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Linda Sarver papers, 1972-2012
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Sarver, Linda, 1953-2014
- Title
- Linda Sarver papers
- Dates
- 1972-2012 (inclusive)19722012
- Quantity
- 26.75 linear feet, (19 boxes)
- Collection Number
- ACCN 2852
- Summary
- The Linda Sarver papers (1972-2012) consist of her costume designs and renderings, along with production materials for several theatrical plays she was involved with throughout her professional career. Sarver was a costume designer, educator, dramaturg, author, and scenographer.
- Repository
-
University of Utah Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library
University of Utah
295 South 1500 East
Salt Lake City, UT
84112-0860
Telephone: 8015818863
special@library.utah.edu - Access Restrictions
-
Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.
- Languages
- English
Biographical NoteReturn to Top
Linda Kay Sarver was born in Rockford, Illinois on April 19, 1953, the second daughter and youngest of three children of Everett and Ruth Sarver. The Sarver family has lived in Rockford since 1847, and Linda grew up on the family farm. The Sarvers emigrated to America in the 17th century and Linda was a Daughter of the American Revolution. As a child, she drew and made clothes for her dolls, and showed a keen interest in the fine arts. Childhood visits to Chicago's Art Institute and watching Kenneth Clark's television series Civilization influenced her early interests profoundly.
Linda was Valedictorian of her 1971 class at Auburn Senior High School in Rockford, where she played the lead role in the senior class play and was an editor of the yearbook.
Sarver was educated at Drake University in Iowa where she began as a fine arts major with a gift for portraiture, but shifted to theatre with a focus on design. During the summer after her freshman year she was a "NIT", attending the National Theatre Institute at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center in Connecticut where she studied with directors Peter Brook and Lloyd Richards, and costume designer Fred Voelpel. She graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in 1975. She completed a Master of Arts at Western Illinois University and then a Master of Fine Arts at Ohio University, where she created her own academic program that included internships with the Indiana Repertory Theatre and The Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis. In 1977 she took pride in earning membership in United Scenic Artists local 829, the national union for theatre designers, by passing the union's rigorous, 3-day examination.
Sarver's academic career began at Marquette University in Milwaukee and moved to Florida State University, where she headed the graduate and undergraduate programs in costume design. In 1998 she was recruited by the University of Utah to head all the graduate and undergraduate programs in design and to be a Resident Costume Designer for the Pioneer Theatre Company, the professional theatre affiliated with the University. She was advanced to Full Professor, but had to resign from the University in 2004 after she became disabled, the result of injuries when a car struck her as she crossed a street. That event ended her professional career as a designer, as well as her academic career, just as she was reaching new heights in both careers at age forty-five.
She described herself as a life-long student, and throughout and beyond her dual careers Linda continued to pursue her education. She took master classes in America from celebrated designer Ming Cho Lee, in Canada from Desmond Heeley, and in London from Pamela Howard at the European Scenography Centre. Her intellectual interests included many fields of the arts and literature, notably the history of theatrical costuming, Elizabethan drama, classical architecture, antique furniture, and studies in Egyptology with Professor Salima Ikram of the American University in Cairo.
As a professional theatre artist, Linda was primarily a costume designer for the stage, though she was expanding into scenography and dramaturgy when her career was cut short. She designed internationally for the Hong Kong Repertory Theatre (Chekhov's Three Sisters), the Saidye Bronfman Theatre in Montreal (Driving Miss Daisy), and the Falaki Theatre in Cairo, Egypt (Autumn in New York). She designed for America's commercial theatre (the national tour of The Wonders of Magic) and for resident theatres and Shakespeare festivals from Boston to San Diego, from Berkeley to Sarasota. She was Resident Costume Designer for the Pioneer Theatre Company for nine seasons, and she designed for the Walnut Street Theatre in Philadelphia, the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, and the Colorado Shakespeare Festival, among many. Her work was seen in film (52 Pickup, with Roy Scheider) and television (Moonlighting, with Bruce Willis and Cybil Shepherd).
Linda received many awards for design and for her academic achievements, starting in the 1990s with inclusion in Outstanding Young Women of America and her election several years later to membership in the National Theatre Conference (which she served for six years as co-editor of Broadside, its annual publication). Her bio is found in the 27th edition of Who's Who in the West and the 2000 edition of Outstanding Artists and Designers of the 20th Century. She was twice nominated for Best Costume Design by the Denver Theatre Critics; she was awarded the John R. Park Teacher's Fellowship; she was a member of three U.S. Delegations to the Prague Quadrennial of Theatre Design in the Czech Republic; and she was one of a team of four that was honored by The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences with a citation for Outstanding Achievement in Costuming for the ABC-TV mini-series North and South, Book I.
Linda was author or co-author of her five books and many articles in academic and trade journals. She illustrated several books and was a Contributing Research Consultant for Blueprints of Fashion. Her textbook, Another Opening, Another Show, co-written with her husband Tom Markus, was a standard in the field for over a decade. A Novel Approach to Theatre is a collection of short, humorous reviews of over 500 novels about the theatre. The Cairo Diaries 2004-2006 describes her two years living in Egypt.
Linda served as dramaturg for the Pioneer Theatre Company for nine seasons, and her dramaturgical research supported productions at theatres from Massachusetts to Mississippi.
In her personal life, travel and cooking were two of her great joys. She visited over twenty nations in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia and learned to prepare native foods from many of them, to the delight of her family, friends, colleagues, and houseguests.
Images of her designs and samples of her books and articles, along with detailed information about her career, may be viewed on her website: www.lindasarverstudio.com
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
The Linda Sarver papers consist of her costume designs and renderings, along with production materials created for several theatrical plays during her professional career as a costume designer. Included in the collection are professional and academic appointment materials such as curriculum vitae, book publishing materials and sketches, and costume history illustrations and research.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library's Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.
Preferred Citation
Collection Name, Collection Number, Box Number, Folder Number. Special Collections, J. Willard Marriott Library, The University of Utah.
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Arrangement
The collection has been arranged into six series: I. Professional materials; II. Costume designs and production materials; III. Illustrations for publications; IV. Costume history drawings and research; V. Oversize costume designs and production materials; VI. Oversize illustrations for publications; and VII. General oversize materials.
Costume designs and production materials have been further organized alphabetically based on play titles.
Acquisition Information
Donated by Dr. Tom Markus in 2015.
Processing Note
Processed by Betsey Welland in 2015.
Click here to read a statement on harmful language in library records.
Separated Materials
Photographs were transferred to the Multimedia Archives in Special Collections.
Related Materials
See also the Linda Sarver Costume Designs and Renderings at Marquette University, Special Collections and University Archives.
Forms part of the Aileen H. Clyde 20th Century Women's Legacy Archives.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
I: Professional materialsReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box | Folder | ||
1 | 1 | Correspondence and professional materials
This folder contains resumes, professional agreements, designography lists, and academic appointments.
|
1988-2012 |
1 | 2 | Portfolio of Linda Sarver, Department of Theatre at the University of Utah |
|
1 | 3 | Costume history drawings |
undated |
1 | 4 | Articles by Linda Sarver
This folder contains the following articles:
|
1991-2001 |
1 | 5 | Pioneer Theatre Company
This folder contains production materials and theatre announcements.
|
1976-2001 |
1 | 6 | Costume design reviews for Pioneer Theatre Company productions |
1989-1998 |
1 | 7 | National Theatre Conference newsletter, Broadside
This folder contains production and design materials regarding the publication of the newsletter.
|
1993-1994 |
II: Costume designs and production materialsReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box | Folder | ||
2 | 1 |
Benefactors, Fallon Theatre, Florida |
1987 |
2 | 2-3 |
Bookends, Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
2006-2007 |
2 | 4 |
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
1988 |
2 | 5-6 |
The Count of Monte Cristo, Pioneer Theatre Company, Salt Lake City, Utah |
1998 |
2 | 7 |
The Crucible, Pioneer Theatre Company, Salt Lake City, Utah |
1996 |
3 | 1 |
Hedda Garbler, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah |
1991 |
3 | 2 |
The Merchant of Venice, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Boulder, Colorado |
2006 |
3 | 3 |
The Merry Wives of Windsor, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Boulder, Colorado |
1992-1993; 2002 |
3 | 4 |
Romeo and Juliet, Western Illinois University, Macomb, Illinois |
1977 |
4-5 |
Othello, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Boulder, Colorado |
1989; 1992 | |
Folder | |||
6 | 1 |
Romeo and Juliet, Western Illinois University, Macomb, Illinois |
1977 |
6 | 2 |
Streamers, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma |
1978 |
6 | 3-4 |
Sweeny Todd, Pioneer Theatre Company, Salt Lake City, Utah |
1997 |
6 | 5-9 |
The Taming of the Shrew, Pioneer Theatre Company, Salt Lake City, Utah |
1996 |
7 | 1-2 |
Three Sisters, Hong Kong Repertory Theatre, Hong Kong, China |
1995 |
7 | 3-4 |
Troilus and Cressida, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Boulder, Colorado |
1997 |
8 | 1 |
Two Gentlemen from Verona, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Boulder, Colorado |
1994 |
8 | 2 |
Wonders of Magic, Pabst Theatre, Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
1981 |
8 | 3 | Film and television projects
This folder contains materials regarding costume design work performed for North and South and Honeyboy.
|
1982; 1985 |
8 | 4 | The New American Theatre projects
This folder contains the programs for The Sunshine Boys and The Miracle Worker.
|
1975-1976 |
8 | 5 | Computer disks |
III: Illustrations for publicationsReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box | Folder | ||
9 | 1 |
Another Opening, Another Show, by
Second edition, McGraw Hill Publishers.
|
2005 |
9 | 2-3 |
Basic Acting, by John Harroup and Sabin Epstein |
1995-1996 |
9 | 4 |
Duplicating the Cube, Lawrence Markus
Sarver was commissioned in 2012 to create a set of cartoons to illustrate this mathematics textbook.
|
2012 |
IV: Costume history drawings and researchReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box | Folder | ||
10 | 1 | Stone and Bronze Ages |
|
10 | 2 | Mesopotamia |
|
10 | 3 | Egypt |
|
10 | 4 | Greece |
|
10 | 5 | Rome |
|
10 | 6 | Byzantine |
|
10 | 7 | Early Gothic (900-1299) |
|
10 | 8 | Middle Gothic (1300-1399) |
|
10 | 9 | Reformation and Elizabethan |
|
10 | 10 | Edwardian (1900-1909) |
|
10 | 11 | 1910-1919 |
|
10 | 12 | 1920s |
|
10 | 13 | 1930s |
|
10 | 14 | 1940s |
|
10 | 15 | 1950s |
|
10 | 16 | 1960s |
|
10 | 17 | 1970s |
|
10 | 18 | 1980s |
|
10 | 19 | Maps |
|
10 | 20 | General research materials |
1984-1997 |
10 | 21 | Julie Engelbrecht, Costume History and Design I, Theatre 253, course handouts |
1991 |
V: Oversize costume designs and production materialsReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box | Folder | ||
11 | 1 |
1940's Radio Hour, Pioneer Theatre Company, Salt Lake City, Utah |
1991 |
11 | 2 |
Autumn in New York, Falaki Theatre, Cairo, Egypt |
2006 |
11 | 3 |
Big River, Pioneer Theatre Company, Salt Lake City, Utah |
1990 |
11 | 4 |
Blithe Spirit, Pioneer Theatre Company, Salt Lake City, Utah |
1989 |
11 | 5 |
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
1988 |
11 | 6 |
The Disintegration of James Cherry, Drake Auditorium |
1974 |
11 | 7 |
Dreams of Mankind, PBS |
1978 |
11 | 8 |
Driving Miss Daisy, Pioneer Theatre Company, Salt Lake City, Utah |
1991 |
11 | 9 |
Enigma Variations, Walnut Street Theatre, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
2006 |
12 | 1 |
Hedda Gabler, Babcock Theatre, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah |
1991 |
12 | 2-3 |
The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Pioneer Theatre Company, Salt Lake City, Utah |
1993 |
12 | 4 |
I'm Not Rappaport, Pioneer Theatre Company, Salt Lake City, Utah |
1989 |
12 | 5 |
The Liar, The New American Theatre, Los Angeles, California |
1976 |
12 | 6 |
Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Babcock Theatre, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah |
1990 |
12 | 7-8 |
A Little Night Music, Pioneer Theatre Company, Salt Lake City, Utah |
1989 |
13 | 1 |
Macbeth, Old Globe Theatre, San Diego, California |
1991 |
13 | 2 |
Marlin the Magnificent, Drake University |
1972 |
13 | 3 |
The Merchant of Venice, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Boulder, Colorado |
|
13 | 4 |
The Merry Wives of Windsor, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Boulder, Colorado |
1993 |
13 | 5-6 |
The Miser, Pioneer Theatre Company, Salt Lake City, Utah |
1990 |
13 | 7-8 |
Much Ado About Nothing, Pioneer Theatre Company, Salt Lake City, Utah |
1992 |
14 | 1-2 |
Othello, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Boulder, Colorado |
1989 |
14 | 3 |
Queen Margaret, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Boulder, Colorado |
|
14 | 4 |
Saint Joan, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida |
|
14 | 5 |
The Secret Garden, Pioneer Theatre Company, Salt Lake City, Utah |
1995 |
14 | 6 |
Stark Mad in White Satin, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre |
1980 |
14 | 7 |
The Sunshine Boys, The New American Theatre, Los Angeles, California |
1976 |
15 | 1 |
A Tale of Two Cities, Pioneer Theatre Company, Salt Lake City, Utah |
1994 |
15 | 2 |
That Championship Season, The New American Theatre, Los Angeles, California |
1977 |
15 | 3-4 |
Three Sisters, Hong Kong Repertory Theatre, Hong Kong, China |
1995 |
16 | 1-2 |
La Traviata
|
|
16 | 3 |
Two Gentlemen of Verona
|
1994 |
VI: Oversize illustrations for publicationsReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box | Folder | ||
17 | 1-3 | Original artwork and illustrations for Another Opening, Another Show: A Lively Introduction to the Theatre, by Tom Markus and Linda Sarver |
2005 |
17 | 4 | Original artwork and illustrations for How to Read a Play, by Tom Markus and Linda Sarver |
1996 |
18 | 1-3 | Original artwork and illustrations for A Novel Approach to Theatre, by Tom Markus and Linda Sarver |
1997 |
VII: General oversize materialsReturn to Top
Container(s) | Description | Dates | |
---|---|---|---|
Box | Folder | ||
19 | 1 | United Scenic Artists, entrance examination, costume design, Number 79D20 |
1979 |
19 | 2 | Independence Studio 3, floor plans |
2006 |
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Costume design--United States--Specimens
- Costume--History--Sources
- Drama teachers--Archives
- Dramaturges--Archives
- Theater--Production and direction--United States
- Women costume designers--United States--Specimens
Personal Names
- Sarver, Linda, 1953-2014--Archives
Corporate Names
- University of Utah. Pioneer Theater Company--Archives
Form or Genre Terms
- Business correspondence
- Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
- Costume design
- Drawings
- Theater programs
- Theater reviews