Queer Theatre Collection

Queer Theatre Collection, 1974-2015

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Headrick, Charlotte J.
Title: Queer Theatre Collection
Dates: 1974-2015 (inclusive)
19742015
Quantity: 0.50 cubic feet, including 2 document case boxes and 1 oversize folder, (2.836 GB born digital)
Collection Number: MSS QueerTheatre
Summary: The Queer Theatre Collection is an artificial collection containing theatre materials or educational materials that have queer subjects or characters. The materials were donated to the Oregon State University (OSU) Pride Center by OSU Theatre Professor Charlotte Headrick.
Repository: Oregon State University Libraries, Special Collections and Archives Research Center
Special Collections and Archives Research Center
121 The Valley Library
Oregon State University
Corvallis OR
97331-4501
Telephone: 5417372075
Fax: 5417378674
scarc@oregonstate.edu
Access Restrictions: This collection is open for research.
Languages: English

Historical NoteReturn to Top

This material was originally donated to the Oregon State University Pride Center by Charlotte Headrick. Headrick was a theatre professor at OSU who retired in 2016 after many years of directing plays at OSU, nationally, and internationally. Over her career she had collected a substantial amount of theatre materials relating to queer topics and themes and shared them with the Pride Center. The Pride Center serves as OSU's resource center for LGBTQIA+ members of the OSU community and their allies. Founded in 2001 and initially housed in Benton Annex with the OSU Women's Center, in 2004, the Queer Resource Center (QRC) moved to a permanent location on the south edge of campus at 1553 SW "A" Avenue. In that same year, the QRC was re-named the OSU Pride Center. The Pride Center utilized these materials for many years before donating them to SCARC for preservation. Due to the number and nature of the materials, they were separated into their own collection.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The Queer Theatre Collection pertains to queer theatre plays and productions locally, nationally, and internationally. The collection contains, but is not limited to, information on the following: scripts with queer subject matter, memorabilia for queer plays, and recordings of queer theatre productions and related educational materials. The plays feature subjects such as queer lives and relationships, HIV/AIDS, and the murder of Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming.

The VHS tapes of OSU production recordings and commercial braodcasts used as educational materials have been digitized and are available upon request.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Preferred Citation

Queer Theatre Collection (MSS QueerTheatre), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

The Queer Theatre Collection is arranged by type of material into two series: Series 1: Scripts, Publications, and Memorabilia; and Series 2: OSU Productions and Commercial Broadcasts. The materials are arranged in chronological order.

Acquisition Information

This material was originally donated to the Oregon State University Pride Center by Charlotte Headrick and was later donated to the OSU Queer Archives by the Pride Center.

Related Materials

This collection is a part of the OSU Queer Archives (OSQA). Related materials include the Pride Center Records (RG 236) and the Charlotte Headrick Papers (MSS Headrick), as well as two oral history interviews with Headrick. Non-theatre queer materials donated by Headrick, such as materials from the Names Project, were moved to the Queer History Research Collection (MSS QHRC).

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Series 1: Scripts, Publications, and Memorabilia, 1974-2015Return to Top

Series 1 contains paper documents related to queer theatre. This includes, but is not limited to, scripts, theatre journals, books, playbills, flyers, and posters.

Container(s)	Description	Dates
Box/Folder
1.1	Literature Northwest Theatre Review (1994), International Theatre Journal (2005), and Out Front: Contemporary Gay and Lesbian Plays Introduction by Don Shewey.	1994-2005
1.2	Non-OSU Playbills and Programs Breaking the Code (1990), Top Girls (1991), Playbill - Angels in America: Millennium Approaches (August 1993), Playbill - Angels in America: Millennium Approaches (September 1993), Playbill - Angels in America (October 1993), Playbill - Angels in America: Perestroika (1994), Well (2006), and Priscilla: Queen of the Desert (2011).	1990-2011
1.3	OSU Program and Flyer Flyer for 2014-2015 season with a letter on the back and a program for the Laramie Project: Ten Years Later reading presented by the Pride Center and other Oregon State University LGBTQ+ related divisions.	2009-2015
3.1	Posters (Oversized) Includes posters from three OSU productions: Remember My Name (1991), Angels in America: Millennium Approaches (2009), Stop Kiss (2010). Also includes one poster from Broadway of Angels in America (1994).	1991-2009
1.4	Scripts - Assorted A Late Snow (1974), Last Summer at Bluefish Cove (1982), A Bright Room Called Day (1985), In the Land of Make Believe (1989), and Take Me Out by Richard Greenberg (2003).	1974-2003
1.5	Scripts - Pride Center These materials were mixed with the Pride Center's administrative materials, as opposed to the others that were contained within a separate box. The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later, The Rocky Horror Show (1983), Mr. Butterfly (1988), and Sordid Lives (2005).	1983-2005
1.6	Scripts - Standing Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays Two copies including one with annotations that was performed at Majestic Theatre, a local theater in Corvallis, Oregon.	2013

Series 2: OSU Productions and Commercial Broadcasts, 1989-2003Return to Top

Series 2 contains recordings of OSU theatre productions and recordings of commercial broadcasts that Headrick used for educational purposes. The OSU productions include recordings of the Laramie Project and Act 1 from Remember My Name. The commercial broadcasts used as teaching materials include documentaries and television episodes including two episodes of In the Life, a queer television newsmagazine that ran from 1992 to 2012, and a documentary about the Names Project AIDS Memorial Quilt.

VHS tapes were the original audiovisual format for all recordings. All materials in this series have been digitized and are available upon request. Please see the SCARC "Accessing Audio-Visual Content" policy for more information.

Container(s)	Description	Dates
box-item
2.1	2.1: "Common Threads - Stories From The Quilt" Documentary 1 .mv4 file; 0.642 GB "Common Threads" is an American documentary film that tells the story of the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, aired as an HBO special presentation (01:21:08).	1989
2.2	2.2: "Remember My Name" - Act 1 Production 1 .mv4 file; 0.612 GB An Oregon State University production; a play based on the AIDS Memorial Quilt; the recording includes brief interviews with members of the production (01:16:30).	1991
2.3	2.3: In the Life Episode 503 "Black History Month" 1 .mv4 file; 0.132 GB In the Life Episode 503 "Black History Month" (16:38; note the recording begins after the start of the episode). Hosted by Katherine Linton. A partial episode of In the Life starting with the segment "In the World" which covers gay history and rights in South Africa, the film Out in Africa and the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission with Ciprian Cucu, speaking about human rights abuses in Romania. The Quick stats segment gives hate crime statistics in the US, and in the Book review, Chelsea House Press highlights author James Baldwin. [The text written on the VHS is "TA 360 - Gays Lesbian"]	1992
2.4	2.4: In the Life Episode 1301 "Violent Opposition" 1 .mv4 file; 0.4 GB In the Life Episode 1301 "Violent Opposition" (51:41; note the recording begins after the start of the episode) Host: André DeShields. Featured guests: George Ratliff, Klaus Wowereit, Harvey Fierstein, Christian de la Huerta, Lesley Gore, Bill Thomas, Judith Light, Keith Boykin, Jason Stuart, Patricia Clarkson. Summary: The first episode of season 12 begins with a segment on the fifth anniversary of Matthew Shepard's death and the rise of hate crimes, with an emphasis on Sakia Gunn. The Real to Reel segment is about George Ratliff's documentary, Hell House. The next segment examines religion in the classroom and an Arkansas public school administration's treatment of a gay student. Another segment focuses on the political evolution of Germany and Klaus Wowereit, the openly gay mayor of Berlin. Next, four lesbian Muslims discuss their experiences with gender, religion and sexuality. Harvey Fierstein's Out Takes segment is titled "3 Questions." Christian de la Huerta, Lesley Gore, Bill Thomas, Judith Light, Keith Boykin and Jason Stuart provide historical PSAs throughout the episode, and Patricia Clarkson provides the celebrity ID. [The text written on the VHS is "Headrick - Matthew Shepard"]	2003
2.5	2.5: "The Laramie Project" Production 1 .mv4 file; 1.05 GB An Oregon State University production (02:15:29). [There are 2 VHS tapes; 1 is a duplicate]	2003

Archives West Finding Aid

Table of Contents