DePaul University Theatre records
Scope and Contents
This collection documents the early history of theatre at DePaul, the merger with the Goodman School of Drama, and subsequent years of the Theatre School. Records document teaching and academics at each institution, administration, and performance through scripts, prompt books, programs, and production photographs. Several dozen written histories and transcripts of oral histories further document the Goodman/DePaul theatre tradition. Consult series level descriptions for more detailed information. Additional photographs and memorabilia, publications, and videos can be found on separate finding aids.
Dates
- 1903-2019
- Majority of material found within 1970-2000
Creator
- DePaul University (Organization)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research use.
Biographical / Historical
The Theatre School at DePaul, as it is known today, was born of the theatre tradition at DePaul and the Goodman School of Drama at the Art Institute of Chicago. It came to be in 1978 when the Goodman School of Drama was incorporated into the structure of DePaul. Even before the incorporation, DePaul had a rich tradition of teaching the theatre arts, exemplified by the construction of the College Theatre in 1907 and the later introduction of the Department of Speech and Drama. The Theatre School at DePaul has trained generations of theatre artists and maintains the vital contributions of both the Goodman School of Drama and DePaul University to the culture of Chicago and the American theatre. The move of the Goodman to DePaul in 1978 gave the teaching traditions of Goodman a permanent home and restored the theatrical tradition at DePaul. The acquisition of the Blackstone Theatre, now the Merle Reskin Theatre, in 1988 gave The Theatre School a permanent performance home at DePaul and incorporated another facet of Chicago theatre traditions. The histories of these institutions have been intertwined since 1931 through the roles of the Itkins, father David and daughter Bella. This history includes the Goodman's Children Theatre, now known as Chicago Playworks, which was taken on by DePaul after the incorporation.
Extent
17 Linear Feet (46 boxes)
0.14 Gigabytes
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
This collection is organized into six series. 1. History; 2. College Theatre; 3. Department of Speech and Drama; 4. Goodman School of Drama; 5. Children's Theatre and Playworks; 6. DePaul Theatre School.
Physical Location
3/19/A-C; digital
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Accession 1985.8; 1987.9; 1987.11; 1990.40; 1991.10; 1991.57; 1994.23; 1995.12; 1995.13; 1998.4; 1999.4; 2001.56; 2010.31; 2013.25; 2014.006; 2014.009; 2014.018; 2015.083; 2016.098; 2018.008; 2019.014.
Processing Information
KR 1996; SS 1996; CT 1997; SS 1997; CB 1998; CT 1998; GO 1998; MES 1999; CCB 2000; JSR 2000; MES 2000; CCB 2002; MHW 2002; KEL 2003; AKM 2004; HRL 2013; P. Chavez 2018; revised by P. Chavez 2018; P. Chavez 2019; revised by P. Chavez 2019
- Acting--Study and teaching--Archival resources--Illinois--Chicago Subject Source: Unspecified ingested source
- College theater--Archival resources--Illinois--Chicago Subject Source: Unspecified ingested source
- Theater--Study and teaching--Archival resources--Illinois--Chicago Subject Source: Unspecified ingested source
- Theaters--Archival resources--Illinois--Chicago Subject Source: Unspecified ingested source
- Title
- Guide to DePaul University Theatre records
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- KR 1996; SS 1996; CT 1997; SS 1997; CB 1998; CT 1998; GO 1998; MES 1999; CCB 2000; JSR 2000; MES 2000; CCB 2002; MHW 2002; KEL 2003; AKM 2004; HRL 2013; P. Chavez 2018; revised by P. Chavez 2018; P. Chavez 2019; revised by P. Chavez 2019
- Date
- 2019
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English
Repository Details
Part of the DePaul Special Collections and Archives Repository
John T. Richardson Library
2350 N. Kenmore Ave.
Room 314
Chicago Illinois 60614
773-325-7864
spca@depaul.libanswers.com
