Theatre Arts Department Records, 1910-

Theatre Arts Department Records

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Collection Overview

Title: Theatre Arts Department Records, 1910-

ID: UA138

Extent: 1.25 Linear Feet

Subjects: Theater and Film, University of North Dakota - Academic Departments, University of North Dakota - Theater

Languages: English

Abstract

1910-;

Scope and Contents of the Materials

The Theatre Arts Department Records have been divided into four series as follows:

Series 1: General History

Series 2: Sock and Buskin Society, 1910-1917

Series 3: Dakota Playmakers, 1918-1970

Series 4: Theatre Arts Department, 1971-

Collection Historical Note

Although theatre at the University of North Dakota has a rich history, a formal Theatre Arts Department did not exist prior to 1971. Frederick Koch founded the Sock and Buskin Society in 1910 and directed the earliest plays on campus. The society received national newspaper coverage after performing "A Pageant of the North-West" in 1914 and "Shakespeare, the Playmaker" in 1916. Koch became an in demand Chautauqua lecturer before leaving UND for the University of North Carolina in 1918.

In late 1917, the Sock and Buskin Society formally changed its name to the "Dakota Playmakers." Theatre at UND continued under the auspices of the Speech Department until the formation of the Theatre Arts Department in 1971; Dr. Ronald Engle served as the first department chair.

Subject/Index Terms

Theater and Film
University of North Dakota - Academic Departments
University of North Dakota - Theater

Administrative Information

Repository: Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections

Access Restrictions: Open for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections.

Acquisition Method: Transferred from University Publications in June 2018.

Preferred Citation: (Description of Item). Theatre Arts Department Records. UA 138, Box #, Folder #. Elwyn B. Robinson Department of Special Collections, Chester Fritz Library, University of North Dakota, Grand Forks.

Processing Information: Processed by Curt Hanson in June 2018.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: General History],
[Series 2: Sock and Buskin Society, 1910-1917],
[Series 3: Dakota Playmakers, 1918-1970],
[Series 4: University Theatre, 1963-1972],
[Series 5: Theatre Arts Department, 1971-],
[Series 6: Miscellaneous],
[All]

Series 2: Sock and Buskin Society, 1910-1917

"The object of the organization shall be the study of the literature of the drama and the promotion of the art of the theatre, by the discussion and presentation of higher ideals in the drama in America and the initiation of a movement to establish as soon as practicable a University Theatre in the University of North Dakota."

Source: Sock and Buskin Society Constitution, as printed in the program for "Twelfth Night," June 1910 (Box 1, Folder 3)

Box 1

Folder 3: Programs, 1910-1917

Item 1: "Twelfth Night or What you Will", June 1910
Item 2: "The Devil's Disciple", May 1915
Item 3: "A Series of Original One Act Plays: The First Annual Tour of a Group of Players of the Sock and Buskin Society of the University of North Dakota", 1916-1917
Item 4: "Original One Act Plays", January 1917

Folder 4: "A Pageant of the North-West", May 1914

Produced for the 7th Annual Meeting of the Mississippi Valley Historical Association, (now known as Organization of American Historians) which was meeting at UND. This performance also functioned as the dedication of the Bankside Theatre on campus. Material in the folder consists solely of a formal publication created for the event.

Folder 5: "Shakespeare, the Playmaker", June 1916

Includes the program, formal publication, newspaper coverage from the Grand Forks Herald, and correspondence from Professor Frederick Koch to Professor R.T. Stevenson from Ohio Wesleyan University

Folder 6: "Dakota Discoveries in Dual Dramatology." by Hiram Modewell. Boston Transcript., September 30, 1916

Folder 7: "Tribute...to a Dramatist" by Maxwell Anderson

Poem written in memory of Dr. Frederick Koch, founder of the Sock and Buskin Society, who died in 1944

Department of Special Collections
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