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Sub-series 1: Arena Stage administration (circa 1948-2006) includes direct and indirect materials related to the formation and running of Arena Stage, including meeting minutes, reports, grant and fellowship applications, press releases, newspaper clippings and articles, season selection and planning notes, staff files, audition and casting notes and schedules, event planning, publicity, building construction, international tour arrangements and collaboration, internal memos, subscriber publications, photographs, and financial and budget planning, including production financial materials. Headshots and resumes that accompanied material for a staff file or specific audition were left in place rather than being removed to the general company headshots and resumes folder. This subseries is arranged alphabetically by devised folder title. Folders that contain authored writings or represent material for a specific individual or group have been arranged alphabetically by last name or organization name. Writings and speeches by Zelda related to specific events can be found in Series 3 and are noted in the folder Scope and Content.

Sub-series 1: General correspondence (1943-2008) includes sent and received correspondence, as well as draft copies of letters, covering a range of topics and purposes, including Arena Stage administration, season planning, production and playwright correspondence, travel arrangements, New York University correspondence, and other personal and professional matters. The majority of the material represents correspondence sent by or addressed to Zelda Fichandler, but also includes correspondence sent on her behalf and copies of correspondence between other parties copied to Zelda. Many folders contain supporting material, including photographs, newspaper clippings, and theatrical programs. Where possible names of specific productions have been noted in the folder's Scope and Content. This series is arranged alphabetically by correspondent last name or organization title, with single sent or received letters arranged together into single letter general correspondence folders (e.g.: "A" general correspondence, etc…).

Sub-series 2: Production materials (1950-2006) includes materials directly related to theatrical productions, including schedules, annotated scripts, research materials, notes and in-house memos, photographs, meeting minutes, stage manager reports, press releases, reviews, and programs. Audience feedback for In the Process and PlayLab productions is also included. Unlabeled photographic slides of productions may be found in Series 2.1 (see Box 180, Pages 39-53) and labeled productions have been noted in this subseries. The majority of this subseries covers Arena Stage productions, but also includes Arena-affiliated international tours and Zelda directed productions from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and The Acting Company. Material for several unproduced productions are also included and are noted in the folder level Scope and Content. This subseries is arranged alphabetically by show title and then chronologically by year produced. Production financial materials and audition and casting notes and schedules can be found in Series 2.1, but some individual items may be found in the general folders in this subseries. Writings and speeches by Zelda related to specific events can be found in Series 3 and are noted in the folder Scope and Content.

Sub-series 3: Reading Files (1960-1986) includes copies of correspondence from Thomas Fichandler or other Arena Stage administrative staff regarding the operation of Arena Stage. These files represent an original file grouping and most folder titles are based on this original order. This subseries is arranged chronologically by year and by month where possible. Materials may be duplicated elsewhere in the collection or in other Arena Stage affiliated collections in a different context.

Sub-series 4: The Arena Adventure materials (1951-1991) includes draft material used in the writing of Arena Stage's 40th Anniversary retrospective book The Arena Adventure. These files represent an original file grouping and most folder titles are based on this original order or were taken directly from the document title. Folder dates in this series represent the time period covered by the writing where available, all other dates represent the time period during which the materials were written. This subseries is arranged alphabetically by document title and then chronologically.