.","label":"Abstract Or Scope"}},"breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"id":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","ead_ssi":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","_root_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","_nest_parent_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/GMU/repositories_2_resources_416.xml","title_filing_ssi":"Arena Stage records","title_ssm":["Arena Stage records"],"title_tesim":["Arena Stage records"],"unitdate_ssm":["1949 - 2010"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1949 - 2010"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1949/2010"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Arena Stage records, 1949/2010"],"text":["Arena Stage records, 1949/2010","C0017","/repositories/2/resources/416","Theater -- Washington (D.C.)","Theater","Theater -- United States","Theater programs","Theater -- Production and direction","Performing arts","Video recordings","Sound recordings","Photographic prints","There are no access restrictions.","to this collection are expected.","The collection is arranged into five series, each of which is further divided into subseries:","Series\n      Series 1: Administrative records, 1949-2007 (Boxes 1-196)\n      Series 2: Production files, 1950-2010 (Boxes 197-588, 654-663)\n      Series 3: Photographs, 1950-1991 (Boxes 589-639)\n      Series 4: Oversize materials, 1949-late 2000s (Boxes 640-720)\n      Series 5: Audiovisual materials, 1970-2007 (Boxes 721-739)","Maslon, Lawrence, editor. \"The Arena Adventure: The First 40 Years.\" Washington, DC: Arena Stage, 1990.","From its opening on August 16, 1950, the Arena Stage has dedicated itself to being a space of imagination and innovation, a tool of \"civilization,\" and Washington, D.C.'s preeminent regional theater. Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, the Arena Stage began as a for-profit theater under Arena Enterprises, Inc. The original Hippodrome Theatre, located on Ninth and New York N.W. in D.C., was revolutionary amongst regional theatres for its theatre-in-the-round construction and would provide the blueprint for all future Arena locations.","Arena began its long and successful life with Oliver Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer. Arena owed its early successes in the 1950s to its fluid play schedule organization and its willingness to put on works that were not commercial successes on Broadway. In November of 1956, after a year's hiatus, the company relocated to a temporary home at the Old Heurich Brewery, dubbed the Old Vat by company members. The move was facilitated in part by the commitment and drive of Board members J. Burke Knapp, Albert M. Berkowitz, Israel Convisser, Leslie Amouri, and Henry J. Danilowicz. However, financial issues would continue to trouble Arena Enterprises, Inc., eventually leading to its dissolution in 1959, and the creation of Arena's new, non-profit parent organization, the Washington Drama Society.","During the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington since 1895. Chicago architect Harry Weese designed the space to be as innovative as possible while still maintaining the theater-in-the-round layout. Now a non-profit theater, Arena drew much of its funding during this time from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and generous donations from both the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundations.","The Arena Stage began some of its most ambitious work during the 1960s including forming the Living Stage Theatre Company, further integrating its cast, and staging its most ambitious and acclaimed work to date: The Great White Hope. The Great White Hope included twenty five additional guest actors, including James Earl Jones, and was an enormous success, both critically and financially, for Arena. It was the first major resident theater production to be exported to Broadway. Fichandler also began to experiment with casting African American actors in traditionally white roles during the 1968 season after she published the paper \"Towards a Deepening Aesthetic.\" Fichandler experimented with non-traditional casting in plays like King Lear and The Threepenny Opera, but unfortunately these plays were met with critical confusion and disappointing ticket sales. Arena Stage was incredibly successful in the 1970s, garnering awards and critical approval, and international recognition. Not content with the current Arena Stage configuration, Fichandler and others worked diligently to acquire another stage facility that would collaborate, not compete, with the current Stage. Generosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new Kreeger Theater which opened on January 15, 1971.","In 1973 Arena would have the opportunity to take two of its plays, Our Town and Inherit the Wind to the U.S.S.R. This was the first ever trip to the Soviet Union undertaken by a resident theater group. The trip was a wild success with Russian audiences giving the cast a standing ovation following their performance of Inherit the Wind at the Moscow Art Theatre. In April 1976 the American Theatre Critics Association bestowed upon the Arena Stage a special Tony Award for resident theaters. The ATCA cited Arena's qualities as a \"trailblazer\" in theatrical arts and representative of other theaters that had followed its lead.","The early 1980s were a difficult time for theater, but, in spite of this, Arena continued to push the limits of conventional residential theater. The 1982 production of K2, for example, saw the construction of a sheer glacial face on the Kreeger stage according to the vision of set designer Ming Cho Lee. In 1986 twenty-three actors and a thirteen member production staff traveled to Jerusalem to perform Zelda's production of The Crucible at the Israel Festival.","1989 marked the end of an era as Zelda Fichandler announced that she would step down as Arena's producing director at the end of the 1990-1991 fortieth anniversary season. Douglas C. Wager would succeed her as artistic director. Amid financial difficulties and changing times for theaters everywhere, Arena's resident company of actors was disbanded by the late 1990s. Wager remained at the helm until 1998, when Molly Smith took over the position. Under Smith's leadership, Bing Thom architects completed another major renovation of Arena's existing buildings into the Mead Center for American Theater in 2010. Smith served as Arena's artistic director until 2023, when she retired and was succeeded by current Aristic Director, Hana Sharif.","Many now-famous actors took part in Arena Stage productions during the early part of their careers. Some of them include Robert Prosky, Morgan Freeman, Dianne Wiest, James Earl Jones, Kevin Kline, Christopher Guest, Yeardley Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Ned Beatty, Jane Alexander, and Ron Perlman. Many other set designers, artists, costume designers, and technical workers owe their early success and experience to the Arena Stage.","The Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to film and audio reels, Betacam, or U-matic tapes contained in Series 5.2 and 5.3. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access.","Processed by Harvard Theatre Collection and George Mason University Special Collections Research Center staff. Reprocessed by Greta Suiter, Kerry Mitchell, Elizabeth Beckman, Diane Stancil, and Nick Welsh. EAD markup completed by Elizabeth Beckman in 2016. Finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in 2025.","The Special Collections Research Center holds the personal papers of several individuals involved with Arena Stage, including the Zelda Fichandler papers, the Thomas C. Fichandler papers, the Ken Kitch papers, as well as the Living Stage records.","The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from 1949 to 2010, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records pertaining to the theater's finances, publicity, buildings, and programs.","Series 1: Administrative records (1949-2007) documents the creation, operation, and maintenance of Arena Stage and its various programs. It is further divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 1.1: Correspondence includes correspondence arranged alphabetically by the correspondent's last name or by organizational name. Some correspondence is further aggregated and then organized alphabetically, such as \"Play Correspondence\" or \"Audience Response.\" Of particular note are letters from President Bill Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and King Kong star Fay Wray. Subseries 1.2: Programs, policies, and procedures, includes records of Arena's programs, such as the \"Arena Angels\" volunteer program and fellowship programs, policies, such as bylaws, diversity policies, and handbooks, and planning, including season planning and long-range plans. This subseries is broken up into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.3.1: Financial papers documents Arena's finances and includes stockholder documents from its beginnings as a for-profit theater, grant-related documentation after the theater transitioned to a non-profit in the late 1950s, and records of the theater's development office, some of which were kept by department director Elspeth Udvarhelyi. Sub-subseries 1.3.2: Personnel records includes information on staff at Arena Stage arranged alphabetically. Of particular interest are headshots and/or resumes of a number of well-known actors, including James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, Henry Winkler, Edward Hermann, Yeardley Smith, Jane Alexander, Swoosie Kurtz, Victor Garber, Ron Perlman, Annette Benning, Olympia Dukakis, John Lithgow, John Voigt, Sigourney Weaver, and Rosemary Harris. Sub-subseries 1.3.3: Casting information contains notes on casting for productions arranged alphabetically by play. Sub-subseries 1.3.4: Production contracts includes official agreements between Arena and others arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 1.4: Meeting minutes contains meeting minutes from Arena's Board of Trustees, staff, and other subgroups within the organization. Subseries 1.5: Communications and events, is also divided into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.5.1: Events documents special events held by Arena Stage, including anniversaries, galas, benefits, openings and press events. Sub-subseries 1.5.2: Communications and Marketing includes records produced by the Communications and Marketing departments, including meeting minutes, planning, research, and correspondence. Sub-subseries 1.5.3: Printed Material includes subscriber materials, mailings, brochures, reviews collected and arranged by play title, and programs organized chronologically. Sub-subseries 1.5.4: Theater Communications Group contains correspondence, reports, and other information generated from Arena's association with the Theater Communications Group, an organization of theaters around the United States. Subseries 1.6: Buildings and facilities includes information about and architectural plans for Arena's various buildings over the years, including the Hippodrome, the Old Vat, the 1960 permanent building, and the Kreeger Theater addition.","Series 2: Production Files (1950-2010) is comprised of records related to the artistic development and performance of Arena's plays. It is divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 2.1: Dramaturgical files documents literary, historical and background research done by Arena's literary department for various plays, including articles, research packets, actor's packets, and scripts. It is generally organized alphabetically by play. Subseries 2.2: Playwright subject files contains research on various playwrights, both living and dead, whose work has been performed at Arena. It is organized alphabetically by playwright's last name. Subseries 2.3: Production files includes scripts, blocking information, correspondence, and other material related to the production of Arena's plays. It is arranged alphabetically by play title. Subseries 2.4: Stage manager's reports includes daily reports by the stage manager of productions for the entire runs of many of Arena's plays from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s. The reports include running times, incident reports, and other commentary on the audience and the performance. Subseries 2.5: Wrap files contains documents collected from throughout the runs of various productions, including reviews that reflect the wider response to the play. Subseries 2.6: Producing director's files contains documents from Arena's second Producing director after Zelda Fichandler, Doug Wager, who served from 1991-1998. It includes pre-production speeches given by Wager, as well as planning files.","Series 3: Photographs (1950-1991)is divided into 3 subseries. Subseries 3.1: Production photographs includes photos of scenes from Arena's productions arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 3.2: Production books includes production photos collected in books, many of which are by professional photographer George de Vincent. Subseries 3.3: Buildings, staff, and events includes photographs of Arena's buildings, staff and cast portraits, and event photographs, such as prints from Arena's 30th anniversary celebration and from Arena's Soviet Union and Israel tours. Subseries 3.4: Negatives and slides includes slides and negatives of Arena's staff and events, as well as some buildings, sets, and production-related images.","Series 4: Oversize (1949-late 2000s) is divided into 3 subseries and contains a variety of oversize material. Subseries 4.1: Braille programs contains programs in Braille for various Arena productions from the 1990s and early 2000s. Subseries 4.2: Miscellaneous artwork and programs includes posters from Arena productions and events, enlarged photos, costume sketches, and other oversized material, such as a large model of the Mead Center for American Theater. Subseries 4.3: Scrapbooks contains scrapbooks created for each of Arena's seasons up until 1988. It also includes scrapbooks for Arena's tour of the Soviet Union and of visitors to Arena.","Series 5: Audiovisual (1970-2007) contains several types of formats and is divided into 3 subseries. Series 5.1: Performances on VHS contains VHS tapes (a few of which have associated DVDs) of performances at Arena arranged alphabetically by play title. Series 5.2: Reel-to-reel contains production and event footage on reel-to-reel film. Series 5.3: Other audiovisual formats and VHS tapes contains footage of events and productions on audiocassette, Betacam, and U-matic tapes.","The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)","The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from its beginnings in 1950 to the present, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, handwritten correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records.","R 5, C 1, S 2 - R 9, C 4, S 7 \n\n\nR29, C1, S2\n\nOS R 3, C 2, S 1 - C 3, S 7\nOS R 4, C 5, S 5 \nOS R 5, C 2, S 3\nOS R 5, C 5, S 4\nOS R 6, C 4, S 6 - S 7\nOS R 7, C 1, S 2\nMap Case 9.1, 11.5","George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)","Fichandler, Thomas C.","Fichandler, Zelda, 1924-2016","English"],"collection_title_tesim":["Arena Stage records, 1949/2010"],"collection_ssim":["Arena Stage records, 1949/2010"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["C0017","/repositories/2/resources/416"],"unitid_tesim":["C0017","/repositories/2/resources/416"],"repository_ssm":["George Mason University"],"repository_ssim":["George Mason University"],"creator_ssm":["Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"creator_ssim":["Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Fichandler, Thomas C.","Fichandler, Zelda, 1924-2016"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"creators_ssim":["Fichandler, Thomas C.","Fichandler, Zelda, 1924-2016","George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"access_terms_ssm":["The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)"],"acqinfo_ssim":["Donated by Arena Stage in 2000-2024.","This collection has additional unprocessed accessions 2023.040-C and 2024.088-C, and therefore this finding aid may not be fully up to date. Please contact SCRC for more information."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Theater -- Washington (D.C.)","Theater","Theater -- United States","Theater programs","Theater -- Production and direction","Performing arts","Video recordings","Sound recordings","Photographic prints"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Theater -- Washington (D.C.)","Theater","Theater -- United States","Theater programs","Theater -- Production and direction","Performing arts","Video recordings","Sound recordings","Photographic prints"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["369.5 Linear Feet 739 boxes"],"extent_tesim":["369.5 Linear Feet 739 boxes"],"genreform_ssim":["Video recordings","Sound recordings","Photographic prints"],"date_range_isim":[1949,1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are no access restrictions.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access Restrictions"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["There are no access restrictions."],"accruals_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eto this collection are expected.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"accruals_heading_ssm":["Accruals"],"accruals_tesim":["to this collection are expected."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is arranged into five series, each of which is further divided into subseries:\u003c/p\u003e    ","\u003clist type=\"ordered\"\u003e\n      \u003chead\u003eSeries\u003c/head\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 1: Administrative records, 1949-2007 (Boxes 1-196)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 2: Production files, 1950-2010 (Boxes 197-588, 654-663)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 3: Photographs, 1950-1991 (Boxes 589-639)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 4: Oversize materials, 1949-late 2000s (Boxes 640-720)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 5: Audiovisual materials, 1970-2007 (Boxes 721-739)\u003c/item\u003e\n    \u003c/list\u003e\n  "],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The collection is arranged into five series, each of which is further divided into subseries:","Series\n      Series 1: Administrative records, 1949-2007 (Boxes 1-196)\n      Series 2: Production files, 1950-2010 (Boxes 197-588, 654-663)\n      Series 3: Photographs, 1950-1991 (Boxes 589-639)\n      Series 4: Oversize materials, 1949-late 2000s (Boxes 640-720)\n      Series 5: Audiovisual materials, 1970-2007 (Boxes 721-739)"],"bibliography_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\u003cextptr href=\"http://www.arenastage.org/plan-your-visit/the-mead-center/\" title=\"'Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater.' Arena Stage. Accessed February 3, 2016.\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\n            ","\u003cp\u003e Maslon, Lawrence, editor. \"The Arena Adventure: The First 40 Years.\" Washington, DC: Arena Stage, 1990.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e \u003cextptr href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/theater/features/arena51205.htm\" title=\"Richards, David. 'For Arena Stage, a Pioneering Selection.' Washington Post. December 5, 1997\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e \u003c/p\u003e  "],"bibliography_heading_ssm":["Bibliography"],"bibliography_tesim":["Maslon, Lawrence, editor. \"The Arena Adventure: The First 40 Years.\" Washington, DC: Arena Stage, 1990."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eFrom its opening on August 16, 1950, the Arena Stage has dedicated itself to being a space of imagination and innovation, a tool of \"civilization,\" and Washington, D.C.'s preeminent regional theater. Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, the Arena Stage began as a for-profit theater under Arena Enterprises, Inc. The original Hippodrome Theatre, located on Ninth and New York N.W. in D.C., was revolutionary amongst regional theatres for its theatre-in-the-round construction and would provide the blueprint for all future Arena locations.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eArena began its long and successful life with Oliver Goldsmith's \u003citalic\u003eShe Stoops to Conquer.\u003c/italic\u003e Arena owed its early successes in the 1950s to its fluid play schedule organization and its willingness to put on works that were not commercial successes on Broadway. In November of 1956, after a year's hiatus, the company relocated to a temporary home at the Old Heurich Brewery, dubbed the Old Vat by company members. The move was facilitated in part by the commitment and drive of Board members J. Burke Knapp, Albert M. Berkowitz, Israel Convisser, Leslie Amouri, and Henry J. Danilowicz. However, financial issues would continue to trouble Arena Enterprises, Inc., eventually leading to its dissolution in 1959, and the creation of Arena's new, non-profit parent organization, the Washington Drama Society.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eDuring the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington since 1895. Chicago architect Harry Weese designed the space to be as innovative as possible while still maintaining the theater-in-the-round layout. Now a non-profit theater, Arena drew much of its funding during this time from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and generous donations from both the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundations.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe Arena Stage began some of its most ambitious work during the 1960s including forming the Living Stage Theatre Company, further integrating its cast, and staging its most ambitious and acclaimed work to date: \u003citalic\u003eThe Great White Hope.\u003c/italic\u003e \u003citalic\u003eThe Great White Hope\u003c/italic\u003e included twenty five additional guest actors, including James Earl Jones, and was an enormous success, both critically and financially, for Arena. It was the first major resident theater production to be exported to Broadway. Fichandler also began to experiment with casting African American actors in traditionally white roles during the 1968 season after she published the paper \"Towards a Deepening Aesthetic.\" Fichandler experimented with non-traditional casting in plays like \u003citalic\u003eKing Lear\u003c/italic\u003e and \u003citalic\u003eThe Threepenny Opera\u003c/italic\u003e, but unfortunately these plays were met with critical confusion and disappointing ticket sales. Arena Stage was incredibly successful in the 1970s, garnering awards and critical approval, and international recognition. Not content with the current Arena Stage configuration, Fichandler and others worked diligently to acquire another stage facility that would collaborate, not compete, with the current Stage. Generosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new Kreeger Theater which opened on January 15, 1971.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn 1973 Arena would have the opportunity to take two of its plays, \u003citalic\u003eOur Town\u003c/italic\u003e and \u003citalic\u003eInherit the Wind\u003c/italic\u003e to the U.S.S.R. This was the first ever trip to the Soviet Union undertaken by a resident theater group. The trip was a wild success with Russian audiences giving the cast a standing ovation following their performance of \u003citalic\u003eInherit the Wind\u003c/italic\u003e at the Moscow Art Theatre. In April 1976 the American Theatre Critics Association bestowed upon the Arena Stage a special Tony Award for resident theaters. The ATCA cited Arena's qualities as a \"trailblazer\" in theatrical arts and representative of other theaters that had followed its lead.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe early 1980s were a difficult time for theater, but, in spite of this, Arena continued to push the limits of conventional residential theater. The 1982 production of \u003citalic\u003eK2\u003c/italic\u003e, for example, saw the construction of a sheer glacial face on the Kreeger stage according to the vision of set designer Ming Cho Lee. In 1986 twenty-three actors and a thirteen member production staff traveled to Jerusalem to perform Zelda's production of \u003citalic\u003eThe Crucible\u003c/italic\u003e at the Israel Festival.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e1989 marked the end of an era as Zelda Fichandler announced that she would step down as Arena's producing director at the end of the 1990-1991 fortieth anniversary season. Douglas C. Wager would succeed her as artistic director. Amid financial difficulties and changing times for theaters everywhere, Arena's resident company of actors was disbanded by the late 1990s. Wager remained at the helm until 1998, when Molly Smith took over the position. Under Smith's leadership, Bing Thom architects completed another major renovation of Arena's existing buildings into the Mead Center for American Theater in 2010. Smith served as Arena's artistic director until 2023, when she retired and was succeeded by current Aristic Director, Hana Sharif.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMany now-famous actors took part in Arena Stage productions during the early part of their careers. Some of them include Robert Prosky, Morgan Freeman, Dianne Wiest, James Earl Jones, Kevin Kline, Christopher Guest, Yeardley Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Ned Beatty, Jane Alexander, and Ron Perlman. Many other set designers, artists, costume designers, and technical workers owe their early success and experience to the Arena Stage.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["From its opening on August 16, 1950, the Arena Stage has dedicated itself to being a space of imagination and innovation, a tool of \"civilization,\" and Washington, D.C.'s preeminent regional theater. Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, the Arena Stage began as a for-profit theater under Arena Enterprises, Inc. The original Hippodrome Theatre, located on Ninth and New York N.W. in D.C., was revolutionary amongst regional theatres for its theatre-in-the-round construction and would provide the blueprint for all future Arena locations.","Arena began its long and successful life with Oliver Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer. Arena owed its early successes in the 1950s to its fluid play schedule organization and its willingness to put on works that were not commercial successes on Broadway. In November of 1956, after a year's hiatus, the company relocated to a temporary home at the Old Heurich Brewery, dubbed the Old Vat by company members. The move was facilitated in part by the commitment and drive of Board members J. Burke Knapp, Albert M. Berkowitz, Israel Convisser, Leslie Amouri, and Henry J. Danilowicz. However, financial issues would continue to trouble Arena Enterprises, Inc., eventually leading to its dissolution in 1959, and the creation of Arena's new, non-profit parent organization, the Washington Drama Society.","During the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington since 1895. Chicago architect Harry Weese designed the space to be as innovative as possible while still maintaining the theater-in-the-round layout. Now a non-profit theater, Arena drew much of its funding during this time from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and generous donations from both the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundations.","The Arena Stage began some of its most ambitious work during the 1960s including forming the Living Stage Theatre Company, further integrating its cast, and staging its most ambitious and acclaimed work to date: The Great White Hope. The Great White Hope included twenty five additional guest actors, including James Earl Jones, and was an enormous success, both critically and financially, for Arena. It was the first major resident theater production to be exported to Broadway. Fichandler also began to experiment with casting African American actors in traditionally white roles during the 1968 season after she published the paper \"Towards a Deepening Aesthetic.\" Fichandler experimented with non-traditional casting in plays like King Lear and The Threepenny Opera, but unfortunately these plays were met with critical confusion and disappointing ticket sales. Arena Stage was incredibly successful in the 1970s, garnering awards and critical approval, and international recognition. Not content with the current Arena Stage configuration, Fichandler and others worked diligently to acquire another stage facility that would collaborate, not compete, with the current Stage. Generosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new Kreeger Theater which opened on January 15, 1971.","In 1973 Arena would have the opportunity to take two of its plays, Our Town and Inherit the Wind to the U.S.S.R. This was the first ever trip to the Soviet Union undertaken by a resident theater group. The trip was a wild success with Russian audiences giving the cast a standing ovation following their performance of Inherit the Wind at the Moscow Art Theatre. In April 1976 the American Theatre Critics Association bestowed upon the Arena Stage a special Tony Award for resident theaters. The ATCA cited Arena's qualities as a \"trailblazer\" in theatrical arts and representative of other theaters that had followed its lead.","The early 1980s were a difficult time for theater, but, in spite of this, Arena continued to push the limits of conventional residential theater. The 1982 production of K2, for example, saw the construction of a sheer glacial face on the Kreeger stage according to the vision of set designer Ming Cho Lee. In 1986 twenty-three actors and a thirteen member production staff traveled to Jerusalem to perform Zelda's production of The Crucible at the Israel Festival.","1989 marked the end of an era as Zelda Fichandler announced that she would step down as Arena's producing director at the end of the 1990-1991 fortieth anniversary season. Douglas C. Wager would succeed her as artistic director. Amid financial difficulties and changing times for theaters everywhere, Arena's resident company of actors was disbanded by the late 1990s. Wager remained at the helm until 1998, when Molly Smith took over the position. Under Smith's leadership, Bing Thom architects completed another major renovation of Arena's existing buildings into the Mead Center for American Theater in 2010. Smith served as Arena's artistic director until 2023, when she retired and was succeeded by current Aristic Director, Hana Sharif.","Many now-famous actors took part in Arena Stage productions during the early part of their careers. Some of them include Robert Prosky, Morgan Freeman, Dianne Wiest, James Earl Jones, Kevin Kline, Christopher Guest, Yeardley Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Ned Beatty, Jane Alexander, and Ron Perlman. Many other set designers, artists, costume designers, and technical workers owe their early success and experience to the Arena Stage."],"phystech_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to film and audio reels, Betacam, or U-matic tapes contained in Series 5.2 and 5.3. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"phystech_heading_ssm":["Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements"],"phystech_tesim":["The Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to film and audio reels, Betacam, or U-matic tapes contained in Series 5.2 and 5.3. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eArena Stage records, C0017, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"prefercite_tesim":["Arena Stage records, C0017, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eProcessed by Harvard Theatre Collection and George Mason University Special Collections Research Center staff. Reprocessed by Greta Suiter, Kerry Mitchell, Elizabeth Beckman, Diane Stancil, and Nick Welsh. EAD markup completed by Elizabeth Beckman in 2016. Finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in 2025.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["Processed by Harvard Theatre Collection and George Mason University Special Collections Research Center staff. Reprocessed by Greta Suiter, Kerry Mitchell, Elizabeth Beckman, Diane Stancil, and Nick Welsh. EAD markup completed by Elizabeth Beckman in 2016. Finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in 2025."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Special Collections Research Center holds the personal papers of several individuals involved with Arena Stage, including the Zelda Fichandler papers, the Thomas C. Fichandler papers, the Ken Kitch papers, as well as the Living Stage records.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Material"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["The Special Collections Research Center holds the personal papers of several individuals involved with Arena Stage, including the Zelda Fichandler papers, the Thomas C. Fichandler papers, the Ken Kitch papers, as well as the Living Stage records."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from 1949 to 2010, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records pertaining to the theater's finances, publicity, buildings, and programs.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSeries 1: Administrative records (1949-2007) documents the creation, operation, and maintenance of Arena Stage and its various programs. It is further divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 1.1: Correspondence includes correspondence arranged alphabetically by the correspondent's last name or by organizational name. Some correspondence is further aggregated and then organized alphabetically, such as \"Play Correspondence\" or \"Audience Response.\" Of particular note are letters from President Bill Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and King Kong star Fay Wray. Subseries 1.2: Programs, policies, and procedures, includes records of Arena's programs, such as the \"Arena Angels\" volunteer program and fellowship programs, policies, such as bylaws, diversity policies, and handbooks, and planning, including season planning and long-range plans. This subseries is broken up into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.3.1: Financial papers documents Arena's finances and includes stockholder documents from its beginnings as a for-profit theater, grant-related documentation after the theater transitioned to a non-profit in the late 1950s, and records of the theater's development office, some of which were kept by department director Elspeth Udvarhelyi. Sub-subseries 1.3.2: Personnel records includes information on staff at Arena Stage arranged alphabetically. Of particular interest are headshots and/or resumes of a number of well-known actors, including James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, Henry Winkler, Edward Hermann, Yeardley Smith, Jane Alexander, Swoosie Kurtz, Victor Garber, Ron Perlman, Annette Benning, Olympia Dukakis, John Lithgow, John Voigt, Sigourney Weaver, and Rosemary Harris. Sub-subseries 1.3.3: Casting information contains notes on casting for productions arranged alphabetically by play. Sub-subseries 1.3.4: Production contracts includes official agreements between Arena and others arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 1.4: Meeting minutes contains meeting minutes from Arena's Board of Trustees, staff, and other subgroups within the organization. Subseries 1.5: Communications and events, is also divided into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.5.1: Events documents special events held by Arena Stage, including anniversaries, galas, benefits, openings and press events. Sub-subseries 1.5.2: Communications and Marketing includes records produced by the Communications and Marketing departments, including meeting minutes, planning, research, and correspondence. Sub-subseries 1.5.3: Printed Material includes subscriber materials, mailings, brochures, reviews collected and arranged by play title, and programs organized chronologically. Sub-subseries 1.5.4: Theater Communications Group contains correspondence, reports, and other information generated from Arena's association with the Theater Communications Group, an organization of theaters around the United States. Subseries 1.6: Buildings and facilities includes information about and architectural plans for Arena's various buildings over the years, including the Hippodrome, the Old Vat, the 1960 permanent building, and the Kreeger Theater addition.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSeries 2: Production Files (1950-2010) is comprised of records related to the artistic development and performance of Arena's plays. It is divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 2.1: Dramaturgical files documents literary, historical and background research done by Arena's literary department for various plays, including articles, research packets, actor's packets, and scripts. It is generally organized alphabetically by play. Subseries 2.2: Playwright subject files contains research on various playwrights, both living and dead, whose work has been performed at Arena. It is organized alphabetically by playwright's last name. Subseries 2.3: Production files includes scripts, blocking information, correspondence, and other material related to the production of Arena's plays. It is arranged alphabetically by play title. Subseries 2.4: Stage manager's reports includes daily reports by the stage manager of productions for the entire runs of many of Arena's plays from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s. The reports include running times, incident reports, and other commentary on the audience and the performance. Subseries 2.5: Wrap files contains documents collected from throughout the runs of various productions, including reviews that reflect the wider response to the play. Subseries 2.6: Producing director's files contains documents from Arena's second Producing director after Zelda Fichandler, Doug Wager, who served from 1991-1998. It includes pre-production speeches given by Wager, as well as planning files.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSeries 3: Photographs (1950-1991)is divided into 3 subseries. Subseries 3.1: Production photographs includes photos of scenes from Arena's productions arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 3.2: Production books includes production photos collected in books, many of which are by professional photographer George de Vincent. Subseries 3.3: Buildings, staff, and events includes photographs of Arena's buildings, staff and cast portraits, and event photographs, such as prints from Arena's 30th anniversary celebration and from Arena's Soviet Union and Israel tours. Subseries 3.4: Negatives and slides includes slides and negatives of Arena's staff and events, as well as some buildings, sets, and production-related images.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSeries 4: Oversize (1949-late 2000s) is divided into 3 subseries and contains a variety of oversize material. Subseries 4.1: Braille programs contains programs in Braille for various Arena productions from the 1990s and early 2000s. Subseries 4.2: Miscellaneous artwork and programs includes posters from Arena productions and events, enlarged photos, costume sketches, and other oversized material, such as a large model of the Mead Center for American Theater. Subseries 4.3: Scrapbooks contains scrapbooks created for each of Arena's seasons up until 1988. It also includes scrapbooks for Arena's tour of the Soviet Union and of visitors to Arena.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSeries 5: Audiovisual (1970-2007) contains several types of formats and is divided into 3 subseries. Series 5.1: Performances on VHS contains VHS tapes (a few of which have associated DVDs) of performances at Arena arranged alphabetically by play title. Series 5.2: Reel-to-reel contains production and event footage on reel-to-reel film. Series 5.3: Other audiovisual formats and VHS tapes contains footage of events and productions on audiocassette, Betacam, and U-matic tapes. \u003c/p\u003e  "],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from 1949 to 2010, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records pertaining to the theater's finances, publicity, buildings, and programs.","Series 1: Administrative records (1949-2007) documents the creation, operation, and maintenance of Arena Stage and its various programs. It is further divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 1.1: Correspondence includes correspondence arranged alphabetically by the correspondent's last name or by organizational name. Some correspondence is further aggregated and then organized alphabetically, such as \"Play Correspondence\" or \"Audience Response.\" Of particular note are letters from President Bill Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and King Kong star Fay Wray. Subseries 1.2: Programs, policies, and procedures, includes records of Arena's programs, such as the \"Arena Angels\" volunteer program and fellowship programs, policies, such as bylaws, diversity policies, and handbooks, and planning, including season planning and long-range plans. This subseries is broken up into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.3.1: Financial papers documents Arena's finances and includes stockholder documents from its beginnings as a for-profit theater, grant-related documentation after the theater transitioned to a non-profit in the late 1950s, and records of the theater's development office, some of which were kept by department director Elspeth Udvarhelyi. Sub-subseries 1.3.2: Personnel records includes information on staff at Arena Stage arranged alphabetically. Of particular interest are headshots and/or resumes of a number of well-known actors, including James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, Henry Winkler, Edward Hermann, Yeardley Smith, Jane Alexander, Swoosie Kurtz, Victor Garber, Ron Perlman, Annette Benning, Olympia Dukakis, John Lithgow, John Voigt, Sigourney Weaver, and Rosemary Harris. Sub-subseries 1.3.3: Casting information contains notes on casting for productions arranged alphabetically by play. Sub-subseries 1.3.4: Production contracts includes official agreements between Arena and others arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 1.4: Meeting minutes contains meeting minutes from Arena's Board of Trustees, staff, and other subgroups within the organization. Subseries 1.5: Communications and events, is also divided into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.5.1: Events documents special events held by Arena Stage, including anniversaries, galas, benefits, openings and press events. Sub-subseries 1.5.2: Communications and Marketing includes records produced by the Communications and Marketing departments, including meeting minutes, planning, research, and correspondence. Sub-subseries 1.5.3: Printed Material includes subscriber materials, mailings, brochures, reviews collected and arranged by play title, and programs organized chronologically. Sub-subseries 1.5.4: Theater Communications Group contains correspondence, reports, and other information generated from Arena's association with the Theater Communications Group, an organization of theaters around the United States. Subseries 1.6: Buildings and facilities includes information about and architectural plans for Arena's various buildings over the years, including the Hippodrome, the Old Vat, the 1960 permanent building, and the Kreeger Theater addition.","Series 2: Production Files (1950-2010) is comprised of records related to the artistic development and performance of Arena's plays. It is divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 2.1: Dramaturgical files documents literary, historical and background research done by Arena's literary department for various plays, including articles, research packets, actor's packets, and scripts. It is generally organized alphabetically by play. Subseries 2.2: Playwright subject files contains research on various playwrights, both living and dead, whose work has been performed at Arena. It is organized alphabetically by playwright's last name. Subseries 2.3: Production files includes scripts, blocking information, correspondence, and other material related to the production of Arena's plays. It is arranged alphabetically by play title. Subseries 2.4: Stage manager's reports includes daily reports by the stage manager of productions for the entire runs of many of Arena's plays from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s. The reports include running times, incident reports, and other commentary on the audience and the performance. Subseries 2.5: Wrap files contains documents collected from throughout the runs of various productions, including reviews that reflect the wider response to the play. Subseries 2.6: Producing director's files contains documents from Arena's second Producing director after Zelda Fichandler, Doug Wager, who served from 1991-1998. It includes pre-production speeches given by Wager, as well as planning files.","Series 3: Photographs (1950-1991)is divided into 3 subseries. Subseries 3.1: Production photographs includes photos of scenes from Arena's productions arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 3.2: Production books includes production photos collected in books, many of which are by professional photographer George de Vincent. Subseries 3.3: Buildings, staff, and events includes photographs of Arena's buildings, staff and cast portraits, and event photographs, such as prints from Arena's 30th anniversary celebration and from Arena's Soviet Union and Israel tours. Subseries 3.4: Negatives and slides includes slides and negatives of Arena's staff and events, as well as some buildings, sets, and production-related images.","Series 4: Oversize (1949-late 2000s) is divided into 3 subseries and contains a variety of oversize material. Subseries 4.1: Braille programs contains programs in Braille for various Arena productions from the 1990s and early 2000s. Subseries 4.2: Miscellaneous artwork and programs includes posters from Arena productions and events, enlarged photos, costume sketches, and other oversized material, such as a large model of the Mead Center for American Theater. Subseries 4.3: Scrapbooks contains scrapbooks created for each of Arena's seasons up until 1988. It also includes scrapbooks for Arena's tour of the Soviet Union and of visitors to Arena.","Series 5: Audiovisual (1970-2007) contains several types of formats and is divided into 3 subseries. Series 5.1: Performances on VHS contains VHS tapes (a few of which have associated DVDs) of performances at Arena arranged alphabetically by play title. Series 5.2: Reel-to-reel contains production and event footage on reel-to-reel film. Series 5.3: Other audiovisual formats and VHS tapes contains footage of events and productions on audiocassette, Betacam, and U-matic tapes."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)\u003c/p\u003e  "],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)"],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_ec96c412f915842d3012676b73803163\" label=\"Abstract\"\u003eThe Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from its beginnings in 1950 to the present, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, handwritten correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records.\u003c/abstract\u003e\n    "],"abstract_tesim":["The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from its beginnings in 1950 to the present, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, handwritten correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records."],"physloc_html_tesm":["\u003cphysloc id=\"aspace_22f8958322c3fdee6366a384bb686980\"\u003e\nR 5, C 1, S 2 - R 9, C 4, S 7 \n\n\nR29, C1, S2\n\nOS R 3, C 2, S 1 - C 3, S 7\nOS R 4, C 5, S 5 \nOS R 5, C 2, S 3\nOS R 5, C 5, S 4\nOS R 6, C 4, S 6 - S 7\nOS R 7, C 1, S 2\nMap Case 9.1, 11.5\u003c/physloc\u003e\n    "],"physloc_tesim":["R 5, C 1, S 2 - R 9, C 4, S 7 \n\n\nR29, C1, S2\n\nOS R 3, C 2, S 1 - C 3, S 7\nOS R 4, C 5, S 5 \nOS R 5, C 2, S 3\nOS R 5, C 5, S 4\nOS R 6, C 4, S 6 - S 7\nOS R 7, C 1, S 2\nMap Case 9.1, 11.5"],"corpname_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"persname_ssim":["Fichandler, Thomas C.","Fichandler, Zelda, 1924-2016"],"names_coll_ssim":["Fichandler, Thomas C.","Fichandler, Zelda, 1924-2016"],"names_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)","Fichandler, Thomas C.","Fichandler, Zelda, 1924-2016"],"language_ssim":["English"],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":8332,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-07-23T21:20:46.971Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","ead_ssi":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","_root_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","_nest_parent_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/GMU/repositories_2_resources_416.xml","title_filing_ssi":"Arena Stage records","title_ssm":["Arena Stage records"],"title_tesim":["Arena Stage records"],"unitdate_ssm":["1949 - 2010"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1949 - 2010"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1949/2010"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Arena Stage records, 1949/2010"],"text":["Arena Stage records, 1949/2010","C0017","/repositories/2/resources/416","Theater -- Washington (D.C.)","Theater","Theater -- United States","Theater programs","Theater -- Production and direction","Performing arts","Video recordings","Sound recordings","Photographic prints","There are no access restrictions.","to this collection are expected.","The collection is arranged into five series, each of which is further divided into subseries:","Series\n      Series 1: Administrative records, 1949-2007 (Boxes 1-196)\n      Series 2: Production files, 1950-2010 (Boxes 197-588, 654-663)\n      Series 3: Photographs, 1950-1991 (Boxes 589-639)\n      Series 4: Oversize materials, 1949-late 2000s (Boxes 640-720)\n      Series 5: Audiovisual materials, 1970-2007 (Boxes 721-739)","Maslon, Lawrence, editor. \"The Arena Adventure: The First 40 Years.\" Washington, DC: Arena Stage, 1990.","From its opening on August 16, 1950, the Arena Stage has dedicated itself to being a space of imagination and innovation, a tool of \"civilization,\" and Washington, D.C.'s preeminent regional theater. Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, the Arena Stage began as a for-profit theater under Arena Enterprises, Inc. The original Hippodrome Theatre, located on Ninth and New York N.W. in D.C., was revolutionary amongst regional theatres for its theatre-in-the-round construction and would provide the blueprint for all future Arena locations.","Arena began its long and successful life with Oliver Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer. Arena owed its early successes in the 1950s to its fluid play schedule organization and its willingness to put on works that were not commercial successes on Broadway. In November of 1956, after a year's hiatus, the company relocated to a temporary home at the Old Heurich Brewery, dubbed the Old Vat by company members. The move was facilitated in part by the commitment and drive of Board members J. Burke Knapp, Albert M. Berkowitz, Israel Convisser, Leslie Amouri, and Henry J. Danilowicz. However, financial issues would continue to trouble Arena Enterprises, Inc., eventually leading to its dissolution in 1959, and the creation of Arena's new, non-profit parent organization, the Washington Drama Society.","During the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington since 1895. Chicago architect Harry Weese designed the space to be as innovative as possible while still maintaining the theater-in-the-round layout. Now a non-profit theater, Arena drew much of its funding during this time from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and generous donations from both the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundations.","The Arena Stage began some of its most ambitious work during the 1960s including forming the Living Stage Theatre Company, further integrating its cast, and staging its most ambitious and acclaimed work to date: The Great White Hope. The Great White Hope included twenty five additional guest actors, including James Earl Jones, and was an enormous success, both critically and financially, for Arena. It was the first major resident theater production to be exported to Broadway. Fichandler also began to experiment with casting African American actors in traditionally white roles during the 1968 season after she published the paper \"Towards a Deepening Aesthetic.\" Fichandler experimented with non-traditional casting in plays like King Lear and The Threepenny Opera, but unfortunately these plays were met with critical confusion and disappointing ticket sales. Arena Stage was incredibly successful in the 1970s, garnering awards and critical approval, and international recognition. Not content with the current Arena Stage configuration, Fichandler and others worked diligently to acquire another stage facility that would collaborate, not compete, with the current Stage. Generosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new Kreeger Theater which opened on January 15, 1971.","In 1973 Arena would have the opportunity to take two of its plays, Our Town and Inherit the Wind to the U.S.S.R. This was the first ever trip to the Soviet Union undertaken by a resident theater group. The trip was a wild success with Russian audiences giving the cast a standing ovation following their performance of Inherit the Wind at the Moscow Art Theatre. In April 1976 the American Theatre Critics Association bestowed upon the Arena Stage a special Tony Award for resident theaters. The ATCA cited Arena's qualities as a \"trailblazer\" in theatrical arts and representative of other theaters that had followed its lead.","The early 1980s were a difficult time for theater, but, in spite of this, Arena continued to push the limits of conventional residential theater. The 1982 production of K2, for example, saw the construction of a sheer glacial face on the Kreeger stage according to the vision of set designer Ming Cho Lee. In 1986 twenty-three actors and a thirteen member production staff traveled to Jerusalem to perform Zelda's production of The Crucible at the Israel Festival.","1989 marked the end of an era as Zelda Fichandler announced that she would step down as Arena's producing director at the end of the 1990-1991 fortieth anniversary season. Douglas C. Wager would succeed her as artistic director. Amid financial difficulties and changing times for theaters everywhere, Arena's resident company of actors was disbanded by the late 1990s. Wager remained at the helm until 1998, when Molly Smith took over the position. Under Smith's leadership, Bing Thom architects completed another major renovation of Arena's existing buildings into the Mead Center for American Theater in 2010. Smith served as Arena's artistic director until 2023, when she retired and was succeeded by current Aristic Director, Hana Sharif.","Many now-famous actors took part in Arena Stage productions during the early part of their careers. Some of them include Robert Prosky, Morgan Freeman, Dianne Wiest, James Earl Jones, Kevin Kline, Christopher Guest, Yeardley Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Ned Beatty, Jane Alexander, and Ron Perlman. Many other set designers, artists, costume designers, and technical workers owe their early success and experience to the Arena Stage.","The Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to film and audio reels, Betacam, or U-matic tapes contained in Series 5.2 and 5.3. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access.","Processed by Harvard Theatre Collection and George Mason University Special Collections Research Center staff. Reprocessed by Greta Suiter, Kerry Mitchell, Elizabeth Beckman, Diane Stancil, and Nick Welsh. EAD markup completed by Elizabeth Beckman in 2016. Finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in 2025.","The Special Collections Research Center holds the personal papers of several individuals involved with Arena Stage, including the Zelda Fichandler papers, the Thomas C. Fichandler papers, the Ken Kitch papers, as well as the Living Stage records.","The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from 1949 to 2010, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records pertaining to the theater's finances, publicity, buildings, and programs.","Series 1: Administrative records (1949-2007) documents the creation, operation, and maintenance of Arena Stage and its various programs. It is further divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 1.1: Correspondence includes correspondence arranged alphabetically by the correspondent's last name or by organizational name. Some correspondence is further aggregated and then organized alphabetically, such as \"Play Correspondence\" or \"Audience Response.\" Of particular note are letters from President Bill Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and King Kong star Fay Wray. Subseries 1.2: Programs, policies, and procedures, includes records of Arena's programs, such as the \"Arena Angels\" volunteer program and fellowship programs, policies, such as bylaws, diversity policies, and handbooks, and planning, including season planning and long-range plans. This subseries is broken up into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.3.1: Financial papers documents Arena's finances and includes stockholder documents from its beginnings as a for-profit theater, grant-related documentation after the theater transitioned to a non-profit in the late 1950s, and records of the theater's development office, some of which were kept by department director Elspeth Udvarhelyi. Sub-subseries 1.3.2: Personnel records includes information on staff at Arena Stage arranged alphabetically. Of particular interest are headshots and/or resumes of a number of well-known actors, including James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, Henry Winkler, Edward Hermann, Yeardley Smith, Jane Alexander, Swoosie Kurtz, Victor Garber, Ron Perlman, Annette Benning, Olympia Dukakis, John Lithgow, John Voigt, Sigourney Weaver, and Rosemary Harris. Sub-subseries 1.3.3: Casting information contains notes on casting for productions arranged alphabetically by play. Sub-subseries 1.3.4: Production contracts includes official agreements between Arena and others arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 1.4: Meeting minutes contains meeting minutes from Arena's Board of Trustees, staff, and other subgroups within the organization. Subseries 1.5: Communications and events, is also divided into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.5.1: Events documents special events held by Arena Stage, including anniversaries, galas, benefits, openings and press events. Sub-subseries 1.5.2: Communications and Marketing includes records produced by the Communications and Marketing departments, including meeting minutes, planning, research, and correspondence. Sub-subseries 1.5.3: Printed Material includes subscriber materials, mailings, brochures, reviews collected and arranged by play title, and programs organized chronologically. Sub-subseries 1.5.4: Theater Communications Group contains correspondence, reports, and other information generated from Arena's association with the Theater Communications Group, an organization of theaters around the United States. Subseries 1.6: Buildings and facilities includes information about and architectural plans for Arena's various buildings over the years, including the Hippodrome, the Old Vat, the 1960 permanent building, and the Kreeger Theater addition.","Series 2: Production Files (1950-2010) is comprised of records related to the artistic development and performance of Arena's plays. It is divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 2.1: Dramaturgical files documents literary, historical and background research done by Arena's literary department for various plays, including articles, research packets, actor's packets, and scripts. It is generally organized alphabetically by play. Subseries 2.2: Playwright subject files contains research on various playwrights, both living and dead, whose work has been performed at Arena. It is organized alphabetically by playwright's last name. Subseries 2.3: Production files includes scripts, blocking information, correspondence, and other material related to the production of Arena's plays. It is arranged alphabetically by play title. Subseries 2.4: Stage manager's reports includes daily reports by the stage manager of productions for the entire runs of many of Arena's plays from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s. The reports include running times, incident reports, and other commentary on the audience and the performance. Subseries 2.5: Wrap files contains documents collected from throughout the runs of various productions, including reviews that reflect the wider response to the play. Subseries 2.6: Producing director's files contains documents from Arena's second Producing director after Zelda Fichandler, Doug Wager, who served from 1991-1998. It includes pre-production speeches given by Wager, as well as planning files.","Series 3: Photographs (1950-1991)is divided into 3 subseries. Subseries 3.1: Production photographs includes photos of scenes from Arena's productions arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 3.2: Production books includes production photos collected in books, many of which are by professional photographer George de Vincent. Subseries 3.3: Buildings, staff, and events includes photographs of Arena's buildings, staff and cast portraits, and event photographs, such as prints from Arena's 30th anniversary celebration and from Arena's Soviet Union and Israel tours. Subseries 3.4: Negatives and slides includes slides and negatives of Arena's staff and events, as well as some buildings, sets, and production-related images.","Series 4: Oversize (1949-late 2000s) is divided into 3 subseries and contains a variety of oversize material. Subseries 4.1: Braille programs contains programs in Braille for various Arena productions from the 1990s and early 2000s. Subseries 4.2: Miscellaneous artwork and programs includes posters from Arena productions and events, enlarged photos, costume sketches, and other oversized material, such as a large model of the Mead Center for American Theater. Subseries 4.3: Scrapbooks contains scrapbooks created for each of Arena's seasons up until 1988. It also includes scrapbooks for Arena's tour of the Soviet Union and of visitors to Arena.","Series 5: Audiovisual (1970-2007) contains several types of formats and is divided into 3 subseries. Series 5.1: Performances on VHS contains VHS tapes (a few of which have associated DVDs) of performances at Arena arranged alphabetically by play title. Series 5.2: Reel-to-reel contains production and event footage on reel-to-reel film. Series 5.3: Other audiovisual formats and VHS tapes contains footage of events and productions on audiocassette, Betacam, and U-matic tapes.","The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)","The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from its beginnings in 1950 to the present, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, handwritten correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records.","R 5, C 1, S 2 - R 9, C 4, S 7 \n\n\nR29, C1, S2\n\nOS R 3, C 2, S 1 - C 3, S 7\nOS R 4, C 5, S 5 \nOS R 5, C 2, S 3\nOS R 5, C 5, S 4\nOS R 6, C 4, S 6 - S 7\nOS R 7, C 1, S 2\nMap Case 9.1, 11.5","George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)","Fichandler, Thomas C.","Fichandler, Zelda, 1924-2016","English"],"collection_title_tesim":["Arena Stage records, 1949/2010"],"collection_ssim":["Arena Stage records, 1949/2010"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["C0017","/repositories/2/resources/416"],"unitid_tesim":["C0017","/repositories/2/resources/416"],"repository_ssm":["George Mason University"],"repository_ssim":["George Mason University"],"creator_ssm":["Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"creator_ssim":["Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Fichandler, Thomas C.","Fichandler, Zelda, 1924-2016"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"creators_ssim":["Fichandler, Thomas C.","Fichandler, Zelda, 1924-2016","George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"access_terms_ssm":["The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)"],"acqinfo_ssim":["Donated by Arena Stage in 2000-2024.","This collection has additional unprocessed accessions 2023.040-C and 2024.088-C, and therefore this finding aid may not be fully up to date. Please contact SCRC for more information."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Theater -- Washington (D.C.)","Theater","Theater -- United States","Theater programs","Theater -- Production and direction","Performing arts","Video recordings","Sound recordings","Photographic prints"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Theater -- Washington (D.C.)","Theater","Theater -- United States","Theater programs","Theater -- Production and direction","Performing arts","Video recordings","Sound recordings","Photographic prints"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["369.5 Linear Feet 739 boxes"],"extent_tesim":["369.5 Linear Feet 739 boxes"],"genreform_ssim":["Video recordings","Sound recordings","Photographic prints"],"date_range_isim":[1949,1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are no access restrictions.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access Restrictions"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["There are no access restrictions."],"accruals_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eto this collection are expected.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"accruals_heading_ssm":["Accruals"],"accruals_tesim":["to this collection are expected."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is arranged into five series, each of which is further divided into subseries:\u003c/p\u003e    ","\u003clist type=\"ordered\"\u003e\n      \u003chead\u003eSeries\u003c/head\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 1: Administrative records, 1949-2007 (Boxes 1-196)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 2: Production files, 1950-2010 (Boxes 197-588, 654-663)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 3: Photographs, 1950-1991 (Boxes 589-639)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 4: Oversize materials, 1949-late 2000s (Boxes 640-720)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 5: Audiovisual materials, 1970-2007 (Boxes 721-739)\u003c/item\u003e\n    \u003c/list\u003e\n  "],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The collection is arranged into five series, each of which is further divided into subseries:","Series\n      Series 1: Administrative records, 1949-2007 (Boxes 1-196)\n      Series 2: Production files, 1950-2010 (Boxes 197-588, 654-663)\n      Series 3: Photographs, 1950-1991 (Boxes 589-639)\n      Series 4: Oversize materials, 1949-late 2000s (Boxes 640-720)\n      Series 5: Audiovisual materials, 1970-2007 (Boxes 721-739)"],"bibliography_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\u003cextptr href=\"http://www.arenastage.org/plan-your-visit/the-mead-center/\" title=\"'Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater.' Arena Stage. Accessed February 3, 2016.\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\n            ","\u003cp\u003e Maslon, Lawrence, editor. \"The Arena Adventure: The First 40 Years.\" Washington, DC: Arena Stage, 1990.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e \u003cextptr href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/theater/features/arena51205.htm\" title=\"Richards, David. 'For Arena Stage, a Pioneering Selection.' Washington Post. December 5, 1997\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e \u003c/p\u003e  "],"bibliography_heading_ssm":["Bibliography"],"bibliography_tesim":["Maslon, Lawrence, editor. \"The Arena Adventure: The First 40 Years.\" Washington, DC: Arena Stage, 1990."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eFrom its opening on August 16, 1950, the Arena Stage has dedicated itself to being a space of imagination and innovation, a tool of \"civilization,\" and Washington, D.C.'s preeminent regional theater. Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, the Arena Stage began as a for-profit theater under Arena Enterprises, Inc. The original Hippodrome Theatre, located on Ninth and New York N.W. in D.C., was revolutionary amongst regional theatres for its theatre-in-the-round construction and would provide the blueprint for all future Arena locations.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eArena began its long and successful life with Oliver Goldsmith's \u003citalic\u003eShe Stoops to Conquer.\u003c/italic\u003e Arena owed its early successes in the 1950s to its fluid play schedule organization and its willingness to put on works that were not commercial successes on Broadway. In November of 1956, after a year's hiatus, the company relocated to a temporary home at the Old Heurich Brewery, dubbed the Old Vat by company members. The move was facilitated in part by the commitment and drive of Board members J. Burke Knapp, Albert M. Berkowitz, Israel Convisser, Leslie Amouri, and Henry J. Danilowicz. However, financial issues would continue to trouble Arena Enterprises, Inc., eventually leading to its dissolution in 1959, and the creation of Arena's new, non-profit parent organization, the Washington Drama Society.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eDuring the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington since 1895. Chicago architect Harry Weese designed the space to be as innovative as possible while still maintaining the theater-in-the-round layout. Now a non-profit theater, Arena drew much of its funding during this time from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and generous donations from both the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundations.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe Arena Stage began some of its most ambitious work during the 1960s including forming the Living Stage Theatre Company, further integrating its cast, and staging its most ambitious and acclaimed work to date: \u003citalic\u003eThe Great White Hope.\u003c/italic\u003e \u003citalic\u003eThe Great White Hope\u003c/italic\u003e included twenty five additional guest actors, including James Earl Jones, and was an enormous success, both critically and financially, for Arena. It was the first major resident theater production to be exported to Broadway. Fichandler also began to experiment with casting African American actors in traditionally white roles during the 1968 season after she published the paper \"Towards a Deepening Aesthetic.\" Fichandler experimented with non-traditional casting in plays like \u003citalic\u003eKing Lear\u003c/italic\u003e and \u003citalic\u003eThe Threepenny Opera\u003c/italic\u003e, but unfortunately these plays were met with critical confusion and disappointing ticket sales. Arena Stage was incredibly successful in the 1970s, garnering awards and critical approval, and international recognition. Not content with the current Arena Stage configuration, Fichandler and others worked diligently to acquire another stage facility that would collaborate, not compete, with the current Stage. Generosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new Kreeger Theater which opened on January 15, 1971.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn 1973 Arena would have the opportunity to take two of its plays, \u003citalic\u003eOur Town\u003c/italic\u003e and \u003citalic\u003eInherit the Wind\u003c/italic\u003e to the U.S.S.R. This was the first ever trip to the Soviet Union undertaken by a resident theater group. The trip was a wild success with Russian audiences giving the cast a standing ovation following their performance of \u003citalic\u003eInherit the Wind\u003c/italic\u003e at the Moscow Art Theatre. In April 1976 the American Theatre Critics Association bestowed upon the Arena Stage a special Tony Award for resident theaters. The ATCA cited Arena's qualities as a \"trailblazer\" in theatrical arts and representative of other theaters that had followed its lead.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe early 1980s were a difficult time for theater, but, in spite of this, Arena continued to push the limits of conventional residential theater. The 1982 production of \u003citalic\u003eK2\u003c/italic\u003e, for example, saw the construction of a sheer glacial face on the Kreeger stage according to the vision of set designer Ming Cho Lee. In 1986 twenty-three actors and a thirteen member production staff traveled to Jerusalem to perform Zelda's production of \u003citalic\u003eThe Crucible\u003c/italic\u003e at the Israel Festival.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e1989 marked the end of an era as Zelda Fichandler announced that she would step down as Arena's producing director at the end of the 1990-1991 fortieth anniversary season. Douglas C. Wager would succeed her as artistic director. Amid financial difficulties and changing times for theaters everywhere, Arena's resident company of actors was disbanded by the late 1990s. Wager remained at the helm until 1998, when Molly Smith took over the position. Under Smith's leadership, Bing Thom architects completed another major renovation of Arena's existing buildings into the Mead Center for American Theater in 2010. Smith served as Arena's artistic director until 2023, when she retired and was succeeded by current Aristic Director, Hana Sharif.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMany now-famous actors took part in Arena Stage productions during the early part of their careers. Some of them include Robert Prosky, Morgan Freeman, Dianne Wiest, James Earl Jones, Kevin Kline, Christopher Guest, Yeardley Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Ned Beatty, Jane Alexander, and Ron Perlman. Many other set designers, artists, costume designers, and technical workers owe their early success and experience to the Arena Stage.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["From its opening on August 16, 1950, the Arena Stage has dedicated itself to being a space of imagination and innovation, a tool of \"civilization,\" and Washington, D.C.'s preeminent regional theater. Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, the Arena Stage began as a for-profit theater under Arena Enterprises, Inc. The original Hippodrome Theatre, located on Ninth and New York N.W. in D.C., was revolutionary amongst regional theatres for its theatre-in-the-round construction and would provide the blueprint for all future Arena locations.","Arena began its long and successful life with Oliver Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer. Arena owed its early successes in the 1950s to its fluid play schedule organization and its willingness to put on works that were not commercial successes on Broadway. In November of 1956, after a year's hiatus, the company relocated to a temporary home at the Old Heurich Brewery, dubbed the Old Vat by company members. The move was facilitated in part by the commitment and drive of Board members J. Burke Knapp, Albert M. Berkowitz, Israel Convisser, Leslie Amouri, and Henry J. Danilowicz. However, financial issues would continue to trouble Arena Enterprises, Inc., eventually leading to its dissolution in 1959, and the creation of Arena's new, non-profit parent organization, the Washington Drama Society.","During the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington since 1895. Chicago architect Harry Weese designed the space to be as innovative as possible while still maintaining the theater-in-the-round layout. Now a non-profit theater, Arena drew much of its funding during this time from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and generous donations from both the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundations.","The Arena Stage began some of its most ambitious work during the 1960s including forming the Living Stage Theatre Company, further integrating its cast, and staging its most ambitious and acclaimed work to date: The Great White Hope. The Great White Hope included twenty five additional guest actors, including James Earl Jones, and was an enormous success, both critically and financially, for Arena. It was the first major resident theater production to be exported to Broadway. Fichandler also began to experiment with casting African American actors in traditionally white roles during the 1968 season after she published the paper \"Towards a Deepening Aesthetic.\" Fichandler experimented with non-traditional casting in plays like King Lear and The Threepenny Opera, but unfortunately these plays were met with critical confusion and disappointing ticket sales. Arena Stage was incredibly successful in the 1970s, garnering awards and critical approval, and international recognition. Not content with the current Arena Stage configuration, Fichandler and others worked diligently to acquire another stage facility that would collaborate, not compete, with the current Stage. Generosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new Kreeger Theater which opened on January 15, 1971.","In 1973 Arena would have the opportunity to take two of its plays, Our Town and Inherit the Wind to the U.S.S.R. This was the first ever trip to the Soviet Union undertaken by a resident theater group. The trip was a wild success with Russian audiences giving the cast a standing ovation following their performance of Inherit the Wind at the Moscow Art Theatre. In April 1976 the American Theatre Critics Association bestowed upon the Arena Stage a special Tony Award for resident theaters. The ATCA cited Arena's qualities as a \"trailblazer\" in theatrical arts and representative of other theaters that had followed its lead.","The early 1980s were a difficult time for theater, but, in spite of this, Arena continued to push the limits of conventional residential theater. The 1982 production of K2, for example, saw the construction of a sheer glacial face on the Kreeger stage according to the vision of set designer Ming Cho Lee. In 1986 twenty-three actors and a thirteen member production staff traveled to Jerusalem to perform Zelda's production of The Crucible at the Israel Festival.","1989 marked the end of an era as Zelda Fichandler announced that she would step down as Arena's producing director at the end of the 1990-1991 fortieth anniversary season. Douglas C. Wager would succeed her as artistic director. Amid financial difficulties and changing times for theaters everywhere, Arena's resident company of actors was disbanded by the late 1990s. Wager remained at the helm until 1998, when Molly Smith took over the position. Under Smith's leadership, Bing Thom architects completed another major renovation of Arena's existing buildings into the Mead Center for American Theater in 2010. Smith served as Arena's artistic director until 2023, when she retired and was succeeded by current Aristic Director, Hana Sharif.","Many now-famous actors took part in Arena Stage productions during the early part of their careers. Some of them include Robert Prosky, Morgan Freeman, Dianne Wiest, James Earl Jones, Kevin Kline, Christopher Guest, Yeardley Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Ned Beatty, Jane Alexander, and Ron Perlman. Many other set designers, artists, costume designers, and technical workers owe their early success and experience to the Arena Stage."],"phystech_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to film and audio reels, Betacam, or U-matic tapes contained in Series 5.2 and 5.3. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"phystech_heading_ssm":["Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements"],"phystech_tesim":["The Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to film and audio reels, Betacam, or U-matic tapes contained in Series 5.2 and 5.3. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eArena Stage records, C0017, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"prefercite_tesim":["Arena Stage records, C0017, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eProcessed by Harvard Theatre Collection and George Mason University Special Collections Research Center staff. Reprocessed by Greta Suiter, Kerry Mitchell, Elizabeth Beckman, Diane Stancil, and Nick Welsh. EAD markup completed by Elizabeth Beckman in 2016. Finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in 2025.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["Processed by Harvard Theatre Collection and George Mason University Special Collections Research Center staff. Reprocessed by Greta Suiter, Kerry Mitchell, Elizabeth Beckman, Diane Stancil, and Nick Welsh. EAD markup completed by Elizabeth Beckman in 2016. Finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in 2025."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Special Collections Research Center holds the personal papers of several individuals involved with Arena Stage, including the Zelda Fichandler papers, the Thomas C. Fichandler papers, the Ken Kitch papers, as well as the Living Stage records.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Material"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["The Special Collections Research Center holds the personal papers of several individuals involved with Arena Stage, including the Zelda Fichandler papers, the Thomas C. Fichandler papers, the Ken Kitch papers, as well as the Living Stage records."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from 1949 to 2010, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records pertaining to the theater's finances, publicity, buildings, and programs.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSeries 1: Administrative records (1949-2007) documents the creation, operation, and maintenance of Arena Stage and its various programs. It is further divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 1.1: Correspondence includes correspondence arranged alphabetically by the correspondent's last name or by organizational name. Some correspondence is further aggregated and then organized alphabetically, such as \"Play Correspondence\" or \"Audience Response.\" Of particular note are letters from President Bill Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and King Kong star Fay Wray. Subseries 1.2: Programs, policies, and procedures, includes records of Arena's programs, such as the \"Arena Angels\" volunteer program and fellowship programs, policies, such as bylaws, diversity policies, and handbooks, and planning, including season planning and long-range plans. This subseries is broken up into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.3.1: Financial papers documents Arena's finances and includes stockholder documents from its beginnings as a for-profit theater, grant-related documentation after the theater transitioned to a non-profit in the late 1950s, and records of the theater's development office, some of which were kept by department director Elspeth Udvarhelyi. Sub-subseries 1.3.2: Personnel records includes information on staff at Arena Stage arranged alphabetically. Of particular interest are headshots and/or resumes of a number of well-known actors, including James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, Henry Winkler, Edward Hermann, Yeardley Smith, Jane Alexander, Swoosie Kurtz, Victor Garber, Ron Perlman, Annette Benning, Olympia Dukakis, John Lithgow, John Voigt, Sigourney Weaver, and Rosemary Harris. Sub-subseries 1.3.3: Casting information contains notes on casting for productions arranged alphabetically by play. Sub-subseries 1.3.4: Production contracts includes official agreements between Arena and others arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 1.4: Meeting minutes contains meeting minutes from Arena's Board of Trustees, staff, and other subgroups within the organization. Subseries 1.5: Communications and events, is also divided into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.5.1: Events documents special events held by Arena Stage, including anniversaries, galas, benefits, openings and press events. Sub-subseries 1.5.2: Communications and Marketing includes records produced by the Communications and Marketing departments, including meeting minutes, planning, research, and correspondence. Sub-subseries 1.5.3: Printed Material includes subscriber materials, mailings, brochures, reviews collected and arranged by play title, and programs organized chronologically. Sub-subseries 1.5.4: Theater Communications Group contains correspondence, reports, and other information generated from Arena's association with the Theater Communications Group, an organization of theaters around the United States. Subseries 1.6: Buildings and facilities includes information about and architectural plans for Arena's various buildings over the years, including the Hippodrome, the Old Vat, the 1960 permanent building, and the Kreeger Theater addition.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSeries 2: Production Files (1950-2010) is comprised of records related to the artistic development and performance of Arena's plays. It is divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 2.1: Dramaturgical files documents literary, historical and background research done by Arena's literary department for various plays, including articles, research packets, actor's packets, and scripts. It is generally organized alphabetically by play. Subseries 2.2: Playwright subject files contains research on various playwrights, both living and dead, whose work has been performed at Arena. It is organized alphabetically by playwright's last name. Subseries 2.3: Production files includes scripts, blocking information, correspondence, and other material related to the production of Arena's plays. It is arranged alphabetically by play title. Subseries 2.4: Stage manager's reports includes daily reports by the stage manager of productions for the entire runs of many of Arena's plays from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s. The reports include running times, incident reports, and other commentary on the audience and the performance. Subseries 2.5: Wrap files contains documents collected from throughout the runs of various productions, including reviews that reflect the wider response to the play. Subseries 2.6: Producing director's files contains documents from Arena's second Producing director after Zelda Fichandler, Doug Wager, who served from 1991-1998. It includes pre-production speeches given by Wager, as well as planning files.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSeries 3: Photographs (1950-1991)is divided into 3 subseries. Subseries 3.1: Production photographs includes photos of scenes from Arena's productions arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 3.2: Production books includes production photos collected in books, many of which are by professional photographer George de Vincent. Subseries 3.3: Buildings, staff, and events includes photographs of Arena's buildings, staff and cast portraits, and event photographs, such as prints from Arena's 30th anniversary celebration and from Arena's Soviet Union and Israel tours. Subseries 3.4: Negatives and slides includes slides and negatives of Arena's staff and events, as well as some buildings, sets, and production-related images.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSeries 4: Oversize (1949-late 2000s) is divided into 3 subseries and contains a variety of oversize material. Subseries 4.1: Braille programs contains programs in Braille for various Arena productions from the 1990s and early 2000s. Subseries 4.2: Miscellaneous artwork and programs includes posters from Arena productions and events, enlarged photos, costume sketches, and other oversized material, such as a large model of the Mead Center for American Theater. Subseries 4.3: Scrapbooks contains scrapbooks created for each of Arena's seasons up until 1988. It also includes scrapbooks for Arena's tour of the Soviet Union and of visitors to Arena.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSeries 5: Audiovisual (1970-2007) contains several types of formats and is divided into 3 subseries. Series 5.1: Performances on VHS contains VHS tapes (a few of which have associated DVDs) of performances at Arena arranged alphabetically by play title. Series 5.2: Reel-to-reel contains production and event footage on reel-to-reel film. Series 5.3: Other audiovisual formats and VHS tapes contains footage of events and productions on audiocassette, Betacam, and U-matic tapes. \u003c/p\u003e  "],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from 1949 to 2010, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records pertaining to the theater's finances, publicity, buildings, and programs.","Series 1: Administrative records (1949-2007) documents the creation, operation, and maintenance of Arena Stage and its various programs. It is further divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 1.1: Correspondence includes correspondence arranged alphabetically by the correspondent's last name or by organizational name. Some correspondence is further aggregated and then organized alphabetically, such as \"Play Correspondence\" or \"Audience Response.\" Of particular note are letters from President Bill Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and King Kong star Fay Wray. Subseries 1.2: Programs, policies, and procedures, includes records of Arena's programs, such as the \"Arena Angels\" volunteer program and fellowship programs, policies, such as bylaws, diversity policies, and handbooks, and planning, including season planning and long-range plans. This subseries is broken up into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.3.1: Financial papers documents Arena's finances and includes stockholder documents from its beginnings as a for-profit theater, grant-related documentation after the theater transitioned to a non-profit in the late 1950s, and records of the theater's development office, some of which were kept by department director Elspeth Udvarhelyi. Sub-subseries 1.3.2: Personnel records includes information on staff at Arena Stage arranged alphabetically. Of particular interest are headshots and/or resumes of a number of well-known actors, including James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, Henry Winkler, Edward Hermann, Yeardley Smith, Jane Alexander, Swoosie Kurtz, Victor Garber, Ron Perlman, Annette Benning, Olympia Dukakis, John Lithgow, John Voigt, Sigourney Weaver, and Rosemary Harris. Sub-subseries 1.3.3: Casting information contains notes on casting for productions arranged alphabetically by play. Sub-subseries 1.3.4: Production contracts includes official agreements between Arena and others arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 1.4: Meeting minutes contains meeting minutes from Arena's Board of Trustees, staff, and other subgroups within the organization. Subseries 1.5: Communications and events, is also divided into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.5.1: Events documents special events held by Arena Stage, including anniversaries, galas, benefits, openings and press events. Sub-subseries 1.5.2: Communications and Marketing includes records produced by the Communications and Marketing departments, including meeting minutes, planning, research, and correspondence. Sub-subseries 1.5.3: Printed Material includes subscriber materials, mailings, brochures, reviews collected and arranged by play title, and programs organized chronologically. Sub-subseries 1.5.4: Theater Communications Group contains correspondence, reports, and other information generated from Arena's association with the Theater Communications Group, an organization of theaters around the United States. Subseries 1.6: Buildings and facilities includes information about and architectural plans for Arena's various buildings over the years, including the Hippodrome, the Old Vat, the 1960 permanent building, and the Kreeger Theater addition.","Series 2: Production Files (1950-2010) is comprised of records related to the artistic development and performance of Arena's plays. It is divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 2.1: Dramaturgical files documents literary, historical and background research done by Arena's literary department for various plays, including articles, research packets, actor's packets, and scripts. It is generally organized alphabetically by play. Subseries 2.2: Playwright subject files contains research on various playwrights, both living and dead, whose work has been performed at Arena. It is organized alphabetically by playwright's last name. Subseries 2.3: Production files includes scripts, blocking information, correspondence, and other material related to the production of Arena's plays. It is arranged alphabetically by play title. Subseries 2.4: Stage manager's reports includes daily reports by the stage manager of productions for the entire runs of many of Arena's plays from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s. The reports include running times, incident reports, and other commentary on the audience and the performance. Subseries 2.5: Wrap files contains documents collected from throughout the runs of various productions, including reviews that reflect the wider response to the play. Subseries 2.6: Producing director's files contains documents from Arena's second Producing director after Zelda Fichandler, Doug Wager, who served from 1991-1998. It includes pre-production speeches given by Wager, as well as planning files.","Series 3: Photographs (1950-1991)is divided into 3 subseries. Subseries 3.1: Production photographs includes photos of scenes from Arena's productions arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 3.2: Production books includes production photos collected in books, many of which are by professional photographer George de Vincent. Subseries 3.3: Buildings, staff, and events includes photographs of Arena's buildings, staff and cast portraits, and event photographs, such as prints from Arena's 30th anniversary celebration and from Arena's Soviet Union and Israel tours. Subseries 3.4: Negatives and slides includes slides and negatives of Arena's staff and events, as well as some buildings, sets, and production-related images.","Series 4: Oversize (1949-late 2000s) is divided into 3 subseries and contains a variety of oversize material. Subseries 4.1: Braille programs contains programs in Braille for various Arena productions from the 1990s and early 2000s. Subseries 4.2: Miscellaneous artwork and programs includes posters from Arena productions and events, enlarged photos, costume sketches, and other oversized material, such as a large model of the Mead Center for American Theater. Subseries 4.3: Scrapbooks contains scrapbooks created for each of Arena's seasons up until 1988. It also includes scrapbooks for Arena's tour of the Soviet Union and of visitors to Arena.","Series 5: Audiovisual (1970-2007) contains several types of formats and is divided into 3 subseries. Series 5.1: Performances on VHS contains VHS tapes (a few of which have associated DVDs) of performances at Arena arranged alphabetically by play title. Series 5.2: Reel-to-reel contains production and event footage on reel-to-reel film. Series 5.3: Other audiovisual formats and VHS tapes contains footage of events and productions on audiocassette, Betacam, and U-matic tapes."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)\u003c/p\u003e  "],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)"],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_ec96c412f915842d3012676b73803163\" label=\"Abstract\"\u003eThe Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from its beginnings in 1950 to the present, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, handwritten correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records.\u003c/abstract\u003e\n    "],"abstract_tesim":["The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from its beginnings in 1950 to the present, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, handwritten correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records."],"physloc_html_tesm":["\u003cphysloc id=\"aspace_22f8958322c3fdee6366a384bb686980\"\u003e\nR 5, C 1, S 2 - R 9, C 4, S 7 \n\n\nR29, C1, S2\n\nOS R 3, C 2, S 1 - C 3, S 7\nOS R 4, C 5, S 5 \nOS R 5, C 2, S 3\nOS R 5, C 5, S 4\nOS R 6, C 4, S 6 - S 7\nOS R 7, C 1, S 2\nMap Case 9.1, 11.5\u003c/physloc\u003e\n    "],"physloc_tesim":["R 5, C 1, S 2 - R 9, C 4, S 7 \n\n\nR29, C1, S2\n\nOS R 3, C 2, S 1 - C 3, S 7\nOS R 4, C 5, S 5 \nOS R 5, C 2, S 3\nOS R 5, C 5, S 4\nOS R 6, C 4, S 6 - S 7\nOS R 7, C 1, S 2\nMap Case 9.1, 11.5"],"corpname_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"persname_ssim":["Fichandler, Thomas C.","Fichandler, Zelda, 1924-2016"],"names_coll_ssim":["Fichandler, Thomas C.","Fichandler, Zelda, 1924-2016"],"names_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)","Fichandler, Thomas C.","Fichandler, Zelda, 1924-2016"],"language_ssim":["English"],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":8332,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-07-23T21:20:46.971Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416"}},{"id":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_552","type":"collection","attributes":{"title":"Carol Berger Chicago performing arts playbills collection, 1988/2015","creator":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_repositories_2_resources_552#creator","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"Berger, Carol","label":"Creator"}},"abstract_or_scope":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_repositories_2_resources_552#abstract_or_scope","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"This collection largely consists of playbills from Chicago's Lyric Opera House, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and regional theatres collected by Carol Berger. There are also ticket stubs from the performances, as well as materials from the Art Institute of Chicago.","label":"Abstract Or Scope"}},"breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_repositories_2_resources_552#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"id":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_552","ead_ssi":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_552","_root_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_552","_nest_parent_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_552","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/GMU/repositories_2_resources_552.xml","title_ssm":["Carol Berger Chicago performing arts playbills collection"],"title_tesim":["Carol Berger Chicago performing arts playbills collection"],"unitdate_ssm":["1988-2015"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1988-2015"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1988/2015"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Carol Berger Chicago performing arts playbills collection, 1988/2015"],"text":["Carol Berger Chicago performing arts playbills collection, 1988/2015","C0263","/repositories/2/resources/552","Chicago (Ill.)","Performing arts","Theater programs","Theater -- United States","Theater","There are no access restrictions.","This collection is arranged by venue, followed by format. The playbills are arranged chronologically by season, and alphabetically within each season.","The Lyric Opera of Chicago was founded by Carol Fox, Lawrence V. Kelly and Nicola Rescigno in 1954. It is located in the Civic Opera Building which first opened its doors on November 4, 1929. The Civic Opera Building was envisioned by Samuel Insull as the predominant place for operatic performances. The Lyric Opera is now globally renowned for their chorus, orchestra, as well as their preservation of the cultural importance of opera in Chicago, Illinois. Several other nationally and internationally renowned theatres are also included in the collection of playbills.","Processing completed by Amy Blake in August 2018. EAD markup completed by Amy Blake in August 2018. Finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in January 2024.","The Special Collections Research Center holds many other","This collection largely consists of playbills from Chicago's Lyric Opera House, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and regional theatres collected by Carol Berger. There are also ticket stubs from a handful of the performances, as well as materials from the Art Institute of Chicago. The playbills from Chicago's Lyric Opera House span the course of twenty-one seasons from the 34th to the 57th. The largest part of the collection consists of playbills from regional theatres from across the United States, including one piece from the San Francisco Opera. A smaller portion of the collection is made up of pamphlets from the Art Institute of Chicago that describe a few fashion and art exhibitions from 1996 to 2015.","The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)","This collection largely consists of playbills from Chicago's Lyric Opera House, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and regional theatres collected by Carol Berger. There are also ticket stubs from the performances, as well as materials from the Art Institute of Chicago.","George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Berger, Carol","English\n."],"collection_title_tesim":["Carol Berger Chicago performing arts playbills collection, 1988/2015"],"collection_ssim":["Carol Berger Chicago performing arts playbills collection, 1988/2015"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["C0263","/repositories/2/resources/552"],"unitid_tesim":["C0263","/repositories/2/resources/552"],"repository_ssm":["George Mason University"],"repository_ssim":["George Mason University"],"geogname_ssm":["Chicago (Ill.)"],"geogname_ssim":["Chicago (Ill.)"],"places_ssim":["Chicago (Ill.)"],"creator_ssm":["Berger, Carol"],"creator_ssim":["Berger, Carol"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Berger, Carol"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center"],"creators_ssim":["Berger, Carol","George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center"],"access_terms_ssm":["The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)"],"acqinfo_ssim":["Donated by Carol Berger in 2015."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Performing arts","Theater programs","Theater -- United States","Theater"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Performing arts","Theater programs","Theater -- United States","Theater"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["1 Linear Feet 4 boxes"],"extent_tesim":["1 Linear Feet 4 boxes"],"date_range_isim":[1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are no access restrictions.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access Restrictions"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["There are no access restrictions."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThis collection is arranged by venue, followed by format. The playbills are arranged chronologically by season, and alphabetically within each season.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["This collection is arranged by venue, followed by format. The playbills are arranged chronologically by season, and alphabetically within each season."],"bibliography_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\u003cextptr href=\"https://www.lyricopera.org/about/history/lyricoperahistory\" title=\"History of Lyric Opera of Chicago.\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e\u003c/p\u003e  "],"bibliography_heading_ssm":["Bibliography"],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Lyric Opera of Chicago was founded by Carol Fox, Lawrence V. Kelly and Nicola Rescigno in 1954. It is located in the Civic Opera Building which first opened its doors on November 4, 1929. The Civic Opera Building was envisioned by Samuel Insull as the predominant place for operatic performances. The Lyric Opera is now globally renowned for their chorus, orchestra, as well as their preservation of the cultural importance of opera in Chicago, Illinois. Several other nationally and internationally renowned theatres are also included in the collection of playbills.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["The Lyric Opera of Chicago was founded by Carol Fox, Lawrence V. Kelly and Nicola Rescigno in 1954. It is located in the Civic Opera Building which first opened its doors on November 4, 1929. The Civic Opera Building was envisioned by Samuel Insull as the predominant place for operatic performances. The Lyric Opera is now globally renowned for their chorus, orchestra, as well as their preservation of the cultural importance of opera in Chicago, Illinois. Several other nationally and internationally renowned theatres are also included in the collection of playbills."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCarol Berger Chicago performing arts playbills collection, C0263, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"prefercite_tesim":["Carol Berger Chicago performing arts playbills collection, C0263, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eProcessing completed by Amy Blake in August 2018. EAD markup completed by Amy Blake in August 2018. Finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in January 2024.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["Processing completed by Amy Blake in August 2018. EAD markup completed by Amy Blake in August 2018. Finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in January 2024."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Special Collections Research Center holds many other \u003cextptr show=\"new\" title=\"playbill collections.\" href=\"https://aspace.gmu.edu/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93\u0026amp;op%5B%5D=\u0026amp;q%5B%5D=playbill\u0026amp;limit=\u0026amp;field%5B%5D=\u0026amp;from_year%5B%5D=\u0026amp;to_year%5B%5D=\u0026amp;commit=Search\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e\u003c/p\u003e  "],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Material"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["The Special Collections Research Center holds many other"],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThis collection largely consists of playbills from Chicago's Lyric Opera House, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and regional theatres collected by Carol Berger. There are also ticket stubs from a handful of the performances, as well as materials from the Art Institute of Chicago. The playbills from Chicago's Lyric Opera House span the course of twenty-one seasons from the 34th to the 57th. The largest part of the collection consists of playbills from regional theatres from across the United States, including one piece from the San Francisco Opera. A smaller portion of the collection is made up of pamphlets from the Art Institute of Chicago that describe a few fashion and art exhibitions from 1996 to 2015.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["This collection largely consists of playbills from Chicago's Lyric Opera House, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and regional theatres collected by Carol Berger. There are also ticket stubs from a handful of the performances, as well as materials from the Art Institute of Chicago. The playbills from Chicago's Lyric Opera House span the course of twenty-one seasons from the 34th to the 57th. The largest part of the collection consists of playbills from regional theatres from across the United States, including one piece from the San Francisco Opera. A smaller portion of the collection is made up of pamphlets from the Art Institute of Chicago that describe a few fashion and art exhibitions from 1996 to 2015."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)\u003c/p\u003e  "],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)"],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_ref2\"\u003eThis collection largely consists of playbills from Chicago's Lyric Opera House, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and regional theatres collected by Carol Berger. There are also ticket stubs from the performances, as well as materials from the Art Institute of Chicago.\u003c/abstract\u003e\n    "],"abstract_tesim":["This collection largely consists of playbills from Chicago's Lyric Opera House, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and regional theatres collected by Carol Berger. There are also ticket stubs from the performances, as well as materials from the Art Institute of Chicago."],"corpname_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center"],"persname_ssim":["Berger, Carol"],"names_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Berger, Carol"],"language_ssim":["English\n."],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":60,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-07-23T21:21:02.579Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_552","ead_ssi":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_552","_root_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_552","_nest_parent_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_552","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/GMU/repositories_2_resources_552.xml","title_ssm":["Carol Berger Chicago performing arts playbills collection"],"title_tesim":["Carol Berger Chicago performing arts playbills collection"],"unitdate_ssm":["1988-2015"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1988-2015"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1988/2015"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Carol Berger Chicago performing arts playbills collection, 1988/2015"],"text":["Carol Berger Chicago performing arts playbills collection, 1988/2015","C0263","/repositories/2/resources/552","Chicago (Ill.)","Performing arts","Theater programs","Theater -- United States","Theater","There are no access restrictions.","This collection is arranged by venue, followed by format. The playbills are arranged chronologically by season, and alphabetically within each season.","The Lyric Opera of Chicago was founded by Carol Fox, Lawrence V. Kelly and Nicola Rescigno in 1954. It is located in the Civic Opera Building which first opened its doors on November 4, 1929. The Civic Opera Building was envisioned by Samuel Insull as the predominant place for operatic performances. The Lyric Opera is now globally renowned for their chorus, orchestra, as well as their preservation of the cultural importance of opera in Chicago, Illinois. Several other nationally and internationally renowned theatres are also included in the collection of playbills.","Processing completed by Amy Blake in August 2018. EAD markup completed by Amy Blake in August 2018. Finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in January 2024.","The Special Collections Research Center holds many other","This collection largely consists of playbills from Chicago's Lyric Opera House, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and regional theatres collected by Carol Berger. There are also ticket stubs from a handful of the performances, as well as materials from the Art Institute of Chicago. The playbills from Chicago's Lyric Opera House span the course of twenty-one seasons from the 34th to the 57th. The largest part of the collection consists of playbills from regional theatres from across the United States, including one piece from the San Francisco Opera. A smaller portion of the collection is made up of pamphlets from the Art Institute of Chicago that describe a few fashion and art exhibitions from 1996 to 2015.","The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)","This collection largely consists of playbills from Chicago's Lyric Opera House, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and regional theatres collected by Carol Berger. There are also ticket stubs from the performances, as well as materials from the Art Institute of Chicago.","George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Berger, Carol","English\n."],"collection_title_tesim":["Carol Berger Chicago performing arts playbills collection, 1988/2015"],"collection_ssim":["Carol Berger Chicago performing arts playbills collection, 1988/2015"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["C0263","/repositories/2/resources/552"],"unitid_tesim":["C0263","/repositories/2/resources/552"],"repository_ssm":["George Mason University"],"repository_ssim":["George Mason University"],"geogname_ssm":["Chicago (Ill.)"],"geogname_ssim":["Chicago (Ill.)"],"places_ssim":["Chicago (Ill.)"],"creator_ssm":["Berger, Carol"],"creator_ssim":["Berger, Carol"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Berger, Carol"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center"],"creators_ssim":["Berger, Carol","George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center"],"access_terms_ssm":["The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)"],"acqinfo_ssim":["Donated by Carol Berger in 2015."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Performing arts","Theater programs","Theater -- United States","Theater"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Performing arts","Theater programs","Theater -- United States","Theater"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["1 Linear Feet 4 boxes"],"extent_tesim":["1 Linear Feet 4 boxes"],"date_range_isim":[1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010,2011,2012,2013,2014,2015],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are no access restrictions.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access Restrictions"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["There are no access restrictions."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThis collection is arranged by venue, followed by format. The playbills are arranged chronologically by season, and alphabetically within each season.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["This collection is arranged by venue, followed by format. The playbills are arranged chronologically by season, and alphabetically within each season."],"bibliography_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\u003cextptr href=\"https://www.lyricopera.org/about/history/lyricoperahistory\" title=\"History of Lyric Opera of Chicago.\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e\u003c/p\u003e  "],"bibliography_heading_ssm":["Bibliography"],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Lyric Opera of Chicago was founded by Carol Fox, Lawrence V. Kelly and Nicola Rescigno in 1954. It is located in the Civic Opera Building which first opened its doors on November 4, 1929. The Civic Opera Building was envisioned by Samuel Insull as the predominant place for operatic performances. The Lyric Opera is now globally renowned for their chorus, orchestra, as well as their preservation of the cultural importance of opera in Chicago, Illinois. Several other nationally and internationally renowned theatres are also included in the collection of playbills.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["The Lyric Opera of Chicago was founded by Carol Fox, Lawrence V. Kelly and Nicola Rescigno in 1954. It is located in the Civic Opera Building which first opened its doors on November 4, 1929. The Civic Opera Building was envisioned by Samuel Insull as the predominant place for operatic performances. The Lyric Opera is now globally renowned for their chorus, orchestra, as well as their preservation of the cultural importance of opera in Chicago, Illinois. Several other nationally and internationally renowned theatres are also included in the collection of playbills."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCarol Berger Chicago performing arts playbills collection, C0263, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"prefercite_tesim":["Carol Berger Chicago performing arts playbills collection, C0263, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eProcessing completed by Amy Blake in August 2018. EAD markup completed by Amy Blake in August 2018. Finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in January 2024.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["Processing completed by Amy Blake in August 2018. EAD markup completed by Amy Blake in August 2018. Finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in January 2024."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Special Collections Research Center holds many other \u003cextptr show=\"new\" title=\"playbill collections.\" href=\"https://aspace.gmu.edu/search?utf8=%E2%9C%93\u0026amp;op%5B%5D=\u0026amp;q%5B%5D=playbill\u0026amp;limit=\u0026amp;field%5B%5D=\u0026amp;from_year%5B%5D=\u0026amp;to_year%5B%5D=\u0026amp;commit=Search\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e\u003c/p\u003e  "],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Material"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["The Special Collections Research Center holds many other"],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThis collection largely consists of playbills from Chicago's Lyric Opera House, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and regional theatres collected by Carol Berger. There are also ticket stubs from a handful of the performances, as well as materials from the Art Institute of Chicago. The playbills from Chicago's Lyric Opera House span the course of twenty-one seasons from the 34th to the 57th. The largest part of the collection consists of playbills from regional theatres from across the United States, including one piece from the San Francisco Opera. A smaller portion of the collection is made up of pamphlets from the Art Institute of Chicago that describe a few fashion and art exhibitions from 1996 to 2015.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["This collection largely consists of playbills from Chicago's Lyric Opera House, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and regional theatres collected by Carol Berger. There are also ticket stubs from a handful of the performances, as well as materials from the Art Institute of Chicago. The playbills from Chicago's Lyric Opera House span the course of twenty-one seasons from the 34th to the 57th. The largest part of the collection consists of playbills from regional theatres from across the United States, including one piece from the San Francisco Opera. A smaller portion of the collection is made up of pamphlets from the Art Institute of Chicago that describe a few fashion and art exhibitions from 1996 to 2015."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)\u003c/p\u003e  "],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)"],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_ref2\"\u003eThis collection largely consists of playbills from Chicago's Lyric Opera House, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and regional theatres collected by Carol Berger. There are also ticket stubs from the performances, as well as materials from the Art Institute of Chicago.\u003c/abstract\u003e\n    "],"abstract_tesim":["This collection largely consists of playbills from Chicago's Lyric Opera House, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and regional theatres collected by Carol Berger. There are also ticket stubs from the performances, as well as materials from the Art Institute of Chicago."],"corpname_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center"],"persname_ssim":["Berger, Carol"],"names_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Berger, Carol"],"language_ssim":["English\n."],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":60,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-07-23T21:21:02.579Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_repositories_2_resources_552"}},{"id":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_113","type":"collection","attributes":{"title":"Charles Rodrigues playbill collection, 1879/2009","creator":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_repositories_2_resources_113#creator","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"Rodrigues, Charles","label":"Creator"}},"abstract_or_scope":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_repositories_2_resources_113#abstract_or_scope","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"The Charles Rodrigues playbill collection consists of playbills and programs from 1879-2009. The bulk of the collection material represents plays performed on and off Broadway, but it also includes programs from theatres in Philadelphia, Boston, Connecticut, Long Island, New Jersey, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Ohio, and Chicago. This collection represents a broad cross-section of programs with plays as the main source, as well as, programs from burlesque houses, vaudeville performances, and concerts. Playbills can be important documents for researchers in that they depict the world of theatre changing over time and often provide rich information about prevailing cultural and social attitudes of the moment through articles and advertisements.","label":"Abstract Or Scope"}},"breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_repositories_2_resources_113#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"id":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_113","ead_ssi":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_113","_root_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_113","_nest_parent_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_113","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/GMU/repositories_2_resources_113.xml","title_filing_ssi":"Charles Rodrigues playbill collection","title_ssm":["Charles Rodrigues playbill collection"],"title_tesim":["Charles Rodrigues playbill collection"],"unitdate_ssm":["1879-2009"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1879-2009"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1879/2009"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Charles Rodrigues playbill collection, 1879/2009"],"text":["Charles Rodrigues playbill collection, 1879/2009","C0184","/repositories/2/resources/113","Broadway (New York, N.Y.)","Theater -- New York (State) -- New York","Theater -- United States","Performing arts","Musical Theater","Theater","Theater programs","Musical Theater -- New York (State) -- New York","There are no access restrictions.","Arranged into three series, two of which are based on location, and a final series for film programs, music scores, ticket stubs, and advertisements.","Series\n      Series 1: Outside New York City, 1879-2009 (boxes 1-5, 37)\n      Series 2: New York City, 1885-2009 (boxes 6-34, 37-38)\n      Series 3: Film Programs, music scores, and ticket stubs, 1909-2009 (boxes 34-38)","Charles Rodrigues was an avid theatre enthusiast who amassed a large collection of playbills and programs by attending shows, purchasing programs at yard sales and thrift stores, trading with other collectors, and inheriting collections from friends. Rodrigues began collecting playbills at performances he attended on and off Broadway in 1961. He would also attend performances around the United States and abroad and collect playbills from these shows. One sizable addition came from Richard W. Rowan who also collected playbills from shows he attended. Many of these playbills date from World War I to the 1930s. The oldest part of the Rodrigues collection dates to the late 19th century and is from a movie theatre that used the playbills as cushioning between the older vaudeville stage and the newer movie theatre stage.","Processed by Greta Kuriger in 2011. EAD markup completed by Greta Kuriger in 2011. Finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in April 2022.","The Special Collections Research Center holds many other collections on theatre and the performing arts.","The Charles Rodrigues playbill collection consists of playbills and programs from 1879-2009. The bulk of the collection material represents plays performed on and off Broadway, as well as theatres in Philadelphia, Boston, Connecticut, Long Island, New Jersey, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Ohio, and Chicago. This collection represents a broad cross-section of programs with plays as the main source, but it also includes programs from burlesque houses, vaudeville performances, and concerts. Playbills can be important documents for researchers in that they depict the world of theatre changing over time and often provide rich information about prevailing cultural and social attitudes of the moment through articles and advertisements.","The collection consists of three series, two of which are based on geographic location, divided by date, and then arranged alphabetically by play title. Playbills from performances prior to 1934 are included at the beginning of each series in alphabetical order by play followed by playbills that date 1934 and onward. If the name of the play was not present the name of theatre is used instead. Series one consists of fourteen subseries each including playbills and programs from theatres outside of New York City. Subseries 1.1 to 1.14 consist of programs from Austria, Boston, California, Chicago, Connecticut, Florida, London, New York State, New Jersey, Ohio, Paris, Philadelphia, Toronto, and Washington D.C. respectively. Series two consists of programs from productions performed in New York City, on and off Broadway, and in Brooklyn. Plays are listed alphabetically within each series and often one play title represents more than one playbill. Many of the playbills have ticket stubs attached to the front cover or loose inside. Newspaper clippings relating to the play also accompany some of the programs. The final series includes programs from films, music scores, theatre advertisement mailings, and ticket stubs. Within this series music scores are listed first in alphabetical order followed by film programs and then mailings from theatres, newspaper and magazine clippings, pamphlets and advertisements, show announcements, and assorted ticket stubs.","The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated. (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)","The Charles Rodrigues playbill collection consists of playbills and programs from 1879-2009. The bulk of the collection material represents plays performed on and off Broadway, but it also includes programs from theatres in Philadelphia, Boston, Connecticut, Long Island, New Jersey, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Ohio, and Chicago. This collection represents a broad cross-section of programs with plays as the main source, as well as, programs from burlesque houses, vaudeville performances, and concerts. Playbills can be important documents for researchers in that they depict the world of theatre changing over time and often provide rich information about prevailing cultural and social attitudes of the moment through articles and advertisements.","George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Rodrigues, Charles","English"],"collection_title_tesim":["Charles Rodrigues playbill collection, 1879/2009"],"collection_ssim":["Charles Rodrigues playbill collection, 1879/2009"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["C0184","/repositories/2/resources/113"],"unitid_tesim":["C0184","/repositories/2/resources/113"],"repository_ssm":["George Mason University"],"repository_ssim":["George Mason University"],"geogname_ssm":["Broadway (New York, N.Y.)"],"geogname_ssim":["Broadway (New York, N.Y.)"],"places_ssim":["Broadway (New York, N.Y.)"],"creator_ssm":["Rodrigues, Charles"],"creator_ssim":["Rodrigues, Charles"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Rodrigues, Charles"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center"],"creators_ssim":["Rodrigues, Charles","George Mason University. Libraries. 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(See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)"],"acqinfo_ssim":["Donated by Phil Rodrigues, brother of Charles Rodrigues, October 21, 2010."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Theater -- New York (State) -- New York","Theater -- United States","Performing arts","Musical Theater","Theater","Theater programs","Musical Theater -- New York (State) -- New York"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Theater -- New York (State) -- New York","Theater -- United States","Performing arts","Musical Theater","Theater","Theater programs","Musical Theater -- New York (State) -- New York"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["18 Linear Feet 38 boxes"],"extent_tesim":["18 Linear Feet 38 boxes"],"date_range_isim":[1879,1880,1881,1882,1883,1884,1885,1886,1887,1888,1889,1890,1891,1892,1893,1894,1895,1896,1897,1898,1899,1900,1901,1902,1903,1904,1905,1906,1907,1908,1909,1910,1911,1912,1913,1914,1915,1916,1917,1918,1919,1920,1921,1922,1923,1924,1925,1926,1927,1928,1929,1930,1931,1932,1933,1934,1935,1936,1937,1938,1939,1940,1941,1942,1943,1944,1945,1946,1947,1948,1949,1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008,2009],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are no access restrictions.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access Restrictions"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["There are no access restrictions."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eArranged into three series, two of which are based on location, and a final series for film programs, music scores, ticket stubs, and advertisements.\u003c/p\u003e    ","\u003clist type=\"ordered\"\u003e\n      \u003chead\u003eSeries\u003c/head\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 1: Outside New York City, 1879-2009 (boxes 1-5, 37)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 2: New York City, 1885-2009 (boxes 6-34, 37-38)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 3: Film Programs, music scores, and ticket stubs, 1909-2009 (boxes 34-38)\u003c/item\u003e\n    \u003c/list\u003e\n  "],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["Arranged into three series, two of which are based on location, and a final series for film programs, music scores, ticket stubs, and advertisements.","Series\n      Series 1: Outside New York City, 1879-2009 (boxes 1-5, 37)\n      Series 2: New York City, 1885-2009 (boxes 6-34, 37-38)\n      Series 3: Film Programs, music scores, and ticket stubs, 1909-2009 (boxes 34-38)"],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCharles Rodrigues was an avid theatre enthusiast who amassed a large collection of playbills and programs by attending shows, purchasing programs at yard sales and thrift stores, trading with other collectors, and inheriting collections from friends. Rodrigues began collecting playbills at performances he attended on and off Broadway in 1961. He would also attend performances around the United States and abroad and collect playbills from these shows. One sizable addition came from Richard W. Rowan who also collected playbills from shows he attended. Many of these playbills date from World War I to the 1930s. The oldest part of the Rodrigues collection dates to the late 19th century and is from a movie theatre that used the playbills as cushioning between the older vaudeville stage and the newer movie theatre stage.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["Charles Rodrigues was an avid theatre enthusiast who amassed a large collection of playbills and programs by attending shows, purchasing programs at yard sales and thrift stores, trading with other collectors, and inheriting collections from friends. Rodrigues began collecting playbills at performances he attended on and off Broadway in 1961. He would also attend performances around the United States and abroad and collect playbills from these shows. One sizable addition came from Richard W. Rowan who also collected playbills from shows he attended. Many of these playbills date from World War I to the 1930s. The oldest part of the Rodrigues collection dates to the late 19th century and is from a movie theatre that used the playbills as cushioning between the older vaudeville stage and the newer movie theatre stage."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCharles Rodrigues playbill collection, C0184, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"prefercite_tesim":["Charles Rodrigues playbill collection, C0184, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eProcessed by Greta Kuriger in 2011. EAD markup completed by Greta Kuriger in 2011. Finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in April 2022.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["Processed by Greta Kuriger in 2011. EAD markup completed by Greta Kuriger in 2011. Finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in April 2022."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Special Collections Research Center holds many other collections on theatre and the performing arts.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Material"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["The Special Collections Research Center holds many other collections on theatre and the performing arts."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Charles Rodrigues playbill collection consists of playbills and programs from 1879-2009. The bulk of the collection material represents plays performed on and off Broadway, as well as theatres in Philadelphia, Boston, Connecticut, Long Island, New Jersey, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Ohio, and Chicago. This collection represents a broad cross-section of programs with plays as the main source, but it also includes programs from burlesque houses, vaudeville performances, and concerts. Playbills can be important documents for researchers in that they depict the world of theatre changing over time and often provide rich information about prevailing cultural and social attitudes of the moment through articles and advertisements.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe collection consists of three series, two of which are based on geographic location, divided by date, and then arranged alphabetically by play title. Playbills from performances prior to 1934 are included at the beginning of each series in alphabetical order by play followed by playbills that date 1934 and onward. If the name of the play was not present the name of theatre is used instead. Series one consists of fourteen subseries each including playbills and programs from theatres outside of New York City. Subseries 1.1 to 1.14 consist of programs from Austria, Boston, California, Chicago, Connecticut, Florida, London, New York State, New Jersey, Ohio, Paris, Philadelphia, Toronto, and Washington D.C. respectively. Series two consists of programs from productions performed in New York City, on and off Broadway, and in Brooklyn. Plays are listed alphabetically within each series and often one play title represents more than one playbill. Many of the playbills have ticket stubs attached to the front cover or loose inside. Newspaper clippings relating to the play also accompany some of the programs. The final series includes programs from films, music scores, theatre advertisement mailings, and ticket stubs. Within this series music scores are listed first in alphabetical order followed by film programs and then mailings from theatres, newspaper and magazine clippings, pamphlets and advertisements, show announcements, and assorted ticket stubs. \u003c/p\u003e  "],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Charles Rodrigues playbill collection consists of playbills and programs from 1879-2009. The bulk of the collection material represents plays performed on and off Broadway, as well as theatres in Philadelphia, Boston, Connecticut, Long Island, New Jersey, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Ohio, and Chicago. This collection represents a broad cross-section of programs with plays as the main source, but it also includes programs from burlesque houses, vaudeville performances, and concerts. Playbills can be important documents for researchers in that they depict the world of theatre changing over time and often provide rich information about prevailing cultural and social attitudes of the moment through articles and advertisements.","The collection consists of three series, two of which are based on geographic location, divided by date, and then arranged alphabetically by play title. Playbills from performances prior to 1934 are included at the beginning of each series in alphabetical order by play followed by playbills that date 1934 and onward. If the name of the play was not present the name of theatre is used instead. Series one consists of fourteen subseries each including playbills and programs from theatres outside of New York City. Subseries 1.1 to 1.14 consist of programs from Austria, Boston, California, Chicago, Connecticut, Florida, London, New York State, New Jersey, Ohio, Paris, Philadelphia, Toronto, and Washington D.C. respectively. Series two consists of programs from productions performed in New York City, on and off Broadway, and in Brooklyn. Plays are listed alphabetically within each series and often one play title represents more than one playbill. Many of the playbills have ticket stubs attached to the front cover or loose inside. Newspaper clippings relating to the play also accompany some of the programs. The final series includes programs from films, music scores, theatre advertisement mailings, and ticket stubs. Within this series music scores are listed first in alphabetical order followed by film programs and then mailings from theatres, newspaper and magazine clippings, pamphlets and advertisements, show announcements, and assorted ticket stubs."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated. (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)\u003c/p\u003e  "],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated. (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)"],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_d46ac9a9e4e3a7b9dc6e8e0b7d7a8d53\" label=\"Abstract\"\u003eThe Charles Rodrigues playbill collection consists of playbills and programs from 1879-2009. The bulk of the collection material represents plays performed on and off Broadway, but it also includes programs from theatres in Philadelphia, Boston, Connecticut, Long Island, New Jersey, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Ohio, and Chicago. This collection represents a broad cross-section of programs with plays as the main source, as well as, programs from burlesque houses, vaudeville performances, and concerts. Playbills can be important documents for researchers in that they depict the world of theatre changing over time and often provide rich information about prevailing cultural and social attitudes of the moment through articles and advertisements.\u003c/abstract\u003e\n    "],"abstract_tesim":["The Charles Rodrigues playbill collection consists of playbills and programs from 1879-2009. The bulk of the collection material represents plays performed on and off Broadway, but it also includes programs from theatres in Philadelphia, Boston, Connecticut, Long Island, New Jersey, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Ohio, and Chicago. This collection represents a broad cross-section of programs with plays as the main source, as well as, programs from burlesque houses, vaudeville performances, and concerts. Playbills can be important documents for researchers in that they depict the world of theatre changing over time and often provide rich information about prevailing cultural and social attitudes of the moment through articles and advertisements."],"corpname_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center"],"persname_ssim":["Rodrigues, Charles"],"names_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Rodrigues, Charles"],"language_ssim":["English"],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":563,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-07-23T21:20:11.140Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_113","ead_ssi":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_113","_root_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_113","_nest_parent_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_113","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/GMU/repositories_2_resources_113.xml","title_filing_ssi":"Charles Rodrigues playbill collection","title_ssm":["Charles Rodrigues playbill collection"],"title_tesim":["Charles Rodrigues playbill collection"],"unitdate_ssm":["1879-2009"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1879-2009"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1879/2009"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Charles Rodrigues playbill collection, 1879/2009"],"text":["Charles Rodrigues playbill collection, 1879/2009","C0184","/repositories/2/resources/113","Broadway (New York, N.Y.)","Theater -- New York (State) -- New York","Theater -- United States","Performing arts","Musical Theater","Theater","Theater programs","Musical Theater -- New York (State) -- New York","There are no access restrictions.","Arranged into three series, two of which are based on location, and a final series for film programs, music scores, ticket stubs, and advertisements.","Series\n      Series 1: Outside New York City, 1879-2009 (boxes 1-5, 37)\n      Series 2: New York City, 1885-2009 (boxes 6-34, 37-38)\n      Series 3: Film Programs, music scores, and ticket stubs, 1909-2009 (boxes 34-38)","Charles Rodrigues was an avid theatre enthusiast who amassed a large collection of playbills and programs by attending shows, purchasing programs at yard sales and thrift stores, trading with other collectors, and inheriting collections from friends. Rodrigues began collecting playbills at performances he attended on and off Broadway in 1961. He would also attend performances around the United States and abroad and collect playbills from these shows. One sizable addition came from Richard W. Rowan who also collected playbills from shows he attended. Many of these playbills date from World War I to the 1930s. The oldest part of the Rodrigues collection dates to the late 19th century and is from a movie theatre that used the playbills as cushioning between the older vaudeville stage and the newer movie theatre stage.","Processed by Greta Kuriger in 2011. EAD markup completed by Greta Kuriger in 2011. Finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in April 2022.","The Special Collections Research Center holds many other collections on theatre and the performing arts.","The Charles Rodrigues playbill collection consists of playbills and programs from 1879-2009. The bulk of the collection material represents plays performed on and off Broadway, as well as theatres in Philadelphia, Boston, Connecticut, Long Island, New Jersey, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Ohio, and Chicago. This collection represents a broad cross-section of programs with plays as the main source, but it also includes programs from burlesque houses, vaudeville performances, and concerts. Playbills can be important documents for researchers in that they depict the world of theatre changing over time and often provide rich information about prevailing cultural and social attitudes of the moment through articles and advertisements.","The collection consists of three series, two of which are based on geographic location, divided by date, and then arranged alphabetically by play title. Playbills from performances prior to 1934 are included at the beginning of each series in alphabetical order by play followed by playbills that date 1934 and onward. If the name of the play was not present the name of theatre is used instead. Series one consists of fourteen subseries each including playbills and programs from theatres outside of New York City. Subseries 1.1 to 1.14 consist of programs from Austria, Boston, California, Chicago, Connecticut, Florida, London, New York State, New Jersey, Ohio, Paris, Philadelphia, Toronto, and Washington D.C. respectively. Series two consists of programs from productions performed in New York City, on and off Broadway, and in Brooklyn. Plays are listed alphabetically within each series and often one play title represents more than one playbill. Many of the playbills have ticket stubs attached to the front cover or loose inside. Newspaper clippings relating to the play also accompany some of the programs. The final series includes programs from films, music scores, theatre advertisement mailings, and ticket stubs. Within this series music scores are listed first in alphabetical order followed by film programs and then mailings from theatres, newspaper and magazine clippings, pamphlets and advertisements, show announcements, and assorted ticket stubs.","The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated. (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)","The Charles Rodrigues playbill collection consists of playbills and programs from 1879-2009. The bulk of the collection material represents plays performed on and off Broadway, but it also includes programs from theatres in Philadelphia, Boston, Connecticut, Long Island, New Jersey, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Ohio, and Chicago. This collection represents a broad cross-section of programs with plays as the main source, as well as, programs from burlesque houses, vaudeville performances, and concerts. Playbills can be important documents for researchers in that they depict the world of theatre changing over time and often provide rich information about prevailing cultural and social attitudes of the moment through articles and advertisements.","George Mason University. Libraries. 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(See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)"],"acqinfo_ssim":["Donated by Phil Rodrigues, brother of Charles Rodrigues, October 21, 2010."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Theater -- New York (State) -- New York","Theater -- United States","Performing arts","Musical Theater","Theater","Theater programs","Musical Theater -- New York (State) -- New York"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Theater -- New York (State) -- New York","Theater -- United States","Performing arts","Musical Theater","Theater","Theater programs","Musical Theater -- New York (State) -- New York"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["18 Linear Feet 38 boxes"],"extent_tesim":["18 Linear Feet 38 boxes"],"date_range_isim":[1879,1880,1881,1882,1883,1884,1885,1886,1887,1888,1889,1890,1891,1892,1893,1894,1895,1896,1897,1898,1899,1900,1901,1902,1903,1904,1905,1906,1907,1908,1909,1910,1911,1912,1913,1914,1915,1916,1917,1918,1919,1920,1921,1922,1923,1924,1925,1926,1927,1928,1929,1930,1931,1932,1933,1934,1935,1936,1937,1938,1939,1940,1941,1942,1943,1944,1945,1946,1947,1948,1949,1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008,2009],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are no access restrictions.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access Restrictions"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["There are no access restrictions."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eArranged into three series, two of which are based on location, and a final series for film programs, music scores, ticket stubs, and advertisements.\u003c/p\u003e    ","\u003clist type=\"ordered\"\u003e\n      \u003chead\u003eSeries\u003c/head\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 1: Outside New York City, 1879-2009 (boxes 1-5, 37)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 2: New York City, 1885-2009 (boxes 6-34, 37-38)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 3: Film Programs, music scores, and ticket stubs, 1909-2009 (boxes 34-38)\u003c/item\u003e\n    \u003c/list\u003e\n  "],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["Arranged into three series, two of which are based on location, and a final series for film programs, music scores, ticket stubs, and advertisements.","Series\n      Series 1: Outside New York City, 1879-2009 (boxes 1-5, 37)\n      Series 2: New York City, 1885-2009 (boxes 6-34, 37-38)\n      Series 3: Film Programs, music scores, and ticket stubs, 1909-2009 (boxes 34-38)"],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCharles Rodrigues was an avid theatre enthusiast who amassed a large collection of playbills and programs by attending shows, purchasing programs at yard sales and thrift stores, trading with other collectors, and inheriting collections from friends. Rodrigues began collecting playbills at performances he attended on and off Broadway in 1961. He would also attend performances around the United States and abroad and collect playbills from these shows. One sizable addition came from Richard W. Rowan who also collected playbills from shows he attended. Many of these playbills date from World War I to the 1930s. The oldest part of the Rodrigues collection dates to the late 19th century and is from a movie theatre that used the playbills as cushioning between the older vaudeville stage and the newer movie theatre stage.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["Charles Rodrigues was an avid theatre enthusiast who amassed a large collection of playbills and programs by attending shows, purchasing programs at yard sales and thrift stores, trading with other collectors, and inheriting collections from friends. Rodrigues began collecting playbills at performances he attended on and off Broadway in 1961. He would also attend performances around the United States and abroad and collect playbills from these shows. One sizable addition came from Richard W. Rowan who also collected playbills from shows he attended. Many of these playbills date from World War I to the 1930s. The oldest part of the Rodrigues collection dates to the late 19th century and is from a movie theatre that used the playbills as cushioning between the older vaudeville stage and the newer movie theatre stage."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCharles Rodrigues playbill collection, C0184, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"prefercite_tesim":["Charles Rodrigues playbill collection, C0184, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eProcessed by Greta Kuriger in 2011. EAD markup completed by Greta Kuriger in 2011. Finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in April 2022.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["Processed by Greta Kuriger in 2011. EAD markup completed by Greta Kuriger in 2011. Finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in April 2022."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Special Collections Research Center holds many other collections on theatre and the performing arts.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Material"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["The Special Collections Research Center holds many other collections on theatre and the performing arts."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Charles Rodrigues playbill collection consists of playbills and programs from 1879-2009. The bulk of the collection material represents plays performed on and off Broadway, as well as theatres in Philadelphia, Boston, Connecticut, Long Island, New Jersey, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Ohio, and Chicago. This collection represents a broad cross-section of programs with plays as the main source, but it also includes programs from burlesque houses, vaudeville performances, and concerts. Playbills can be important documents for researchers in that they depict the world of theatre changing over time and often provide rich information about prevailing cultural and social attitudes of the moment through articles and advertisements.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe collection consists of three series, two of which are based on geographic location, divided by date, and then arranged alphabetically by play title. Playbills from performances prior to 1934 are included at the beginning of each series in alphabetical order by play followed by playbills that date 1934 and onward. If the name of the play was not present the name of theatre is used instead. Series one consists of fourteen subseries each including playbills and programs from theatres outside of New York City. Subseries 1.1 to 1.14 consist of programs from Austria, Boston, California, Chicago, Connecticut, Florida, London, New York State, New Jersey, Ohio, Paris, Philadelphia, Toronto, and Washington D.C. respectively. Series two consists of programs from productions performed in New York City, on and off Broadway, and in Brooklyn. Plays are listed alphabetically within each series and often one play title represents more than one playbill. Many of the playbills have ticket stubs attached to the front cover or loose inside. Newspaper clippings relating to the play also accompany some of the programs. The final series includes programs from films, music scores, theatre advertisement mailings, and ticket stubs. Within this series music scores are listed first in alphabetical order followed by film programs and then mailings from theatres, newspaper and magazine clippings, pamphlets and advertisements, show announcements, and assorted ticket stubs. \u003c/p\u003e  "],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Charles Rodrigues playbill collection consists of playbills and programs from 1879-2009. The bulk of the collection material represents plays performed on and off Broadway, as well as theatres in Philadelphia, Boston, Connecticut, Long Island, New Jersey, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Ohio, and Chicago. This collection represents a broad cross-section of programs with plays as the main source, but it also includes programs from burlesque houses, vaudeville performances, and concerts. Playbills can be important documents for researchers in that they depict the world of theatre changing over time and often provide rich information about prevailing cultural and social attitudes of the moment through articles and advertisements.","The collection consists of three series, two of which are based on geographic location, divided by date, and then arranged alphabetically by play title. Playbills from performances prior to 1934 are included at the beginning of each series in alphabetical order by play followed by playbills that date 1934 and onward. If the name of the play was not present the name of theatre is used instead. Series one consists of fourteen subseries each including playbills and programs from theatres outside of New York City. Subseries 1.1 to 1.14 consist of programs from Austria, Boston, California, Chicago, Connecticut, Florida, London, New York State, New Jersey, Ohio, Paris, Philadelphia, Toronto, and Washington D.C. respectively. Series two consists of programs from productions performed in New York City, on and off Broadway, and in Brooklyn. Plays are listed alphabetically within each series and often one play title represents more than one playbill. Many of the playbills have ticket stubs attached to the front cover or loose inside. Newspaper clippings relating to the play also accompany some of the programs. The final series includes programs from films, music scores, theatre advertisement mailings, and ticket stubs. Within this series music scores are listed first in alphabetical order followed by film programs and then mailings from theatres, newspaper and magazine clippings, pamphlets and advertisements, show announcements, and assorted ticket stubs."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated. (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)\u003c/p\u003e  "],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated. (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)"],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_d46ac9a9e4e3a7b9dc6e8e0b7d7a8d53\" label=\"Abstract\"\u003eThe Charles Rodrigues playbill collection consists of playbills and programs from 1879-2009. The bulk of the collection material represents plays performed on and off Broadway, but it also includes programs from theatres in Philadelphia, Boston, Connecticut, Long Island, New Jersey, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Ohio, and Chicago. This collection represents a broad cross-section of programs with plays as the main source, as well as, programs from burlesque houses, vaudeville performances, and concerts. Playbills can be important documents for researchers in that they depict the world of theatre changing over time and often provide rich information about prevailing cultural and social attitudes of the moment through articles and advertisements.\u003c/abstract\u003e\n    "],"abstract_tesim":["The Charles Rodrigues playbill collection consists of playbills and programs from 1879-2009. The bulk of the collection material represents plays performed on and off Broadway, but it also includes programs from theatres in Philadelphia, Boston, Connecticut, Long Island, New Jersey, Washington D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Ohio, and Chicago. This collection represents a broad cross-section of programs with plays as the main source, as well as, programs from burlesque houses, vaudeville performances, and concerts. Playbills can be important documents for researchers in that they depict the world of theatre changing over time and often provide rich information about prevailing cultural and social attitudes of the moment through articles and advertisements."],"corpname_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center"],"persname_ssim":["Rodrigues, Charles"],"names_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Rodrigues, Charles"],"language_ssim":["English"],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":563,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-07-23T21:20:11.140Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_repositories_2_resources_113"}},{"id":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_130","type":"collection","attributes":{"title":"Ken Kitch papers, 1950/2000","creator":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_repositories_2_resources_130#creator","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"Kitch, Kenneth","label":"Creator"}},"abstract_or_scope":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_repositories_2_resources_130#abstract_or_scope","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"This collection contains materials generated during Ken Kitch's time serving as Associate Director of Arena Stage in Washington, D.C.","label":"Abstract Or Scope"}},"breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_repositories_2_resources_130#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"id":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_130","ead_ssi":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_130","_root_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_130","_nest_parent_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_130","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/GMU/repositories_2_resources_130.xml","title_ssm":["Ken Kitch papers"],"title_tesim":["Ken Kitch papers"],"unitdate_ssm":["1950-2000"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1950-2000"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1950/2000"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Ken Kitch papers, 1950/2000"],"text":["Ken Kitch papers, 1950/2000","C0198","/repositories/2/resources/130","Theater -- Washington (D.C.)","Performing arts","Theater","Theater -- United States","There are no access restrictions.","Collection is organized roughly into three subjects: Kreeger Theatre, Arena II, and Steering Committee Development.","Kenneth \"Ken\" K. Kitch attended the University of California, Berkeley and San Francisco Stage College, earning degrees in English Literature and Drama. He began his work in professional, regional theatre as an actor in 1960 for the San Francisco Actor's Workshop where he would later serve as Technical Director, Administrator, and Director, before being named Managing Director in 1965. At the same time he was appointed Associate Professor of World Literature at San Francisco State College, teaching modern continental drama, and coordinator and advisor to San Quentin Prison's all-convict Drama Workshop where he conducted directing workshops and served as Acting Coach. In 1966, he joined John Hancock at the Pittsburgh Playhouse as Production Manager and Director, and later assumed the role of Associate Director of the Circle in the Square production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. He joined Arena Stage in 1967 as Associate Director, where his initial responsibility was serving as administrative coordinator of the capital funds campaign for planning and construction of the Arena II, later Kreeger, theatre. During this time he also served as a theatre consultant for the Central Atlantic Regional Education Laboratory, served on the District of Columbia Committee for the Performing Arts, and taught drama workshops at Lorton Prison. Kitch worked with Arena Stage from August 1967-circa 1970.","One of the first not-for-profit theatres in the United States, as well as a pioneer of the regional theatre movement, Arena Stage was the first regional theatre to transfer a production to Broadway (The Great White Hope, 1967), the first invited by the U.S. State Department to tour the Soviet Union, and the first to receive a Tony Award. Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, in 1950, Arena Stage was opened in Washington, D.C. to fill the void left by the closing of the National Theater in 1948. Deriving its name from the idea of \"theater in the round,\" Arena Stage became one of the first resident theatres in the United States, beginning with a company of only eight actors. During the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington, D.C. since 1895. Genorosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new \"Kreeger Theatre,\" which opened formally on January 15, 1971. Today, Arena Stage performs to over 250,000 patrons during a September to June season and employs nearly 200 theatre professionals.","Processed by Special Collections Research Center staff. Finding aid updated by Meghan Glasbrenner in January 2024.","The Special Collections Research Center also holds the , the , and the , as well as the papers of Arena Stage founders Zelda and Thomas C. Fichandler.","This collection contains correspondence, memos, reports, and other materials generated during Ken Kitch's time serving as Associate Director of Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. The majority of the materials relate to Arena II fund raising and donations, construction and opening of the Kreeger Theatre, and Steering Committee Development notes.","The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)","This collection contains materials generated during Ken Kitch's time serving as Associate Director of Arena Stage in Washington, D.C.","R 45, C 1, S 3","George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)","Kitch, Kenneth","English\n."],"collection_title_tesim":["Ken Kitch papers, 1950/2000"],"collection_ssim":["Ken Kitch papers, 1950/2000"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["C0198","/repositories/2/resources/130"],"unitid_tesim":["C0198","/repositories/2/resources/130"],"repository_ssm":["George Mason University"],"repository_ssim":["George Mason University"],"creator_ssm":["Kitch, Kenneth"],"creator_ssim":["Kitch, Kenneth"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Kitch, Kenneth"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"creators_ssim":["Kitch, Kenneth","George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"access_terms_ssm":["The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)"],"acqinfo_ssim":["Donated by Arena Stage in 2000."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Theater -- Washington (D.C.)","Performing arts","Theater","Theater -- United States"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Theater -- Washington (D.C.)","Performing arts","Theater","Theater -- United States"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["1.5 Linear Feet 3 boxes"],"extent_tesim":["1.5 Linear Feet 3 boxes"],"date_range_isim":[1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are no access restrictions.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access Restrictions"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["There are no access restrictions."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCollection is organized roughly into three subjects: Kreeger Theatre, Arena II, and Steering Committee Development.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["Collection is organized roughly into three subjects: Kreeger Theatre, Arena II, and Steering Committee Development."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eKenneth \"Ken\" K. Kitch attended the University of California, Berkeley and San Francisco Stage College, earning degrees in English Literature and Drama. He began his work in professional, regional theatre as an actor in 1960 for the San Francisco Actor's Workshop where he would later serve as Technical Director, Administrator, and Director, before being named Managing Director in 1965. At the same time he was appointed Associate Professor of World Literature at San Francisco State College, teaching modern continental drama, and coordinator and advisor to San Quentin Prison's all-convict Drama Workshop where he conducted directing workshops and served as Acting Coach. In 1966, he joined John Hancock at the Pittsburgh Playhouse as Production Manager and Director, and later assumed the role of Associate Director of the Circle in the Square production of \u003citalic\u003eA Midsummer Night's Dream\u003c/italic\u003e. He joined Arena Stage in 1967 as Associate Director, where his initial responsibility was serving as administrative coordinator of the capital funds campaign for planning and construction of the Arena II, later Kreeger, theatre. During this time he also served as a theatre consultant for the Central Atlantic Regional Education Laboratory, served on the District of Columbia Committee for the Performing Arts, and taught drama workshops at Lorton Prison. Kitch worked with Arena Stage from August 1967-circa 1970. \u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eOne of the first not-for-profit theatres in the United States, as well as a pioneer of the regional theatre movement, Arena Stage was the first regional theatre to transfer a production to Broadway (\u003citalic\u003eThe Great White Hope\u003c/italic\u003e, 1967), the first invited by the U.S. State Department to tour the Soviet Union, and the first to receive a Tony Award. Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, in 1950, Arena Stage was opened in Washington, D.C. to fill the void left by the closing of the National Theater in 1948. Deriving its name from the idea of \"theater in the round,\" Arena Stage became one of the first resident theatres in the United States, beginning with a company of only eight actors. During the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington, D.C. since 1895. Genorosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new \"Kreeger Theatre,\" which opened formally on January 15, 1971. Today, Arena Stage performs to over 250,000 patrons during a September to June season and employs nearly 200 theatre professionals.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical and Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["Kenneth \"Ken\" K. Kitch attended the University of California, Berkeley and San Francisco Stage College, earning degrees in English Literature and Drama. He began his work in professional, regional theatre as an actor in 1960 for the San Francisco Actor's Workshop where he would later serve as Technical Director, Administrator, and Director, before being named Managing Director in 1965. At the same time he was appointed Associate Professor of World Literature at San Francisco State College, teaching modern continental drama, and coordinator and advisor to San Quentin Prison's all-convict Drama Workshop where he conducted directing workshops and served as Acting Coach. In 1966, he joined John Hancock at the Pittsburgh Playhouse as Production Manager and Director, and later assumed the role of Associate Director of the Circle in the Square production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. He joined Arena Stage in 1967 as Associate Director, where his initial responsibility was serving as administrative coordinator of the capital funds campaign for planning and construction of the Arena II, later Kreeger, theatre. During this time he also served as a theatre consultant for the Central Atlantic Regional Education Laboratory, served on the District of Columbia Committee for the Performing Arts, and taught drama workshops at Lorton Prison. Kitch worked with Arena Stage from August 1967-circa 1970.","One of the first not-for-profit theatres in the United States, as well as a pioneer of the regional theatre movement, Arena Stage was the first regional theatre to transfer a production to Broadway (The Great White Hope, 1967), the first invited by the U.S. State Department to tour the Soviet Union, and the first to receive a Tony Award. Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, in 1950, Arena Stage was opened in Washington, D.C. to fill the void left by the closing of the National Theater in 1948. Deriving its name from the idea of \"theater in the round,\" Arena Stage became one of the first resident theatres in the United States, beginning with a company of only eight actors. During the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington, D.C. since 1895. Genorosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new \"Kreeger Theatre,\" which opened formally on January 15, 1971. Today, Arena Stage performs to over 250,000 patrons during a September to June season and employs nearly 200 theatre professionals."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eKen Kitch papers, C0198, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries\u003c/p\u003e  "],"prefercite_tesim":["Ken Kitch papers, C0198, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries"],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eProcessed by Special Collections Research Center staff. Finding aid updated by Meghan Glasbrenner in January 2024.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["Processed by Special Collections Research Center staff. Finding aid updated by Meghan Glasbrenner in January 2024."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Special Collections Research Center also holds the \u003cextptr show=\"new\" title=\"Arena Stage records\" href=\"https://aspace.gmu.edu/resources/c0017\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e, the \u003cextptr show=\"new\" title=\"Living Stage records\" href=\"https://aspace.gmu.edu/resources/c0277\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e, and the \u003cextptr show=\"new\" title=\"J. Burke Knapp papers\" href=\"https://aspace.gmu.edu/resources/c0199\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e, as well as the papers of Arena Stage founders Zelda and Thomas C. Fichandler.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Materials"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["The Special Collections Research Center also holds the , the , and the , as well as the papers of Arena Stage founders Zelda and Thomas C. Fichandler."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThis collection contains correspondence, memos, reports, and other materials generated during Ken Kitch's time serving as Associate Director of Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. The majority of the materials relate to Arena II fund raising and donations, construction and opening of the Kreeger Theatre, and Steering Committee Development notes.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["This collection contains correspondence, memos, reports, and other materials generated during Ken Kitch's time serving as Associate Director of Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. The majority of the materials relate to Arena II fund raising and donations, construction and opening of the Kreeger Theatre, and Steering Committee Development notes."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)\u003c/p\u003e  "],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)"],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_f48fbace47eb3626e3fcadeb4a669696\"\u003eThis collection contains materials generated during Ken Kitch's time serving as Associate Director of Arena Stage in Washington, D.C.\u003c/abstract\u003e\n    "],"abstract_tesim":["This collection contains materials generated during Ken Kitch's time serving as Associate Director of Arena Stage in Washington, D.C."],"physloc_html_tesm":["\u003cphysloc id=\"aspace_d8829c875631e84f6e30ac32b40c44ce\"\u003eR 45, C 1, S 3\u003c/physloc\u003e\n    "],"physloc_tesim":["R 45, C 1, S 3"],"corpname_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"names_coll_ssim":["Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"persname_ssim":["Kitch, Kenneth"],"names_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)","Kitch, Kenneth"],"language_ssim":["English\n."],"total_component_count_is":39,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-07-23T21:20:14.487Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_130","ead_ssi":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_130","_root_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_130","_nest_parent_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_130","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/GMU/repositories_2_resources_130.xml","title_ssm":["Ken Kitch papers"],"title_tesim":["Ken Kitch papers"],"unitdate_ssm":["1950-2000"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1950-2000"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1950/2000"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Ken Kitch papers, 1950/2000"],"text":["Ken Kitch papers, 1950/2000","C0198","/repositories/2/resources/130","Theater -- Washington (D.C.)","Performing arts","Theater","Theater -- United States","There are no access restrictions.","Collection is organized roughly into three subjects: Kreeger Theatre, Arena II, and Steering Committee Development.","Kenneth \"Ken\" K. Kitch attended the University of California, Berkeley and San Francisco Stage College, earning degrees in English Literature and Drama. He began his work in professional, regional theatre as an actor in 1960 for the San Francisco Actor's Workshop where he would later serve as Technical Director, Administrator, and Director, before being named Managing Director in 1965. At the same time he was appointed Associate Professor of World Literature at San Francisco State College, teaching modern continental drama, and coordinator and advisor to San Quentin Prison's all-convict Drama Workshop where he conducted directing workshops and served as Acting Coach. In 1966, he joined John Hancock at the Pittsburgh Playhouse as Production Manager and Director, and later assumed the role of Associate Director of the Circle in the Square production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. He joined Arena Stage in 1967 as Associate Director, where his initial responsibility was serving as administrative coordinator of the capital funds campaign for planning and construction of the Arena II, later Kreeger, theatre. During this time he also served as a theatre consultant for the Central Atlantic Regional Education Laboratory, served on the District of Columbia Committee for the Performing Arts, and taught drama workshops at Lorton Prison. Kitch worked with Arena Stage from August 1967-circa 1970.","One of the first not-for-profit theatres in the United States, as well as a pioneer of the regional theatre movement, Arena Stage was the first regional theatre to transfer a production to Broadway (The Great White Hope, 1967), the first invited by the U.S. State Department to tour the Soviet Union, and the first to receive a Tony Award. Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, in 1950, Arena Stage was opened in Washington, D.C. to fill the void left by the closing of the National Theater in 1948. Deriving its name from the idea of \"theater in the round,\" Arena Stage became one of the first resident theatres in the United States, beginning with a company of only eight actors. During the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington, D.C. since 1895. Genorosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new \"Kreeger Theatre,\" which opened formally on January 15, 1971. Today, Arena Stage performs to over 250,000 patrons during a September to June season and employs nearly 200 theatre professionals.","Processed by Special Collections Research Center staff. Finding aid updated by Meghan Glasbrenner in January 2024.","The Special Collections Research Center also holds the , the , and the , as well as the papers of Arena Stage founders Zelda and Thomas C. Fichandler.","This collection contains correspondence, memos, reports, and other materials generated during Ken Kitch's time serving as Associate Director of Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. The majority of the materials relate to Arena II fund raising and donations, construction and opening of the Kreeger Theatre, and Steering Committee Development notes.","The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)","This collection contains materials generated during Ken Kitch's time serving as Associate Director of Arena Stage in Washington, D.C.","R 45, C 1, S 3","George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)","Kitch, Kenneth","English\n."],"collection_title_tesim":["Ken Kitch papers, 1950/2000"],"collection_ssim":["Ken Kitch papers, 1950/2000"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["C0198","/repositories/2/resources/130"],"unitid_tesim":["C0198","/repositories/2/resources/130"],"repository_ssm":["George Mason University"],"repository_ssim":["George Mason University"],"creator_ssm":["Kitch, Kenneth"],"creator_ssim":["Kitch, Kenneth"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Kitch, Kenneth"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"creators_ssim":["Kitch, Kenneth","George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"access_terms_ssm":["The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)"],"acqinfo_ssim":["Donated by Arena Stage in 2000."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Theater -- Washington (D.C.)","Performing arts","Theater","Theater -- United States"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Theater -- Washington (D.C.)","Performing arts","Theater","Theater -- United States"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["1.5 Linear Feet 3 boxes"],"extent_tesim":["1.5 Linear Feet 3 boxes"],"date_range_isim":[1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are no access restrictions.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access Restrictions"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["There are no access restrictions."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCollection is organized roughly into three subjects: Kreeger Theatre, Arena II, and Steering Committee Development.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["Collection is organized roughly into three subjects: Kreeger Theatre, Arena II, and Steering Committee Development."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eKenneth \"Ken\" K. Kitch attended the University of California, Berkeley and San Francisco Stage College, earning degrees in English Literature and Drama. He began his work in professional, regional theatre as an actor in 1960 for the San Francisco Actor's Workshop where he would later serve as Technical Director, Administrator, and Director, before being named Managing Director in 1965. At the same time he was appointed Associate Professor of World Literature at San Francisco State College, teaching modern continental drama, and coordinator and advisor to San Quentin Prison's all-convict Drama Workshop where he conducted directing workshops and served as Acting Coach. In 1966, he joined John Hancock at the Pittsburgh Playhouse as Production Manager and Director, and later assumed the role of Associate Director of the Circle in the Square production of \u003citalic\u003eA Midsummer Night's Dream\u003c/italic\u003e. He joined Arena Stage in 1967 as Associate Director, where his initial responsibility was serving as administrative coordinator of the capital funds campaign for planning and construction of the Arena II, later Kreeger, theatre. During this time he also served as a theatre consultant for the Central Atlantic Regional Education Laboratory, served on the District of Columbia Committee for the Performing Arts, and taught drama workshops at Lorton Prison. Kitch worked with Arena Stage from August 1967-circa 1970. \u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eOne of the first not-for-profit theatres in the United States, as well as a pioneer of the regional theatre movement, Arena Stage was the first regional theatre to transfer a production to Broadway (\u003citalic\u003eThe Great White Hope\u003c/italic\u003e, 1967), the first invited by the U.S. State Department to tour the Soviet Union, and the first to receive a Tony Award. Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, in 1950, Arena Stage was opened in Washington, D.C. to fill the void left by the closing of the National Theater in 1948. Deriving its name from the idea of \"theater in the round,\" Arena Stage became one of the first resident theatres in the United States, beginning with a company of only eight actors. During the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington, D.C. since 1895. Genorosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new \"Kreeger Theatre,\" which opened formally on January 15, 1971. Today, Arena Stage performs to over 250,000 patrons during a September to June season and employs nearly 200 theatre professionals.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical and Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["Kenneth \"Ken\" K. Kitch attended the University of California, Berkeley and San Francisco Stage College, earning degrees in English Literature and Drama. He began his work in professional, regional theatre as an actor in 1960 for the San Francisco Actor's Workshop where he would later serve as Technical Director, Administrator, and Director, before being named Managing Director in 1965. At the same time he was appointed Associate Professor of World Literature at San Francisco State College, teaching modern continental drama, and coordinator and advisor to San Quentin Prison's all-convict Drama Workshop where he conducted directing workshops and served as Acting Coach. In 1966, he joined John Hancock at the Pittsburgh Playhouse as Production Manager and Director, and later assumed the role of Associate Director of the Circle in the Square production of A Midsummer Night's Dream. He joined Arena Stage in 1967 as Associate Director, where his initial responsibility was serving as administrative coordinator of the capital funds campaign for planning and construction of the Arena II, later Kreeger, theatre. During this time he also served as a theatre consultant for the Central Atlantic Regional Education Laboratory, served on the District of Columbia Committee for the Performing Arts, and taught drama workshops at Lorton Prison. Kitch worked with Arena Stage from August 1967-circa 1970.","One of the first not-for-profit theatres in the United States, as well as a pioneer of the regional theatre movement, Arena Stage was the first regional theatre to transfer a production to Broadway (The Great White Hope, 1967), the first invited by the U.S. State Department to tour the Soviet Union, and the first to receive a Tony Award. Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, in 1950, Arena Stage was opened in Washington, D.C. to fill the void left by the closing of the National Theater in 1948. Deriving its name from the idea of \"theater in the round,\" Arena Stage became one of the first resident theatres in the United States, beginning with a company of only eight actors. During the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington, D.C. since 1895. Genorosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new \"Kreeger Theatre,\" which opened formally on January 15, 1971. Today, Arena Stage performs to over 250,000 patrons during a September to June season and employs nearly 200 theatre professionals."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eKen Kitch papers, C0198, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries\u003c/p\u003e  "],"prefercite_tesim":["Ken Kitch papers, C0198, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries"],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eProcessed by Special Collections Research Center staff. Finding aid updated by Meghan Glasbrenner in January 2024.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["Processed by Special Collections Research Center staff. Finding aid updated by Meghan Glasbrenner in January 2024."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Special Collections Research Center also holds the \u003cextptr show=\"new\" title=\"Arena Stage records\" href=\"https://aspace.gmu.edu/resources/c0017\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e, the \u003cextptr show=\"new\" title=\"Living Stage records\" href=\"https://aspace.gmu.edu/resources/c0277\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e, and the \u003cextptr show=\"new\" title=\"J. Burke Knapp papers\" href=\"https://aspace.gmu.edu/resources/c0199\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e, as well as the papers of Arena Stage founders Zelda and Thomas C. Fichandler.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Materials"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["The Special Collections Research Center also holds the , the , and the , as well as the papers of Arena Stage founders Zelda and Thomas C. Fichandler."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThis collection contains correspondence, memos, reports, and other materials generated during Ken Kitch's time serving as Associate Director of Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. The majority of the materials relate to Arena II fund raising and donations, construction and opening of the Kreeger Theatre, and Steering Committee Development notes.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["This collection contains correspondence, memos, reports, and other materials generated during Ken Kitch's time serving as Associate Director of Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. The majority of the materials relate to Arena II fund raising and donations, construction and opening of the Kreeger Theatre, and Steering Committee Development notes."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)\u003c/p\u003e  "],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)"],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_f48fbace47eb3626e3fcadeb4a669696\"\u003eThis collection contains materials generated during Ken Kitch's time serving as Associate Director of Arena Stage in Washington, D.C.\u003c/abstract\u003e\n    "],"abstract_tesim":["This collection contains materials generated during Ken Kitch's time serving as Associate Director of Arena Stage in Washington, D.C."],"physloc_html_tesm":["\u003cphysloc id=\"aspace_d8829c875631e84f6e30ac32b40c44ce\"\u003eR 45, C 1, S 3\u003c/physloc\u003e\n    "],"physloc_tesim":["R 45, C 1, S 3"],"corpname_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"names_coll_ssim":["Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"persname_ssim":["Kitch, Kenneth"],"names_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)","Kitch, Kenneth"],"language_ssim":["English\n."],"total_component_count_is":39,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-07-23T21:20:14.487Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_repositories_2_resources_130"}},{"id":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_521","type":"collection","attributes":{"title":"Robert and Wilva Breen papers, 1831/2000","creator":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_repositories_2_resources_521#creator","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"Breen, Robert","label":"Creator"}},"abstract_or_scope":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_repositories_2_resources_521#abstract_or_scope","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"The Robert and Wilva Breen papers consists of correspondence, memoranda, newsclippings, photographs, notebooks, and audiovisual materials largely related to the creation and running of the American National Theater and Academy (ANTA), as well as Robert and Wilva Breen's long-term involvement with the organization. The bulk of the collection originates from 1933 - 2000s, with an outlier date of 1834 from an antique newspaper.","label":"Abstract Or Scope"}},"breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_repositories_2_resources_521#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"id":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_521","ead_ssi":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_521","_root_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_521","_nest_parent_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_521","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/GMU/repositories_2_resources_521.xml","title_ssm":["Robert and Wilva Breen papers"],"title_tesim":["Robert and Wilva Breen papers"],"unitdate_ssm":["1834, 1933-2000s"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1834, 1933-2000s"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1831/2000"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Robert and Wilva Breen papers, 1831/2000"],"text":["Robert and Wilva Breen papers, 1831/2000","C0004","/repositories/2/resources/521","Helsingør (Denmark)","Broadway (New York, N.Y.)","Ballet","Theater and society","Theater -- Europe -- History -- 20th century","Theater -- New York (State) -- New York","Theater -- United States -- History -- 20th century","Theater -- United States","World War, 1939-1945 -- Theater and the war","Theater programs","Experimental theater -- United States","Theater -- Europe","Theater -- Production and direction","Performing arts","Theater","Theatrical posters","Photographs","Box 35, Folder 12; Box 36, Folder 1; and Box 70, Folder 18 are restricted due to their physical fragility.","Box 89, Folder 8 and 9 are restricted due to personally identifiable information.","There are no other access restrictions.","Many of the audiotape reels found in this collection were converted to digital format and are available for use. Please contact SCRC for more information.","The collection was originally arranged by subject and then topic. Additional accessions were added and arranged in the order they arrived in Special Collections Research Center.","Strom, Stephanie. \"Robert Breen, 80, Arts Executive And Theatrical Producer, Is Dead.\" Nytimes.com.  (accessed December 12, 2018).","Oliver, Myrna. \"Robert Breen; Initiated Cultural Exchanges.\" Articles.latimes.com.  (accessed December 12, 2018).","Riedel, Michael. \"This theater's chaotic history includes a Titanic survivor, the 'Tonight' show and porn.\" Nypost.com.  (accessed December 12, 2018).","ANTA West records (Collection 1965). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.  (accessed December 12, 2018).","Robert Breen, born December 26, 1909 in Hibbing, Minnesota, served as the Executive Secretary of the American National Theatre and Academy (ANTA) from 1946-1952, and was instrumental in much of the organization's success, both domestically and internationally. In addition to serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps, Breen had an extensive background in theater. Prior to joining ANTA, Breen founded a theater program at the College of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota, as well as established the Chicago unit for the Works Progress Administration's Federal Theatre Project with his wife, Wilva Davis Breen. Wilva herself was instrumental in promoting and guiding ANTA's many and varied operations, and getting the organization off the ground. The Breens' apartment home - situated above the Hudson Theatre in New York City, NY - served as ANTA's early headquarters. Davis Breen served as Breen's constant support and collaborator until he passed away on March 31, 1990.","The American National Theatre and Academy (ANTA) was the United States' first national theater and dance organization, in the tradition of European national theaters. Originating in 1935 with a charter from the U.S. Congress, ANTA continued until 1966 when the National Endowment for the Arts came into being. ANTA was responsible for both the presentation of American theater in the U.S. and abroad.","Although officially formed in 1935, ANTA did not begin actual operation until 1946 due to a variety of factors, including the Great Depression and World War II. During the depression, federal funding was funnelled towards the Works Progress Administration's Federal Theatre Project, another national performing arts program. In addition to these setbacks, the ANTA board, comprised of prominent citizens and business leaders from outside the theater community, could not agree on the goals of ANTA. Eventually, Robert Breen and Robert Porterfield, two men with Army and theater backgrounds, took the reins of ANTA and initiated its revitalization. Porterfield and Breen developed ANTA's \"Foundation Plan,\" with the intention of having ANTA become the foundation for and driving force behind the stimulation of growth of American theater. The plan, successfully undertaken by Breen, Porterfield, and Breen's wife Wilva Davis Breen, called for a National Foundation to make loans and grants, insure theater projects against loss, as well as a National Service Bureau to provide technical assistance for acting companies, as well as a national clearing house for theater information. The plan was adopted by the ANTA Board in 1946.","Under the guidance of Breen, ANTA produced several projects in the U.S. with successful results during the postwar years. From 1946 - 1948, ANTA sponsored a series of plays called the Experimental Theatre. Its goal was to \"present new, interesting plays which would not see production on Broadway due to present high costs.\" Admittedly, the plays were \"not necessarily perfect\" but \"worthy of a trial production in a simplified fashion\" according to an ANTA letter offering subscription to the series, which included high profile playwrights and actors. During the late 1940s and early 1950s ANTA sponsored a number of drama festivals across the U.S., featuring well-known actors. ANTA also featured a televised production of short plays for NBC television. With the intention of promoting theater growth in the U.S. and showcasing new talent, ANTA produced, supported, and promoted theater projects all across the United States.","Internationally, ANTA promoted artistic exchange between the U.S. and Europe, and entertained American troops there. This was initiated with a 1949 tour of William Shakespeare's \"Hamlet\" throughout Europe, produced by and starring Breen in the titular role. This tour famously culminated in a performance at Elsinore Castle in Denmark - the actual setting of the play. Perhaps ANTA's, as well as Breen's, greatest success came with the international tour of George Gershwin's \"Porgy and Bess\" (produced with Blevins Davis), which toured from 1952-1956, visiting 89 cities and 29 countries. The opera's performance in the Soviet Union was considered the first cultural exchange post-World War II between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. ANTA also sponsored the American National Ballet Theatre's tour of Europe in 1950, performing in eighteen cities and eight countries. The tour lasted from August to December of 1950 and played to an audience of over 150,000, and was the first international tour of any American ballet company.","ANTA also produced a number of Broadway plays and musicals out of the formerly named Guild Hall Theatre, renamed the ANTA Theatre in the 1960s and 1970s. ANTA West, which grew out of the Greater Los Angeles Chapter of ANTA in 1957, promoted and facilitated the growth of theater in the Southern California region.","Part of the Robert and Wilva Breen papers was donated to The Ohio State University.","The Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to play  obsolete audiovisual material found in the found in the Robert and Wilva Breen papers. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access.","Processed by Special Collections Research Center Staff. EAD markup completed in February 2009 by Jordan Patty. Reprocessed by Amanda Brent from 2017-2018. EAD markup completed by Amanda Brent in December 2018.","Special Collections Research Center also holds the , the , the , and many other","The Ohio State University Libraries' Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute holds the","The UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library holds the","The Robert and Wilva Breen papers consists of correspondence, memoranda, newsclippings, photographs, notebooks, and audiovisual materials largely related to the creation and running of the American National Theater and Academy (ANTA), as well as Robert and Wilva Breen's long-term involvement with the organization from 1944 through the 1950s. The collection also contains many photographs of theaters and theatrical performances from across the United States, including from Broadway and Off-Broadway theaters and shows, as well as numerous colleges, universities, high schools, and local children's theaters. The bulk of the collection originates from the 1940s - 2000s, with an outlier date of 1834 from an antique newspaper.","The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/).","The Robert and Wilva Breen papers consists of correspondence, memoranda, newsclippings, photographs, notebooks, and audiovisual materials largely related to the creation and running of the American National Theater and Academy (ANTA), as well as Robert and Wilva Breen's long-term involvement with the organization. The bulk of the collection originates from 1933 - 2000s, with an outlier date of 1834 from an antique newspaper.","R2, C9, S3- C11, S7\nR3 C1 S1 - C2, S5\nOSR3, C4, S4\nMap Case 8.1-8.2, 9.1","George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","American National Ballet Theater","American National Theatre and Academy","ANTA (Organization)","ANTA West (Organization)","Breen, Robert","Breen, Wilva","Porterfield, Robert, 1905-1971","English"],"collection_title_tesim":["Robert and Wilva Breen papers, 1831/2000"],"collection_ssim":["Robert and Wilva Breen papers, 1831/2000"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["C0004","/repositories/2/resources/521"],"unitid_tesim":["C0004","/repositories/2/resources/521"],"repository_ssm":["George Mason University"],"repository_ssim":["George Mason University"],"geogname_ssm":["Helsingør (Denmark)","Broadway (New York, N.Y.)"],"geogname_ssim":["Helsingør (Denmark)","Broadway (New York, N.Y.)"],"places_ssim":["Helsingør (Denmark)","Broadway (New York, N.Y.)"],"creator_ssm":["Breen, Robert","Breen, Wilva"],"creator_ssim":["Breen, Robert","Breen, Wilva"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Breen, Robert","Breen, Wilva","Porterfield, Robert, 1905-1971"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","American National Ballet Theater","American National Theatre and Academy","ANTA (Organization)","ANTA West (Organization)"],"creators_ssim":["Breen, Robert","Breen, Wilva","Porterfield, Robert, 1905-1971","George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","American National Ballet Theater","American National Theatre and Academy","ANTA (Organization)","ANTA West (Organization)"],"access_terms_ssm":["The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)."],"acqinfo_ssim":["This collection was donated by the trustees of the Robert and Wilva Breen papers in 1988, and Wilva Breen and The Ohio State University in 1989. There were multiple accessions of materials throughout the 1990s. Additional materials were donated by Diana Lawrence and Mike Timoney in 2011."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Ballet","Theater and society","Theater -- Europe -- History -- 20th century","Theater -- New York (State) -- New York","Theater -- United States -- History -- 20th century","Theater -- United States","World War, 1939-1945 -- Theater and the war","Theater programs","Experimental theater -- United States","Theater -- Europe","Theater -- Production and direction","Performing arts","Theater","Theatrical posters","Photographs"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Ballet","Theater and society","Theater -- Europe -- History -- 20th century","Theater -- New York (State) -- New York","Theater -- United States -- History -- 20th century","Theater -- United States","World War, 1939-1945 -- Theater and the war","Theater programs","Experimental theater -- United States","Theater -- Europe","Theater -- Production and direction","Performing arts","Theater","Theatrical posters","Photographs"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["80.5 Linear Feet 207 boxes, 1 map case"],"extent_tesim":["80.5 Linear Feet 207 boxes, 1 map case"],"genreform_ssim":["Theatrical posters","Photographs"],"date_range_isim":[1831,1832,1833,1834,1835,1836,1837,1838,1839,1840,1841,1842,1843,1844,1845,1846,1847,1848,1849,1850,1851,1852,1853,1854,1855,1856,1857,1858,1859,1860,1861,1862,1863,1864,1865,1866,1867,1868,1869,1870,1871,1872,1873,1874,1875,1876,1877,1878,1879,1880,1881,1882,1883,1884,1885,1886,1887,1888,1889,1890,1891,1892,1893,1894,1895,1896,1897,1898,1899,1900,1901,1902,1903,1904,1905,1906,1907,1908,1909,1910,1911,1912,1913,1914,1915,1916,1917,1918,1919,1920,1921,1922,1923,1924,1925,1926,1927,1928,1929,1930,1931,1932,1933,1934,1935,1936,1937,1938,1939,1940,1941,1942,1943,1944,1945,1946,1947,1948,1949,1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eBox 35, Folder 12; Box 36, Folder 1; and Box 70, Folder 18 are restricted due to their physical fragility.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eBox 89, Folder 8 and 9 are restricted due to personally identifiable information.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThere are no other access restrictions.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access Restrictions"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["Box 35, Folder 12; Box 36, Folder 1; and Box 70, Folder 18 are restricted due to their physical fragility.","Box 89, Folder 8 and 9 are restricted due to personally identifiable information.","There are no other access restrictions."],"altformavail_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eMany of the audiotape reels found in this collection were converted to digital format and are available for use. Please contact SCRC for more information.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"altformavail_heading_ssm":["Alternative Form Available"],"altformavail_tesim":["Many of the audiotape reels found in this collection were converted to digital format and are available for use. Please contact SCRC for more information."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection was originally arranged by subject and then topic. Additional accessions were added and arranged in the order they arrived in Special Collections Research Center.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The collection was originally arranged by subject and then topic. Additional accessions were added and arranged in the order they arrived in Special Collections Research Center."],"bibliography_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eStrom, Stephanie. \"Robert Breen, 80, Arts Executive And Theatrical Producer, Is Dead.\" Nytimes.com. \u003cbibref\u003e\u003cextptr href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/02/obituaries/robert-breen-80-arts-executive-and-theatrical-producer-is-dead.html\" title=\"https://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/02/obituaries/robert-breen-80-arts-executive-and-theatrical-producer-is-dead.html\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e\u003c/bibref\u003e (accessed December 12, 2018).\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eOliver, Myrna. \"Robert Breen; Initiated Cultural Exchanges.\" Articles.latimes.com. \u003cbibref\u003e\u003cextptr href=\"http://articles.latimes.com/1990-04-05/news/mn-617_1_robert-breen\" title=\"http://articles.latimes.com/1990-04-05/news/mn-617_1_robert-breen\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e\u003c/bibref\u003e (accessed December 12, 2018).\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eRiedel, Michael. \"This theater's chaotic history includes a Titanic survivor, the 'Tonight' show and porn.\" Nypost.com. \u003cbibref\u003e\u003cextptr href=\"https://nypost.com/2017/03/28/this-theaters-chaotic-history-includes-a-titanic-survivor-the-tonight-show-and-porn/\" title=\"https://nypost.com/2017/03/28/this-theaters-chaotic-history-includes-a-titanic-survivor-the-tonight-show-and-porn/\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e\u003c/bibref\u003e (accessed December 12, 2018).\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eANTA West records (Collection 1965). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA. \u003cbibref\u003e\u003cextptr href=\"https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8fn1762/\" title=\"https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8fn1762/\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e\u003c/bibref\u003e (accessed December 12, 2018).\u003c/p\u003e  "],"bibliography_heading_ssm":["Bibliography"],"bibliography_tesim":["Strom, Stephanie. \"Robert Breen, 80, Arts Executive And Theatrical Producer, Is Dead.\" Nytimes.com.  (accessed December 12, 2018).","Oliver, Myrna. \"Robert Breen; Initiated Cultural Exchanges.\" Articles.latimes.com.  (accessed December 12, 2018).","Riedel, Michael. \"This theater's chaotic history includes a Titanic survivor, the 'Tonight' show and porn.\" Nypost.com.  (accessed December 12, 2018).","ANTA West records (Collection 1965). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.  (accessed December 12, 2018)."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eRobert Breen, born December 26, 1909 in Hibbing, Minnesota, served as the Executive Secretary of the American National Theatre and Academy (ANTA) from 1946-1952, and was instrumental in much of the organization's success, both domestically and internationally. In addition to serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps, Breen had an extensive background in theater. Prior to joining ANTA, Breen founded a theater program at the College of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota, as well as established the Chicago unit for the Works Progress Administration's Federal Theatre Project with his wife, Wilva Davis Breen. Wilva herself was instrumental in promoting and guiding ANTA's many and varied operations, and getting the organization off the ground. The Breens' apartment home - situated above the Hudson Theatre in New York City, NY - served as ANTA's early headquarters. Davis Breen served as Breen's constant support and collaborator until he passed away on March 31, 1990.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e The American National Theatre and Academy (ANTA) was the United States' first national theater and dance organization, in the tradition of European national theaters. Originating in 1935 with a charter from the U.S. Congress, ANTA continued until 1966 when the National Endowment for the Arts came into being. ANTA was responsible for both the presentation of American theater in the U.S. and abroad.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e Although officially formed in 1935, ANTA did not begin actual operation until 1946 due to a variety of factors, including the Great Depression and World War II. During the depression, federal funding was funnelled towards the Works Progress Administration's Federal Theatre Project, another national performing arts program. In addition to these setbacks, the ANTA board, comprised of prominent citizens and business leaders from outside the theater community, could not agree on the goals of ANTA. Eventually, Robert Breen and Robert Porterfield, two men with Army and theater backgrounds, took the reins of ANTA and initiated its revitalization. Porterfield and Breen developed ANTA's \"Foundation Plan,\" with the intention of having ANTA become the foundation for and driving force behind the stimulation of growth of American theater. The plan, successfully undertaken by Breen, Porterfield, and Breen's wife Wilva Davis Breen, called for a National Foundation to make loans and grants, insure theater projects against loss, as well as a National Service Bureau to provide technical assistance for acting companies, as well as a national clearing house for theater information. The plan was adopted by the ANTA Board in 1946.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e Under the guidance of Breen, ANTA produced several projects in the U.S. with successful results during the postwar years. From 1946 - 1948, ANTA sponsored a series of plays called the Experimental Theatre. Its goal was to \"present new, interesting plays which would not see production on Broadway due to present high costs.\" Admittedly, the plays were \"not necessarily perfect\" but \"worthy of a trial production in a simplified fashion\" according to an ANTA letter offering subscription to the series, which included high profile playwrights and actors. During the late 1940s and early 1950s ANTA sponsored a number of drama festivals across the U.S., featuring well-known actors. ANTA also featured a televised production of short plays for NBC television. With the intention of promoting theater growth in the U.S. and showcasing new talent, ANTA produced, supported, and promoted theater projects all across the United States.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e Internationally, ANTA promoted artistic exchange between the U.S. and Europe, and entertained American troops there. This was initiated with a 1949 tour of William Shakespeare's \"Hamlet\" throughout Europe, produced by and starring Breen in the titular role. This tour famously culminated in a performance at Elsinore Castle in Denmark - the actual setting of the play. Perhaps ANTA's, as well as Breen's, greatest success came with the international tour of George Gershwin's \"Porgy and Bess\" (produced with Blevins Davis), which toured from 1952-1956, visiting 89 cities and 29 countries. The opera's performance in the Soviet Union was considered the first cultural exchange post-World War II between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. ANTA also sponsored the American National Ballet Theatre's tour of Europe in 1950, performing in eighteen cities and eight countries. The tour lasted from August to December of 1950 and played to an audience of over 150,000, and was the first international tour of any American ballet company.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e ANTA also produced a number of Broadway plays and musicals out of the formerly named Guild Hall Theatre, renamed the ANTA Theatre in the 1960s and 1970s. ANTA West, which grew out of the Greater Los Angeles Chapter of ANTA in 1957, promoted and facilitated the growth of theater in the Southern California region.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical and Historical Note"],"bioghist_tesim":["Robert Breen, born December 26, 1909 in Hibbing, Minnesota, served as the Executive Secretary of the American National Theatre and Academy (ANTA) from 1946-1952, and was instrumental in much of the organization's success, both domestically and internationally. In addition to serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps, Breen had an extensive background in theater. Prior to joining ANTA, Breen founded a theater program at the College of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota, as well as established the Chicago unit for the Works Progress Administration's Federal Theatre Project with his wife, Wilva Davis Breen. Wilva herself was instrumental in promoting and guiding ANTA's many and varied operations, and getting the organization off the ground. The Breens' apartment home - situated above the Hudson Theatre in New York City, NY - served as ANTA's early headquarters. Davis Breen served as Breen's constant support and collaborator until he passed away on March 31, 1990.","The American National Theatre and Academy (ANTA) was the United States' first national theater and dance organization, in the tradition of European national theaters. Originating in 1935 with a charter from the U.S. Congress, ANTA continued until 1966 when the National Endowment for the Arts came into being. ANTA was responsible for both the presentation of American theater in the U.S. and abroad.","Although officially formed in 1935, ANTA did not begin actual operation until 1946 due to a variety of factors, including the Great Depression and World War II. During the depression, federal funding was funnelled towards the Works Progress Administration's Federal Theatre Project, another national performing arts program. In addition to these setbacks, the ANTA board, comprised of prominent citizens and business leaders from outside the theater community, could not agree on the goals of ANTA. Eventually, Robert Breen and Robert Porterfield, two men with Army and theater backgrounds, took the reins of ANTA and initiated its revitalization. Porterfield and Breen developed ANTA's \"Foundation Plan,\" with the intention of having ANTA become the foundation for and driving force behind the stimulation of growth of American theater. The plan, successfully undertaken by Breen, Porterfield, and Breen's wife Wilva Davis Breen, called for a National Foundation to make loans and grants, insure theater projects against loss, as well as a National Service Bureau to provide technical assistance for acting companies, as well as a national clearing house for theater information. The plan was adopted by the ANTA Board in 1946.","Under the guidance of Breen, ANTA produced several projects in the U.S. with successful results during the postwar years. From 1946 - 1948, ANTA sponsored a series of plays called the Experimental Theatre. Its goal was to \"present new, interesting plays which would not see production on Broadway due to present high costs.\" Admittedly, the plays were \"not necessarily perfect\" but \"worthy of a trial production in a simplified fashion\" according to an ANTA letter offering subscription to the series, which included high profile playwrights and actors. During the late 1940s and early 1950s ANTA sponsored a number of drama festivals across the U.S., featuring well-known actors. ANTA also featured a televised production of short plays for NBC television. With the intention of promoting theater growth in the U.S. and showcasing new talent, ANTA produced, supported, and promoted theater projects all across the United States.","Internationally, ANTA promoted artistic exchange between the U.S. and Europe, and entertained American troops there. This was initiated with a 1949 tour of William Shakespeare's \"Hamlet\" throughout Europe, produced by and starring Breen in the titular role. This tour famously culminated in a performance at Elsinore Castle in Denmark - the actual setting of the play. Perhaps ANTA's, as well as Breen's, greatest success came with the international tour of George Gershwin's \"Porgy and Bess\" (produced with Blevins Davis), which toured from 1952-1956, visiting 89 cities and 29 countries. The opera's performance in the Soviet Union was considered the first cultural exchange post-World War II between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. ANTA also sponsored the American National Ballet Theatre's tour of Europe in 1950, performing in eighteen cities and eight countries. The tour lasted from August to December of 1950 and played to an audience of over 150,000, and was the first international tour of any American ballet company.","ANTA also produced a number of Broadway plays and musicals out of the formerly named Guild Hall Theatre, renamed the ANTA Theatre in the 1960s and 1970s. ANTA West, which grew out of the Greater Los Angeles Chapter of ANTA in 1957, promoted and facilitated the growth of theater in the Southern California region."],"custodhist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003ePart of the Robert and Wilva Breen papers was donated to The Ohio State University.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"custodhist_heading_ssm":["Custodial History"],"custodhist_tesim":["Part of the Robert and Wilva Breen papers was donated to The Ohio State University."],"phystech_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to play  obsolete audiovisual material found in the found in the Robert and Wilva Breen papers. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"phystech_heading_ssm":["Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements"],"phystech_tesim":["The Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to play  obsolete audiovisual material found in the found in the Robert and Wilva Breen papers. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eRobert and Wilva Breen papers, C0004, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"prefercite_tesim":["Robert and Wilva Breen papers, C0004, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eProcessed by Special Collections Research Center Staff. EAD markup completed in February 2009 by Jordan Patty. Reprocessed by Amanda Brent from 2017-2018. EAD markup completed by Amanda Brent in December 2018.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["Processed by Special Collections Research Center Staff. EAD markup completed in February 2009 by Jordan Patty. Reprocessed by Amanda Brent from 2017-2018. EAD markup completed by Amanda Brent in December 2018."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSpecial Collections Research Center also holds the \u003cextptr href=\"https://aspace.gmu.edu/resources/c0145\" title=\"Porgy and Bess poster collection\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e, the \u003cextptr href=\"https://aspace.gmu.edu/resources/c0002\" title=\"Federal Theatre Project collection\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e, the \u003cextptr href=\"https://aspace.gmu.edu/resources/c0043\" title=\"Robert C. Schnitzer papers\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e, and many other \u003cextptr href=\"https://scrc.gmu.edu/collections-subject.php#THEATRE\" title=\"performing arts collections.\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e The Ohio State University Libraries' Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute holds the \u003cextptr href=\"https://library.osu.edu/collections/spec.tri.rb\" title=\"Robert Breen and Wilva papers.\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e The UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library holds the \u003cextptr href=\"https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8fn1762/\" title=\"ANTA West records.\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e\u003c/p\u003e  "],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Material"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["Special Collections Research Center also holds the , the , the , and many other","The Ohio State University Libraries' Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute holds the","The UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library holds the"],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Robert and Wilva Breen papers consists of correspondence, memoranda, newsclippings, photographs, notebooks, and audiovisual materials largely related to the creation and running of the American National Theater and Academy (ANTA), as well as Robert and Wilva Breen's long-term involvement with the organization from 1944 through the 1950s. The collection also contains many photographs of theaters and theatrical performances from across the United States, including from Broadway and Off-Broadway theaters and shows, as well as numerous colleges, universities, high schools, and local children's theaters. The bulk of the collection originates from the 1940s - 2000s, with an outlier date of 1834 from an antique newspaper.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Robert and Wilva Breen papers consists of correspondence, memoranda, newsclippings, photographs, notebooks, and audiovisual materials largely related to the creation and running of the American National Theater and Academy (ANTA), as well as Robert and Wilva Breen's long-term involvement with the organization from 1944 through the 1950s. The collection also contains many photographs of theaters and theatrical performances from across the United States, including from Broadway and Off-Broadway theaters and shows, as well as numerous colleges, universities, high schools, and local children's theaters. The bulk of the collection originates from the 1940s - 2000s, with an outlier date of 1834 from an antique newspaper."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/).\u003c/p\u003e  "],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_ref348\"\u003eThe Robert and Wilva Breen papers consists of correspondence, memoranda, newsclippings, photographs, notebooks, and audiovisual materials largely related to the creation and running of the American National Theater and Academy (ANTA), as well as Robert and Wilva Breen's long-term involvement with the organization. The bulk of the collection originates from 1933 - 2000s, with an outlier date of 1834 from an antique newspaper.\u003c/abstract\u003e\n    "],"abstract_tesim":["The Robert and Wilva Breen papers consists of correspondence, memoranda, newsclippings, photographs, notebooks, and audiovisual materials largely related to the creation and running of the American National Theater and Academy (ANTA), as well as Robert and Wilva Breen's long-term involvement with the organization. The bulk of the collection originates from 1933 - 2000s, with an outlier date of 1834 from an antique newspaper."],"physloc_html_tesm":["\u003cphysloc id=\"aspace_ddb931edc4f44bf997d326b2923a7505\"\u003eR2, C9, S3- C11, S7\nR3 C1 S1 - C2, S5\nOSR3, C4, S4\nMap Case 8.1-8.2, 9.1\u003c/physloc\u003e\n    "],"physloc_tesim":["R2, C9, S3- C11, S7\nR3 C1 S1 - C2, S5\nOSR3, C4, S4\nMap Case 8.1-8.2, 9.1"],"corpname_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","American National Ballet Theater","American National Theatre and Academy","ANTA (Organization)","ANTA West (Organization)"],"names_coll_ssim":["American National Ballet Theater","American National Theatre and Academy","ANTA (Organization)","ANTA West (Organization)","Porterfield, Robert, 1905-1971"],"persname_ssim":["Breen, Robert","Breen, Wilva","Porterfield, Robert, 1905-1971"],"names_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","American National Ballet Theater","American National Theatre and Academy","ANTA (Organization)","ANTA West (Organization)","Breen, Robert","Breen, Wilva","Porterfield, Robert, 1905-1971"],"language_ssim":["English"],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":3014,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-07-24T12:00:51.668Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_521","ead_ssi":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_521","_root_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_521","_nest_parent_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_521","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/GMU/repositories_2_resources_521.xml","title_ssm":["Robert and Wilva Breen papers"],"title_tesim":["Robert and Wilva Breen papers"],"unitdate_ssm":["1834, 1933-2000s"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1834, 1933-2000s"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1831/2000"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Robert and Wilva Breen papers, 1831/2000"],"text":["Robert and Wilva Breen papers, 1831/2000","C0004","/repositories/2/resources/521","Helsingør (Denmark)","Broadway (New York, N.Y.)","Ballet","Theater and society","Theater -- Europe -- History -- 20th century","Theater -- New York (State) -- New York","Theater -- United States -- History -- 20th century","Theater -- United States","World War, 1939-1945 -- Theater and the war","Theater programs","Experimental theater -- United States","Theater -- Europe","Theater -- Production and direction","Performing arts","Theater","Theatrical posters","Photographs","Box 35, Folder 12; Box 36, Folder 1; and Box 70, Folder 18 are restricted due to their physical fragility.","Box 89, Folder 8 and 9 are restricted due to personally identifiable information.","There are no other access restrictions.","Many of the audiotape reels found in this collection were converted to digital format and are available for use. Please contact SCRC for more information.","The collection was originally arranged by subject and then topic. Additional accessions were added and arranged in the order they arrived in Special Collections Research Center.","Strom, Stephanie. \"Robert Breen, 80, Arts Executive And Theatrical Producer, Is Dead.\" Nytimes.com.  (accessed December 12, 2018).","Oliver, Myrna. \"Robert Breen; Initiated Cultural Exchanges.\" Articles.latimes.com.  (accessed December 12, 2018).","Riedel, Michael. \"This theater's chaotic history includes a Titanic survivor, the 'Tonight' show and porn.\" Nypost.com.  (accessed December 12, 2018).","ANTA West records (Collection 1965). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.  (accessed December 12, 2018).","Robert Breen, born December 26, 1909 in Hibbing, Minnesota, served as the Executive Secretary of the American National Theatre and Academy (ANTA) from 1946-1952, and was instrumental in much of the organization's success, both domestically and internationally. In addition to serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps, Breen had an extensive background in theater. Prior to joining ANTA, Breen founded a theater program at the College of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota, as well as established the Chicago unit for the Works Progress Administration's Federal Theatre Project with his wife, Wilva Davis Breen. Wilva herself was instrumental in promoting and guiding ANTA's many and varied operations, and getting the organization off the ground. The Breens' apartment home - situated above the Hudson Theatre in New York City, NY - served as ANTA's early headquarters. Davis Breen served as Breen's constant support and collaborator until he passed away on March 31, 1990.","The American National Theatre and Academy (ANTA) was the United States' first national theater and dance organization, in the tradition of European national theaters. Originating in 1935 with a charter from the U.S. Congress, ANTA continued until 1966 when the National Endowment for the Arts came into being. ANTA was responsible for both the presentation of American theater in the U.S. and abroad.","Although officially formed in 1935, ANTA did not begin actual operation until 1946 due to a variety of factors, including the Great Depression and World War II. During the depression, federal funding was funnelled towards the Works Progress Administration's Federal Theatre Project, another national performing arts program. In addition to these setbacks, the ANTA board, comprised of prominent citizens and business leaders from outside the theater community, could not agree on the goals of ANTA. Eventually, Robert Breen and Robert Porterfield, two men with Army and theater backgrounds, took the reins of ANTA and initiated its revitalization. Porterfield and Breen developed ANTA's \"Foundation Plan,\" with the intention of having ANTA become the foundation for and driving force behind the stimulation of growth of American theater. The plan, successfully undertaken by Breen, Porterfield, and Breen's wife Wilva Davis Breen, called for a National Foundation to make loans and grants, insure theater projects against loss, as well as a National Service Bureau to provide technical assistance for acting companies, as well as a national clearing house for theater information. The plan was adopted by the ANTA Board in 1946.","Under the guidance of Breen, ANTA produced several projects in the U.S. with successful results during the postwar years. From 1946 - 1948, ANTA sponsored a series of plays called the Experimental Theatre. Its goal was to \"present new, interesting plays which would not see production on Broadway due to present high costs.\" Admittedly, the plays were \"not necessarily perfect\" but \"worthy of a trial production in a simplified fashion\" according to an ANTA letter offering subscription to the series, which included high profile playwrights and actors. During the late 1940s and early 1950s ANTA sponsored a number of drama festivals across the U.S., featuring well-known actors. ANTA also featured a televised production of short plays for NBC television. With the intention of promoting theater growth in the U.S. and showcasing new talent, ANTA produced, supported, and promoted theater projects all across the United States.","Internationally, ANTA promoted artistic exchange between the U.S. and Europe, and entertained American troops there. This was initiated with a 1949 tour of William Shakespeare's \"Hamlet\" throughout Europe, produced by and starring Breen in the titular role. This tour famously culminated in a performance at Elsinore Castle in Denmark - the actual setting of the play. Perhaps ANTA's, as well as Breen's, greatest success came with the international tour of George Gershwin's \"Porgy and Bess\" (produced with Blevins Davis), which toured from 1952-1956, visiting 89 cities and 29 countries. The opera's performance in the Soviet Union was considered the first cultural exchange post-World War II between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. ANTA also sponsored the American National Ballet Theatre's tour of Europe in 1950, performing in eighteen cities and eight countries. The tour lasted from August to December of 1950 and played to an audience of over 150,000, and was the first international tour of any American ballet company.","ANTA also produced a number of Broadway plays and musicals out of the formerly named Guild Hall Theatre, renamed the ANTA Theatre in the 1960s and 1970s. ANTA West, which grew out of the Greater Los Angeles Chapter of ANTA in 1957, promoted and facilitated the growth of theater in the Southern California region.","Part of the Robert and Wilva Breen papers was donated to The Ohio State University.","The Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to play  obsolete audiovisual material found in the found in the Robert and Wilva Breen papers. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access.","Processed by Special Collections Research Center Staff. EAD markup completed in February 2009 by Jordan Patty. Reprocessed by Amanda Brent from 2017-2018. EAD markup completed by Amanda Brent in December 2018.","Special Collections Research Center also holds the , the , the , and many other","The Ohio State University Libraries' Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute holds the","The UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library holds the","The Robert and Wilva Breen papers consists of correspondence, memoranda, newsclippings, photographs, notebooks, and audiovisual materials largely related to the creation and running of the American National Theater and Academy (ANTA), as well as Robert and Wilva Breen's long-term involvement with the organization from 1944 through the 1950s. The collection also contains many photographs of theaters and theatrical performances from across the United States, including from Broadway and Off-Broadway theaters and shows, as well as numerous colleges, universities, high schools, and local children's theaters. The bulk of the collection originates from the 1940s - 2000s, with an outlier date of 1834 from an antique newspaper.","The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/).","The Robert and Wilva Breen papers consists of correspondence, memoranda, newsclippings, photographs, notebooks, and audiovisual materials largely related to the creation and running of the American National Theater and Academy (ANTA), as well as Robert and Wilva Breen's long-term involvement with the organization. The bulk of the collection originates from 1933 - 2000s, with an outlier date of 1834 from an antique newspaper.","R2, C9, S3- C11, S7\nR3 C1 S1 - C2, S5\nOSR3, C4, S4\nMap Case 8.1-8.2, 9.1","George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","American National Ballet Theater","American National Theatre and Academy","ANTA (Organization)","ANTA West (Organization)","Breen, Robert","Breen, Wilva","Porterfield, Robert, 1905-1971","English"],"collection_title_tesim":["Robert and Wilva Breen papers, 1831/2000"],"collection_ssim":["Robert and Wilva Breen papers, 1831/2000"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["C0004","/repositories/2/resources/521"],"unitid_tesim":["C0004","/repositories/2/resources/521"],"repository_ssm":["George Mason University"],"repository_ssim":["George Mason University"],"geogname_ssm":["Helsingør (Denmark)","Broadway (New York, N.Y.)"],"geogname_ssim":["Helsingør (Denmark)","Broadway (New York, N.Y.)"],"places_ssim":["Helsingør (Denmark)","Broadway (New York, N.Y.)"],"creator_ssm":["Breen, Robert","Breen, Wilva"],"creator_ssim":["Breen, Robert","Breen, Wilva"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Breen, Robert","Breen, Wilva","Porterfield, Robert, 1905-1971"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","American National Ballet Theater","American National Theatre and Academy","ANTA (Organization)","ANTA West (Organization)"],"creators_ssim":["Breen, Robert","Breen, Wilva","Porterfield, Robert, 1905-1971","George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","American National Ballet Theater","American National Theatre and Academy","ANTA (Organization)","ANTA West (Organization)"],"access_terms_ssm":["The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)."],"acqinfo_ssim":["This collection was donated by the trustees of the Robert and Wilva Breen papers in 1988, and Wilva Breen and The Ohio State University in 1989. There were multiple accessions of materials throughout the 1990s. Additional materials were donated by Diana Lawrence and Mike Timoney in 2011."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Ballet","Theater and society","Theater -- Europe -- History -- 20th century","Theater -- New York (State) -- New York","Theater -- United States -- History -- 20th century","Theater -- United States","World War, 1939-1945 -- Theater and the war","Theater programs","Experimental theater -- United States","Theater -- Europe","Theater -- Production and direction","Performing arts","Theater","Theatrical posters","Photographs"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Ballet","Theater and society","Theater -- Europe -- History -- 20th century","Theater -- New York (State) -- New York","Theater -- United States -- History -- 20th century","Theater -- United States","World War, 1939-1945 -- Theater and the war","Theater programs","Experimental theater -- United States","Theater -- Europe","Theater -- Production and direction","Performing arts","Theater","Theatrical posters","Photographs"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["80.5 Linear Feet 207 boxes, 1 map case"],"extent_tesim":["80.5 Linear Feet 207 boxes, 1 map case"],"genreform_ssim":["Theatrical posters","Photographs"],"date_range_isim":[1831,1832,1833,1834,1835,1836,1837,1838,1839,1840,1841,1842,1843,1844,1845,1846,1847,1848,1849,1850,1851,1852,1853,1854,1855,1856,1857,1858,1859,1860,1861,1862,1863,1864,1865,1866,1867,1868,1869,1870,1871,1872,1873,1874,1875,1876,1877,1878,1879,1880,1881,1882,1883,1884,1885,1886,1887,1888,1889,1890,1891,1892,1893,1894,1895,1896,1897,1898,1899,1900,1901,1902,1903,1904,1905,1906,1907,1908,1909,1910,1911,1912,1913,1914,1915,1916,1917,1918,1919,1920,1921,1922,1923,1924,1925,1926,1927,1928,1929,1930,1931,1932,1933,1934,1935,1936,1937,1938,1939,1940,1941,1942,1943,1944,1945,1946,1947,1948,1949,1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eBox 35, Folder 12; Box 36, Folder 1; and Box 70, Folder 18 are restricted due to their physical fragility.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eBox 89, Folder 8 and 9 are restricted due to personally identifiable information.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThere are no other access restrictions.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access Restrictions"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["Box 35, Folder 12; Box 36, Folder 1; and Box 70, Folder 18 are restricted due to their physical fragility.","Box 89, Folder 8 and 9 are restricted due to personally identifiable information.","There are no other access restrictions."],"altformavail_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eMany of the audiotape reels found in this collection were converted to digital format and are available for use. Please contact SCRC for more information.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"altformavail_heading_ssm":["Alternative Form Available"],"altformavail_tesim":["Many of the audiotape reels found in this collection were converted to digital format and are available for use. Please contact SCRC for more information."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection was originally arranged by subject and then topic. Additional accessions were added and arranged in the order they arrived in Special Collections Research Center.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The collection was originally arranged by subject and then topic. Additional accessions were added and arranged in the order they arrived in Special Collections Research Center."],"bibliography_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eStrom, Stephanie. \"Robert Breen, 80, Arts Executive And Theatrical Producer, Is Dead.\" Nytimes.com. \u003cbibref\u003e\u003cextptr href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/02/obituaries/robert-breen-80-arts-executive-and-theatrical-producer-is-dead.html\" title=\"https://www.nytimes.com/1990/04/02/obituaries/robert-breen-80-arts-executive-and-theatrical-producer-is-dead.html\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e\u003c/bibref\u003e (accessed December 12, 2018).\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eOliver, Myrna. \"Robert Breen; Initiated Cultural Exchanges.\" Articles.latimes.com. \u003cbibref\u003e\u003cextptr href=\"http://articles.latimes.com/1990-04-05/news/mn-617_1_robert-breen\" title=\"http://articles.latimes.com/1990-04-05/news/mn-617_1_robert-breen\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e\u003c/bibref\u003e (accessed December 12, 2018).\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eRiedel, Michael. \"This theater's chaotic history includes a Titanic survivor, the 'Tonight' show and porn.\" Nypost.com. \u003cbibref\u003e\u003cextptr href=\"https://nypost.com/2017/03/28/this-theaters-chaotic-history-includes-a-titanic-survivor-the-tonight-show-and-porn/\" title=\"https://nypost.com/2017/03/28/this-theaters-chaotic-history-includes-a-titanic-survivor-the-tonight-show-and-porn/\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e\u003c/bibref\u003e (accessed December 12, 2018).\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eANTA West records (Collection 1965). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA. \u003cbibref\u003e\u003cextptr href=\"https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8fn1762/\" title=\"https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8fn1762/\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e\u003c/bibref\u003e (accessed December 12, 2018).\u003c/p\u003e  "],"bibliography_heading_ssm":["Bibliography"],"bibliography_tesim":["Strom, Stephanie. \"Robert Breen, 80, Arts Executive And Theatrical Producer, Is Dead.\" Nytimes.com.  (accessed December 12, 2018).","Oliver, Myrna. \"Robert Breen; Initiated Cultural Exchanges.\" Articles.latimes.com.  (accessed December 12, 2018).","Riedel, Michael. \"This theater's chaotic history includes a Titanic survivor, the 'Tonight' show and porn.\" Nypost.com.  (accessed December 12, 2018).","ANTA West records (Collection 1965). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.  (accessed December 12, 2018)."],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eRobert Breen, born December 26, 1909 in Hibbing, Minnesota, served as the Executive Secretary of the American National Theatre and Academy (ANTA) from 1946-1952, and was instrumental in much of the organization's success, both domestically and internationally. In addition to serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps, Breen had an extensive background in theater. Prior to joining ANTA, Breen founded a theater program at the College of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota, as well as established the Chicago unit for the Works Progress Administration's Federal Theatre Project with his wife, Wilva Davis Breen. Wilva herself was instrumental in promoting and guiding ANTA's many and varied operations, and getting the organization off the ground. The Breens' apartment home - situated above the Hudson Theatre in New York City, NY - served as ANTA's early headquarters. Davis Breen served as Breen's constant support and collaborator until he passed away on March 31, 1990.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e The American National Theatre and Academy (ANTA) was the United States' first national theater and dance organization, in the tradition of European national theaters. Originating in 1935 with a charter from the U.S. Congress, ANTA continued until 1966 when the National Endowment for the Arts came into being. ANTA was responsible for both the presentation of American theater in the U.S. and abroad.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e Although officially formed in 1935, ANTA did not begin actual operation until 1946 due to a variety of factors, including the Great Depression and World War II. During the depression, federal funding was funnelled towards the Works Progress Administration's Federal Theatre Project, another national performing arts program. In addition to these setbacks, the ANTA board, comprised of prominent citizens and business leaders from outside the theater community, could not agree on the goals of ANTA. Eventually, Robert Breen and Robert Porterfield, two men with Army and theater backgrounds, took the reins of ANTA and initiated its revitalization. Porterfield and Breen developed ANTA's \"Foundation Plan,\" with the intention of having ANTA become the foundation for and driving force behind the stimulation of growth of American theater. The plan, successfully undertaken by Breen, Porterfield, and Breen's wife Wilva Davis Breen, called for a National Foundation to make loans and grants, insure theater projects against loss, as well as a National Service Bureau to provide technical assistance for acting companies, as well as a national clearing house for theater information. The plan was adopted by the ANTA Board in 1946.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e Under the guidance of Breen, ANTA produced several projects in the U.S. with successful results during the postwar years. From 1946 - 1948, ANTA sponsored a series of plays called the Experimental Theatre. Its goal was to \"present new, interesting plays which would not see production on Broadway due to present high costs.\" Admittedly, the plays were \"not necessarily perfect\" but \"worthy of a trial production in a simplified fashion\" according to an ANTA letter offering subscription to the series, which included high profile playwrights and actors. During the late 1940s and early 1950s ANTA sponsored a number of drama festivals across the U.S., featuring well-known actors. ANTA also featured a televised production of short plays for NBC television. With the intention of promoting theater growth in the U.S. and showcasing new talent, ANTA produced, supported, and promoted theater projects all across the United States.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e Internationally, ANTA promoted artistic exchange between the U.S. and Europe, and entertained American troops there. This was initiated with a 1949 tour of William Shakespeare's \"Hamlet\" throughout Europe, produced by and starring Breen in the titular role. This tour famously culminated in a performance at Elsinore Castle in Denmark - the actual setting of the play. Perhaps ANTA's, as well as Breen's, greatest success came with the international tour of George Gershwin's \"Porgy and Bess\" (produced with Blevins Davis), which toured from 1952-1956, visiting 89 cities and 29 countries. The opera's performance in the Soviet Union was considered the first cultural exchange post-World War II between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. ANTA also sponsored the American National Ballet Theatre's tour of Europe in 1950, performing in eighteen cities and eight countries. The tour lasted from August to December of 1950 and played to an audience of over 150,000, and was the first international tour of any American ballet company.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e ANTA also produced a number of Broadway plays and musicals out of the formerly named Guild Hall Theatre, renamed the ANTA Theatre in the 1960s and 1970s. ANTA West, which grew out of the Greater Los Angeles Chapter of ANTA in 1957, promoted and facilitated the growth of theater in the Southern California region.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical and Historical Note"],"bioghist_tesim":["Robert Breen, born December 26, 1909 in Hibbing, Minnesota, served as the Executive Secretary of the American National Theatre and Academy (ANTA) from 1946-1952, and was instrumental in much of the organization's success, both domestically and internationally. In addition to serving in the U.S. Army Air Corps, Breen had an extensive background in theater. Prior to joining ANTA, Breen founded a theater program at the College of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota, as well as established the Chicago unit for the Works Progress Administration's Federal Theatre Project with his wife, Wilva Davis Breen. Wilva herself was instrumental in promoting and guiding ANTA's many and varied operations, and getting the organization off the ground. The Breens' apartment home - situated above the Hudson Theatre in New York City, NY - served as ANTA's early headquarters. Davis Breen served as Breen's constant support and collaborator until he passed away on March 31, 1990.","The American National Theatre and Academy (ANTA) was the United States' first national theater and dance organization, in the tradition of European national theaters. Originating in 1935 with a charter from the U.S. Congress, ANTA continued until 1966 when the National Endowment for the Arts came into being. ANTA was responsible for both the presentation of American theater in the U.S. and abroad.","Although officially formed in 1935, ANTA did not begin actual operation until 1946 due to a variety of factors, including the Great Depression and World War II. During the depression, federal funding was funnelled towards the Works Progress Administration's Federal Theatre Project, another national performing arts program. In addition to these setbacks, the ANTA board, comprised of prominent citizens and business leaders from outside the theater community, could not agree on the goals of ANTA. Eventually, Robert Breen and Robert Porterfield, two men with Army and theater backgrounds, took the reins of ANTA and initiated its revitalization. Porterfield and Breen developed ANTA's \"Foundation Plan,\" with the intention of having ANTA become the foundation for and driving force behind the stimulation of growth of American theater. The plan, successfully undertaken by Breen, Porterfield, and Breen's wife Wilva Davis Breen, called for a National Foundation to make loans and grants, insure theater projects against loss, as well as a National Service Bureau to provide technical assistance for acting companies, as well as a national clearing house for theater information. The plan was adopted by the ANTA Board in 1946.","Under the guidance of Breen, ANTA produced several projects in the U.S. with successful results during the postwar years. From 1946 - 1948, ANTA sponsored a series of plays called the Experimental Theatre. Its goal was to \"present new, interesting plays which would not see production on Broadway due to present high costs.\" Admittedly, the plays were \"not necessarily perfect\" but \"worthy of a trial production in a simplified fashion\" according to an ANTA letter offering subscription to the series, which included high profile playwrights and actors. During the late 1940s and early 1950s ANTA sponsored a number of drama festivals across the U.S., featuring well-known actors. ANTA also featured a televised production of short plays for NBC television. With the intention of promoting theater growth in the U.S. and showcasing new talent, ANTA produced, supported, and promoted theater projects all across the United States.","Internationally, ANTA promoted artistic exchange between the U.S. and Europe, and entertained American troops there. This was initiated with a 1949 tour of William Shakespeare's \"Hamlet\" throughout Europe, produced by and starring Breen in the titular role. This tour famously culminated in a performance at Elsinore Castle in Denmark - the actual setting of the play. Perhaps ANTA's, as well as Breen's, greatest success came with the international tour of George Gershwin's \"Porgy and Bess\" (produced with Blevins Davis), which toured from 1952-1956, visiting 89 cities and 29 countries. The opera's performance in the Soviet Union was considered the first cultural exchange post-World War II between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. ANTA also sponsored the American National Ballet Theatre's tour of Europe in 1950, performing in eighteen cities and eight countries. The tour lasted from August to December of 1950 and played to an audience of over 150,000, and was the first international tour of any American ballet company.","ANTA also produced a number of Broadway plays and musicals out of the formerly named Guild Hall Theatre, renamed the ANTA Theatre in the 1960s and 1970s. ANTA West, which grew out of the Greater Los Angeles Chapter of ANTA in 1957, promoted and facilitated the growth of theater in the Southern California region."],"custodhist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003ePart of the Robert and Wilva Breen papers was donated to The Ohio State University.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"custodhist_heading_ssm":["Custodial History"],"custodhist_tesim":["Part of the Robert and Wilva Breen papers was donated to The Ohio State University."],"phystech_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to play  obsolete audiovisual material found in the found in the Robert and Wilva Breen papers. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"phystech_heading_ssm":["Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements"],"phystech_tesim":["The Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to play  obsolete audiovisual material found in the found in the Robert and Wilva Breen papers. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eRobert and Wilva Breen papers, C0004, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"prefercite_tesim":["Robert and Wilva Breen papers, C0004, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eProcessed by Special Collections Research Center Staff. EAD markup completed in February 2009 by Jordan Patty. Reprocessed by Amanda Brent from 2017-2018. EAD markup completed by Amanda Brent in December 2018.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["Processed by Special Collections Research Center Staff. EAD markup completed in February 2009 by Jordan Patty. Reprocessed by Amanda Brent from 2017-2018. EAD markup completed by Amanda Brent in December 2018."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSpecial Collections Research Center also holds the \u003cextptr href=\"https://aspace.gmu.edu/resources/c0145\" title=\"Porgy and Bess poster collection\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e, the \u003cextptr href=\"https://aspace.gmu.edu/resources/c0002\" title=\"Federal Theatre Project collection\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e, the \u003cextptr href=\"https://aspace.gmu.edu/resources/c0043\" title=\"Robert C. Schnitzer papers\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e, and many other \u003cextptr href=\"https://scrc.gmu.edu/collections-subject.php#THEATRE\" title=\"performing arts collections.\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e The Ohio State University Libraries' Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute holds the \u003cextptr href=\"https://library.osu.edu/collections/spec.tri.rb\" title=\"Robert Breen and Wilva papers.\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e The UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library holds the \u003cextptr href=\"https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8fn1762/\" title=\"ANTA West records.\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e\u003c/p\u003e  "],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Material"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["Special Collections Research Center also holds the , the , the , and many other","The Ohio State University Libraries' Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute holds the","The UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library holds the"],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Robert and Wilva Breen papers consists of correspondence, memoranda, newsclippings, photographs, notebooks, and audiovisual materials largely related to the creation and running of the American National Theater and Academy (ANTA), as well as Robert and Wilva Breen's long-term involvement with the organization from 1944 through the 1950s. The collection also contains many photographs of theaters and theatrical performances from across the United States, including from Broadway and Off-Broadway theaters and shows, as well as numerous colleges, universities, high schools, and local children's theaters. The bulk of the collection originates from the 1940s - 2000s, with an outlier date of 1834 from an antique newspaper.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Robert and Wilva Breen papers consists of correspondence, memoranda, newsclippings, photographs, notebooks, and audiovisual materials largely related to the creation and running of the American National Theater and Academy (ANTA), as well as Robert and Wilva Breen's long-term involvement with the organization from 1944 through the 1950s. The collection also contains many photographs of theaters and theatrical performances from across the United States, including from Broadway and Off-Broadway theaters and shows, as well as numerous colleges, universities, high schools, and local children's theaters. The bulk of the collection originates from the 1940s - 2000s, with an outlier date of 1834 from an antique newspaper."],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/).\u003c/p\u003e  "],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_ref348\"\u003eThe Robert and Wilva Breen papers consists of correspondence, memoranda, newsclippings, photographs, notebooks, and audiovisual materials largely related to the creation and running of the American National Theater and Academy (ANTA), as well as Robert and Wilva Breen's long-term involvement with the organization. The bulk of the collection originates from 1933 - 2000s, with an outlier date of 1834 from an antique newspaper.\u003c/abstract\u003e\n    "],"abstract_tesim":["The Robert and Wilva Breen papers consists of correspondence, memoranda, newsclippings, photographs, notebooks, and audiovisual materials largely related to the creation and running of the American National Theater and Academy (ANTA), as well as Robert and Wilva Breen's long-term involvement with the organization. The bulk of the collection originates from 1933 - 2000s, with an outlier date of 1834 from an antique newspaper."],"physloc_html_tesm":["\u003cphysloc id=\"aspace_ddb931edc4f44bf997d326b2923a7505\"\u003eR2, C9, S3- C11, S7\nR3 C1 S1 - C2, S5\nOSR3, C4, S4\nMap Case 8.1-8.2, 9.1\u003c/physloc\u003e\n    "],"physloc_tesim":["R2, C9, S3- C11, S7\nR3 C1 S1 - C2, S5\nOSR3, C4, S4\nMap Case 8.1-8.2, 9.1"],"corpname_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","American National Ballet Theater","American National Theatre and Academy","ANTA (Organization)","ANTA West (Organization)"],"names_coll_ssim":["American National Ballet Theater","American National Theatre and Academy","ANTA (Organization)","ANTA West (Organization)","Porterfield, Robert, 1905-1971"],"persname_ssim":["Breen, Robert","Breen, Wilva","Porterfield, Robert, 1905-1971"],"names_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","American National Ballet Theater","American National Theatre and Academy","ANTA (Organization)","ANTA West (Organization)","Breen, Robert","Breen, Wilva","Porterfield, Robert, 1905-1971"],"language_ssim":["English"],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":3014,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-07-24T12:00:51.668Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_repositories_2_resources_521"}},{"id":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_571","type":"collection","attributes":{"title":"Virginia Nelson playbills collection, 1939/2007","creator":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_repositories_2_resources_571#creator","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"Nelson, Virginia","label":"Creator"}},"abstract_or_scope":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_repositories_2_resources_571#abstract_or_scope","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"This collection contains playbills for performances at a variety of venues in the Washington D.C. metro area, including the National Theatre, Arena Stage, the New Gayety Theatre, the Warner Theatre, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, as well as multiple smaller, local theatres and companies, and others across the United States and internationally.","label":"Abstract Or Scope"}},"breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_repositories_2_resources_571#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"id":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_571","ead_ssi":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_571","_root_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_571","_nest_parent_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_571","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/GMU/repositories_2_resources_571.xml","title_ssm":["Virginia Nelson playbills collection"],"title_tesim":["Virginia Nelson playbills collection"],"unitdate_ssm":["1939-2007"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1939-2007"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1939/2007"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Virginia Nelson playbills collection, 1939/2007"],"text":["Virginia Nelson playbills collection, 1939/2007","C0015","/repositories/2/resources/571","Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts (Va.)","Broadway (New York, N.Y.)","Ballet","Musical Theater","Opera","Performing arts","Plays","Theater programs","Theater -- United States","Theater","There are no access restrictions.","Arranged chronologically.","Following World War II, Washington, D.C. gradually acquired a vibrant theatre and performing arts scene, due in large part to the population growth as the federal government expanded. In particular the opening of John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in the early 1970s signaled the great importance of performing arts for the citizens of the Washington, D.C. metro area.","Processed by Special Collections Research Center staff. EAD markup completed by Eron Ackerman and Jordan Patty in August 2009. Contents list added and finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in 2017.","The Special Collections Research Center also holds many other .","The Virginia Nelson playbills collection represents the rise and expansion of theatre and the performing arts in the Metro D.C. area, including a variety of performances at a multitude of venues over the course of eight decades, beginning in the 1930s and ending in the early 2000s. From plays and musical theatre, to opera, ballet, and musical acts, the gamut of the performing arts is represented within the collection. 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Contents list added and finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in 2017."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Special Collections Research Center also holds many other \u003cextptr href=\"https://aspace.gmu.edu/subjects/sh85099818\" title=\"performing arts and theatre collections\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Material"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["The Special Collections Research Center also holds many other ."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Virginia Nelson playbills collection represents the rise and expansion of theatre and the performing arts in the Metro D.C. area, including a variety of performances at a multitude of venues over the course of eight decades, beginning in the 1930s and ending in the early 2000s. From plays and musical theatre, to opera, ballet, and musical acts, the gamut of the performing arts is represented within the collection. This collection contains playbills for performances at a variety of D.C. area venues, including the National Theatre, Arena Stage, the New Gayety Theatre, the Warner Theatre, Wolf Trap, Signature Theatre, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, as well as other theatres across the nation and abroad, including those from Broadway in New York and the West End in London. Many of the playbills come from renowned \"classic\" performances of certain works, many starring famous actors. Also represented in the collection are smaller, local theatrical venues, companies, and performances. Note: Included in the collection were a number of Arena Stage Playbills, which were removed except for one that was not already included in the Arena Stage records. All other Arena Stage playbills (before the 2006/2007 season) are available in the \u003cextptr href=\"https://scrc.gmu.edu/finding_aids/arenastage.html\" title=\"Arena Stage records.\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e\u003c/p\u003e  "],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Virginia Nelson playbills collection represents the rise and expansion of theatre and the performing arts in the Metro D.C. area, including a variety of performances at a multitude of venues over the course of eight decades, beginning in the 1930s and ending in the early 2000s. From plays and musical theatre, to opera, ballet, and musical acts, the gamut of the performing arts is represented within the collection. This collection contains playbills for performances at a variety of D.C. area venues, including the National Theatre, Arena Stage, the New Gayety Theatre, the Warner Theatre, Wolf Trap, Signature Theatre, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, as well as other theatres across the nation and abroad, including those from Broadway in New York and the West End in London. Many of the playbills come from renowned \"classic\" performances of certain works, many starring famous actors. Also represented in the collection are smaller, local theatrical venues, companies, and performances. Note: Included in the collection were a number of Arena Stage Playbills, which were removed except for one that was not already included in the Arena Stage records. All other Arena Stage playbills (before the 2006/2007 season) are available in the"],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)\u003c/p\u003e  "],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)"],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_7fabf031f1388c7a0a773ea5385cfd10\"\u003eThis collection contains playbills for performances at a variety of venues in the Washington D.C. metro area, including the National Theatre, Arena Stage, the New Gayety Theatre, the Warner Theatre, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, as well as multiple smaller, local theatres and companies, and others across the United States and internationally.\u003c/abstract\u003e\n    "],"abstract_tesim":["This collection contains playbills for performances at a variety of venues in the Washington D.C. metro area, including the National Theatre, Arena Stage, the New Gayety Theatre, the Warner Theatre, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, as well as multiple smaller, local theatres and companies, and others across the United States and internationally."],"corpname_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)","John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (U.S.)","National Theatre (Washington, D.C.)","New Gayety Theatre (Organization : Washington, D.C.)","Signature Theatre (Arlington, Va.)","Warner Theatre (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"names_coll_ssim":["Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)","John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (U.S.)","National Theatre (Washington, D.C.)","New Gayety Theatre (Organization : Washington, D.C.)","Signature Theatre (Arlington, Va.)","Warner Theatre (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"persname_ssim":["Nelson, Virginia"],"names_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)","John F. 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In particular the opening of John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in the early 1970s signaled the great importance of performing arts for the citizens of the Washington, D.C. metro area.","Processed by Special Collections Research Center staff. EAD markup completed by Eron Ackerman and Jordan Patty in August 2009. Contents list added and finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in 2017.","The Special Collections Research Center also holds many other .","The Virginia Nelson playbills collection represents the rise and expansion of theatre and the performing arts in the Metro D.C. area, including a variety of performances at a multitude of venues over the course of eight decades, beginning in the 1930s and ending in the early 2000s. From plays and musical theatre, to opera, ballet, and musical acts, the gamut of the performing arts is represented within the collection. This collection contains playbills for performances at a variety of D.C. area venues, including the National Theatre, Arena Stage, the New Gayety Theatre, the Warner Theatre, Wolf Trap, Signature Theatre, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, as well as other theatres across the nation and abroad, including those from Broadway in New York and the West End in London. Many of the playbills come from renowned \"classic\" performances of certain works, many starring famous actors. Also represented in the collection are smaller, local theatrical venues, companies, and performances. Note: Included in the collection were a number of Arena Stage Playbills, which were removed except for one that was not already included in the Arena Stage records. All other Arena Stage playbills (before the 2006/2007 season) are available in the","The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)","This collection contains playbills for performances at a variety of venues in the Washington D.C. metro area, including the National Theatre, Arena Stage, the New Gayety Theatre, the Warner Theatre, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, as well as multiple smaller, local theatres and companies, and others across the United States and internationally.","George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)","John F. 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Contents list added and finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in 2017."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Special Collections Research Center also holds many other \u003cextptr href=\"https://aspace.gmu.edu/subjects/sh85099818\" title=\"performing arts and theatre collections\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e  "],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Material"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["The Special Collections Research Center also holds many other ."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Virginia Nelson playbills collection represents the rise and expansion of theatre and the performing arts in the Metro D.C. area, including a variety of performances at a multitude of venues over the course of eight decades, beginning in the 1930s and ending in the early 2000s. From plays and musical theatre, to opera, ballet, and musical acts, the gamut of the performing arts is represented within the collection. This collection contains playbills for performances at a variety of D.C. area venues, including the National Theatre, Arena Stage, the New Gayety Theatre, the Warner Theatre, Wolf Trap, Signature Theatre, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, as well as other theatres across the nation and abroad, including those from Broadway in New York and the West End in London. Many of the playbills come from renowned \"classic\" performances of certain works, many starring famous actors. Also represented in the collection are smaller, local theatrical venues, companies, and performances. Note: Included in the collection were a number of Arena Stage Playbills, which were removed except for one that was not already included in the Arena Stage records. All other Arena Stage playbills (before the 2006/2007 season) are available in the \u003cextptr href=\"https://scrc.gmu.edu/finding_aids/arenastage.html\" title=\"Arena Stage records.\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e\u003c/p\u003e  "],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Virginia Nelson playbills collection represents the rise and expansion of theatre and the performing arts in the Metro D.C. area, including a variety of performances at a multitude of venues over the course of eight decades, beginning in the 1930s and ending in the early 2000s. From plays and musical theatre, to opera, ballet, and musical acts, the gamut of the performing arts is represented within the collection. This collection contains playbills for performances at a variety of D.C. area venues, including the National Theatre, Arena Stage, the New Gayety Theatre, the Warner Theatre, Wolf Trap, Signature Theatre, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, as well as other theatres across the nation and abroad, including those from Broadway in New York and the West End in London. Many of the playbills come from renowned \"classic\" performances of certain works, many starring famous actors. Also represented in the collection are smaller, local theatrical venues, companies, and performances. Note: Included in the collection were a number of Arena Stage Playbills, which were removed except for one that was not already included in the Arena Stage records. All other Arena Stage playbills (before the 2006/2007 season) are available in the"],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)\u003c/p\u003e  "],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)"],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_7fabf031f1388c7a0a773ea5385cfd10\"\u003eThis collection contains playbills for performances at a variety of venues in the Washington D.C. metro area, including the National Theatre, Arena Stage, the New Gayety Theatre, the Warner Theatre, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, as well as multiple smaller, local theatres and companies, and others across the United States and internationally.\u003c/abstract\u003e\n    "],"abstract_tesim":["This collection contains playbills for performances at a variety of venues in the Washington D.C. metro area, including the National Theatre, Arena Stage, the New Gayety Theatre, the Warner Theatre, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, as well as multiple smaller, local theatres and companies, and others across the United States and internationally."],"corpname_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)","John F. 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