Washington State Theater records, 1936-1948

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Washington State Theater
Title
Washington State Theater records
Dates
1936-1948 (inclusive)
1936-1939 (bulk)
Quantity
10.01 cubic feet (23 boxes, 1 package)
Collection Number
4081 (Accession No. 4081-001)
Summary
Correspondence, minutes, reports, financial records, programs, speeches and writings, scripts, press books, questionnaires, schedules, clippings of a touring theater that was a formed as a joint effort between the Washington State Department of Education, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Seattle Repertory Playhouse
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

Open to all users.

Request at UW

Languages
English

Historical NoteReturn to Top

In 1936, a joint effort between the Washington State Department of Education, the Rockefeller Foundation and the Seattle Repertory Playhouse created the Washington State Theatre. The first of its kind in the nation, its founders conceived and operated the theater as an integral part of the state school system. The Department of Education provided the supervision, a $35,000 grant from the Rockefeller Foundation provided the funding, and Florence and Burton James, the controversial pioneers of the Seattle Repertory Playhouse, along with their close friend and Playhouse colleague Albert Ottenheimer operated the touring company. It would tour for three seasons.

Behind the motivating vision of the WST resided some very categorical cultural, social and political goals. Ottenheimer emphasized a close complementary relationship between theater and education, and the importance of both in the fight against fascism. The Jameses shared this opinion. “To put it bluntly,” Burton claimed, “the race today is between education and death.” Florence viewed the WST as a crucial step in stripping away the age-old isolation of the stage as “an institution preeminently for the production of money and the dispensing of entertainment. . . . The theatre’s potential resources which had either lain fallow or had been prostituted to speculative ends, now moves forward to its proper position.” Stanley Atwood, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, concurred, and strongly emphasized his department’s commitment to utilize the WST as an instrument of instruction. Florence ardently hoped to integrate the new “theatre in education” with literature, history, biography, fiction, the social sciences, the natural sciences, music and architecture. “With the press, the radio and the screen practically impervious to scientific educational suggestions, only the theatre remains ready to our purpose,” she avowed.

Members of the company received a monthly $75 paycheck. During the raw-boned years of the Depression, the amount of the check was ample and its regularity a boon. Touring, however, proved arduous. “You can always tell how long a man’s been traveling by how bad his digestion is--or rather how bad his indigestion is,” Ottenheimer noted wryly to an amused school assembly. Scheduling the plays required exacting navigation around numerous time conflicts among participating schools. By the time the company disbanded, it had made five 3,000 mile circuits around the state. Among the staged works were Oliver Goldsmith’s “She Stoops to Conquer,” William Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew” and “Comedy of Errors,” Talbot Jennings' "No More Frontier," and Benjamin Kaye's "On Stage." HISTORY (cont.)

In the first season alone, 70,000 students from all areas of the state attended WST performances. In order to accentuate its pedagogical role, Ottenheimer would preview each play with the high school and devise study plans with the English department built around the performance. The actors remained on stage after the final curtain, talking with the students and fielding questions. Not all students did attend, however. Even though a WST promotional flyer promised to bring “always the finest living drama staged originally and brilliant AT PRICES YOU CAN AFFORD [caps in original],” with a 27¢ student admission charge, many parents--at a time when the state’s minimum weekly wage for women was only $14.50 a week-- either could not or would not pay to send their children. One educator from Spokane’s John Rogers High School questioned whether the WST should stage plays during school time since not all his students could afford the admission charge. An English teacher noted to the Jameses that she had to do “an oral job in class to let the less fortunate know what they missed.”

Those who did attend wrote their reactions to the play; these reports became part of a survey study by Dr. Ralph Gundlach of the UW Psychology Department. Girls, he determined, were more appreciative and attentive than boys. He also made the similarly unsurprising discovery that the young spectators often reacted in ways which one would not expect from an adults. Moments of romantic tenderness on the stage often provoked guffaws from the audience, and scenes with elements unfamiliar to the children often caused them to lose interest and fidget. “The students turned out to be a strange audience,” he perceived. On occasion, there was a certain degree of mutual incomprehension between the company and its young audiences. One performance of “Comedy of Errors” garnered only a single laugh, and that was when an actor accidentally sent his sword pinwheeling into the audience after falling on his posterior during a dueling scene. The actors, however, did not necessarily understand the children better. One member of the company remarked that “most of the audience had never seen a live stage production before and some in the high schools felt moved to shoot paper clips, spitballs and other missiles at the actors to see if we were indeed real.” Clearly, the actor confounded the kids’ natural mischievousness for gross stupidity, apparently assuming the lack of previous exposure to the high culture of the stage equated somehow with imbecility. Despite the periodic misconceptions on both sides of the stage lights, the choice of plays indicates that overall the WST took the students and their power of discernment seriously, and the program did meet with a tremendous degree of success in favorably introducing Washington students to drama. When the opening curtain rose on a performance, on average only a quarter of the audience previously had witnessed a legitimate stage production. Of those students surveyed on their reactions to “The Taming of the Shrew,” 94% admitted that they enjoyed it and 90% declared that they had left the auditorium with a higher opinion of Shakespeare.

Teachers and school administrators embraced the WST warmly. “It cultivates taste and wholesome critical attitudes,” one educator enthused. Another praised the program because it provided “our only opportunity in Aberdeen” to see a play. A teacher even lamented the limited scope of the program, noting ruefully that the interest in the theater generated by the WST evaporates because there is nothing else to satisfy the student’s new-found appetite. When asked on a questionnaire after the first season whether or not the WST should continue, the response was a hearty, all-but-unanimous “yes.” One administrator from Olympia qualified his support by saying it should continue long enough to determine if its value justifies its cost. A principal from North Central High School in Spokane ardently endorsed the WST, hoping that the success of the program would insure its continuation, but cautioned vaguely to “keep away from problem plays.” The sole “no” as to whether the WST should continue came from an administrator in Everett, who did not like the idea of a state-funded theatre (which in fact it then was not), but said he would embrace it as a private venture. “With a small cast, little equipment and lower admission fees, it probably should be self-supporting,” he reasoned. The support of the overwhelming majority, however, was unqualified.

After touring for three seasons, the company had exhausted the Rockefeller grant, given originally with the expectation that the state would pick up the funding. But, because of the stark fiscal realities of the Depression, state officials decided not to devote sparse public resources on the continuation of the program. The brief experiment ended.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

Correspondence, minutes, reports, financial records, programs, speeches and writings, scripts, press books, questionnaires, schedules, clippings, 1936-1948 (bulk 1936-39).

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

Arranged in 12 series.

  • Series 1, Organizational Features
  • Series 2, Incoming Letters
  • Series 3, Other correspondence
  • Series 4, Minutes
  • Series 5, News Releases
  • Series 6, Reports
  • Series 7, Financial Records
  • Series 8, Programs
  • Series 9, Speeches and writings
  • Series 10, Scripts and prompt books
  • Series 11, Subject Series
  • Series 12, Other materials

Acquisition Information

Donated by Florence B. James.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

 

Series 1:  Organizational FeaturesReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
1/1
Handbook
1936
1/2
Bylaws
1936

Series 2:  Incoming LettersReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
1/3
Aberdeen—J. M Weatherwat Sr. High School
1936-1939
1/4
Aberdeen—Miscellaneous
1936
1/5
American Dramatist
1937-1938
1/6
Arlington High School
1935-1938
1/7
A, Miscellaneous
1936-1939
1/8-9
Bellingham
1936-1937
1/10
Bremerton—Miscellaneous
1937-1938
1/11
Bremerton—PTA1937
1/12
Buckley Washington (Consolidated School District, Pierce Company)
1936-1939
1/13
B, Miscellaneous
1937-1939
1/14
Cashmere Public Schools
1936-1939
1/15
C. C. Birchard and Company
1936-1938
1/16-17
Centralia high School, Miscellaneous
1938-1939
1/18
Chelhalis high School
1936-1939
1/19
Colfax Public Schools
1937-1938
1/20
C, Miscellaneous
1937-1938
1/21
Dramatist Play Service
1938-1939
1/22
D, Miscellaneous
1937-1939
1/23
Eastern Washington College of Education
1937-1938
1/24
Eatonville Public Schools
1948-1939
1/25
Edmonds School District
1937-1938
1/26
Edmonds High School
1937
1/27
Ellensburg Public Schools
1936-1939
1/28
Ellensburg, Miscellaneous
1936-938
1/29
Enumclaw Public Schools
1937-1939
1/30
Everett—North Junior High School
1936-1939
1/31
Everett Public Schools
1935-1940
1/32
Everett, Miscellaneous
1936-1937
1/33
E, Miscellaneous
1936-1941
1/34
French, Samuel
1936-1950
1/35
F, Miscellaneous
1936-1949
1/36
G, Miscellaneous
1936-1949
2/1
H, Miscellaneous
1934-1939
2/2
Idaho university
1937-1949
2/3
Idaho Schools, Miscellaneous
1934-1939
2/4
International Alliance of Theatrical State Employees
1936-1938
2/5
I, Miscellaneous
1937-1939
2/6
J, Miscellaneous
1931-1938
2/7
Kelso High School and miscellaneous
1936-1939
2/8
Kelso Public Schools
1936-1939
2/9
Kennewick Public Schools
1937-1938
2/10
Kent Public Schools
1937-1939
2/11
Kirkland Public Schools
1938-1940
2/12
K, Miscellaneous
1936-1938
2/13
Lake Chelan Public Schools
1936-1939
2/14
Lewiston High School; American Association of the University of Women
1936-1938
2/15
Lewiston Senior High School (Idaho)
1936-1938
2/16
Longview Public Schools—American Association of the University of Women
1936-1938
2/17
Longview Public Schools
1936-1939
2/18
Lynden High School
1936-1938
2/19
L, Miscellaneous
1936-1939
2/20
Maxim Lieber
1938-1939
2/21
Mount Vernon Union High School
1936-1938
2/22
Mount Vernon Miscellaneous
136-1938
2/23
M, Miscellaneous
1936-1939
2/24
National Council of Teachers of English
1937-1941
2/25
Northwestern Mutual Fire Association
1936-1939
2/26
N, Miscellaneous
1936-1942
2/27
Okanongan Public Schools
1937-1938
2/28-29
Olympia Public Schools and AAUW
1935-1939
2/30
Olympia High School
1936-1939
2/31
Omak Public Schools
1937-1939
2/32
Oregon—Pendleton Public Schools and AAUW
1937-1938
2/33
Oregon—Pendleton Schools
1937-1939
2/34
Oregon—Portland Board of Education
1937-1938
2/35
Oregon—Public Schools
1938-1939
2/36
Oregon—League of Democratic Women
1937
3/1
Oregon—Reed College
1936-1939
3/2
Oregon—Miscellaneous Schools
1937-1938
3/3
O, Miscellaneous
1936-1938
3/4
Premier Adjustment Corporation
1939-1940
3/5
Prosser, Washington Public Schools
1937-1939
3/6
Pullman Public Schools
1936-1939
3/7-8
Puyallup Public Schools
1935-1939
3/9
P, Miscellaneous
1936-1939
3/10
Q, Miscellaneous
1936-1938
3/11
Renton Public Schools
1936-1937
3/12
Rockefeller Foundation
1936-1939
3/13
R, Miscellaneous
1935-1939
3/14
Seattle Public Schools—High Schools
1936-1939
3/15
Seattle Public Schools—Office of Superintendent
1936-1939
3/16
Snohomish Public Schools
1937-1939
3/17
Spokane—American Association of the University of Women
1937-1939
3/18
Spokane—Federation of Women’s Organizations
1937-1939
3/19
Spokane—Hauermale Junior High School
1936-1939
3/20
Spokane—Lewis and Clark High School
1936-1938
3/21
Spokane—Libby Junior High School
1936-1938
3/22
Spokane—North Central High School
1936-1939
3/23
Spokane—Public Schools, Superintendent
1936-1939
3/24
Spokane—Miscellaneous High Schools
1936-1939
3/25
Spokane—Miscellaneous
1936-1939
3/26
Stanford University
1936-1938
3/27
S, Miscellaneous
1936-1939
4/1
Tacoma Public Schools
1937-1940
4/2
Tacoma, Miscellaneous
1934-1939
4/3
Toppernish Public Schools
1936-1939
4/4
T, Miscellaneous
1936-1939
4/5
U, Miscellaneous
1936-1938
4/6
Vancouver, Washington—American Association of the University of Women
1936-1938
4/7
Vancouver, Washington—Public High Schools
1936-1939
4/8
Vancouver, Washington—Miscellaneous
1937-1939
4/9
V, Miscellaneous
1936-1939
4/10
Walla Walla—High School
193601939
4/11
Walla Walla—Miscellaneous
1936-1938
4/12
Wapato Public Schools
1936-1938
4/13
Washington Congress of Parents and Teachers
19336-1938
4/14
Washington Education Department
1936-1941
4/15
Washington Finance Department
1936-1937
4/16
Washington State Normal Schools
1936-1937
4/17-18
Washington State College
1936-1940
4/19
Washington University
1936-1939
4/20
Wenatchee—Public Schools
1936-1937
4/21
Wenatchee—H. B. Ellison Junior High School
1937-1938
4/22
Wenatchee—Miscellaneous
1936-1939
4/23
Whitman College
1936-1937
4/24
W, Miscellaneous
1936-1939
4/25-26
Yakima Public Schools, Junior College
1936-1939
4/27
Incomplete Signature
1936-1928
4/28
Unidentified
1936, 1948

Series 3:  Other correspondenceReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
5/1-7
Outgoing Letters
1935-1936
6/1-7
Outgoing Letters
1937
7/1-12
Outgoing Letters
1938
8/1-11
Outgoing Letters
1938-1950, undated
8/12-13
Intra-Organizational Correspondence
1939-1940, undated
8/14
Enclosures
1936-1940, 1950
8/15
Correspondence—Advance Letter Forms
1938-1942

Series 4:  MinutesReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
9/1
Board of Trustees
1946-1950
9/2
Administrative Committee
1938-1942
9/3
Washington State Theatre
1936-1937

Series 5:  News ReleasesReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
9/4-9
News Releases
1936-1939

Series 6:  ReportsReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
9/10-11
Reports—Summary of Reports to the State Department of Education
1936-1938
9/12
Reports to the Rockefeller Foundation, Fall 1936
1936
10/1-9
Reports to the Rockefeller Foundation, Fall 1936—Fall 1937
1936-1937
11/1-10
Reports to the Rockefeller Foundation, Fall 1937— Spring 1938
1937-1938
12/1
Reports to the Rockefeller Foundation, Miscellaneous
1936
12/2-3
Tour Reports
1938
12/4
Tour Reports—Summaries
1937-1938
12/5-8
Reports—Tour Data
1937-1938
12/9-10-13/1-8
Performance Reports
1937-1938
13/9-11-14/1
Advance Reports
1936-1938
14/2-8-15/1-2
Running Reports
1936-1938
15/2-6
Reports—Data Sheets
1936-1938
15/7
Participant Reports on Tours (Staff)
1936-1938
15/8
Reports—Daily Bulletins
1937-1938
15/9
Reports—Miscellaneous
1938-1939

Series 7:  Financial RecordsReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
15/10
Attendance and Receipt Check Sheets
1938
16/1
Summaries of Attendance and Receipts
1938
16/2
Audit Sheets
1936
16/3
Balance Sheets
1937-1938
16/4-5
Bills & Receipts
1937-1941
16/6
Budget
1937-1939
16/7
Cash Position Statements
1938
16/8
Cash Receipts
1937
16/9
Comparative Expense and Income Reports
1938
16/10
Current Items Due
1938-1939
16/11
Distribution Sheets
1938
16/12
Expense Account Reports
1937-1939
16/13
Expense and Income Reports
1936-1941
16/14
Expenses, Administration and Production
1937-1938
16/15
General Expenses
1936-1939
16/16
Publicity, Costumes, and Auto Expenses
1938
16/17
Garage Bills and Receipts
1937-1939
16/18
Miscellaneous
1937-1940
16/19
Salaires and Payroll
1937-1939
16/20
County Taxes
1937-1946
Box
Package 24
County Taxes, oversize
Box/Folder
16/21
Trial Balance Sheets
1937-1940

Series 8:  ProgramsReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
16/22
Programs—Washington State Theatre
undated
Box
Package 24
Programs—Washington State Theatre, oversize
undated
Box/Folder
16/23
Programs—Of Others
undated

Series 9:  Speeches and writingsReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
16/24
Speeches and Writings of Burton & Florence James—Speeches for the Washington State Speech Association
1938-1939
17/1
Speeches and Writings of Burton & Florence James—On the Development of the Washington State Theatre
1937-1939
17/2
Speeches and Writings of Burton W. James—On the Development of the Washington State Theatre
1938
17/3
Speeches and Writings of Burton W. James— “A Project for a State Touring Theatre to Be Administered by the Washington State Board of Education and Operated by the Seattle Repertory Playhouse”
17/4
Speeches and Writings of Burton W. James—"The State-wide Plan for Theatre in Education”
17/5
Speeches and Writings of Albert Ottenheimer—Assembly Speech
1938
17/6
Speeches and Writings of Albert Ottenheimer—Rough Draft of Book on History of Washington State Theatre
1937-1939
17/7
Speeches and Writings of Others—Miscellaneous
17/8-9
Speeches and Writings of Others—On the Development of the Washington State Theatre
1936-1937
17/10
Speeches and Writings—Notes and Drafts
1936-1939

Series 10:  Scripts and prompt booksReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
17/11-12-18/1
Radio Scripts
1937-1938
18/2
Scripts (Miscellaneous Fragments)
1938
18/3-5
Prompt Books—On Stage
18/6
Prompt Books—Red-Head Baker
18/7
Prompt Books—She Stoops to Conquer

Series 11:  Subject SeriesReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
19/1
Cast Biographies
19/2
Information on Photographs for Cast
1936-1938
19/3-6
Playing Centers—School and City Surveys
1936
19/7
Playing Centers—Attendance Records
1936-1937
19/8
Auditorium Information
19/9-10
Auditorium Plans
1936
Box
Package 24
Auditorium Plans
Box/Folder
19/11-14
Information Sheets
1936-1938
19/15
Stage Requirements
19/16-20/1
Outlying Communities Information
1936-1938
20/2
Policies
1939
20/3
Pre-tour Preparation—Action Sheets
20/4
Pre-Tour Preparation—Instruction to Schools
1939
20/5
Pre-Tour Preparation—Matinee Information
20/6
Pre-Tour Preparation—Work Assignments
1936
20/7
Pre-Tour Preparation—Notes for Spring Tour
1939
20/8
Pre-Tour Preparation—Teaching Plans
1936-1937
20/9
Proposed Routes
20/10
Psychology Research—Dr. Ralph Gundlach, University of Washington
1937
20/11-16
School Administrative Officers
1936-1939
20/17
Sponsor Information
1936-1938
20/18
Washington State Speech Association
1938-1939

Series 12:  Other materialsReturn to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
20/19
Press Books—Comedy of Errors
1936
21/1
Press Books—No More Frontier
1937
21/2
Press Books—On Stage
1938
21/3
Press Books—She Stoops to Conquer
1938
21/4
Press Books—Taming of the Shrew
1937
21/5
Handbills (Drafts)
21/6
Ephemera
21/7
Conference and Convention Files
1938
21/8
Lists—Casts
21/9
Lists—Plays
1937
21/10
Lists—High Schools and Junior High Schools
21/11
Lists—Newspapers
21/12
Lists—School Papers
1937-1938
21/13
Lists—Publicity and Promotion Materials
1937-1938
21/14-18
Mailing Lists
1936-1938
21/19
Bulletins—Washington Department of Education
1937-1938
22/1
Memoranda
1936-1938
22/2
Legal Documents—Miscellaneous
1936-1939
22/3
Legal Documents—Auto Rental Contracts
1936-1937
22/4
Schedules—School Assemblies (advance visits to schools)
1937-1939
22/5
Touring Schedules
1936-1939
22/6
Schedules—School Information Sheets
1937
22/7
Schedules—Rehearsals and Performances
1939
22/8-9
Surveys and Questionnaires—to Superintendents, Principles and Teachers
1937
22/10
Surveys and Questionnaires—On Stage
22/11-12
Surveys and Questionnaires—Julius Caesar
22/13
Surveys and Questionnaires—Audience Interest Survey, Analysis and Replies
1937
22/14
Surveys and Questionnaires—Student Play Evaluations
1938-1939
22/15
Surveys and Questionnaires—Tabulations
1938-1938
22/16
Surveys and Questionnaires—Miscellaneous (W. S. T.)
23/1
Clippings
Box
Package 24
Clippings
Box/Folder
23/2
Forms—Application Forms
1937
23/3-4
Forms—Auto Mileage Data Sheets
1936-1937
23/5
Forms—Publicity and Promotional Supplies
1937-1938
23/6
Forms—Miscellaneous
23/7
Inventories
1938-1950
23/8
Miscellany
1936-1939
23/9
Duplicates—Ephemera
Box
Package 24
Posters
Package 25
Drawings—Program Designs

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)
  • Theatrical companies--Washington (State)
  • Traveling theater--Washington (State)

Personal Names

  • Gundlach, Ralph H. (Ralph Harrelson), 1902-1978

Corporate Names

  • Rockefeller Foundation
  • Seattle Repertory Playhouse
  • Washington (State). Dept. of Education
  • Washington State Theater--Archives