Scope and Contents
Collection contains office and financial records, annual reports, playbills, publicity materials, production reports, board meetings, photographs, newspaper clippings, a manual of operation, slides of productions, reviews and correspondence from 1909-2003. Collection also includes records from the office of Horace Robinson, the Department of Theatre Arts, Carnival Theatre, and the Very Little Theatre.
The collection is arranged by accession and includes (but is not limited to) the following material:
Accession 1996.268.A: Publicity, play/musical posters, photographs and miscellaneous records, 1909-2009.
Accession 11539.A: Annual reports, programs, publicity information, reviews, faculty meeting minutes, and correspondence for the theatre, 1948-1988.
Accession 11.289.A: Manual of operations and USO tour files, 1944-1967.
Accession 10779.A: University Theater board meeting minutes and information on the film information council, 1966-74.
Accession 11.290.A: Annual reports, 1970-1980.
Accession 10.901.A: Carnival theatre files, 1970-1978.
Accession 11.347.A: University Theatre and and Carnival Theatre ephemera including flyers, playbills, and acknowledgements, organized first by date, then within each year, organized by title of performance, 1969-1983.
Accession 12.140.A: Oversize programs and posters, 1929-1936.
Accession 10748.A: records from the Very Little Theatre and University Theater, Carnival Theatre, and the University Theatre. Material includes production reports, and publicity materials, 1944-1967.
Accession 10761.A: Correspondence with SEIF Associates and programs of the Le Treteau de Paris theatre company, 1965-1968.
Accession 11.166.A: Publicity and annual reports, 1954-1972.
Accession 1996.154.A: Annual reports, 1971-1977.
Accession 33.2008.A: Slides of productions and miscellaneous recordings, 1998-2003.
Dates
- Creation: 1900-2009
Creator
- University of Oregon. Department of Theatre Arts (Organization)
- University of Oregon. University Theatre (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open to the public. Collection must be used in Special Collections and University Archives Reading Room. Collection or parts of collection may be stored offsite. Permanent University Archive public records are available for research, and are subject to state, and in some cases federal freedom of information laws. In compliance with applicable state and federal laws, including, but not limited to, FERPA and HIPAA, specific records that are legally protected, sensitive, private, or confidential are exempt (not subject to disclosure) and closed to protect individual privacy. Access to paper records will be granted after a professional review of the records occurs based on regulations in state and federal laws. Contact Special Collections and University Archives well in advance in order to access these records.
Conditions Governing Use
Property rights reside with Special Collections and University Archives, University of Oregon Libraries. Copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their heirs. All requests for permission to publish collection materials must be submitted to Special Collections and University Archives. The reader must also obtain permission of the copyright holder.
Biographical / Historical
Theatre productions were performed at University of Oregon long before the University Theatre was built in 1949. The University Theatre was built when the Department of Theater Arts had outgrown the Guild theatre in Johnson Hall. The new state-of-the-art theater was attached to the west side of Villard Hall and its first production was directed by Horace Robinson. When Robinson retired in 1975 the University renamed the theatre after him. The Robinson Theatre is now a part of the James F. Miller Theater Complex.
[Source: University Theater Website: http://pages.uoregon.edu/theatre/our-history-2 and http://libweb.uoregon.edu/guides/architecture/oregon/villard.html]
Extent
43.5 linear feet (33 containers and 1 folder)
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Theatre productions were performed at University of Oregon long before the University Theatre was built in 1949; the Horace Robinson Theatre (as it is now known) is used primarily for Department of Theatre Arts productions. The collection (1909-2009) contains annual reports, publicity materials, production reports, photographs and slides, reviews, correspondence, meeting minutes, and also records from Carnival Theater and Very Little Theatre.
Arrangement
Material within this collection has been organized by accession. This organization reflects the fact that the collection has been acquired in increments over time. This organization is also based on the decision not to merge the various accessions and organize them as a whole at this point in time, give the fact that future accruals are anticipated and/or that this organization is deemed sufficient for access.
Researchers should note that materials within a series or accession may overlap and/or relate to materials found in other accessions or initially processed materials. For example, correspondence may be found in all or only some groupings. In order to locate all relevant material within this collection, researchers may need to consult each accession.
Researchers should also note that similar materials can be arranged differently in each accession, depending on how the material is organized upon receipt or during initial processing. For instance, correspondence is one accession may be arranged alphabetically, while correspondence in another accession is arranged chronologically.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The records have been acquired through occasional transfers from the University Theatre.
Accruals
Continued transfers of records from the University Theatre are expected indefinitely.
Physical Description
20 record storage boxes, 5 manuscript boxes, 8 flat boxes, and one oversize folder.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Jenn Newby and Tanya Parlet, 2012
This finding aid may be updated periodically to account for new acquisitions to the collection and/or revisions in arrangement and description.
This collection received a basic level of processing including minimal organization and rehousing. Multiple accession(s) for the collection have not been merged or organized as a whole. Each accession is described separately.
Description information is drawn in part from information supplied with the collection and initial surveys of the contents. Folder titles are based on those created by the creators or previous custodians. Titles have not all been verified against the contents of the folders. In some cases, staff supplied folder titles during initial processing.
Subject
- University of Oregon. University Theatre (Organization)
- University of Oregon. Department of Theatre Arts (Organization)
- Robinson, Horace W., 1909- (Person)
- Robinson, Horace W., 1909- (Person)
- Title
- Guide to the University Theatre Records
- Status
- Complete Description
- Author
- Jennifer Newby and Tanya Parlet; updated by processing staff
- Date
- 2012; 2013; updated 2015
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid is written in English
- Sponsor
- Funding for production of this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).
Repository Details
Part of the University of Oregon Libraries, Special Collections and University Archives Repository
