{"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1979\u0026f%5Blevel%5D%5B%5D=File\u0026page=3911","prev":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1979\u0026f%5Blevel%5D%5B%5D=File\u0026page=3910","next":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1979\u0026f%5Blevel%5D%5B%5D=File\u0026page=3912","last":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog.json?f%5Bdate_range%5D%5B%5D=1979\u0026f%5Blevel%5D%5B%5D=File\u0026page=3918"},"meta":{"pages":{"current_page":3911,"next_page":3912,"prev_page":3910,"total_pages":3918,"limit_value":10,"offset_value":39100,"total_count":39171,"first_page?":false,"last_page?":false}},"data":[{"id":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c03_c01_c416","type":"File","attributes":{"title":"You Can't Take It With You","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c03_c01_c416#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c03_c01_c416","ref_ssm":["vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c03_c01_c416"],"id":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c03_c01_c416","ead_ssi":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","_root_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","_nest_parent_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c03_c01","parent_ssi":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c03_c01","parent_ssim":["vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c03","vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c03_c01"],"parent_ids_ssim":["vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c03","vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c03_c01"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Arena Stage records","Series 3: Photographs","Subseries 3.1: Production photographs"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Arena Stage records","Series 3: Photographs","Subseries 3.1: Production photographs"],"text":["Arena Stage records","Series 3: Photographs","Subseries 3.1: Production photographs","You Can't Take It With You","box 613","folder 8"],"title_filing_ssi":"You Can't Take It With You","title_ssm":["You Can't Take It With You"],"title_tesim":["You Can't Take It With You"],"unitdate_other_ssim":["1979-1980"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1979/1980"],"normalized_title_ssm":["You Can't Take It With You"],"component_level_isim":[3],"repository_ssim":["George Mason University"],"collection_ssim":["Arena Stage records"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["File"],"level_ssim":["File"],"sort_isi":7499,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["Collection is open to research. Some personnel records in Series 1 Subseries 3 Sub-subseries 2: Personnel, staff contain Social Security Numbers and must be screened by SCRC staff before researchers can view them."],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)"],"date_range_isim":[1979,1980],"containers_ssim":["box 613","folder 8"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Contents note"],"_nest_path_":"/components#2/components#0/components#415","timestamp":"2026-05-01T00:23:25.700Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","ead_ssi":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","_root_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","_nest_parent_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/GMU/repositories_2_resources_416.xml","title_ssm":["Arena Stage records"],"title_tesim":["Arena Stage records"],"unitdate_ssm":["1949 - 2010"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1949 - 2010"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["C0017","/repositories/2/resources/416"],"text":["C0017","/repositories/2/resources/416","Arena Stage records","Theater -- Washington (D.C.)","Theater","Theater -- United States","Theater programs","Theater -- Production and direction","Performing arts","Video recordings","Sound recordings","Photographic prints","Collection is open to research. Some personnel records in Series 1 Subseries 3 Sub-subseries 2: Personnel, staff contain Social Security Numbers and must be screened by SCRC staff before researchers can view them.","Accruals to this collection are expected.","The collection is arranged into five series, each of which is further divided into subseries:","Series Series 1: Administrative records, 1949-2007 (Boxes 1-196) Series 2: Production files, 1950-2010 (Boxes 197-588, 654-663) Series 3: Photographs, 1950-1991 (Boxes 589-639) Series 4: Oversize materials, 1949-late 2000s (Boxes 640-720) Series 5: Audiovisual materials, 1970-2007 (Boxes 721-739)",""," Maslon, Lawrence, editor. \"The Arena Adventure: The First 40 Years.\" Washington, DC: Arena Stage, 1990.","","From its opening on August 16, 1950, the Arena Stage has dedicated itself to being a space of imagination and innovation, a tool of \"civilization,\" and Washington, D.C.'s preeminent regional theater. Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, the Arena Stage began as a for-profit theater under Arena Enterprises, Inc. The original Hippodrome Theatre, located on Ninth and New York N.W. in D.C., was revolutionary amongst regional theatres for its theatre-in-the-round construction and would provide the blueprint for all future Arena locations.","Arena began its long and successful life with Oliver Goldsmith's  She Stoops to Conquer.  Arena owed its early successes in the 1950s to its fluid play schedule organization and its willingness to put on works that were not commercial successes on Broadway. In November of 1956, after a year's hiatus, the company relocated to a temporary home at the Old Heurich Brewery, dubbed the Old Vat by company members. The move was facilitated in part by the commitment and drive of Board members J. Burke Knapp, Albert M. Berkowitz, Israel Convisser, Leslie Amouri, and Henry J. Danilowicz. However, financial issues would continue to trouble Arena Enterprises, Inc., eventually leading to its dissolution in 1959, and the creation of Arena's new, non-profit parent organization, the Washington Drama Society.","During the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington since 1895. Chicago architect Harry Weese designed the space to be as innovative as possible while still maintaining the theater-in-the-round layout. Now a non-profit theater, Arena drew much of its funding during this time from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and generous donations from both the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundations.","The Arena Stage began some of its most ambitious work during the 1960s including forming the Living Stage Theatre Company, further integrating its cast, and staging its most ambitious and acclaimed work to date:  The Great White Hope. The Great White Hope  included twenty five additional guest actors, including James Earl Jones, and was an enormous success, both critically and financially, for Arena. It was the first major resident theater production to be exported to Broadway. Fichandler also began to experiment with casting African American actors in traditionally white roles during the 1968 season after she published the paper \"Towards a Deepening Aesthetic.\" Fichandler experimented with non-traditional casting in plays like  King Lear  and  The Threepenny Opera , but unfortunately these plays were met with critical confusion and disappointing ticket sales. Arena Stage was incredibly successful in the 1970s, garnering awards and critical approval, and international recognition. Not content with the current Arena Stage configuration, Fichandler and others worked diligently to acquire another stage facility that would collaborate, not compete, with the current Stage. Generosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new Kreeger Theater which opened on January 15, 1971.","In 1973 Arena would have the opportunity to take two of its plays,  Our Town  and  Inherit the Wind  to the U.S.S.R. This was the first ever trip to the Soviet Union undertaken by a resident theater group. The trip was a wild success with Russian audiences giving the cast a standing ovation following their performance of  Inherit the Wind  at the Moscow Art Theatre. In April 1976 the American Theatre Critics Association bestowed upon the Arena Stage a special Tony Award for resident theaters. The ATCA cited Arena's qualities as a \"trailblazer\" in theatrical arts and representative of other theaters that had followed its lead.","The early 1980s were a difficult time for theater, but, in spite of this, Arena continued to push the limits of conventional residential theater. The 1982 production of  K2 , for example, saw the construction of a sheer glacial face on the Kreeger stage according to the vision of set designer Ming Cho Lee. In 1986 twenty-three actors and a thirteen member production staff traveled to Jerusalem to perform Zelda's production of  The Crucible  at the Israel Festival.","1989 marked the end of an era as Zelda Fichandler announced that she would step down as Arena's producing director at the end of the 1990-1991 fortieth anniversary season. Douglas C. Wager would succeed her as artistic director. Amid financial difficulties and changing times for theaters everywhere, Arena's resident company of actors was disbanded by the late 1990s. Wager remained at the helm until 1998, when Molly Smith took over the position. Under Smith's leadership, Bing Thom architects completed another major renovation of Arena's existing buildings into the Mead Center for American Theater in 2010. Smith served as Arena's artistic director until 2023, when she retired and was succeeded by current Aristic Director, Hana Sharif.","Many now-famous actors took part in Arena Stage productions during the early part of their careers. Some of them include Robert Prosky, Morgan Freeman, Dianne Wiest, James Earl Jones, Kevin Kline, Christopher Guest, Yeardley Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Ned Beatty, Jane Alexander, and Ron Perlman. Many other set designers, artists, costume designers, and technical workers owe their early success and experience to the Arena Stage.","The Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to film and audio reels, Betacam, or U-matic tapes contained in Series 5.2 and 5.3. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access.","Processed by Harvard Theatre Collection and George Mason University Special Collections Research Center staff. Reprocessed by Greta Suiter, Kerry Mitchell, Elizabeth Beckman, Diane Stancil, and Nick Welsh. EAD markup completed by Elizabeth Beckman in 2016. Finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in 2025.","The Special Collections Research Center holds the personal papers of several individuals involved with Arena Stage, including the Zelda Fichandler papers, the Thomas C. Fichandler papers, the Ken Kitch papers, as well as the Living Stage records.","The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from 1949 to 2010, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records pertaining to the theater's finances, publicity, buildings, and programs.","Series 1: Administrative records (1949-2007) documents the creation, operation, and maintenance of Arena Stage and its various programs. It is further divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 1.1: Correspondence includes correspondence arranged alphabetically by the correspondent's last name or by organizational name. Some correspondence is further aggregated and then organized alphabetically, such as \"Play Correspondence\" or \"Audience Response.\" Of particular note are letters from President Bill Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and King Kong star Fay Wray. Subseries 1.2: Programs, policies, and procedures, includes records of Arena's programs, such as the \"Arena Angels\" volunteer program and fellowship programs, policies, such as bylaws, diversity policies, and handbooks, and planning, including season planning and long-range plans. This subseries is broken up into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.3.1: Financial papers documents Arena's finances and includes stockholder documents from its beginnings as a for-profit theater, grant-related documentation after the theater transitioned to a non-profit in the late 1950s, and records of the theater's development office, some of which were kept by department director Elspeth Udvarhelyi. Sub-subseries 1.3.2: Personnel records includes information on staff at Arena Stage arranged alphabetically. Of particular interest are headshots and/or resumes of a number of well-known actors, including James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, Henry Winkler, Edward Hermann, Yeardley Smith, Jane Alexander, Swoosie Kurtz, Victor Garber, Ron Perlman, Annette Benning, Olympia Dukakis, John Lithgow, John Voigt, Sigourney Weaver, and Rosemary Harris. Sub-subseries 1.3.3: Casting information contains notes on casting for productions arranged alphabetically by play. Sub-subseries 1.3.4: Production contracts includes official agreements between Arena and others arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 1.4: Meeting minutes contains meeting minutes from Arena's Board of Trustees, staff, and other subgroups within the organization. Subseries 1.5: Communications and events, is also divided into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.5.1: Events documents special events held by Arena Stage, including anniversaries, galas, benefits, openings and press events. Sub-subseries 1.5.2: Communications and Marketing includes records produced by the Communications and Marketing departments, including meeting minutes, planning, research, and correspondence. Sub-subseries 1.5.3: Printed Material includes subscriber materials, mailings, brochures, reviews collected and arranged by play title, and programs organized chronologically. Sub-subseries 1.5.4: Theater Communications Group contains correspondence, reports, and other information generated from Arena's association with the Theater Communications Group, an organization of theaters around the United States. Subseries 1.6: Buildings and facilities includes information about and architectural plans for Arena's various buildings over the years, including the Hippodrome, the Old Vat, the 1960 permanent building, and the Kreeger Theater addition.","Series 2: Production Files (1950-2010) is comprised of records related to the artistic development and performance of Arena's plays. It is divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 2.1: Dramaturgical files documents literary, historical and background research done by Arena's literary department for various plays, including articles, research packets, actor's packets, and scripts. It is generally organized alphabetically by play. Subseries 2.2: Playwright subject files contains research on various playwrights, both living and dead, whose work has been performed at Arena. It is organized alphabetically by playwright's last name. Subseries 2.3: Production files includes scripts, blocking information, correspondence, and other material related to the production of Arena's plays. It is arranged alphabetically by play title. Subseries 2.4: Stage manager's reports includes daily reports by the stage manager of productions for the entire runs of many of Arena's plays from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s. The reports include running times, incident reports, and other commentary on the audience and the performance. Subseries 2.5: Wrap files contains documents collected from throughout the runs of various productions, including reviews that reflect the wider response to the play. Subseries 2.6: Producing director's files contains documents from Arena's second Producing director after Zelda Fichandler, Doug Wager, who served from 1991-1998. It includes pre-production speeches given by Wager, as well as planning files.","Series 3: Photographs (1950-1991)is divided into 3 subseries. Subseries 3.1: Production photographs includes photos of scenes from Arena's productions arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 3.2: Production books includes production photos collected in books, many of which are by professional photographer George de Vincent. Subseries 3.3: Buildings, staff, and events includes photographs of Arena's buildings, staff and cast portraits, and event photographs, such as prints from Arena's 30th anniversary celebration and from Arena's Soviet Union and Israel tours. Subseries 3.4: Negatives and slides includes slides and negatives of Arena's staff and events, as well as some buildings, sets, and production-related images.","Series 4: Oversize (1949-late 2000s) is divided into 3 subseries and contains a variety of oversize material. Subseries 4.1: Braille programs contains programs in Braille for various Arena productions from the 1990s and early 2000s. Subseries 4.2: Miscellaneous artwork and programs includes posters from Arena productions and events, enlarged photos, costume sketches, and other oversized material, such as a large model of the Mead Center for American Theater. Subseries 4.3: Scrapbooks contains scrapbooks created for each of Arena's seasons up until 1988. It also includes scrapbooks for Arena's tour of the Soviet Union and of visitors to Arena.","Series 5: Audiovisual (1970-2007) contains several types of formats and is divided into 3 subseries. Series 5.1: Performances on VHS contains VHS tapes (a few of which have associated DVDs) of performances at Arena arranged alphabetically by play title. Series 5.2: Reel-to-reel contains production and event footage on reel-to-reel film. Series 5.3: Other audiovisual formats and VHS tapes contains footage of events and productions on audiocassette, Betacam, and U-matic tapes. ","The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)","The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from its beginnings in 1950 to the present, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, handwritten correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records.","\nR 5, C 1, S 2 - R 9, C 4, S 7 \n\n\nR29, C1, S2\n\nOS R 3, C 2, S 1 - C 3, S 7\nOS R 4, C 5, S 5 \nOS R 5, C 2, S 3\nOS R 5, C 5, S 4\nOS R 6, C 4, S 6 - S 7\nOS R 7, C 1, S 2\nMap Case 9.1, 11.5","George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)","Fichandler, Thomas C.","Fichandler, Zelda, 1924-2016","English"],"unitid_tesim":["C0017","/repositories/2/resources/416"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Arena Stage records"],"collection_title_tesim":["Arena Stage records"],"collection_ssim":["Arena Stage records"],"repository_ssm":["George Mason University"],"repository_ssim":["George Mason University"],"creator_ssm":["Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"creator_ssim":["Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"creators_ssim":["Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"access_terms_ssm":["The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)"],"acqinfo_ssim":["Donated by Arena Stage in 2000-2024.","This collection has additional unprocessed accessions 2023.040-C and 2024.088-C, and therefore this finding aid may not be fully up to date. Please contact SCRC for more information."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Theater -- Washington (D.C.)","Theater","Theater -- United States","Theater programs","Theater -- Production and direction","Performing arts","Video recordings","Sound recordings","Photographic prints"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Theater -- Washington (D.C.)","Theater","Theater -- United States","Theater programs","Theater -- Production and direction","Performing arts","Video recordings","Sound recordings","Photographic prints"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["369.5 Linear Feet 739 boxes"],"extent_tesim":["369.5 Linear Feet 739 boxes"],"genreform_ssim":["Video recordings","Sound recordings","Photographic prints"],"date_range_isim":[1949,1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCollection is open to research. Some personnel records in Series 1 Subseries 3 Sub-subseries 2: Personnel, staff contain Social Security Numbers and must be screened by SCRC staff before researchers can view them.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access Restrictions"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["Collection is open to research. Some personnel records in Series 1 Subseries 3 Sub-subseries 2: Personnel, staff contain Social Security Numbers and must be screened by SCRC staff before researchers can view them."],"accruals_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAccruals to this collection are expected.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accruals_heading_ssm":["Accruals"],"accruals_tesim":["Accruals to this collection are expected."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is arranged into five series, each of which is further divided into subseries:\u003c/p\u003e","\u003clist type=\"ordered\"\u003e\n      \u003chead\u003eSeries\u003c/head\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 1: Administrative records, 1949-2007 (Boxes 1-196)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 2: Production files, 1950-2010 (Boxes 197-588, 654-663)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 3: Photographs, 1950-1991 (Boxes 589-639)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 4: Oversize materials, 1949-late 2000s (Boxes 640-720)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 5: Audiovisual materials, 1970-2007 (Boxes 721-739)\u003c/item\u003e\n    \u003c/list\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The collection is arranged into five series, each of which is further divided into subseries:","Series Series 1: Administrative records, 1949-2007 (Boxes 1-196) Series 2: Production files, 1950-2010 (Boxes 197-588, 654-663) Series 3: Photographs, 1950-1991 (Boxes 589-639) Series 4: Oversize materials, 1949-late 2000s (Boxes 640-720) Series 5: Audiovisual materials, 1970-2007 (Boxes 721-739)"],"bibliography_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\u003cextptr href=\"http://www.arenastage.org/plan-your-visit/the-mead-center/\" title=\"'Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater.' Arena Stage. Accessed February 3, 2016.\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e \u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e Maslon, Lawrence, editor. \"The Arena Adventure: The First 40 Years.\" Washington, DC: Arena Stage, 1990.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e \u003cextptr href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/theater/features/arena51205.htm\" title=\"Richards, David. 'For Arena Stage, a Pioneering Selection.' Washington Post. December 5, 1997\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e \u003c/p\u003e"],"bibliography_heading_ssm":["Bibliography"],"bibliography_tesim":[""," Maslon, Lawrence, editor. \"The Arena Adventure: The First 40 Years.\" Washington, DC: Arena Stage, 1990.",""],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eFrom its opening on August 16, 1950, the Arena Stage has dedicated itself to being a space of imagination and innovation, a tool of \"civilization,\" and Washington, D.C.'s preeminent regional theater. Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, the Arena Stage began as a for-profit theater under Arena Enterprises, Inc. The original Hippodrome Theatre, located on Ninth and New York N.W. in D.C., was revolutionary amongst regional theatres for its theatre-in-the-round construction and would provide the blueprint for all future Arena locations.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eArena began its long and successful life with Oliver Goldsmith's \u003citalic\u003eShe Stoops to Conquer.\u003c/italic\u003e Arena owed its early successes in the 1950s to its fluid play schedule organization and its willingness to put on works that were not commercial successes on Broadway. In November of 1956, after a year's hiatus, the company relocated to a temporary home at the Old Heurich Brewery, dubbed the Old Vat by company members. The move was facilitated in part by the commitment and drive of Board members J. Burke Knapp, Albert M. Berkowitz, Israel Convisser, Leslie Amouri, and Henry J. Danilowicz. However, financial issues would continue to trouble Arena Enterprises, Inc., eventually leading to its dissolution in 1959, and the creation of Arena's new, non-profit parent organization, the Washington Drama Society.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eDuring the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington since 1895. Chicago architect Harry Weese designed the space to be as innovative as possible while still maintaining the theater-in-the-round layout. Now a non-profit theater, Arena drew much of its funding during this time from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and generous donations from both the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundations.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe Arena Stage began some of its most ambitious work during the 1960s including forming the Living Stage Theatre Company, further integrating its cast, and staging its most ambitious and acclaimed work to date: \u003citalic\u003eThe Great White Hope.\u003c/italic\u003e \u003citalic\u003eThe Great White Hope\u003c/italic\u003e included twenty five additional guest actors, including James Earl Jones, and was an enormous success, both critically and financially, for Arena. It was the first major resident theater production to be exported to Broadway. Fichandler also began to experiment with casting African American actors in traditionally white roles during the 1968 season after she published the paper \"Towards a Deepening Aesthetic.\" Fichandler experimented with non-traditional casting in plays like \u003citalic\u003eKing Lear\u003c/italic\u003e and \u003citalic\u003eThe Threepenny Opera\u003c/italic\u003e, but unfortunately these plays were met with critical confusion and disappointing ticket sales. Arena Stage was incredibly successful in the 1970s, garnering awards and critical approval, and international recognition. Not content with the current Arena Stage configuration, Fichandler and others worked diligently to acquire another stage facility that would collaborate, not compete, with the current Stage. Generosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new Kreeger Theater which opened on January 15, 1971.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eIn 1973 Arena would have the opportunity to take two of its plays, \u003citalic\u003eOur Town\u003c/italic\u003e and \u003citalic\u003eInherit the Wind\u003c/italic\u003e to the U.S.S.R. This was the first ever trip to the Soviet Union undertaken by a resident theater group. The trip was a wild success with Russian audiences giving the cast a standing ovation following their performance of \u003citalic\u003eInherit the Wind\u003c/italic\u003e at the Moscow Art Theatre. In April 1976 the American Theatre Critics Association bestowed upon the Arena Stage a special Tony Award for resident theaters. The ATCA cited Arena's qualities as a \"trailblazer\" in theatrical arts and representative of other theaters that had followed its lead.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe early 1980s were a difficult time for theater, but, in spite of this, Arena continued to push the limits of conventional residential theater. The 1982 production of \u003citalic\u003eK2\u003c/italic\u003e, for example, saw the construction of a sheer glacial face on the Kreeger stage according to the vision of set designer Ming Cho Lee. In 1986 twenty-three actors and a thirteen member production staff traveled to Jerusalem to perform Zelda's production of \u003citalic\u003eThe Crucible\u003c/italic\u003e at the Israel Festival.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e1989 marked the end of an era as Zelda Fichandler announced that she would step down as Arena's producing director at the end of the 1990-1991 fortieth anniversary season. Douglas C. Wager would succeed her as artistic director. Amid financial difficulties and changing times for theaters everywhere, Arena's resident company of actors was disbanded by the late 1990s. Wager remained at the helm until 1998, when Molly Smith took over the position. Under Smith's leadership, Bing Thom architects completed another major renovation of Arena's existing buildings into the Mead Center for American Theater in 2010. Smith served as Arena's artistic director until 2023, when she retired and was succeeded by current Aristic Director, Hana Sharif.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eMany now-famous actors took part in Arena Stage productions during the early part of their careers. Some of them include Robert Prosky, Morgan Freeman, Dianne Wiest, James Earl Jones, Kevin Kline, Christopher Guest, Yeardley Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Ned Beatty, Jane Alexander, and Ron Perlman. Many other set designers, artists, costume designers, and technical workers owe their early success and experience to the Arena Stage.\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["From its opening on August 16, 1950, the Arena Stage has dedicated itself to being a space of imagination and innovation, a tool of \"civilization,\" and Washington, D.C.'s preeminent regional theater. Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, the Arena Stage began as a for-profit theater under Arena Enterprises, Inc. The original Hippodrome Theatre, located on Ninth and New York N.W. in D.C., was revolutionary amongst regional theatres for its theatre-in-the-round construction and would provide the blueprint for all future Arena locations.","Arena began its long and successful life with Oliver Goldsmith's  She Stoops to Conquer.  Arena owed its early successes in the 1950s to its fluid play schedule organization and its willingness to put on works that were not commercial successes on Broadway. In November of 1956, after a year's hiatus, the company relocated to a temporary home at the Old Heurich Brewery, dubbed the Old Vat by company members. The move was facilitated in part by the commitment and drive of Board members J. Burke Knapp, Albert M. Berkowitz, Israel Convisser, Leslie Amouri, and Henry J. Danilowicz. However, financial issues would continue to trouble Arena Enterprises, Inc., eventually leading to its dissolution in 1959, and the creation of Arena's new, non-profit parent organization, the Washington Drama Society.","During the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington since 1895. Chicago architect Harry Weese designed the space to be as innovative as possible while still maintaining the theater-in-the-round layout. Now a non-profit theater, Arena drew much of its funding during this time from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and generous donations from both the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundations.","The Arena Stage began some of its most ambitious work during the 1960s including forming the Living Stage Theatre Company, further integrating its cast, and staging its most ambitious and acclaimed work to date:  The Great White Hope. The Great White Hope  included twenty five additional guest actors, including James Earl Jones, and was an enormous success, both critically and financially, for Arena. It was the first major resident theater production to be exported to Broadway. Fichandler also began to experiment with casting African American actors in traditionally white roles during the 1968 season after she published the paper \"Towards a Deepening Aesthetic.\" Fichandler experimented with non-traditional casting in plays like  King Lear  and  The Threepenny Opera , but unfortunately these plays were met with critical confusion and disappointing ticket sales. Arena Stage was incredibly successful in the 1970s, garnering awards and critical approval, and international recognition. Not content with the current Arena Stage configuration, Fichandler and others worked diligently to acquire another stage facility that would collaborate, not compete, with the current Stage. Generosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new Kreeger Theater which opened on January 15, 1971.","In 1973 Arena would have the opportunity to take two of its plays,  Our Town  and  Inherit the Wind  to the U.S.S.R. This was the first ever trip to the Soviet Union undertaken by a resident theater group. The trip was a wild success with Russian audiences giving the cast a standing ovation following their performance of  Inherit the Wind  at the Moscow Art Theatre. In April 1976 the American Theatre Critics Association bestowed upon the Arena Stage a special Tony Award for resident theaters. The ATCA cited Arena's qualities as a \"trailblazer\" in theatrical arts and representative of other theaters that had followed its lead.","The early 1980s were a difficult time for theater, but, in spite of this, Arena continued to push the limits of conventional residential theater. The 1982 production of  K2 , for example, saw the construction of a sheer glacial face on the Kreeger stage according to the vision of set designer Ming Cho Lee. In 1986 twenty-three actors and a thirteen member production staff traveled to Jerusalem to perform Zelda's production of  The Crucible  at the Israel Festival.","1989 marked the end of an era as Zelda Fichandler announced that she would step down as Arena's producing director at the end of the 1990-1991 fortieth anniversary season. Douglas C. Wager would succeed her as artistic director. Amid financial difficulties and changing times for theaters everywhere, Arena's resident company of actors was disbanded by the late 1990s. Wager remained at the helm until 1998, when Molly Smith took over the position. Under Smith's leadership, Bing Thom architects completed another major renovation of Arena's existing buildings into the Mead Center for American Theater in 2010. Smith served as Arena's artistic director until 2023, when she retired and was succeeded by current Aristic Director, Hana Sharif.","Many now-famous actors took part in Arena Stage productions during the early part of their careers. Some of them include Robert Prosky, Morgan Freeman, Dianne Wiest, James Earl Jones, Kevin Kline, Christopher Guest, Yeardley Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Ned Beatty, Jane Alexander, and Ron Perlman. Many other set designers, artists, costume designers, and technical workers owe their early success and experience to the Arena Stage."],"phystech_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to film and audio reels, Betacam, or U-matic tapes contained in Series 5.2 and 5.3. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access.\u003c/p\u003e"],"phystech_heading_ssm":["Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements"],"phystech_tesim":["The Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to film and audio reels, Betacam, or U-matic tapes contained in Series 5.2 and 5.3. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eArena Stage records, C0017, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Arena Stage records, C0017, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eProcessed by Harvard Theatre Collection and George Mason University Special Collections Research Center staff. Reprocessed by Greta Suiter, Kerry Mitchell, Elizabeth Beckman, Diane Stancil, and Nick Welsh. EAD markup completed by Elizabeth Beckman in 2016. Finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in 2025.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["Processed by Harvard Theatre Collection and George Mason University Special Collections Research Center staff. Reprocessed by Greta Suiter, Kerry Mitchell, Elizabeth Beckman, Diane Stancil, and Nick Welsh. EAD markup completed by Elizabeth Beckman in 2016. Finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in 2025."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Special Collections Research Center holds the personal papers of several individuals involved with Arena Stage, including the Zelda Fichandler papers, the Thomas C. Fichandler papers, the Ken Kitch papers, as well as the Living Stage records.\u003c/p\u003e"],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Material"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["The Special Collections Research Center holds the personal papers of several individuals involved with Arena Stage, including the Zelda Fichandler papers, the Thomas C. Fichandler papers, the Ken Kitch papers, as well as the Living Stage records."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from 1949 to 2010, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records pertaining to the theater's finances, publicity, buildings, and programs.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries 1: Administrative records (1949-2007) documents the creation, operation, and maintenance of Arena Stage and its various programs. It is further divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 1.1: Correspondence includes correspondence arranged alphabetically by the correspondent's last name or by organizational name. Some correspondence is further aggregated and then organized alphabetically, such as \"Play Correspondence\" or \"Audience Response.\" Of particular note are letters from President Bill Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and King Kong star Fay Wray. Subseries 1.2: Programs, policies, and procedures, includes records of Arena's programs, such as the \"Arena Angels\" volunteer program and fellowship programs, policies, such as bylaws, diversity policies, and handbooks, and planning, including season planning and long-range plans. This subseries is broken up into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.3.1: Financial papers documents Arena's finances and includes stockholder documents from its beginnings as a for-profit theater, grant-related documentation after the theater transitioned to a non-profit in the late 1950s, and records of the theater's development office, some of which were kept by department director Elspeth Udvarhelyi. Sub-subseries 1.3.2: Personnel records includes information on staff at Arena Stage arranged alphabetically. Of particular interest are headshots and/or resumes of a number of well-known actors, including James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, Henry Winkler, Edward Hermann, Yeardley Smith, Jane Alexander, Swoosie Kurtz, Victor Garber, Ron Perlman, Annette Benning, Olympia Dukakis, John Lithgow, John Voigt, Sigourney Weaver, and Rosemary Harris. Sub-subseries 1.3.3: Casting information contains notes on casting for productions arranged alphabetically by play. Sub-subseries 1.3.4: Production contracts includes official agreements between Arena and others arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 1.4: Meeting minutes contains meeting minutes from Arena's Board of Trustees, staff, and other subgroups within the organization. Subseries 1.5: Communications and events, is also divided into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.5.1: Events documents special events held by Arena Stage, including anniversaries, galas, benefits, openings and press events. Sub-subseries 1.5.2: Communications and Marketing includes records produced by the Communications and Marketing departments, including meeting minutes, planning, research, and correspondence. Sub-subseries 1.5.3: Printed Material includes subscriber materials, mailings, brochures, reviews collected and arranged by play title, and programs organized chronologically. Sub-subseries 1.5.4: Theater Communications Group contains correspondence, reports, and other information generated from Arena's association with the Theater Communications Group, an organization of theaters around the United States. Subseries 1.6: Buildings and facilities includes information about and architectural plans for Arena's various buildings over the years, including the Hippodrome, the Old Vat, the 1960 permanent building, and the Kreeger Theater addition.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries 2: Production Files (1950-2010) is comprised of records related to the artistic development and performance of Arena's plays. It is divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 2.1: Dramaturgical files documents literary, historical and background research done by Arena's literary department for various plays, including articles, research packets, actor's packets, and scripts. It is generally organized alphabetically by play. Subseries 2.2: Playwright subject files contains research on various playwrights, both living and dead, whose work has been performed at Arena. It is organized alphabetically by playwright's last name. Subseries 2.3: Production files includes scripts, blocking information, correspondence, and other material related to the production of Arena's plays. It is arranged alphabetically by play title. Subseries 2.4: Stage manager's reports includes daily reports by the stage manager of productions for the entire runs of many of Arena's plays from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s. The reports include running times, incident reports, and other commentary on the audience and the performance. Subseries 2.5: Wrap files contains documents collected from throughout the runs of various productions, including reviews that reflect the wider response to the play. Subseries 2.6: Producing director's files contains documents from Arena's second Producing director after Zelda Fichandler, Doug Wager, who served from 1991-1998. It includes pre-production speeches given by Wager, as well as planning files.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries 3: Photographs (1950-1991)is divided into 3 subseries. Subseries 3.1: Production photographs includes photos of scenes from Arena's productions arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 3.2: Production books includes production photos collected in books, many of which are by professional photographer George de Vincent. Subseries 3.3: Buildings, staff, and events includes photographs of Arena's buildings, staff and cast portraits, and event photographs, such as prints from Arena's 30th anniversary celebration and from Arena's Soviet Union and Israel tours. Subseries 3.4: Negatives and slides includes slides and negatives of Arena's staff and events, as well as some buildings, sets, and production-related images.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries 4: Oversize (1949-late 2000s) is divided into 3 subseries and contains a variety of oversize material. Subseries 4.1: Braille programs contains programs in Braille for various Arena productions from the 1990s and early 2000s. Subseries 4.2: Miscellaneous artwork and programs includes posters from Arena productions and events, enlarged photos, costume sketches, and other oversized material, such as a large model of the Mead Center for American Theater. Subseries 4.3: Scrapbooks contains scrapbooks created for each of Arena's seasons up until 1988. It also includes scrapbooks for Arena's tour of the Soviet Union and of visitors to Arena.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries 5: Audiovisual (1970-2007) contains several types of formats and is divided into 3 subseries. Series 5.1: Performances on VHS contains VHS tapes (a few of which have associated DVDs) of performances at Arena arranged alphabetically by play title. Series 5.2: Reel-to-reel contains production and event footage on reel-to-reel film. Series 5.3: Other audiovisual formats and VHS tapes contains footage of events and productions on audiocassette, Betacam, and U-matic tapes. \u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from 1949 to 2010, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records pertaining to the theater's finances, publicity, buildings, and programs.","Series 1: Administrative records (1949-2007) documents the creation, operation, and maintenance of Arena Stage and its various programs. It is further divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 1.1: Correspondence includes correspondence arranged alphabetically by the correspondent's last name or by organizational name. Some correspondence is further aggregated and then organized alphabetically, such as \"Play Correspondence\" or \"Audience Response.\" Of particular note are letters from President Bill Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and King Kong star Fay Wray. Subseries 1.2: Programs, policies, and procedures, includes records of Arena's programs, such as the \"Arena Angels\" volunteer program and fellowship programs, policies, such as bylaws, diversity policies, and handbooks, and planning, including season planning and long-range plans. This subseries is broken up into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.3.1: Financial papers documents Arena's finances and includes stockholder documents from its beginnings as a for-profit theater, grant-related documentation after the theater transitioned to a non-profit in the late 1950s, and records of the theater's development office, some of which were kept by department director Elspeth Udvarhelyi. Sub-subseries 1.3.2: Personnel records includes information on staff at Arena Stage arranged alphabetically. Of particular interest are headshots and/or resumes of a number of well-known actors, including James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, Henry Winkler, Edward Hermann, Yeardley Smith, Jane Alexander, Swoosie Kurtz, Victor Garber, Ron Perlman, Annette Benning, Olympia Dukakis, John Lithgow, John Voigt, Sigourney Weaver, and Rosemary Harris. Sub-subseries 1.3.3: Casting information contains notes on casting for productions arranged alphabetically by play. Sub-subseries 1.3.4: Production contracts includes official agreements between Arena and others arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 1.4: Meeting minutes contains meeting minutes from Arena's Board of Trustees, staff, and other subgroups within the organization. Subseries 1.5: Communications and events, is also divided into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.5.1: Events documents special events held by Arena Stage, including anniversaries, galas, benefits, openings and press events. Sub-subseries 1.5.2: Communications and Marketing includes records produced by the Communications and Marketing departments, including meeting minutes, planning, research, and correspondence. Sub-subseries 1.5.3: Printed Material includes subscriber materials, mailings, brochures, reviews collected and arranged by play title, and programs organized chronologically. Sub-subseries 1.5.4: Theater Communications Group contains correspondence, reports, and other information generated from Arena's association with the Theater Communications Group, an organization of theaters around the United States. Subseries 1.6: Buildings and facilities includes information about and architectural plans for Arena's various buildings over the years, including the Hippodrome, the Old Vat, the 1960 permanent building, and the Kreeger Theater addition.","Series 2: Production Files (1950-2010) is comprised of records related to the artistic development and performance of Arena's plays. It is divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 2.1: Dramaturgical files documents literary, historical and background research done by Arena's literary department for various plays, including articles, research packets, actor's packets, and scripts. It is generally organized alphabetically by play. Subseries 2.2: Playwright subject files contains research on various playwrights, both living and dead, whose work has been performed at Arena. It is organized alphabetically by playwright's last name. Subseries 2.3: Production files includes scripts, blocking information, correspondence, and other material related to the production of Arena's plays. It is arranged alphabetically by play title. Subseries 2.4: Stage manager's reports includes daily reports by the stage manager of productions for the entire runs of many of Arena's plays from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s. The reports include running times, incident reports, and other commentary on the audience and the performance. Subseries 2.5: Wrap files contains documents collected from throughout the runs of various productions, including reviews that reflect the wider response to the play. Subseries 2.6: Producing director's files contains documents from Arena's second Producing director after Zelda Fichandler, Doug Wager, who served from 1991-1998. It includes pre-production speeches given by Wager, as well as planning files.","Series 3: Photographs (1950-1991)is divided into 3 subseries. Subseries 3.1: Production photographs includes photos of scenes from Arena's productions arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 3.2: Production books includes production photos collected in books, many of which are by professional photographer George de Vincent. Subseries 3.3: Buildings, staff, and events includes photographs of Arena's buildings, staff and cast portraits, and event photographs, such as prints from Arena's 30th anniversary celebration and from Arena's Soviet Union and Israel tours. Subseries 3.4: Negatives and slides includes slides and negatives of Arena's staff and events, as well as some buildings, sets, and production-related images.","Series 4: Oversize (1949-late 2000s) is divided into 3 subseries and contains a variety of oversize material. Subseries 4.1: Braille programs contains programs in Braille for various Arena productions from the 1990s and early 2000s. Subseries 4.2: Miscellaneous artwork and programs includes posters from Arena productions and events, enlarged photos, costume sketches, and other oversized material, such as a large model of the Mead Center for American Theater. Subseries 4.3: Scrapbooks contains scrapbooks created for each of Arena's seasons up until 1988. It also includes scrapbooks for Arena's tour of the Soviet Union and of visitors to Arena.","Series 5: Audiovisual (1970-2007) contains several types of formats and is divided into 3 subseries. Series 5.1: Performances on VHS contains VHS tapes (a few of which have associated DVDs) of performances at Arena arranged alphabetically by play title. Series 5.2: Reel-to-reel contains production and event footage on reel-to-reel film. Series 5.3: Other audiovisual formats and VHS tapes contains footage of events and productions on audiocassette, Betacam, and U-matic tapes. "],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)"],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_ec96c412f915842d3012676b73803163\" label=\"Abstract\"\u003eThe Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from its beginnings in 1950 to the present, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, handwritten correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from its beginnings in 1950 to the present, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, handwritten correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records."],"physloc_html_tesm":["\u003cphysloc id=\"aspace_22f8958322c3fdee6366a384bb686980\"\u003e\nR 5, C 1, S 2 - R 9, C 4, S 7 \n\n\nR29, C1, S2\n\nOS R 3, C 2, S 1 - C 3, S 7\nOS R 4, C 5, S 5 \nOS R 5, C 2, S 3\nOS R 5, C 5, S 4\nOS R 6, C 4, S 6 - S 7\nOS R 7, C 1, S 2\nMap Case 9.1, 11.5\u003c/physloc\u003e"],"physloc_tesim":["\nR 5, C 1, S 2 - R 9, C 4, S 7 \n\n\nR29, C1, S2\n\nOS R 3, C 2, S 1 - C 3, S 7\nOS R 4, C 5, S 5 \nOS R 5, C 2, S 3\nOS R 5, C 5, S 4\nOS R 6, C 4, S 6 - S 7\nOS R 7, C 1, S 2\nMap Case 9.1, 11.5"],"names_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)","Fichandler, Thomas C.","Fichandler, Zelda, 1924-2016"],"corpname_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"names_coll_ssim":["Fichandler, Thomas C.","Fichandler, Zelda, 1924-2016"],"persname_ssim":["Fichandler, Thomas C.","Fichandler, Zelda, 1924-2016"],"language_ssim":["English"],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":8332,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-01T00:23:25.700Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c03_c01_c416"}},{"id":"vifgm_arenastage_c02_c03_c1540","type":"File","attributes":{"title":"You Can't Take it With You  (1 of 2),","abstract_or_scope":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_arenastage_c02_c03_c1540#abstract_or_scope","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","label":"Abstract Or Scope"}},"breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_arenastage_c02_c03_c1540#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"vifgm_arenastage_c02_c03_c1540","ref_ssm":["vifgm_arenastage_c02_c03_c1540"],"id":"vifgm_arenastage_c02_c03_c1540","ead_ssi":"vifgm_arenastage","_root_":"vifgm_arenastage","_nest_parent_":"vifgm_arenastage_c02_c03","parent_ssi":"vifgm_arenastage_c02_c03","parent_ssim":["vifgm_arenastage","vifgm_arenastage_c02","vifgm_arenastage_c02_c03"],"parent_ids_ssim":["vifgm_arenastage","vifgm_arenastage_c02","vifgm_arenastage_c02_c03"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Arena Stage records","Series 2: Production files,","Subseries 2.3: Production files,"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Arena Stage records","Series 2: Production files,","Subseries 2.3: Production files,"],"text":["Arena Stage records","Series 2: Production files,","Subseries 2.3: Production files,","You Can't Take it With You  (1 of 2),","Box 527","Folder 5",""],"title_filing_ssi":"You Can't Take it With You  (1 of 2), \n","title_ssm":["You Can't Take it With You  (1 of 2), \n"],"title_tesim":["You Can't Take it With You  (1 of 2), \n"],"unitdate_other_ssim":["1979\n"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1979"],"normalized_title_ssm":["You Can't Take it With You  (1 of 2),"],"component_level_isim":[3],"repository_ssim":["George Mason University"],"collection_ssim":["Arena Stage records"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["File"],"level_ssim":["File"],"sort_isi":6345,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["Collection is open to research.  Some personnel records in Series 1 Subseries 3 Sub-subseries 2: Personnel, staff contain Social Security Numbers and must be screened by SCRC staff before researchers can view them."],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["There are no restrictions."],"date_range_isim":[1979],"containers_ssim":["Box 527","Folder 5"],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp/\u003e"],"scopecontent_tesim":[""],"_nest_path_":"/components#1/components#2/components#1539","timestamp":"2026-05-01T00:52:17.185Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"vifgm_arenastage","ead_ssi":"vifgm_arenastage","_root_":"vifgm_arenastage","_nest_parent_":"vifgm_arenastage","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/gmu/arenastage.xml","aspace_url_ssi":"http://sca.gmu.edu/finding_aids/arenastage.html","title_ssm":["Arena Stage records"],"title_tesim":["Arena Stage records"],"unitdate_ssm":["1949-2010"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1949-2010"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["C0017"],"text":["C0017","Arena Stage records","Theater--Washington (D.C.)","Photographic prints.","Sound recordings.","Video recordings.","Collection is open to research.  Some personnel records in Series 1 Subseries 3 Sub-subseries 2: Personnel, staff contain Social Security Numbers and must be screened by SCRC staff before researchers can view them.","The collection is arranged into five series, each of which is further divided into subseries:","Series 1: Administrative records, 1949-2007 (Boxes 1-196) Series 2: Production files, 1950-2010 (Boxes 197-588, 654-663) Series 3: Photographs, 1950-1991 (Boxes 589-639) Series 4: Oversize materials, 1949-late 2000s (Boxes 640-720) Series 5: Audiovisual materials, 1970-2007 (Boxes 721-739)",""," Maslon, Lawrence, editor. \"The Arena Adventure: The First 40 Years.\" Washington, DC: Arena Stage, 1990.","","From its opening on August 16, 1950, the Arena Stage has dedicated itself to being a space of imagination and innovation, a tool of \"civilization,\" and Washington, DC's preeminent regional theater.  Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, the Arena Stage began as a for profit theater under Arena Enterprises, Inc. The original Hippodrome Theatre, located on Ninth and New York N.W. in DC, was revolutionary amongst regional theatres for its theatre-in-the-round construction and would provide the blueprint for all future Arena locations.","Arena began its long and successful life with Oliver Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer. Arena owed its early successes in the 1950s to its fluid play schedule organization and its willingness to put on works that were not commercial successes on Broadway. In November of 1956, after a year's hiatus, the company relocated to a temporary home at the Old Heurich Brewery, dubbed the Old Vat by company members. The move was facilitated in part by the commitment and drive of Board members J. Burke Knapp, Albert M. Berkowitz, Israel Convisser, Leslie Amouri, and Henry J. Danilowicz. However, financial issues would continue to trouble Arena Enterprises, Inc., eventually leading to its dissolution in 1959, and the creation of Arena's new, non-profit parent organization, the Washington Drama Society.","During the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington since 1895. Chicago architect Harry Weese designed the space to be as innovative as possible while still maintaining the theater-in-the-round layout. Now a non-profit theater, Arena drew much of its funding during this time from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and generous donations from both the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundations.","The Arena Stage began some of its most ambitious work during the 1960s including forming the Living Stage Theater Company, further integrating its cast, and staging its most ambitious and acclaimed work to date: The Great White Hope. The Great White Hope included twenty five additional guest actors, including James Earl Jones, and was an enormous success, both critically and financially, for Arena. It was the first major resident theater production to be exported to Broadway. Fichandler also began to experiment with casting African-American actors in traditionally white roles during the 1968 season after she published the paper \"Towards a Deepening Aesthetic\". Fichandler experimented with non-traditional casting in plays like King Lear and The Threepenny Opera, but unfortunately these plays were met with critical confusion and disappointing ticket sales. Arena Stage was incredibly successful in the 1970s, garnering awards and critical approval, and international recognition. Not content with the current Arena Stage configuration, Fichandler and others worked diligently to acquire another stage facility that would collaborate, not compete, with the current Stage. Generosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new Kreeger Theater which opened on January 15, 1971.","In 1973 Arena would have the opportunity to take two of its plays, Our Town and Inherit the Wind to the USSR. This was the first ever trip to the Soviet Union undertaken by a resident theater group. The trip was a wild success with Russian audiences giving the cast a standing ovation following their performance of Inherit the Wind at the Moscow Art Theatre. In April 1976 the American Theatre Critics Association bestowed upon the Arena Stage a special Tony Award for resident theaters. The ATCA cited Arena's qualities as a \"trailblazer\" in theatrical arts and representative of other theaters that had followed its lead.","The early 1980s were a difficult time for theater, but, in spite of this, Arena continued to push the limits of conventional residential theater. The 1982 production of K2, for example, saw the construction of a sheer glacial face on the Kreeger stage according to the vision of set designer Ming Cho Lee. In 1986 twenty-three actors and a thirteen member production staff traveled to Jerusalem to perform Zelda's production of The Crucible at the Israel Festival.","1989 marked the end of an era as Zelda Fichandler announced that she would step down as Arena's producing director at the end of the 1990-1991 fortieth anniversary season. Douglas C. Wager would succeed her as artistic director. Amid financial difficulties and changing times for theaters everywhere, Arena's resident company of actors was disbanded by the late 1990s. Wager remained at the helm until 1998, when Molly Smith took over the position. Under Smith's leadership, Bing Thom architects completed another major renovation of Arena's existing buildings into the Mead Center for American Theater in 2010. Smith is still Arena's artistic director as of 2016.","Many now-famous actors took part in Arena Stage productions during the early part of their careers. Some of them include Robert Prosky, Morgan Freeman, Dianne Weist, James Earl Jones, Kevin Kline, Christopher Guest, Yeardley Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Ned Beatty, Jane Alexander, and Ron Perlman. Many other set designers, artists, costume designers, and technical workers owe their early success and experience to the Arena Stage.","The Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to watch reel-to-reel film and audio, Betacam, or U-matic tapes contained in Series 5.2 and 5.3. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access.","Processed by Harvard Theatre Collection and George Mason University Special Collections and Archives staff. Reprocessed by Greta Suiter, Kerry Mitchell, Elizabeth Beckman, Diane Stancil, and Nick Welsh.  EAD markup completed by Elizabeth Beckman in 2016.","Special Collections and Archives holds several collections of personal papers of individuals involved with Arena Stage, including the Zelda Fichandler papers, the Thomas Fichandler papers, and the Ken Kitch papers, as well as the Living Stage Theater Company collection and many other theater collections.","The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from 1949 to 2010, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records pertaining to the theater's finances, publicity, buildings, and programs.","Series 1: Administrative records (1949-2007) documents the creation, operation, and maintenance of Arena Stage and its various programs. It is further divided into 6 subseries.  Subseries 1.1: Correspondence includes correspondence arranged alphabetically by the correspondent's last name or by organizational name. Some correspondence is further aggregated and then organized alphabetically, such as \"Play Correspondence\" or \"Audience Response.\" Of particular note are letters from President Bill Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and King Kong star Fay Wray.  Subseries 1.2: Programs, policies, and procedures, includes records of Arena's programs, such as the \"Arena Angels\" volunteer program and fellowship programs, policies, such as bylaws, diversity policies, and handbooks, and planning, including season planning and long-range plans.  This subseries is broken up into four sub-subseries.  Sub-subseries 1.3.1: Financial papers documents Arena's finances and includes stockholder documents from its beginnings as a for-profit theater, grant-related documentation after the theater transitioned to a non-profit in the late 1950s, and records of the theater's development office, some of which were kept by department director Elspeth Udvarhelyi.  Sub-subseries 1.3.2: Personnel records includes information on staff at Arena Stage arranged alphabetically.  Of particular interest are headshots and/or resumes of a number of well-known actors, including James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, Henry Winkler, Edward Hermann, Yeardley Smith, Jane Alexander, Swoosie Kurtz, Victor Garber, Ron Perlman, Annette Benning, Olympia Dukakis, John Lithgow, John Voigt, Sigourney Weaver, and Rosemary Harris.  Sub-subseries 1.3.3: Casting information contains notes on casting for productions arranged alphabetically by play.  Sub-subseries 1.3.4: Production contracts includes official agreements between Arena and others arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 1.4: Meeting minutes contains meeting minutes from Arena's Board of Trustees, staff, and other subgroups within the organization. Subseries 1.5: Communications and events, is also divided into four sub-subseries.  Sub-subseries 1.5.1: Events documents special events held by Arena Stage, including anniversaries, galas, benefits, openings and press events.  Sub-subseries 1.5.2: Communications and Marketing includes records produced by the Communications and Marketing departments, including meeting minutes, planning, research, and correspondence.  Sub-subseries 1.5.3: Printed Material includes subscriber materials, mailings, brochures, reviews collected and arranged by play title, and programs organized chronologically.  Sub-subseries 1.5.4: Theater Communications Group contains correspondence, reports, and other information generated from Arena's association with the Theater Communications Group, an organization of theaters around the United States.  Subseries 1.6: Buildings and facilities includes information about and architectural plans for Arena's various buildings over the years, including the Hippodrome, the Old Vat, the 1960 permanent building, and the Kreeger Theater addition.","Series 2: Production Files (1950-2010) is comprised of records related to the artistic development and performance of Arena's plays.  It is divided into 6 subseries.  Subseries 2.1: Dramaturgical files documents literary, historical and background research done by Arena's literary department for various plays, including articles, research packets, actor's packets, and scripts.  It is generally organized alphabetically by play.  Subseries 2.2: Playwright subject files contains research on various playwrights, both living and dead, whose work has been performed at Arena.  It is organized alphabetically by playwright's last name. Subseries 2.3: Production files includes scripts, blocking information, correspondence, and other material related to the production of Arena's plays.  It is arranged alphabetically by play title.  Subseries 2.4: Stage manager's reports includes daily reports by the stage manager of productions for the entire runs of many of Arena's plays from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s.  The reports include running times, incident reports, and other commentary on the audience and the performance.  Subseries 2.5: Wrap files contains documents collected from throughout the runs of various productions, including reviews that reflect the wider response to the play.  Subseries 2.6: Producing director's files contains documents from Arena's second Producing director after Zelda Fichandler, Doug Wager, who served from 1991-1998.  It includes pre-production speeches given by Wager, as well as planning files.","Series 3: Photographs (1950-1991)is divided into 3 subseries.  Subseries 3.1: Production photographs includes photos of scenes from Arena's productions arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 3.2: Production books includes production photos collected in books, many of which are by professional photographer George de Vincent. Subseries 3.3: Buildings, staff, and events includes photographs of Arena's buildings, staff and cast portraits, and event photographs, such as prints from Arena's 30th anniversary celebration and from Arena's Soviet Union and Israel tours.  Subseries 3.4: Negatives and slides includes slides and negatives of Arena's staff and events, as well as some buildings, sets, and production-related images.","Series 4: Oversize (1949-late 2000s) is divided into 3 subseries and contains a variety of oversize material.  Subseries 4.1: Braille programs contains programs in Braille for various Arena productions from the 1990s and early 2000s.  Subseries 4.2: Miscellaneous artwork and programs includes posters from Arena productions and events, enlarged photos, costume sketches, and other oversized material, such as a large model of the Mead Center for American Theater.  Subseries 4.3: Scrapbooks contains scrapbooks created for each of Arena's seasons up until 1988.  It also includes scrapbooks for Arena's tour of the Soviet Union and of visitors to Arena.","Series 5: Audiovisual (1970-2007) contains several types of formats and is divided into 3 subseries.  Series 5.1: Performances on VHS contains VHS tapes (a few of which have associated DVDs) of performances at Arena arranged alphabetically by play title.  Series 5.2: Reel-to-reel contains production and event footage on reel-to-reel film.  Series 5.3: Other audiovisual formats and VHS tapes contains footage of events and productions on audiocassette, Betacam, and U-matic tapes.  ","There are no restrictions.","The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from its beginnings in 1950 to the present, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, handwritten correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records.","George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center.","Arena Stage","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)","English\n            "],"unitid_tesim":["C0017"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Arena Stage records"],"collection_title_tesim":["Arena Stage records"],"collection_ssim":["Arena Stage records"],"repository_ssm":["George Mason University"],"repository_ssim":["George Mason University"],"creator_ssm":["Arena Stage"],"creator_ssim":["Arena Stage"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["Arena Stage"],"creators_ssim":["Arena Stage"],"access_terms_ssm":["There are no restrictions."],"acqinfo_ssim":["Donated by Arena Stage in 2000-2011."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Theater--Washington (D.C.)","Photographic prints.","Sound recordings.","Video recordings."],"access_subjects_ssm":["Theater--Washington (D.C.)","Photographic prints.","Sound recordings.","Video recordings."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["739 boxes"],"extent_tesim":["739 boxes"],"date_range_isim":[1949,1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCollection is open to research.  Some personnel records in Series 1 Subseries 3 Sub-subseries 2: Personnel, staff contain Social Security Numbers and must be screened by SCRC staff before researchers can view them.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access Restrictions"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["Collection is open to research.  Some personnel records in Series 1 Subseries 3 Sub-subseries 2: Personnel, staff contain Social Security Numbers and must be screened by SCRC staff before researchers can view them."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is arranged into five series, each of which is further divided into subseries:\u003c/p\u003e","\u003clist type=\"ordered\"\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eSeries 1: Administrative records, 1949-2007 (Boxes 1-196)\u003c/item\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eSeries 2: Production files, 1950-2010 (Boxes 197-588, 654-663)\u003c/item\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eSeries 3: Photographs, 1950-1991 (Boxes 589-639)\u003c/item\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eSeries 4: Oversize materials, 1949-late 2000s (Boxes 640-720)\u003c/item\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eSeries 5: Audiovisual materials, 1970-2007 (Boxes 721-739)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/list\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The collection is arranged into five series, each of which is further divided into subseries:","Series 1: Administrative records, 1949-2007 (Boxes 1-196) Series 2: Production files, 1950-2010 (Boxes 197-588, 654-663) Series 3: Photographs, 1950-1991 (Boxes 589-639) Series 4: Oversize materials, 1949-late 2000s (Boxes 640-720) Series 5: Audiovisual materials, 1970-2007 (Boxes 721-739)"],"bibliography_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\n        \u003cextptr type=\"simple\" title=\"'Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater.' Arena Stage. Accessed February 3, 2016.\" show=\"new\" href=\"http://www.arenastage.org/plan-your-visit/the-mead-center/\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e\n      \u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e Maslon, Lawrence, editor. \"The Arena Adventure: The First 40 Years.\" Washington, DC: Arena Stage, 1990.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e\n        \u003cextptr type=\"simple\" title=\"Richards, David. 'For Arena Stage, a Pioneering Selection.' Washington Post. December 5, 1997\" show=\"new\" href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/theater/features/arena51205.htm\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e\n      \u003c/p\u003e"],"bibliography_heading_ssm":["Bibliography"],"bibliography_tesim":[""," Maslon, Lawrence, editor. \"The Arena Adventure: The First 40 Years.\" Washington, DC: Arena Stage, 1990.",""],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eFrom its opening on August 16, 1950, the Arena Stage has dedicated itself to being a space of imagination and innovation, a tool of \"civilization,\" and Washington, DC's preeminent regional theater.  Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, the Arena Stage began as a for profit theater under Arena Enterprises, Inc. The original Hippodrome Theatre, located on Ninth and New York N.W. in DC, was revolutionary amongst regional theatres for its theatre-in-the-round construction and would provide the blueprint for all future Arena locations.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eArena began its long and successful life with Oliver Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer. Arena owed its early successes in the 1950s to its fluid play schedule organization and its willingness to put on works that were not commercial successes on Broadway. In November of 1956, after a year's hiatus, the company relocated to a temporary home at the Old Heurich Brewery, dubbed the Old Vat by company members. The move was facilitated in part by the commitment and drive of Board members J. Burke Knapp, Albert M. Berkowitz, Israel Convisser, Leslie Amouri, and Henry J. Danilowicz. However, financial issues would continue to trouble Arena Enterprises, Inc., eventually leading to its dissolution in 1959, and the creation of Arena's new, non-profit parent organization, the Washington Drama Society.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eDuring the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington since 1895. Chicago architect Harry Weese designed the space to be as innovative as possible while still maintaining the theater-in-the-round layout. Now a non-profit theater, Arena drew much of its funding during this time from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and generous donations from both the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundations.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe Arena Stage began some of its most ambitious work during the 1960s including forming the Living Stage Theater Company, further integrating its cast, and staging its most ambitious and acclaimed work to date: The Great White Hope. The Great White Hope included twenty five additional guest actors, including James Earl Jones, and was an enormous success, both critically and financially, for Arena. It was the first major resident theater production to be exported to Broadway. Fichandler also began to experiment with casting African-American actors in traditionally white roles during the 1968 season after she published the paper \"Towards a Deepening Aesthetic\". Fichandler experimented with non-traditional casting in plays like King Lear and The Threepenny Opera, but unfortunately these plays were met with critical confusion and disappointing ticket sales. Arena Stage was incredibly successful in the 1970s, garnering awards and critical approval, and international recognition. Not content with the current Arena Stage configuration, Fichandler and others worked diligently to acquire another stage facility that would collaborate, not compete, with the current Stage. Generosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new Kreeger Theater which opened on January 15, 1971.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn 1973 Arena would have the opportunity to take two of its plays, Our Town and Inherit the Wind to the USSR. This was the first ever trip to the Soviet Union undertaken by a resident theater group. The trip was a wild success with Russian audiences giving the cast a standing ovation following their performance of Inherit the Wind at the Moscow Art Theatre. In April 1976 the American Theatre Critics Association bestowed upon the Arena Stage a special Tony Award for resident theaters. The ATCA cited Arena's qualities as a \"trailblazer\" in theatrical arts and representative of other theaters that had followed its lead.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe early 1980s were a difficult time for theater, but, in spite of this, Arena continued to push the limits of conventional residential theater. The 1982 production of K2, for example, saw the construction of a sheer glacial face on the Kreeger stage according to the vision of set designer Ming Cho Lee. In 1986 twenty-three actors and a thirteen member production staff traveled to Jerusalem to perform Zelda's production of The Crucible at the Israel Festival.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e1989 marked the end of an era as Zelda Fichandler announced that she would step down as Arena's producing director at the end of the 1990-1991 fortieth anniversary season. Douglas C. Wager would succeed her as artistic director. Amid financial difficulties and changing times for theaters everywhere, Arena's resident company of actors was disbanded by the late 1990s. Wager remained at the helm until 1998, when Molly Smith took over the position. Under Smith's leadership, Bing Thom architects completed another major renovation of Arena's existing buildings into the Mead Center for American Theater in 2010. Smith is still Arena's artistic director as of 2016.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMany now-famous actors took part in Arena Stage productions during the early part of their careers. Some of them include Robert Prosky, Morgan Freeman, Dianne Weist, James Earl Jones, Kevin Kline, Christopher Guest, Yeardley Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Ned Beatty, Jane Alexander, and Ron Perlman. Many other set designers, artists, costume designers, and technical workers owe their early success and experience to the Arena Stage.\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["From its opening on August 16, 1950, the Arena Stage has dedicated itself to being a space of imagination and innovation, a tool of \"civilization,\" and Washington, DC's preeminent regional theater.  Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, the Arena Stage began as a for profit theater under Arena Enterprises, Inc. The original Hippodrome Theatre, located on Ninth and New York N.W. in DC, was revolutionary amongst regional theatres for its theatre-in-the-round construction and would provide the blueprint for all future Arena locations.","Arena began its long and successful life with Oliver Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer. Arena owed its early successes in the 1950s to its fluid play schedule organization and its willingness to put on works that were not commercial successes on Broadway. In November of 1956, after a year's hiatus, the company relocated to a temporary home at the Old Heurich Brewery, dubbed the Old Vat by company members. The move was facilitated in part by the commitment and drive of Board members J. Burke Knapp, Albert M. Berkowitz, Israel Convisser, Leslie Amouri, and Henry J. Danilowicz. However, financial issues would continue to trouble Arena Enterprises, Inc., eventually leading to its dissolution in 1959, and the creation of Arena's new, non-profit parent organization, the Washington Drama Society.","During the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington since 1895. Chicago architect Harry Weese designed the space to be as innovative as possible while still maintaining the theater-in-the-round layout. Now a non-profit theater, Arena drew much of its funding during this time from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and generous donations from both the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundations.","The Arena Stage began some of its most ambitious work during the 1960s including forming the Living Stage Theater Company, further integrating its cast, and staging its most ambitious and acclaimed work to date: The Great White Hope. The Great White Hope included twenty five additional guest actors, including James Earl Jones, and was an enormous success, both critically and financially, for Arena. It was the first major resident theater production to be exported to Broadway. Fichandler also began to experiment with casting African-American actors in traditionally white roles during the 1968 season after she published the paper \"Towards a Deepening Aesthetic\". Fichandler experimented with non-traditional casting in plays like King Lear and The Threepenny Opera, but unfortunately these plays were met with critical confusion and disappointing ticket sales. Arena Stage was incredibly successful in the 1970s, garnering awards and critical approval, and international recognition. Not content with the current Arena Stage configuration, Fichandler and others worked diligently to acquire another stage facility that would collaborate, not compete, with the current Stage. Generosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new Kreeger Theater which opened on January 15, 1971.","In 1973 Arena would have the opportunity to take two of its plays, Our Town and Inherit the Wind to the USSR. This was the first ever trip to the Soviet Union undertaken by a resident theater group. The trip was a wild success with Russian audiences giving the cast a standing ovation following their performance of Inherit the Wind at the Moscow Art Theatre. In April 1976 the American Theatre Critics Association bestowed upon the Arena Stage a special Tony Award for resident theaters. The ATCA cited Arena's qualities as a \"trailblazer\" in theatrical arts and representative of other theaters that had followed its lead.","The early 1980s were a difficult time for theater, but, in spite of this, Arena continued to push the limits of conventional residential theater. The 1982 production of K2, for example, saw the construction of a sheer glacial face on the Kreeger stage according to the vision of set designer Ming Cho Lee. In 1986 twenty-three actors and a thirteen member production staff traveled to Jerusalem to perform Zelda's production of The Crucible at the Israel Festival.","1989 marked the end of an era as Zelda Fichandler announced that she would step down as Arena's producing director at the end of the 1990-1991 fortieth anniversary season. Douglas C. Wager would succeed her as artistic director. Amid financial difficulties and changing times for theaters everywhere, Arena's resident company of actors was disbanded by the late 1990s. Wager remained at the helm until 1998, when Molly Smith took over the position. Under Smith's leadership, Bing Thom architects completed another major renovation of Arena's existing buildings into the Mead Center for American Theater in 2010. Smith is still Arena's artistic director as of 2016.","Many now-famous actors took part in Arena Stage productions during the early part of their careers. Some of them include Robert Prosky, Morgan Freeman, Dianne Weist, James Earl Jones, Kevin Kline, Christopher Guest, Yeardley Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Ned Beatty, Jane Alexander, and Ron Perlman. Many other set designers, artists, costume designers, and technical workers owe their early success and experience to the Arena Stage."],"phystech_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to watch reel-to-reel film and audio, Betacam, or U-matic tapes contained in Series 5.2 and 5.3. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access.\u003c/p\u003e"],"phystech_heading_ssm":["Technical Requirements"],"phystech_tesim":["The Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to watch reel-to-reel film and audio, Betacam, or U-matic tapes contained in Series 5.2 and 5.3. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eArena Stage records, C0017, Special Collections and Archives, George Mason University Libraries.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Arena Stage records, C0017, Special Collections and Archives, George Mason University Libraries."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eProcessed by Harvard Theatre Collection and George Mason University Special Collections and Archives staff. Reprocessed by Greta Suiter, Kerry Mitchell, Elizabeth Beckman, Diane Stancil, and Nick Welsh.  EAD markup completed by Elizabeth Beckman in 2016.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["Processed by Harvard Theatre Collection and George Mason University Special Collections and Archives staff. Reprocessed by Greta Suiter, Kerry Mitchell, Elizabeth Beckman, Diane Stancil, and Nick Welsh.  EAD markup completed by Elizabeth Beckman in 2016."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSpecial Collections and Archives holds several collections of personal papers of individuals involved with Arena Stage, including the Zelda Fichandler papers, the Thomas Fichandler papers, and the Ken Kitch papers, as well as the Living Stage Theater Company collection and many other theater collections.\u003c/p\u003e"],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Material"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["Special Collections and Archives holds several collections of personal papers of individuals involved with Arena Stage, including the Zelda Fichandler papers, the Thomas Fichandler papers, and the Ken Kitch papers, as well as the Living Stage Theater Company collection and many other theater collections."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from 1949 to 2010, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records pertaining to the theater's finances, publicity, buildings, and programs.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSeries 1: Administrative records (1949-2007) documents the creation, operation, and maintenance of Arena Stage and its various programs. It is further divided into 6 subseries.  Subseries 1.1: Correspondence includes correspondence arranged alphabetically by the correspondent's last name or by organizational name. Some correspondence is further aggregated and then organized alphabetically, such as \"Play Correspondence\" or \"Audience Response.\" Of particular note are letters from President Bill Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and King Kong star Fay Wray.  Subseries 1.2: Programs, policies, and procedures, includes records of Arena's programs, such as the \"Arena Angels\" volunteer program and fellowship programs, policies, such as bylaws, diversity policies, and handbooks, and planning, including season planning and long-range plans.  This subseries is broken up into four sub-subseries.  Sub-subseries 1.3.1: Financial papers documents Arena's finances and includes stockholder documents from its beginnings as a for-profit theater, grant-related documentation after the theater transitioned to a non-profit in the late 1950s, and records of the theater's development office, some of which were kept by department director Elspeth Udvarhelyi.  Sub-subseries 1.3.2: Personnel records includes information on staff at Arena Stage arranged alphabetically.  Of particular interest are headshots and/or resumes of a number of well-known actors, including James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, Henry Winkler, Edward Hermann, Yeardley Smith, Jane Alexander, Swoosie Kurtz, Victor Garber, Ron Perlman, Annette Benning, Olympia Dukakis, John Lithgow, John Voigt, Sigourney Weaver, and Rosemary Harris.  Sub-subseries 1.3.3: Casting information contains notes on casting for productions arranged alphabetically by play.  Sub-subseries 1.3.4: Production contracts includes official agreements between Arena and others arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 1.4: Meeting minutes contains meeting minutes from Arena's Board of Trustees, staff, and other subgroups within the organization. Subseries 1.5: Communications and events, is also divided into four sub-subseries.  Sub-subseries 1.5.1: Events documents special events held by Arena Stage, including anniversaries, galas, benefits, openings and press events.  Sub-subseries 1.5.2: Communications and Marketing includes records produced by the Communications and Marketing departments, including meeting minutes, planning, research, and correspondence.  Sub-subseries 1.5.3: Printed Material includes subscriber materials, mailings, brochures, reviews collected and arranged by play title, and programs organized chronologically.  Sub-subseries 1.5.4: Theater Communications Group contains correspondence, reports, and other information generated from Arena's association with the Theater Communications Group, an organization of theaters around the United States.  Subseries 1.6: Buildings and facilities includes information about and architectural plans for Arena's various buildings over the years, including the Hippodrome, the Old Vat, the 1960 permanent building, and the Kreeger Theater addition.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSeries 2: Production Files (1950-2010) is comprised of records related to the artistic development and performance of Arena's plays.  It is divided into 6 subseries.  Subseries 2.1: Dramaturgical files documents literary, historical and background research done by Arena's literary department for various plays, including articles, research packets, actor's packets, and scripts.  It is generally organized alphabetically by play.  Subseries 2.2: Playwright subject files contains research on various playwrights, both living and dead, whose work has been performed at Arena.  It is organized alphabetically by playwright's last name. Subseries 2.3: Production files includes scripts, blocking information, correspondence, and other material related to the production of Arena's plays.  It is arranged alphabetically by play title.  Subseries 2.4: Stage manager's reports includes daily reports by the stage manager of productions for the entire runs of many of Arena's plays from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s.  The reports include running times, incident reports, and other commentary on the audience and the performance.  Subseries 2.5: Wrap files contains documents collected from throughout the runs of various productions, including reviews that reflect the wider response to the play.  Subseries 2.6: Producing director's files contains documents from Arena's second Producing director after Zelda Fichandler, Doug Wager, who served from 1991-1998.  It includes pre-production speeches given by Wager, as well as planning files.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSeries 3: Photographs (1950-1991)is divided into 3 subseries.  Subseries 3.1: Production photographs includes photos of scenes from Arena's productions arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 3.2: Production books includes production photos collected in books, many of which are by professional photographer George de Vincent. Subseries 3.3: Buildings, staff, and events includes photographs of Arena's buildings, staff and cast portraits, and event photographs, such as prints from Arena's 30th anniversary celebration and from Arena's Soviet Union and Israel tours.  Subseries 3.4: Negatives and slides includes slides and negatives of Arena's staff and events, as well as some buildings, sets, and production-related images.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSeries 4: Oversize (1949-late 2000s) is divided into 3 subseries and contains a variety of oversize material.  Subseries 4.1: Braille programs contains programs in Braille for various Arena productions from the 1990s and early 2000s.  Subseries 4.2: Miscellaneous artwork and programs includes posters from Arena productions and events, enlarged photos, costume sketches, and other oversized material, such as a large model of the Mead Center for American Theater.  Subseries 4.3: Scrapbooks contains scrapbooks created for each of Arena's seasons up until 1988.  It also includes scrapbooks for Arena's tour of the Soviet Union and of visitors to Arena.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSeries 5: Audiovisual (1970-2007) contains several types of formats and is divided into 3 subseries.  Series 5.1: Performances on VHS contains VHS tapes (a few of which have associated DVDs) of performances at Arena arranged alphabetically by play title.  Series 5.2: Reel-to-reel contains production and event footage on reel-to-reel film.  Series 5.3: Other audiovisual formats and VHS tapes contains footage of events and productions on audiocassette, Betacam, and U-matic tapes.  \u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from 1949 to 2010, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records pertaining to the theater's finances, publicity, buildings, and programs.","Series 1: Administrative records (1949-2007) documents the creation, operation, and maintenance of Arena Stage and its various programs. It is further divided into 6 subseries.  Subseries 1.1: Correspondence includes correspondence arranged alphabetically by the correspondent's last name or by organizational name. Some correspondence is further aggregated and then organized alphabetically, such as \"Play Correspondence\" or \"Audience Response.\" Of particular note are letters from President Bill Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and King Kong star Fay Wray.  Subseries 1.2: Programs, policies, and procedures, includes records of Arena's programs, such as the \"Arena Angels\" volunteer program and fellowship programs, policies, such as bylaws, diversity policies, and handbooks, and planning, including season planning and long-range plans.  This subseries is broken up into four sub-subseries.  Sub-subseries 1.3.1: Financial papers documents Arena's finances and includes stockholder documents from its beginnings as a for-profit theater, grant-related documentation after the theater transitioned to a non-profit in the late 1950s, and records of the theater's development office, some of which were kept by department director Elspeth Udvarhelyi.  Sub-subseries 1.3.2: Personnel records includes information on staff at Arena Stage arranged alphabetically.  Of particular interest are headshots and/or resumes of a number of well-known actors, including James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, Henry Winkler, Edward Hermann, Yeardley Smith, Jane Alexander, Swoosie Kurtz, Victor Garber, Ron Perlman, Annette Benning, Olympia Dukakis, John Lithgow, John Voigt, Sigourney Weaver, and Rosemary Harris.  Sub-subseries 1.3.3: Casting information contains notes on casting for productions arranged alphabetically by play.  Sub-subseries 1.3.4: Production contracts includes official agreements between Arena and others arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 1.4: Meeting minutes contains meeting minutes from Arena's Board of Trustees, staff, and other subgroups within the organization. Subseries 1.5: Communications and events, is also divided into four sub-subseries.  Sub-subseries 1.5.1: Events documents special events held by Arena Stage, including anniversaries, galas, benefits, openings and press events.  Sub-subseries 1.5.2: Communications and Marketing includes records produced by the Communications and Marketing departments, including meeting minutes, planning, research, and correspondence.  Sub-subseries 1.5.3: Printed Material includes subscriber materials, mailings, brochures, reviews collected and arranged by play title, and programs organized chronologically.  Sub-subseries 1.5.4: Theater Communications Group contains correspondence, reports, and other information generated from Arena's association with the Theater Communications Group, an organization of theaters around the United States.  Subseries 1.6: Buildings and facilities includes information about and architectural plans for Arena's various buildings over the years, including the Hippodrome, the Old Vat, the 1960 permanent building, and the Kreeger Theater addition.","Series 2: Production Files (1950-2010) is comprised of records related to the artistic development and performance of Arena's plays.  It is divided into 6 subseries.  Subseries 2.1: Dramaturgical files documents literary, historical and background research done by Arena's literary department for various plays, including articles, research packets, actor's packets, and scripts.  It is generally organized alphabetically by play.  Subseries 2.2: Playwright subject files contains research on various playwrights, both living and dead, whose work has been performed at Arena.  It is organized alphabetically by playwright's last name. Subseries 2.3: Production files includes scripts, blocking information, correspondence, and other material related to the production of Arena's plays.  It is arranged alphabetically by play title.  Subseries 2.4: Stage manager's reports includes daily reports by the stage manager of productions for the entire runs of many of Arena's plays from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s.  The reports include running times, incident reports, and other commentary on the audience and the performance.  Subseries 2.5: Wrap files contains documents collected from throughout the runs of various productions, including reviews that reflect the wider response to the play.  Subseries 2.6: Producing director's files contains documents from Arena's second Producing director after Zelda Fichandler, Doug Wager, who served from 1991-1998.  It includes pre-production speeches given by Wager, as well as planning files.","Series 3: Photographs (1950-1991)is divided into 3 subseries.  Subseries 3.1: Production photographs includes photos of scenes from Arena's productions arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 3.2: Production books includes production photos collected in books, many of which are by professional photographer George de Vincent. Subseries 3.3: Buildings, staff, and events includes photographs of Arena's buildings, staff and cast portraits, and event photographs, such as prints from Arena's 30th anniversary celebration and from Arena's Soviet Union and Israel tours.  Subseries 3.4: Negatives and slides includes slides and negatives of Arena's staff and events, as well as some buildings, sets, and production-related images.","Series 4: Oversize (1949-late 2000s) is divided into 3 subseries and contains a variety of oversize material.  Subseries 4.1: Braille programs contains programs in Braille for various Arena productions from the 1990s and early 2000s.  Subseries 4.2: Miscellaneous artwork and programs includes posters from Arena productions and events, enlarged photos, costume sketches, and other oversized material, such as a large model of the Mead Center for American Theater.  Subseries 4.3: Scrapbooks contains scrapbooks created for each of Arena's seasons up until 1988.  It also includes scrapbooks for Arena's tour of the Soviet Union and of visitors to Arena.","Series 5: Audiovisual (1970-2007) contains several types of formats and is divided into 3 subseries.  Series 5.1: Performances on VHS contains VHS tapes (a few of which have associated DVDs) of performances at Arena arranged alphabetically by play title.  Series 5.2: Reel-to-reel contains production and event footage on reel-to-reel film.  Series 5.3: Other audiovisual formats and VHS tapes contains footage of events and productions on audiocassette, Betacam, and U-matic tapes.  "],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are no restrictions.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["There are no restrictions."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"ref2\" label=\"Abstract\"\u003eThe Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from its beginnings in 1950 to the present, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, handwritten correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from its beginnings in 1950 to the present, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, handwritten correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records."],"names_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center.","Arena Stage","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"corpname_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center.","Arena Stage","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"language_ssim":["English\n            "],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":8332,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-01T00:52:17.185Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_arenastage_c02_c03_c1540"}},{"id":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c02_c03_c1540","type":"File","attributes":{"title":"You Can't Take it With You (1 of 2)","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c02_c03_c1540#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c02_c03_c1540","ref_ssm":["vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c02_c03_c1540"],"id":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c02_c03_c1540","ead_ssi":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","_root_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","_nest_parent_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c02_c03","parent_ssi":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c02_c03","parent_ssim":["vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c02","vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c02_c03"],"parent_ids_ssim":["vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c02","vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c02_c03"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Arena Stage records","Series 2: Production files","Subseries 2.3: Production files"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Arena Stage records","Series 2: Production files","Subseries 2.3: Production files"],"text":["Arena Stage records","Series 2: Production files","Subseries 2.3: Production files","You Can't Take it With You (1 of 2)","box 527","folder 5"],"title_filing_ssi":"You Can't Take it With You (1 of 2)","title_ssm":["You Can't Take it With You (1 of 2)"],"title_tesim":["You Can't Take it With You (1 of 2)"],"unitdate_other_ssim":["1979"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1979"],"normalized_title_ssm":["You Can't Take it With You (1 of 2)"],"component_level_isim":[3],"repository_ssim":["George Mason University"],"collection_ssim":["Arena Stage records"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["File"],"level_ssim":["File"],"sort_isi":6345,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["Collection is open to research. Some personnel records in Series 1 Subseries 3 Sub-subseries 2: Personnel, staff contain Social Security Numbers and must be screened by SCRC staff before researchers can view them."],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)"],"date_range_isim":[1979],"containers_ssim":["box 527","folder 5"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Contents note"],"_nest_path_":"/components#1/components#2/components#1539","timestamp":"2026-05-01T00:23:25.700Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","ead_ssi":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","_root_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","_nest_parent_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/GMU/repositories_2_resources_416.xml","title_ssm":["Arena Stage records"],"title_tesim":["Arena Stage records"],"unitdate_ssm":["1949 - 2010"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1949 - 2010"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["C0017","/repositories/2/resources/416"],"text":["C0017","/repositories/2/resources/416","Arena Stage records","Theater -- Washington (D.C.)","Theater","Theater -- United States","Theater programs","Theater -- Production and direction","Performing arts","Video recordings","Sound recordings","Photographic prints","Collection is open to research. Some personnel records in Series 1 Subseries 3 Sub-subseries 2: Personnel, staff contain Social Security Numbers and must be screened by SCRC staff before researchers can view them.","Accruals to this collection are expected.","The collection is arranged into five series, each of which is further divided into subseries:","Series Series 1: Administrative records, 1949-2007 (Boxes 1-196) Series 2: Production files, 1950-2010 (Boxes 197-588, 654-663) Series 3: Photographs, 1950-1991 (Boxes 589-639) Series 4: Oversize materials, 1949-late 2000s (Boxes 640-720) Series 5: Audiovisual materials, 1970-2007 (Boxes 721-739)",""," Maslon, Lawrence, editor. \"The Arena Adventure: The First 40 Years.\" Washington, DC: Arena Stage, 1990.","","From its opening on August 16, 1950, the Arena Stage has dedicated itself to being a space of imagination and innovation, a tool of \"civilization,\" and Washington, D.C.'s preeminent regional theater. Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, the Arena Stage began as a for-profit theater under Arena Enterprises, Inc. The original Hippodrome Theatre, located on Ninth and New York N.W. in D.C., was revolutionary amongst regional theatres for its theatre-in-the-round construction and would provide the blueprint for all future Arena locations.","Arena began its long and successful life with Oliver Goldsmith's  She Stoops to Conquer.  Arena owed its early successes in the 1950s to its fluid play schedule organization and its willingness to put on works that were not commercial successes on Broadway. In November of 1956, after a year's hiatus, the company relocated to a temporary home at the Old Heurich Brewery, dubbed the Old Vat by company members. The move was facilitated in part by the commitment and drive of Board members J. Burke Knapp, Albert M. Berkowitz, Israel Convisser, Leslie Amouri, and Henry J. Danilowicz. However, financial issues would continue to trouble Arena Enterprises, Inc., eventually leading to its dissolution in 1959, and the creation of Arena's new, non-profit parent organization, the Washington Drama Society.","During the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington since 1895. Chicago architect Harry Weese designed the space to be as innovative as possible while still maintaining the theater-in-the-round layout. Now a non-profit theater, Arena drew much of its funding during this time from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and generous donations from both the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundations.","The Arena Stage began some of its most ambitious work during the 1960s including forming the Living Stage Theatre Company, further integrating its cast, and staging its most ambitious and acclaimed work to date:  The Great White Hope. The Great White Hope  included twenty five additional guest actors, including James Earl Jones, and was an enormous success, both critically and financially, for Arena. It was the first major resident theater production to be exported to Broadway. Fichandler also began to experiment with casting African American actors in traditionally white roles during the 1968 season after she published the paper \"Towards a Deepening Aesthetic.\" Fichandler experimented with non-traditional casting in plays like  King Lear  and  The Threepenny Opera , but unfortunately these plays were met with critical confusion and disappointing ticket sales. Arena Stage was incredibly successful in the 1970s, garnering awards and critical approval, and international recognition. Not content with the current Arena Stage configuration, Fichandler and others worked diligently to acquire another stage facility that would collaborate, not compete, with the current Stage. Generosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new Kreeger Theater which opened on January 15, 1971.","In 1973 Arena would have the opportunity to take two of its plays,  Our Town  and  Inherit the Wind  to the U.S.S.R. This was the first ever trip to the Soviet Union undertaken by a resident theater group. The trip was a wild success with Russian audiences giving the cast a standing ovation following their performance of  Inherit the Wind  at the Moscow Art Theatre. In April 1976 the American Theatre Critics Association bestowed upon the Arena Stage a special Tony Award for resident theaters. The ATCA cited Arena's qualities as a \"trailblazer\" in theatrical arts and representative of other theaters that had followed its lead.","The early 1980s were a difficult time for theater, but, in spite of this, Arena continued to push the limits of conventional residential theater. The 1982 production of  K2 , for example, saw the construction of a sheer glacial face on the Kreeger stage according to the vision of set designer Ming Cho Lee. In 1986 twenty-three actors and a thirteen member production staff traveled to Jerusalem to perform Zelda's production of  The Crucible  at the Israel Festival.","1989 marked the end of an era as Zelda Fichandler announced that she would step down as Arena's producing director at the end of the 1990-1991 fortieth anniversary season. Douglas C. Wager would succeed her as artistic director. Amid financial difficulties and changing times for theaters everywhere, Arena's resident company of actors was disbanded by the late 1990s. Wager remained at the helm until 1998, when Molly Smith took over the position. Under Smith's leadership, Bing Thom architects completed another major renovation of Arena's existing buildings into the Mead Center for American Theater in 2010. Smith served as Arena's artistic director until 2023, when she retired and was succeeded by current Aristic Director, Hana Sharif.","Many now-famous actors took part in Arena Stage productions during the early part of their careers. Some of them include Robert Prosky, Morgan Freeman, Dianne Wiest, James Earl Jones, Kevin Kline, Christopher Guest, Yeardley Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Ned Beatty, Jane Alexander, and Ron Perlman. Many other set designers, artists, costume designers, and technical workers owe their early success and experience to the Arena Stage.","The Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to film and audio reels, Betacam, or U-matic tapes contained in Series 5.2 and 5.3. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access.","Processed by Harvard Theatre Collection and George Mason University Special Collections Research Center staff. Reprocessed by Greta Suiter, Kerry Mitchell, Elizabeth Beckman, Diane Stancil, and Nick Welsh. EAD markup completed by Elizabeth Beckman in 2016. Finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in 2025.","The Special Collections Research Center holds the personal papers of several individuals involved with Arena Stage, including the Zelda Fichandler papers, the Thomas C. Fichandler papers, the Ken Kitch papers, as well as the Living Stage records.","The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from 1949 to 2010, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records pertaining to the theater's finances, publicity, buildings, and programs.","Series 1: Administrative records (1949-2007) documents the creation, operation, and maintenance of Arena Stage and its various programs. It is further divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 1.1: Correspondence includes correspondence arranged alphabetically by the correspondent's last name or by organizational name. Some correspondence is further aggregated and then organized alphabetically, such as \"Play Correspondence\" or \"Audience Response.\" Of particular note are letters from President Bill Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and King Kong star Fay Wray. Subseries 1.2: Programs, policies, and procedures, includes records of Arena's programs, such as the \"Arena Angels\" volunteer program and fellowship programs, policies, such as bylaws, diversity policies, and handbooks, and planning, including season planning and long-range plans. This subseries is broken up into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.3.1: Financial papers documents Arena's finances and includes stockholder documents from its beginnings as a for-profit theater, grant-related documentation after the theater transitioned to a non-profit in the late 1950s, and records of the theater's development office, some of which were kept by department director Elspeth Udvarhelyi. Sub-subseries 1.3.2: Personnel records includes information on staff at Arena Stage arranged alphabetically. Of particular interest are headshots and/or resumes of a number of well-known actors, including James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, Henry Winkler, Edward Hermann, Yeardley Smith, Jane Alexander, Swoosie Kurtz, Victor Garber, Ron Perlman, Annette Benning, Olympia Dukakis, John Lithgow, John Voigt, Sigourney Weaver, and Rosemary Harris. Sub-subseries 1.3.3: Casting information contains notes on casting for productions arranged alphabetically by play. Sub-subseries 1.3.4: Production contracts includes official agreements between Arena and others arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 1.4: Meeting minutes contains meeting minutes from Arena's Board of Trustees, staff, and other subgroups within the organization. Subseries 1.5: Communications and events, is also divided into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.5.1: Events documents special events held by Arena Stage, including anniversaries, galas, benefits, openings and press events. Sub-subseries 1.5.2: Communications and Marketing includes records produced by the Communications and Marketing departments, including meeting minutes, planning, research, and correspondence. Sub-subseries 1.5.3: Printed Material includes subscriber materials, mailings, brochures, reviews collected and arranged by play title, and programs organized chronologically. Sub-subseries 1.5.4: Theater Communications Group contains correspondence, reports, and other information generated from Arena's association with the Theater Communications Group, an organization of theaters around the United States. Subseries 1.6: Buildings and facilities includes information about and architectural plans for Arena's various buildings over the years, including the Hippodrome, the Old Vat, the 1960 permanent building, and the Kreeger Theater addition.","Series 2: Production Files (1950-2010) is comprised of records related to the artistic development and performance of Arena's plays. It is divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 2.1: Dramaturgical files documents literary, historical and background research done by Arena's literary department for various plays, including articles, research packets, actor's packets, and scripts. It is generally organized alphabetically by play. Subseries 2.2: Playwright subject files contains research on various playwrights, both living and dead, whose work has been performed at Arena. It is organized alphabetically by playwright's last name. Subseries 2.3: Production files includes scripts, blocking information, correspondence, and other material related to the production of Arena's plays. It is arranged alphabetically by play title. Subseries 2.4: Stage manager's reports includes daily reports by the stage manager of productions for the entire runs of many of Arena's plays from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s. The reports include running times, incident reports, and other commentary on the audience and the performance. Subseries 2.5: Wrap files contains documents collected from throughout the runs of various productions, including reviews that reflect the wider response to the play. Subseries 2.6: Producing director's files contains documents from Arena's second Producing director after Zelda Fichandler, Doug Wager, who served from 1991-1998. It includes pre-production speeches given by Wager, as well as planning files.","Series 3: Photographs (1950-1991)is divided into 3 subseries. Subseries 3.1: Production photographs includes photos of scenes from Arena's productions arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 3.2: Production books includes production photos collected in books, many of which are by professional photographer George de Vincent. Subseries 3.3: Buildings, staff, and events includes photographs of Arena's buildings, staff and cast portraits, and event photographs, such as prints from Arena's 30th anniversary celebration and from Arena's Soviet Union and Israel tours. Subseries 3.4: Negatives and slides includes slides and negatives of Arena's staff and events, as well as some buildings, sets, and production-related images.","Series 4: Oversize (1949-late 2000s) is divided into 3 subseries and contains a variety of oversize material. Subseries 4.1: Braille programs contains programs in Braille for various Arena productions from the 1990s and early 2000s. Subseries 4.2: Miscellaneous artwork and programs includes posters from Arena productions and events, enlarged photos, costume sketches, and other oversized material, such as a large model of the Mead Center for American Theater. Subseries 4.3: Scrapbooks contains scrapbooks created for each of Arena's seasons up until 1988. It also includes scrapbooks for Arena's tour of the Soviet Union and of visitors to Arena.","Series 5: Audiovisual (1970-2007) contains several types of formats and is divided into 3 subseries. Series 5.1: Performances on VHS contains VHS tapes (a few of which have associated DVDs) of performances at Arena arranged alphabetically by play title. Series 5.2: Reel-to-reel contains production and event footage on reel-to-reel film. Series 5.3: Other audiovisual formats and VHS tapes contains footage of events and productions on audiocassette, Betacam, and U-matic tapes. ","The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)","The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from its beginnings in 1950 to the present, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, handwritten correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records.","\nR 5, C 1, S 2 - R 9, C 4, S 7 \n\n\nR29, C1, S2\n\nOS R 3, C 2, S 1 - C 3, S 7\nOS R 4, C 5, S 5 \nOS R 5, C 2, S 3\nOS R 5, C 5, S 4\nOS R 6, C 4, S 6 - S 7\nOS R 7, C 1, S 2\nMap Case 9.1, 11.5","George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)","Fichandler, Thomas C.","Fichandler, Zelda, 1924-2016","English"],"unitid_tesim":["C0017","/repositories/2/resources/416"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Arena Stage records"],"collection_title_tesim":["Arena Stage records"],"collection_ssim":["Arena Stage records"],"repository_ssm":["George Mason University"],"repository_ssim":["George Mason University"],"creator_ssm":["Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"creator_ssim":["Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"creators_ssim":["Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"access_terms_ssm":["The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)"],"acqinfo_ssim":["Donated by Arena Stage in 2000-2024.","This collection has additional unprocessed accessions 2023.040-C and 2024.088-C, and therefore this finding aid may not be fully up to date. Please contact SCRC for more information."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Theater -- Washington (D.C.)","Theater","Theater -- United States","Theater programs","Theater -- Production and direction","Performing arts","Video recordings","Sound recordings","Photographic prints"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Theater -- Washington (D.C.)","Theater","Theater -- United States","Theater programs","Theater -- Production and direction","Performing arts","Video recordings","Sound recordings","Photographic prints"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["369.5 Linear Feet 739 boxes"],"extent_tesim":["369.5 Linear Feet 739 boxes"],"genreform_ssim":["Video recordings","Sound recordings","Photographic prints"],"date_range_isim":[1949,1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCollection is open to research. Some personnel records in Series 1 Subseries 3 Sub-subseries 2: Personnel, staff contain Social Security Numbers and must be screened by SCRC staff before researchers can view them.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access Restrictions"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["Collection is open to research. Some personnel records in Series 1 Subseries 3 Sub-subseries 2: Personnel, staff contain Social Security Numbers and must be screened by SCRC staff before researchers can view them."],"accruals_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAccruals to this collection are expected.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accruals_heading_ssm":["Accruals"],"accruals_tesim":["Accruals to this collection are expected."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is arranged into five series, each of which is further divided into subseries:\u003c/p\u003e","\u003clist type=\"ordered\"\u003e\n      \u003chead\u003eSeries\u003c/head\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 1: Administrative records, 1949-2007 (Boxes 1-196)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 2: Production files, 1950-2010 (Boxes 197-588, 654-663)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 3: Photographs, 1950-1991 (Boxes 589-639)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 4: Oversize materials, 1949-late 2000s (Boxes 640-720)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 5: Audiovisual materials, 1970-2007 (Boxes 721-739)\u003c/item\u003e\n    \u003c/list\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The collection is arranged into five series, each of which is further divided into subseries:","Series Series 1: Administrative records, 1949-2007 (Boxes 1-196) Series 2: Production files, 1950-2010 (Boxes 197-588, 654-663) Series 3: Photographs, 1950-1991 (Boxes 589-639) Series 4: Oversize materials, 1949-late 2000s (Boxes 640-720) Series 5: Audiovisual materials, 1970-2007 (Boxes 721-739)"],"bibliography_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\u003cextptr href=\"http://www.arenastage.org/plan-your-visit/the-mead-center/\" title=\"'Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater.' Arena Stage. Accessed February 3, 2016.\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e \u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e Maslon, Lawrence, editor. \"The Arena Adventure: The First 40 Years.\" Washington, DC: Arena Stage, 1990.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e \u003cextptr href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/theater/features/arena51205.htm\" title=\"Richards, David. 'For Arena Stage, a Pioneering Selection.' Washington Post. December 5, 1997\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e \u003c/p\u003e"],"bibliography_heading_ssm":["Bibliography"],"bibliography_tesim":[""," Maslon, Lawrence, editor. \"The Arena Adventure: The First 40 Years.\" Washington, DC: Arena Stage, 1990.",""],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eFrom its opening on August 16, 1950, the Arena Stage has dedicated itself to being a space of imagination and innovation, a tool of \"civilization,\" and Washington, D.C.'s preeminent regional theater. Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, the Arena Stage began as a for-profit theater under Arena Enterprises, Inc. The original Hippodrome Theatre, located on Ninth and New York N.W. in D.C., was revolutionary amongst regional theatres for its theatre-in-the-round construction and would provide the blueprint for all future Arena locations.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eArena began its long and successful life with Oliver Goldsmith's \u003citalic\u003eShe Stoops to Conquer.\u003c/italic\u003e Arena owed its early successes in the 1950s to its fluid play schedule organization and its willingness to put on works that were not commercial successes on Broadway. In November of 1956, after a year's hiatus, the company relocated to a temporary home at the Old Heurich Brewery, dubbed the Old Vat by company members. The move was facilitated in part by the commitment and drive of Board members J. Burke Knapp, Albert M. Berkowitz, Israel Convisser, Leslie Amouri, and Henry J. Danilowicz. However, financial issues would continue to trouble Arena Enterprises, Inc., eventually leading to its dissolution in 1959, and the creation of Arena's new, non-profit parent organization, the Washington Drama Society.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eDuring the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington since 1895. Chicago architect Harry Weese designed the space to be as innovative as possible while still maintaining the theater-in-the-round layout. Now a non-profit theater, Arena drew much of its funding during this time from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and generous donations from both the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundations.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe Arena Stage began some of its most ambitious work during the 1960s including forming the Living Stage Theatre Company, further integrating its cast, and staging its most ambitious and acclaimed work to date: \u003citalic\u003eThe Great White Hope.\u003c/italic\u003e \u003citalic\u003eThe Great White Hope\u003c/italic\u003e included twenty five additional guest actors, including James Earl Jones, and was an enormous success, both critically and financially, for Arena. It was the first major resident theater production to be exported to Broadway. Fichandler also began to experiment with casting African American actors in traditionally white roles during the 1968 season after she published the paper \"Towards a Deepening Aesthetic.\" Fichandler experimented with non-traditional casting in plays like \u003citalic\u003eKing Lear\u003c/italic\u003e and \u003citalic\u003eThe Threepenny Opera\u003c/italic\u003e, but unfortunately these plays were met with critical confusion and disappointing ticket sales. Arena Stage was incredibly successful in the 1970s, garnering awards and critical approval, and international recognition. Not content with the current Arena Stage configuration, Fichandler and others worked diligently to acquire another stage facility that would collaborate, not compete, with the current Stage. Generosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new Kreeger Theater which opened on January 15, 1971.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eIn 1973 Arena would have the opportunity to take two of its plays, \u003citalic\u003eOur Town\u003c/italic\u003e and \u003citalic\u003eInherit the Wind\u003c/italic\u003e to the U.S.S.R. This was the first ever trip to the Soviet Union undertaken by a resident theater group. The trip was a wild success with Russian audiences giving the cast a standing ovation following their performance of \u003citalic\u003eInherit the Wind\u003c/italic\u003e at the Moscow Art Theatre. In April 1976 the American Theatre Critics Association bestowed upon the Arena Stage a special Tony Award for resident theaters. The ATCA cited Arena's qualities as a \"trailblazer\" in theatrical arts and representative of other theaters that had followed its lead.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe early 1980s were a difficult time for theater, but, in spite of this, Arena continued to push the limits of conventional residential theater. The 1982 production of \u003citalic\u003eK2\u003c/italic\u003e, for example, saw the construction of a sheer glacial face on the Kreeger stage according to the vision of set designer Ming Cho Lee. In 1986 twenty-three actors and a thirteen member production staff traveled to Jerusalem to perform Zelda's production of \u003citalic\u003eThe Crucible\u003c/italic\u003e at the Israel Festival.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e1989 marked the end of an era as Zelda Fichandler announced that she would step down as Arena's producing director at the end of the 1990-1991 fortieth anniversary season. Douglas C. Wager would succeed her as artistic director. Amid financial difficulties and changing times for theaters everywhere, Arena's resident company of actors was disbanded by the late 1990s. Wager remained at the helm until 1998, when Molly Smith took over the position. Under Smith's leadership, Bing Thom architects completed another major renovation of Arena's existing buildings into the Mead Center for American Theater in 2010. Smith served as Arena's artistic director until 2023, when she retired and was succeeded by current Aristic Director, Hana Sharif.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eMany now-famous actors took part in Arena Stage productions during the early part of their careers. Some of them include Robert Prosky, Morgan Freeman, Dianne Wiest, James Earl Jones, Kevin Kline, Christopher Guest, Yeardley Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Ned Beatty, Jane Alexander, and Ron Perlman. Many other set designers, artists, costume designers, and technical workers owe their early success and experience to the Arena Stage.\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["From its opening on August 16, 1950, the Arena Stage has dedicated itself to being a space of imagination and innovation, a tool of \"civilization,\" and Washington, D.C.'s preeminent regional theater. Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, the Arena Stage began as a for-profit theater under Arena Enterprises, Inc. The original Hippodrome Theatre, located on Ninth and New York N.W. in D.C., was revolutionary amongst regional theatres for its theatre-in-the-round construction and would provide the blueprint for all future Arena locations.","Arena began its long and successful life with Oliver Goldsmith's  She Stoops to Conquer.  Arena owed its early successes in the 1950s to its fluid play schedule organization and its willingness to put on works that were not commercial successes on Broadway. In November of 1956, after a year's hiatus, the company relocated to a temporary home at the Old Heurich Brewery, dubbed the Old Vat by company members. The move was facilitated in part by the commitment and drive of Board members J. Burke Knapp, Albert M. Berkowitz, Israel Convisser, Leslie Amouri, and Henry J. Danilowicz. However, financial issues would continue to trouble Arena Enterprises, Inc., eventually leading to its dissolution in 1959, and the creation of Arena's new, non-profit parent organization, the Washington Drama Society.","During the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington since 1895. Chicago architect Harry Weese designed the space to be as innovative as possible while still maintaining the theater-in-the-round layout. Now a non-profit theater, Arena drew much of its funding during this time from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and generous donations from both the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundations.","The Arena Stage began some of its most ambitious work during the 1960s including forming the Living Stage Theatre Company, further integrating its cast, and staging its most ambitious and acclaimed work to date:  The Great White Hope. The Great White Hope  included twenty five additional guest actors, including James Earl Jones, and was an enormous success, both critically and financially, for Arena. It was the first major resident theater production to be exported to Broadway. Fichandler also began to experiment with casting African American actors in traditionally white roles during the 1968 season after she published the paper \"Towards a Deepening Aesthetic.\" Fichandler experimented with non-traditional casting in plays like  King Lear  and  The Threepenny Opera , but unfortunately these plays were met with critical confusion and disappointing ticket sales. Arena Stage was incredibly successful in the 1970s, garnering awards and critical approval, and international recognition. Not content with the current Arena Stage configuration, Fichandler and others worked diligently to acquire another stage facility that would collaborate, not compete, with the current Stage. Generosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new Kreeger Theater which opened on January 15, 1971.","In 1973 Arena would have the opportunity to take two of its plays,  Our Town  and  Inherit the Wind  to the U.S.S.R. This was the first ever trip to the Soviet Union undertaken by a resident theater group. The trip was a wild success with Russian audiences giving the cast a standing ovation following their performance of  Inherit the Wind  at the Moscow Art Theatre. In April 1976 the American Theatre Critics Association bestowed upon the Arena Stage a special Tony Award for resident theaters. The ATCA cited Arena's qualities as a \"trailblazer\" in theatrical arts and representative of other theaters that had followed its lead.","The early 1980s were a difficult time for theater, but, in spite of this, Arena continued to push the limits of conventional residential theater. The 1982 production of  K2 , for example, saw the construction of a sheer glacial face on the Kreeger stage according to the vision of set designer Ming Cho Lee. In 1986 twenty-three actors and a thirteen member production staff traveled to Jerusalem to perform Zelda's production of  The Crucible  at the Israel Festival.","1989 marked the end of an era as Zelda Fichandler announced that she would step down as Arena's producing director at the end of the 1990-1991 fortieth anniversary season. Douglas C. Wager would succeed her as artistic director. Amid financial difficulties and changing times for theaters everywhere, Arena's resident company of actors was disbanded by the late 1990s. Wager remained at the helm until 1998, when Molly Smith took over the position. Under Smith's leadership, Bing Thom architects completed another major renovation of Arena's existing buildings into the Mead Center for American Theater in 2010. Smith served as Arena's artistic director until 2023, when she retired and was succeeded by current Aristic Director, Hana Sharif.","Many now-famous actors took part in Arena Stage productions during the early part of their careers. Some of them include Robert Prosky, Morgan Freeman, Dianne Wiest, James Earl Jones, Kevin Kline, Christopher Guest, Yeardley Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Ned Beatty, Jane Alexander, and Ron Perlman. Many other set designers, artists, costume designers, and technical workers owe their early success and experience to the Arena Stage."],"phystech_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to film and audio reels, Betacam, or U-matic tapes contained in Series 5.2 and 5.3. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access.\u003c/p\u003e"],"phystech_heading_ssm":["Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements"],"phystech_tesim":["The Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to film and audio reels, Betacam, or U-matic tapes contained in Series 5.2 and 5.3. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eArena Stage records, C0017, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Arena Stage records, C0017, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eProcessed by Harvard Theatre Collection and George Mason University Special Collections Research Center staff. Reprocessed by Greta Suiter, Kerry Mitchell, Elizabeth Beckman, Diane Stancil, and Nick Welsh. EAD markup completed by Elizabeth Beckman in 2016. Finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in 2025.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["Processed by Harvard Theatre Collection and George Mason University Special Collections Research Center staff. Reprocessed by Greta Suiter, Kerry Mitchell, Elizabeth Beckman, Diane Stancil, and Nick Welsh. EAD markup completed by Elizabeth Beckman in 2016. Finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in 2025."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Special Collections Research Center holds the personal papers of several individuals involved with Arena Stage, including the Zelda Fichandler papers, the Thomas C. Fichandler papers, the Ken Kitch papers, as well as the Living Stage records.\u003c/p\u003e"],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Material"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["The Special Collections Research Center holds the personal papers of several individuals involved with Arena Stage, including the Zelda Fichandler papers, the Thomas C. Fichandler papers, the Ken Kitch papers, as well as the Living Stage records."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from 1949 to 2010, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records pertaining to the theater's finances, publicity, buildings, and programs.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries 1: Administrative records (1949-2007) documents the creation, operation, and maintenance of Arena Stage and its various programs. It is further divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 1.1: Correspondence includes correspondence arranged alphabetically by the correspondent's last name or by organizational name. Some correspondence is further aggregated and then organized alphabetically, such as \"Play Correspondence\" or \"Audience Response.\" Of particular note are letters from President Bill Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and King Kong star Fay Wray. Subseries 1.2: Programs, policies, and procedures, includes records of Arena's programs, such as the \"Arena Angels\" volunteer program and fellowship programs, policies, such as bylaws, diversity policies, and handbooks, and planning, including season planning and long-range plans. This subseries is broken up into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.3.1: Financial papers documents Arena's finances and includes stockholder documents from its beginnings as a for-profit theater, grant-related documentation after the theater transitioned to a non-profit in the late 1950s, and records of the theater's development office, some of which were kept by department director Elspeth Udvarhelyi. Sub-subseries 1.3.2: Personnel records includes information on staff at Arena Stage arranged alphabetically. Of particular interest are headshots and/or resumes of a number of well-known actors, including James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, Henry Winkler, Edward Hermann, Yeardley Smith, Jane Alexander, Swoosie Kurtz, Victor Garber, Ron Perlman, Annette Benning, Olympia Dukakis, John Lithgow, John Voigt, Sigourney Weaver, and Rosemary Harris. Sub-subseries 1.3.3: Casting information contains notes on casting for productions arranged alphabetically by play. Sub-subseries 1.3.4: Production contracts includes official agreements between Arena and others arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 1.4: Meeting minutes contains meeting minutes from Arena's Board of Trustees, staff, and other subgroups within the organization. Subseries 1.5: Communications and events, is also divided into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.5.1: Events documents special events held by Arena Stage, including anniversaries, galas, benefits, openings and press events. Sub-subseries 1.5.2: Communications and Marketing includes records produced by the Communications and Marketing departments, including meeting minutes, planning, research, and correspondence. Sub-subseries 1.5.3: Printed Material includes subscriber materials, mailings, brochures, reviews collected and arranged by play title, and programs organized chronologically. Sub-subseries 1.5.4: Theater Communications Group contains correspondence, reports, and other information generated from Arena's association with the Theater Communications Group, an organization of theaters around the United States. Subseries 1.6: Buildings and facilities includes information about and architectural plans for Arena's various buildings over the years, including the Hippodrome, the Old Vat, the 1960 permanent building, and the Kreeger Theater addition.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries 2: Production Files (1950-2010) is comprised of records related to the artistic development and performance of Arena's plays. It is divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 2.1: Dramaturgical files documents literary, historical and background research done by Arena's literary department for various plays, including articles, research packets, actor's packets, and scripts. It is generally organized alphabetically by play. Subseries 2.2: Playwright subject files contains research on various playwrights, both living and dead, whose work has been performed at Arena. It is organized alphabetically by playwright's last name. Subseries 2.3: Production files includes scripts, blocking information, correspondence, and other material related to the production of Arena's plays. It is arranged alphabetically by play title. Subseries 2.4: Stage manager's reports includes daily reports by the stage manager of productions for the entire runs of many of Arena's plays from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s. The reports include running times, incident reports, and other commentary on the audience and the performance. Subseries 2.5: Wrap files contains documents collected from throughout the runs of various productions, including reviews that reflect the wider response to the play. Subseries 2.6: Producing director's files contains documents from Arena's second Producing director after Zelda Fichandler, Doug Wager, who served from 1991-1998. It includes pre-production speeches given by Wager, as well as planning files.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries 3: Photographs (1950-1991)is divided into 3 subseries. Subseries 3.1: Production photographs includes photos of scenes from Arena's productions arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 3.2: Production books includes production photos collected in books, many of which are by professional photographer George de Vincent. Subseries 3.3: Buildings, staff, and events includes photographs of Arena's buildings, staff and cast portraits, and event photographs, such as prints from Arena's 30th anniversary celebration and from Arena's Soviet Union and Israel tours. Subseries 3.4: Negatives and slides includes slides and negatives of Arena's staff and events, as well as some buildings, sets, and production-related images.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries 4: Oversize (1949-late 2000s) is divided into 3 subseries and contains a variety of oversize material. Subseries 4.1: Braille programs contains programs in Braille for various Arena productions from the 1990s and early 2000s. Subseries 4.2: Miscellaneous artwork and programs includes posters from Arena productions and events, enlarged photos, costume sketches, and other oversized material, such as a large model of the Mead Center for American Theater. Subseries 4.3: Scrapbooks contains scrapbooks created for each of Arena's seasons up until 1988. It also includes scrapbooks for Arena's tour of the Soviet Union and of visitors to Arena.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries 5: Audiovisual (1970-2007) contains several types of formats and is divided into 3 subseries. Series 5.1: Performances on VHS contains VHS tapes (a few of which have associated DVDs) of performances at Arena arranged alphabetically by play title. Series 5.2: Reel-to-reel contains production and event footage on reel-to-reel film. Series 5.3: Other audiovisual formats and VHS tapes contains footage of events and productions on audiocassette, Betacam, and U-matic tapes. \u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from 1949 to 2010, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records pertaining to the theater's finances, publicity, buildings, and programs.","Series 1: Administrative records (1949-2007) documents the creation, operation, and maintenance of Arena Stage and its various programs. It is further divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 1.1: Correspondence includes correspondence arranged alphabetically by the correspondent's last name or by organizational name. Some correspondence is further aggregated and then organized alphabetically, such as \"Play Correspondence\" or \"Audience Response.\" Of particular note are letters from President Bill Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and King Kong star Fay Wray. Subseries 1.2: Programs, policies, and procedures, includes records of Arena's programs, such as the \"Arena Angels\" volunteer program and fellowship programs, policies, such as bylaws, diversity policies, and handbooks, and planning, including season planning and long-range plans. This subseries is broken up into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.3.1: Financial papers documents Arena's finances and includes stockholder documents from its beginnings as a for-profit theater, grant-related documentation after the theater transitioned to a non-profit in the late 1950s, and records of the theater's development office, some of which were kept by department director Elspeth Udvarhelyi. Sub-subseries 1.3.2: Personnel records includes information on staff at Arena Stage arranged alphabetically. Of particular interest are headshots and/or resumes of a number of well-known actors, including James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, Henry Winkler, Edward Hermann, Yeardley Smith, Jane Alexander, Swoosie Kurtz, Victor Garber, Ron Perlman, Annette Benning, Olympia Dukakis, John Lithgow, John Voigt, Sigourney Weaver, and Rosemary Harris. Sub-subseries 1.3.3: Casting information contains notes on casting for productions arranged alphabetically by play. Sub-subseries 1.3.4: Production contracts includes official agreements between Arena and others arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 1.4: Meeting minutes contains meeting minutes from Arena's Board of Trustees, staff, and other subgroups within the organization. Subseries 1.5: Communications and events, is also divided into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.5.1: Events documents special events held by Arena Stage, including anniversaries, galas, benefits, openings and press events. Sub-subseries 1.5.2: Communications and Marketing includes records produced by the Communications and Marketing departments, including meeting minutes, planning, research, and correspondence. Sub-subseries 1.5.3: Printed Material includes subscriber materials, mailings, brochures, reviews collected and arranged by play title, and programs organized chronologically. Sub-subseries 1.5.4: Theater Communications Group contains correspondence, reports, and other information generated from Arena's association with the Theater Communications Group, an organization of theaters around the United States. Subseries 1.6: Buildings and facilities includes information about and architectural plans for Arena's various buildings over the years, including the Hippodrome, the Old Vat, the 1960 permanent building, and the Kreeger Theater addition.","Series 2: Production Files (1950-2010) is comprised of records related to the artistic development and performance of Arena's plays. It is divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 2.1: Dramaturgical files documents literary, historical and background research done by Arena's literary department for various plays, including articles, research packets, actor's packets, and scripts. It is generally organized alphabetically by play. Subseries 2.2: Playwright subject files contains research on various playwrights, both living and dead, whose work has been performed at Arena. It is organized alphabetically by playwright's last name. Subseries 2.3: Production files includes scripts, blocking information, correspondence, and other material related to the production of Arena's plays. It is arranged alphabetically by play title. Subseries 2.4: Stage manager's reports includes daily reports by the stage manager of productions for the entire runs of many of Arena's plays from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s. The reports include running times, incident reports, and other commentary on the audience and the performance. Subseries 2.5: Wrap files contains documents collected from throughout the runs of various productions, including reviews that reflect the wider response to the play. Subseries 2.6: Producing director's files contains documents from Arena's second Producing director after Zelda Fichandler, Doug Wager, who served from 1991-1998. It includes pre-production speeches given by Wager, as well as planning files.","Series 3: Photographs (1950-1991)is divided into 3 subseries. Subseries 3.1: Production photographs includes photos of scenes from Arena's productions arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 3.2: Production books includes production photos collected in books, many of which are by professional photographer George de Vincent. Subseries 3.3: Buildings, staff, and events includes photographs of Arena's buildings, staff and cast portraits, and event photographs, such as prints from Arena's 30th anniversary celebration and from Arena's Soviet Union and Israel tours. Subseries 3.4: Negatives and slides includes slides and negatives of Arena's staff and events, as well as some buildings, sets, and production-related images.","Series 4: Oversize (1949-late 2000s) is divided into 3 subseries and contains a variety of oversize material. Subseries 4.1: Braille programs contains programs in Braille for various Arena productions from the 1990s and early 2000s. Subseries 4.2: Miscellaneous artwork and programs includes posters from Arena productions and events, enlarged photos, costume sketches, and other oversized material, such as a large model of the Mead Center for American Theater. Subseries 4.3: Scrapbooks contains scrapbooks created for each of Arena's seasons up until 1988. It also includes scrapbooks for Arena's tour of the Soviet Union and of visitors to Arena.","Series 5: Audiovisual (1970-2007) contains several types of formats and is divided into 3 subseries. Series 5.1: Performances on VHS contains VHS tapes (a few of which have associated DVDs) of performances at Arena arranged alphabetically by play title. Series 5.2: Reel-to-reel contains production and event footage on reel-to-reel film. Series 5.3: Other audiovisual formats and VHS tapes contains footage of events and productions on audiocassette, Betacam, and U-matic tapes. "],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)"],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_ec96c412f915842d3012676b73803163\" label=\"Abstract\"\u003eThe Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from its beginnings in 1950 to the present, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, handwritten correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from its beginnings in 1950 to the present, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, handwritten correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records."],"physloc_html_tesm":["\u003cphysloc id=\"aspace_22f8958322c3fdee6366a384bb686980\"\u003e\nR 5, C 1, S 2 - R 9, C 4, S 7 \n\n\nR29, C1, S2\n\nOS R 3, C 2, S 1 - C 3, S 7\nOS R 4, C 5, S 5 \nOS R 5, C 2, S 3\nOS R 5, C 5, S 4\nOS R 6, C 4, S 6 - S 7\nOS R 7, C 1, S 2\nMap Case 9.1, 11.5\u003c/physloc\u003e"],"physloc_tesim":["\nR 5, C 1, S 2 - R 9, C 4, S 7 \n\n\nR29, C1, S2\n\nOS R 3, C 2, S 1 - C 3, S 7\nOS R 4, C 5, S 5 \nOS R 5, C 2, S 3\nOS R 5, C 5, S 4\nOS R 6, C 4, S 6 - S 7\nOS R 7, C 1, S 2\nMap Case 9.1, 11.5"],"names_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)","Fichandler, Thomas C.","Fichandler, Zelda, 1924-2016"],"corpname_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"names_coll_ssim":["Fichandler, Thomas C.","Fichandler, Zelda, 1924-2016"],"persname_ssim":["Fichandler, Thomas C.","Fichandler, Zelda, 1924-2016"],"language_ssim":["English"],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":8332,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-01T00:23:25.700Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c02_c03_c1540"}},{"id":"vifgm_arenastage_c02_c03_c1541","type":"File","attributes":{"title":"You Can't Take it With You  (2 of 2),","abstract_or_scope":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_arenastage_c02_c03_c1541#abstract_or_scope","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","label":"Abstract Or Scope"}},"breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_arenastage_c02_c03_c1541#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"vifgm_arenastage_c02_c03_c1541","ref_ssm":["vifgm_arenastage_c02_c03_c1541"],"id":"vifgm_arenastage_c02_c03_c1541","ead_ssi":"vifgm_arenastage","_root_":"vifgm_arenastage","_nest_parent_":"vifgm_arenastage_c02_c03","parent_ssi":"vifgm_arenastage_c02_c03","parent_ssim":["vifgm_arenastage","vifgm_arenastage_c02","vifgm_arenastage_c02_c03"],"parent_ids_ssim":["vifgm_arenastage","vifgm_arenastage_c02","vifgm_arenastage_c02_c03"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Arena Stage records","Series 2: Production files,","Subseries 2.3: Production files,"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Arena Stage records","Series 2: Production files,","Subseries 2.3: Production files,"],"text":["Arena Stage records","Series 2: Production files,","Subseries 2.3: Production files,","You Can't Take it With You  (2 of 2),","Box 527","Folder 6",""],"title_filing_ssi":"You Can't Take it With You  (2 of 2), \n","title_ssm":["You Can't Take it With You  (2 of 2), \n"],"title_tesim":["You Can't Take it With You  (2 of 2), \n"],"unitdate_other_ssim":["1979\n"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1979"],"normalized_title_ssm":["You Can't Take it With You  (2 of 2),"],"component_level_isim":[3],"repository_ssim":["George Mason University"],"collection_ssim":["Arena Stage records"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["File"],"level_ssim":["File"],"sort_isi":6346,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["Collection is open to research.  Some personnel records in Series 1 Subseries 3 Sub-subseries 2: Personnel, staff contain Social Security Numbers and must be screened by SCRC staff before researchers can view them."],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["There are no restrictions."],"date_range_isim":[1979],"containers_ssim":["Box 527","Folder 6"],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp/\u003e"],"scopecontent_tesim":[""],"_nest_path_":"/components#1/components#2/components#1540","timestamp":"2026-05-01T00:52:17.185Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"vifgm_arenastage","ead_ssi":"vifgm_arenastage","_root_":"vifgm_arenastage","_nest_parent_":"vifgm_arenastage","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/gmu/arenastage.xml","aspace_url_ssi":"http://sca.gmu.edu/finding_aids/arenastage.html","title_ssm":["Arena Stage records"],"title_tesim":["Arena Stage records"],"unitdate_ssm":["1949-2010"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1949-2010"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["C0017"],"text":["C0017","Arena Stage records","Theater--Washington (D.C.)","Photographic prints.","Sound recordings.","Video recordings.","Collection is open to research.  Some personnel records in Series 1 Subseries 3 Sub-subseries 2: Personnel, staff contain Social Security Numbers and must be screened by SCRC staff before researchers can view them.","The collection is arranged into five series, each of which is further divided into subseries:","Series 1: Administrative records, 1949-2007 (Boxes 1-196) Series 2: Production files, 1950-2010 (Boxes 197-588, 654-663) Series 3: Photographs, 1950-1991 (Boxes 589-639) Series 4: Oversize materials, 1949-late 2000s (Boxes 640-720) Series 5: Audiovisual materials, 1970-2007 (Boxes 721-739)",""," Maslon, Lawrence, editor. \"The Arena Adventure: The First 40 Years.\" Washington, DC: Arena Stage, 1990.","","From its opening on August 16, 1950, the Arena Stage has dedicated itself to being a space of imagination and innovation, a tool of \"civilization,\" and Washington, DC's preeminent regional theater.  Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, the Arena Stage began as a for profit theater under Arena Enterprises, Inc. The original Hippodrome Theatre, located on Ninth and New York N.W. in DC, was revolutionary amongst regional theatres for its theatre-in-the-round construction and would provide the blueprint for all future Arena locations.","Arena began its long and successful life with Oliver Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer. Arena owed its early successes in the 1950s to its fluid play schedule organization and its willingness to put on works that were not commercial successes on Broadway. In November of 1956, after a year's hiatus, the company relocated to a temporary home at the Old Heurich Brewery, dubbed the Old Vat by company members. The move was facilitated in part by the commitment and drive of Board members J. Burke Knapp, Albert M. Berkowitz, Israel Convisser, Leslie Amouri, and Henry J. Danilowicz. However, financial issues would continue to trouble Arena Enterprises, Inc., eventually leading to its dissolution in 1959, and the creation of Arena's new, non-profit parent organization, the Washington Drama Society.","During the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington since 1895. Chicago architect Harry Weese designed the space to be as innovative as possible while still maintaining the theater-in-the-round layout. Now a non-profit theater, Arena drew much of its funding during this time from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and generous donations from both the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundations.","The Arena Stage began some of its most ambitious work during the 1960s including forming the Living Stage Theater Company, further integrating its cast, and staging its most ambitious and acclaimed work to date: The Great White Hope. The Great White Hope included twenty five additional guest actors, including James Earl Jones, and was an enormous success, both critically and financially, for Arena. It was the first major resident theater production to be exported to Broadway. Fichandler also began to experiment with casting African-American actors in traditionally white roles during the 1968 season after she published the paper \"Towards a Deepening Aesthetic\". Fichandler experimented with non-traditional casting in plays like King Lear and The Threepenny Opera, but unfortunately these plays were met with critical confusion and disappointing ticket sales. Arena Stage was incredibly successful in the 1970s, garnering awards and critical approval, and international recognition. Not content with the current Arena Stage configuration, Fichandler and others worked diligently to acquire another stage facility that would collaborate, not compete, with the current Stage. Generosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new Kreeger Theater which opened on January 15, 1971.","In 1973 Arena would have the opportunity to take two of its plays, Our Town and Inherit the Wind to the USSR. This was the first ever trip to the Soviet Union undertaken by a resident theater group. The trip was a wild success with Russian audiences giving the cast a standing ovation following their performance of Inherit the Wind at the Moscow Art Theatre. In April 1976 the American Theatre Critics Association bestowed upon the Arena Stage a special Tony Award for resident theaters. The ATCA cited Arena's qualities as a \"trailblazer\" in theatrical arts and representative of other theaters that had followed its lead.","The early 1980s were a difficult time for theater, but, in spite of this, Arena continued to push the limits of conventional residential theater. The 1982 production of K2, for example, saw the construction of a sheer glacial face on the Kreeger stage according to the vision of set designer Ming Cho Lee. In 1986 twenty-three actors and a thirteen member production staff traveled to Jerusalem to perform Zelda's production of The Crucible at the Israel Festival.","1989 marked the end of an era as Zelda Fichandler announced that she would step down as Arena's producing director at the end of the 1990-1991 fortieth anniversary season. Douglas C. Wager would succeed her as artistic director. Amid financial difficulties and changing times for theaters everywhere, Arena's resident company of actors was disbanded by the late 1990s. Wager remained at the helm until 1998, when Molly Smith took over the position. Under Smith's leadership, Bing Thom architects completed another major renovation of Arena's existing buildings into the Mead Center for American Theater in 2010. Smith is still Arena's artistic director as of 2016.","Many now-famous actors took part in Arena Stage productions during the early part of their careers. Some of them include Robert Prosky, Morgan Freeman, Dianne Weist, James Earl Jones, Kevin Kline, Christopher Guest, Yeardley Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Ned Beatty, Jane Alexander, and Ron Perlman. Many other set designers, artists, costume designers, and technical workers owe their early success and experience to the Arena Stage.","The Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to watch reel-to-reel film and audio, Betacam, or U-matic tapes contained in Series 5.2 and 5.3. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access.","Processed by Harvard Theatre Collection and George Mason University Special Collections and Archives staff. Reprocessed by Greta Suiter, Kerry Mitchell, Elizabeth Beckman, Diane Stancil, and Nick Welsh.  EAD markup completed by Elizabeth Beckman in 2016.","Special Collections and Archives holds several collections of personal papers of individuals involved with Arena Stage, including the Zelda Fichandler papers, the Thomas Fichandler papers, and the Ken Kitch papers, as well as the Living Stage Theater Company collection and many other theater collections.","The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from 1949 to 2010, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records pertaining to the theater's finances, publicity, buildings, and programs.","Series 1: Administrative records (1949-2007) documents the creation, operation, and maintenance of Arena Stage and its various programs. It is further divided into 6 subseries.  Subseries 1.1: Correspondence includes correspondence arranged alphabetically by the correspondent's last name or by organizational name. Some correspondence is further aggregated and then organized alphabetically, such as \"Play Correspondence\" or \"Audience Response.\" Of particular note are letters from President Bill Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and King Kong star Fay Wray.  Subseries 1.2: Programs, policies, and procedures, includes records of Arena's programs, such as the \"Arena Angels\" volunteer program and fellowship programs, policies, such as bylaws, diversity policies, and handbooks, and planning, including season planning and long-range plans.  This subseries is broken up into four sub-subseries.  Sub-subseries 1.3.1: Financial papers documents Arena's finances and includes stockholder documents from its beginnings as a for-profit theater, grant-related documentation after the theater transitioned to a non-profit in the late 1950s, and records of the theater's development office, some of which were kept by department director Elspeth Udvarhelyi.  Sub-subseries 1.3.2: Personnel records includes information on staff at Arena Stage arranged alphabetically.  Of particular interest are headshots and/or resumes of a number of well-known actors, including James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, Henry Winkler, Edward Hermann, Yeardley Smith, Jane Alexander, Swoosie Kurtz, Victor Garber, Ron Perlman, Annette Benning, Olympia Dukakis, John Lithgow, John Voigt, Sigourney Weaver, and Rosemary Harris.  Sub-subseries 1.3.3: Casting information contains notes on casting for productions arranged alphabetically by play.  Sub-subseries 1.3.4: Production contracts includes official agreements between Arena and others arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 1.4: Meeting minutes contains meeting minutes from Arena's Board of Trustees, staff, and other subgroups within the organization. Subseries 1.5: Communications and events, is also divided into four sub-subseries.  Sub-subseries 1.5.1: Events documents special events held by Arena Stage, including anniversaries, galas, benefits, openings and press events.  Sub-subseries 1.5.2: Communications and Marketing includes records produced by the Communications and Marketing departments, including meeting minutes, planning, research, and correspondence.  Sub-subseries 1.5.3: Printed Material includes subscriber materials, mailings, brochures, reviews collected and arranged by play title, and programs organized chronologically.  Sub-subseries 1.5.4: Theater Communications Group contains correspondence, reports, and other information generated from Arena's association with the Theater Communications Group, an organization of theaters around the United States.  Subseries 1.6: Buildings and facilities includes information about and architectural plans for Arena's various buildings over the years, including the Hippodrome, the Old Vat, the 1960 permanent building, and the Kreeger Theater addition.","Series 2: Production Files (1950-2010) is comprised of records related to the artistic development and performance of Arena's plays.  It is divided into 6 subseries.  Subseries 2.1: Dramaturgical files documents literary, historical and background research done by Arena's literary department for various plays, including articles, research packets, actor's packets, and scripts.  It is generally organized alphabetically by play.  Subseries 2.2: Playwright subject files contains research on various playwrights, both living and dead, whose work has been performed at Arena.  It is organized alphabetically by playwright's last name. Subseries 2.3: Production files includes scripts, blocking information, correspondence, and other material related to the production of Arena's plays.  It is arranged alphabetically by play title.  Subseries 2.4: Stage manager's reports includes daily reports by the stage manager of productions for the entire runs of many of Arena's plays from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s.  The reports include running times, incident reports, and other commentary on the audience and the performance.  Subseries 2.5: Wrap files contains documents collected from throughout the runs of various productions, including reviews that reflect the wider response to the play.  Subseries 2.6: Producing director's files contains documents from Arena's second Producing director after Zelda Fichandler, Doug Wager, who served from 1991-1998.  It includes pre-production speeches given by Wager, as well as planning files.","Series 3: Photographs (1950-1991)is divided into 3 subseries.  Subseries 3.1: Production photographs includes photos of scenes from Arena's productions arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 3.2: Production books includes production photos collected in books, many of which are by professional photographer George de Vincent. Subseries 3.3: Buildings, staff, and events includes photographs of Arena's buildings, staff and cast portraits, and event photographs, such as prints from Arena's 30th anniversary celebration and from Arena's Soviet Union and Israel tours.  Subseries 3.4: Negatives and slides includes slides and negatives of Arena's staff and events, as well as some buildings, sets, and production-related images.","Series 4: Oversize (1949-late 2000s) is divided into 3 subseries and contains a variety of oversize material.  Subseries 4.1: Braille programs contains programs in Braille for various Arena productions from the 1990s and early 2000s.  Subseries 4.2: Miscellaneous artwork and programs includes posters from Arena productions and events, enlarged photos, costume sketches, and other oversized material, such as a large model of the Mead Center for American Theater.  Subseries 4.3: Scrapbooks contains scrapbooks created for each of Arena's seasons up until 1988.  It also includes scrapbooks for Arena's tour of the Soviet Union and of visitors to Arena.","Series 5: Audiovisual (1970-2007) contains several types of formats and is divided into 3 subseries.  Series 5.1: Performances on VHS contains VHS tapes (a few of which have associated DVDs) of performances at Arena arranged alphabetically by play title.  Series 5.2: Reel-to-reel contains production and event footage on reel-to-reel film.  Series 5.3: Other audiovisual formats and VHS tapes contains footage of events and productions on audiocassette, Betacam, and U-matic tapes.  ","There are no restrictions.","The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from its beginnings in 1950 to the present, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, handwritten correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records.","George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center.","Arena Stage","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)","English\n            "],"unitid_tesim":["C0017"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Arena Stage records"],"collection_title_tesim":["Arena Stage records"],"collection_ssim":["Arena Stage records"],"repository_ssm":["George Mason University"],"repository_ssim":["George Mason University"],"creator_ssm":["Arena Stage"],"creator_ssim":["Arena Stage"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["Arena Stage"],"creators_ssim":["Arena Stage"],"access_terms_ssm":["There are no restrictions."],"acqinfo_ssim":["Donated by Arena Stage in 2000-2011."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Theater--Washington (D.C.)","Photographic prints.","Sound recordings.","Video recordings."],"access_subjects_ssm":["Theater--Washington (D.C.)","Photographic prints.","Sound recordings.","Video recordings."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["739 boxes"],"extent_tesim":["739 boxes"],"date_range_isim":[1949,1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCollection is open to research.  Some personnel records in Series 1 Subseries 3 Sub-subseries 2: Personnel, staff contain Social Security Numbers and must be screened by SCRC staff before researchers can view them.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access Restrictions"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["Collection is open to research.  Some personnel records in Series 1 Subseries 3 Sub-subseries 2: Personnel, staff contain Social Security Numbers and must be screened by SCRC staff before researchers can view them."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is arranged into five series, each of which is further divided into subseries:\u003c/p\u003e","\u003clist type=\"ordered\"\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eSeries 1: Administrative records, 1949-2007 (Boxes 1-196)\u003c/item\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eSeries 2: Production files, 1950-2010 (Boxes 197-588, 654-663)\u003c/item\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eSeries 3: Photographs, 1950-1991 (Boxes 589-639)\u003c/item\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eSeries 4: Oversize materials, 1949-late 2000s (Boxes 640-720)\u003c/item\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eSeries 5: Audiovisual materials, 1970-2007 (Boxes 721-739)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/list\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The collection is arranged into five series, each of which is further divided into subseries:","Series 1: Administrative records, 1949-2007 (Boxes 1-196) Series 2: Production files, 1950-2010 (Boxes 197-588, 654-663) Series 3: Photographs, 1950-1991 (Boxes 589-639) Series 4: Oversize materials, 1949-late 2000s (Boxes 640-720) Series 5: Audiovisual materials, 1970-2007 (Boxes 721-739)"],"bibliography_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\n        \u003cextptr type=\"simple\" title=\"'Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater.' Arena Stage. Accessed February 3, 2016.\" show=\"new\" href=\"http://www.arenastage.org/plan-your-visit/the-mead-center/\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e\n      \u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e Maslon, Lawrence, editor. \"The Arena Adventure: The First 40 Years.\" Washington, DC: Arena Stage, 1990.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e\n        \u003cextptr type=\"simple\" title=\"Richards, David. 'For Arena Stage, a Pioneering Selection.' Washington Post. December 5, 1997\" show=\"new\" href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/theater/features/arena51205.htm\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e\n      \u003c/p\u003e"],"bibliography_heading_ssm":["Bibliography"],"bibliography_tesim":[""," Maslon, Lawrence, editor. \"The Arena Adventure: The First 40 Years.\" Washington, DC: Arena Stage, 1990.",""],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eFrom its opening on August 16, 1950, the Arena Stage has dedicated itself to being a space of imagination and innovation, a tool of \"civilization,\" and Washington, DC's preeminent regional theater.  Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, the Arena Stage began as a for profit theater under Arena Enterprises, Inc. The original Hippodrome Theatre, located on Ninth and New York N.W. in DC, was revolutionary amongst regional theatres for its theatre-in-the-round construction and would provide the blueprint for all future Arena locations.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eArena began its long and successful life with Oliver Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer. Arena owed its early successes in the 1950s to its fluid play schedule organization and its willingness to put on works that were not commercial successes on Broadway. In November of 1956, after a year's hiatus, the company relocated to a temporary home at the Old Heurich Brewery, dubbed the Old Vat by company members. The move was facilitated in part by the commitment and drive of Board members J. Burke Knapp, Albert M. Berkowitz, Israel Convisser, Leslie Amouri, and Henry J. Danilowicz. However, financial issues would continue to trouble Arena Enterprises, Inc., eventually leading to its dissolution in 1959, and the creation of Arena's new, non-profit parent organization, the Washington Drama Society.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eDuring the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington since 1895. Chicago architect Harry Weese designed the space to be as innovative as possible while still maintaining the theater-in-the-round layout. Now a non-profit theater, Arena drew much of its funding during this time from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and generous donations from both the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundations.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe Arena Stage began some of its most ambitious work during the 1960s including forming the Living Stage Theater Company, further integrating its cast, and staging its most ambitious and acclaimed work to date: The Great White Hope. The Great White Hope included twenty five additional guest actors, including James Earl Jones, and was an enormous success, both critically and financially, for Arena. It was the first major resident theater production to be exported to Broadway. Fichandler also began to experiment with casting African-American actors in traditionally white roles during the 1968 season after she published the paper \"Towards a Deepening Aesthetic\". Fichandler experimented with non-traditional casting in plays like King Lear and The Threepenny Opera, but unfortunately these plays were met with critical confusion and disappointing ticket sales. Arena Stage was incredibly successful in the 1970s, garnering awards and critical approval, and international recognition. Not content with the current Arena Stage configuration, Fichandler and others worked diligently to acquire another stage facility that would collaborate, not compete, with the current Stage. Generosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new Kreeger Theater which opened on January 15, 1971.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn 1973 Arena would have the opportunity to take two of its plays, Our Town and Inherit the Wind to the USSR. This was the first ever trip to the Soviet Union undertaken by a resident theater group. The trip was a wild success with Russian audiences giving the cast a standing ovation following their performance of Inherit the Wind at the Moscow Art Theatre. In April 1976 the American Theatre Critics Association bestowed upon the Arena Stage a special Tony Award for resident theaters. The ATCA cited Arena's qualities as a \"trailblazer\" in theatrical arts and representative of other theaters that had followed its lead.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe early 1980s were a difficult time for theater, but, in spite of this, Arena continued to push the limits of conventional residential theater. The 1982 production of K2, for example, saw the construction of a sheer glacial face on the Kreeger stage according to the vision of set designer Ming Cho Lee. In 1986 twenty-three actors and a thirteen member production staff traveled to Jerusalem to perform Zelda's production of The Crucible at the Israel Festival.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e1989 marked the end of an era as Zelda Fichandler announced that she would step down as Arena's producing director at the end of the 1990-1991 fortieth anniversary season. Douglas C. Wager would succeed her as artistic director. Amid financial difficulties and changing times for theaters everywhere, Arena's resident company of actors was disbanded by the late 1990s. Wager remained at the helm until 1998, when Molly Smith took over the position. Under Smith's leadership, Bing Thom architects completed another major renovation of Arena's existing buildings into the Mead Center for American Theater in 2010. Smith is still Arena's artistic director as of 2016.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMany now-famous actors took part in Arena Stage productions during the early part of their careers. Some of them include Robert Prosky, Morgan Freeman, Dianne Weist, James Earl Jones, Kevin Kline, Christopher Guest, Yeardley Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Ned Beatty, Jane Alexander, and Ron Perlman. Many other set designers, artists, costume designers, and technical workers owe their early success and experience to the Arena Stage.\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["From its opening on August 16, 1950, the Arena Stage has dedicated itself to being a space of imagination and innovation, a tool of \"civilization,\" and Washington, DC's preeminent regional theater.  Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, the Arena Stage began as a for profit theater under Arena Enterprises, Inc. The original Hippodrome Theatre, located on Ninth and New York N.W. in DC, was revolutionary amongst regional theatres for its theatre-in-the-round construction and would provide the blueprint for all future Arena locations.","Arena began its long and successful life with Oliver Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer. Arena owed its early successes in the 1950s to its fluid play schedule organization and its willingness to put on works that were not commercial successes on Broadway. In November of 1956, after a year's hiatus, the company relocated to a temporary home at the Old Heurich Brewery, dubbed the Old Vat by company members. The move was facilitated in part by the commitment and drive of Board members J. Burke Knapp, Albert M. Berkowitz, Israel Convisser, Leslie Amouri, and Henry J. Danilowicz. However, financial issues would continue to trouble Arena Enterprises, Inc., eventually leading to its dissolution in 1959, and the creation of Arena's new, non-profit parent organization, the Washington Drama Society.","During the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington since 1895. Chicago architect Harry Weese designed the space to be as innovative as possible while still maintaining the theater-in-the-round layout. Now a non-profit theater, Arena drew much of its funding during this time from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and generous donations from both the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundations.","The Arena Stage began some of its most ambitious work during the 1960s including forming the Living Stage Theater Company, further integrating its cast, and staging its most ambitious and acclaimed work to date: The Great White Hope. The Great White Hope included twenty five additional guest actors, including James Earl Jones, and was an enormous success, both critically and financially, for Arena. It was the first major resident theater production to be exported to Broadway. Fichandler also began to experiment with casting African-American actors in traditionally white roles during the 1968 season after she published the paper \"Towards a Deepening Aesthetic\". Fichandler experimented with non-traditional casting in plays like King Lear and The Threepenny Opera, but unfortunately these plays were met with critical confusion and disappointing ticket sales. Arena Stage was incredibly successful in the 1970s, garnering awards and critical approval, and international recognition. Not content with the current Arena Stage configuration, Fichandler and others worked diligently to acquire another stage facility that would collaborate, not compete, with the current Stage. Generosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new Kreeger Theater which opened on January 15, 1971.","In 1973 Arena would have the opportunity to take two of its plays, Our Town and Inherit the Wind to the USSR. This was the first ever trip to the Soviet Union undertaken by a resident theater group. The trip was a wild success with Russian audiences giving the cast a standing ovation following their performance of Inherit the Wind at the Moscow Art Theatre. In April 1976 the American Theatre Critics Association bestowed upon the Arena Stage a special Tony Award for resident theaters. The ATCA cited Arena's qualities as a \"trailblazer\" in theatrical arts and representative of other theaters that had followed its lead.","The early 1980s were a difficult time for theater, but, in spite of this, Arena continued to push the limits of conventional residential theater. The 1982 production of K2, for example, saw the construction of a sheer glacial face on the Kreeger stage according to the vision of set designer Ming Cho Lee. In 1986 twenty-three actors and a thirteen member production staff traveled to Jerusalem to perform Zelda's production of The Crucible at the Israel Festival.","1989 marked the end of an era as Zelda Fichandler announced that she would step down as Arena's producing director at the end of the 1990-1991 fortieth anniversary season. Douglas C. Wager would succeed her as artistic director. Amid financial difficulties and changing times for theaters everywhere, Arena's resident company of actors was disbanded by the late 1990s. Wager remained at the helm until 1998, when Molly Smith took over the position. Under Smith's leadership, Bing Thom architects completed another major renovation of Arena's existing buildings into the Mead Center for American Theater in 2010. Smith is still Arena's artistic director as of 2016.","Many now-famous actors took part in Arena Stage productions during the early part of their careers. Some of them include Robert Prosky, Morgan Freeman, Dianne Weist, James Earl Jones, Kevin Kline, Christopher Guest, Yeardley Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Ned Beatty, Jane Alexander, and Ron Perlman. Many other set designers, artists, costume designers, and technical workers owe their early success and experience to the Arena Stage."],"phystech_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to watch reel-to-reel film and audio, Betacam, or U-matic tapes contained in Series 5.2 and 5.3. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access.\u003c/p\u003e"],"phystech_heading_ssm":["Technical Requirements"],"phystech_tesim":["The Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to watch reel-to-reel film and audio, Betacam, or U-matic tapes contained in Series 5.2 and 5.3. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eArena Stage records, C0017, Special Collections and Archives, George Mason University Libraries.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Arena Stage records, C0017, Special Collections and Archives, George Mason University Libraries."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eProcessed by Harvard Theatre Collection and George Mason University Special Collections and Archives staff. Reprocessed by Greta Suiter, Kerry Mitchell, Elizabeth Beckman, Diane Stancil, and Nick Welsh.  EAD markup completed by Elizabeth Beckman in 2016.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["Processed by Harvard Theatre Collection and George Mason University Special Collections and Archives staff. Reprocessed by Greta Suiter, Kerry Mitchell, Elizabeth Beckman, Diane Stancil, and Nick Welsh.  EAD markup completed by Elizabeth Beckman in 2016."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSpecial Collections and Archives holds several collections of personal papers of individuals involved with Arena Stage, including the Zelda Fichandler papers, the Thomas Fichandler papers, and the Ken Kitch papers, as well as the Living Stage Theater Company collection and many other theater collections.\u003c/p\u003e"],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Material"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["Special Collections and Archives holds several collections of personal papers of individuals involved with Arena Stage, including the Zelda Fichandler papers, the Thomas Fichandler papers, and the Ken Kitch papers, as well as the Living Stage Theater Company collection and many other theater collections."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from 1949 to 2010, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records pertaining to the theater's finances, publicity, buildings, and programs.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSeries 1: Administrative records (1949-2007) documents the creation, operation, and maintenance of Arena Stage and its various programs. It is further divided into 6 subseries.  Subseries 1.1: Correspondence includes correspondence arranged alphabetically by the correspondent's last name or by organizational name. Some correspondence is further aggregated and then organized alphabetically, such as \"Play Correspondence\" or \"Audience Response.\" Of particular note are letters from President Bill Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and King Kong star Fay Wray.  Subseries 1.2: Programs, policies, and procedures, includes records of Arena's programs, such as the \"Arena Angels\" volunteer program and fellowship programs, policies, such as bylaws, diversity policies, and handbooks, and planning, including season planning and long-range plans.  This subseries is broken up into four sub-subseries.  Sub-subseries 1.3.1: Financial papers documents Arena's finances and includes stockholder documents from its beginnings as a for-profit theater, grant-related documentation after the theater transitioned to a non-profit in the late 1950s, and records of the theater's development office, some of which were kept by department director Elspeth Udvarhelyi.  Sub-subseries 1.3.2: Personnel records includes information on staff at Arena Stage arranged alphabetically.  Of particular interest are headshots and/or resumes of a number of well-known actors, including James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, Henry Winkler, Edward Hermann, Yeardley Smith, Jane Alexander, Swoosie Kurtz, Victor Garber, Ron Perlman, Annette Benning, Olympia Dukakis, John Lithgow, John Voigt, Sigourney Weaver, and Rosemary Harris.  Sub-subseries 1.3.3: Casting information contains notes on casting for productions arranged alphabetically by play.  Sub-subseries 1.3.4: Production contracts includes official agreements between Arena and others arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 1.4: Meeting minutes contains meeting minutes from Arena's Board of Trustees, staff, and other subgroups within the organization. Subseries 1.5: Communications and events, is also divided into four sub-subseries.  Sub-subseries 1.5.1: Events documents special events held by Arena Stage, including anniversaries, galas, benefits, openings and press events.  Sub-subseries 1.5.2: Communications and Marketing includes records produced by the Communications and Marketing departments, including meeting minutes, planning, research, and correspondence.  Sub-subseries 1.5.3: Printed Material includes subscriber materials, mailings, brochures, reviews collected and arranged by play title, and programs organized chronologically.  Sub-subseries 1.5.4: Theater Communications Group contains correspondence, reports, and other information generated from Arena's association with the Theater Communications Group, an organization of theaters around the United States.  Subseries 1.6: Buildings and facilities includes information about and architectural plans for Arena's various buildings over the years, including the Hippodrome, the Old Vat, the 1960 permanent building, and the Kreeger Theater addition.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSeries 2: Production Files (1950-2010) is comprised of records related to the artistic development and performance of Arena's plays.  It is divided into 6 subseries.  Subseries 2.1: Dramaturgical files documents literary, historical and background research done by Arena's literary department for various plays, including articles, research packets, actor's packets, and scripts.  It is generally organized alphabetically by play.  Subseries 2.2: Playwright subject files contains research on various playwrights, both living and dead, whose work has been performed at Arena.  It is organized alphabetically by playwright's last name. Subseries 2.3: Production files includes scripts, blocking information, correspondence, and other material related to the production of Arena's plays.  It is arranged alphabetically by play title.  Subseries 2.4: Stage manager's reports includes daily reports by the stage manager of productions for the entire runs of many of Arena's plays from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s.  The reports include running times, incident reports, and other commentary on the audience and the performance.  Subseries 2.5: Wrap files contains documents collected from throughout the runs of various productions, including reviews that reflect the wider response to the play.  Subseries 2.6: Producing director's files contains documents from Arena's second Producing director after Zelda Fichandler, Doug Wager, who served from 1991-1998.  It includes pre-production speeches given by Wager, as well as planning files.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSeries 3: Photographs (1950-1991)is divided into 3 subseries.  Subseries 3.1: Production photographs includes photos of scenes from Arena's productions arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 3.2: Production books includes production photos collected in books, many of which are by professional photographer George de Vincent. Subseries 3.3: Buildings, staff, and events includes photographs of Arena's buildings, staff and cast portraits, and event photographs, such as prints from Arena's 30th anniversary celebration and from Arena's Soviet Union and Israel tours.  Subseries 3.4: Negatives and slides includes slides and negatives of Arena's staff and events, as well as some buildings, sets, and production-related images.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSeries 4: Oversize (1949-late 2000s) is divided into 3 subseries and contains a variety of oversize material.  Subseries 4.1: Braille programs contains programs in Braille for various Arena productions from the 1990s and early 2000s.  Subseries 4.2: Miscellaneous artwork and programs includes posters from Arena productions and events, enlarged photos, costume sketches, and other oversized material, such as a large model of the Mead Center for American Theater.  Subseries 4.3: Scrapbooks contains scrapbooks created for each of Arena's seasons up until 1988.  It also includes scrapbooks for Arena's tour of the Soviet Union and of visitors to Arena.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSeries 5: Audiovisual (1970-2007) contains several types of formats and is divided into 3 subseries.  Series 5.1: Performances on VHS contains VHS tapes (a few of which have associated DVDs) of performances at Arena arranged alphabetically by play title.  Series 5.2: Reel-to-reel contains production and event footage on reel-to-reel film.  Series 5.3: Other audiovisual formats and VHS tapes contains footage of events and productions on audiocassette, Betacam, and U-matic tapes.  \u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from 1949 to 2010, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records pertaining to the theater's finances, publicity, buildings, and programs.","Series 1: Administrative records (1949-2007) documents the creation, operation, and maintenance of Arena Stage and its various programs. It is further divided into 6 subseries.  Subseries 1.1: Correspondence includes correspondence arranged alphabetically by the correspondent's last name or by organizational name. Some correspondence is further aggregated and then organized alphabetically, such as \"Play Correspondence\" or \"Audience Response.\" Of particular note are letters from President Bill Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and King Kong star Fay Wray.  Subseries 1.2: Programs, policies, and procedures, includes records of Arena's programs, such as the \"Arena Angels\" volunteer program and fellowship programs, policies, such as bylaws, diversity policies, and handbooks, and planning, including season planning and long-range plans.  This subseries is broken up into four sub-subseries.  Sub-subseries 1.3.1: Financial papers documents Arena's finances and includes stockholder documents from its beginnings as a for-profit theater, grant-related documentation after the theater transitioned to a non-profit in the late 1950s, and records of the theater's development office, some of which were kept by department director Elspeth Udvarhelyi.  Sub-subseries 1.3.2: Personnel records includes information on staff at Arena Stage arranged alphabetically.  Of particular interest are headshots and/or resumes of a number of well-known actors, including James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, Henry Winkler, Edward Hermann, Yeardley Smith, Jane Alexander, Swoosie Kurtz, Victor Garber, Ron Perlman, Annette Benning, Olympia Dukakis, John Lithgow, John Voigt, Sigourney Weaver, and Rosemary Harris.  Sub-subseries 1.3.3: Casting information contains notes on casting for productions arranged alphabetically by play.  Sub-subseries 1.3.4: Production contracts includes official agreements between Arena and others arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 1.4: Meeting minutes contains meeting minutes from Arena's Board of Trustees, staff, and other subgroups within the organization. Subseries 1.5: Communications and events, is also divided into four sub-subseries.  Sub-subseries 1.5.1: Events documents special events held by Arena Stage, including anniversaries, galas, benefits, openings and press events.  Sub-subseries 1.5.2: Communications and Marketing includes records produced by the Communications and Marketing departments, including meeting minutes, planning, research, and correspondence.  Sub-subseries 1.5.3: Printed Material includes subscriber materials, mailings, brochures, reviews collected and arranged by play title, and programs organized chronologically.  Sub-subseries 1.5.4: Theater Communications Group contains correspondence, reports, and other information generated from Arena's association with the Theater Communications Group, an organization of theaters around the United States.  Subseries 1.6: Buildings and facilities includes information about and architectural plans for Arena's various buildings over the years, including the Hippodrome, the Old Vat, the 1960 permanent building, and the Kreeger Theater addition.","Series 2: Production Files (1950-2010) is comprised of records related to the artistic development and performance of Arena's plays.  It is divided into 6 subseries.  Subseries 2.1: Dramaturgical files documents literary, historical and background research done by Arena's literary department for various plays, including articles, research packets, actor's packets, and scripts.  It is generally organized alphabetically by play.  Subseries 2.2: Playwright subject files contains research on various playwrights, both living and dead, whose work has been performed at Arena.  It is organized alphabetically by playwright's last name. Subseries 2.3: Production files includes scripts, blocking information, correspondence, and other material related to the production of Arena's plays.  It is arranged alphabetically by play title.  Subseries 2.4: Stage manager's reports includes daily reports by the stage manager of productions for the entire runs of many of Arena's plays from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s.  The reports include running times, incident reports, and other commentary on the audience and the performance.  Subseries 2.5: Wrap files contains documents collected from throughout the runs of various productions, including reviews that reflect the wider response to the play.  Subseries 2.6: Producing director's files contains documents from Arena's second Producing director after Zelda Fichandler, Doug Wager, who served from 1991-1998.  It includes pre-production speeches given by Wager, as well as planning files.","Series 3: Photographs (1950-1991)is divided into 3 subseries.  Subseries 3.1: Production photographs includes photos of scenes from Arena's productions arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 3.2: Production books includes production photos collected in books, many of which are by professional photographer George de Vincent. Subseries 3.3: Buildings, staff, and events includes photographs of Arena's buildings, staff and cast portraits, and event photographs, such as prints from Arena's 30th anniversary celebration and from Arena's Soviet Union and Israel tours.  Subseries 3.4: Negatives and slides includes slides and negatives of Arena's staff and events, as well as some buildings, sets, and production-related images.","Series 4: Oversize (1949-late 2000s) is divided into 3 subseries and contains a variety of oversize material.  Subseries 4.1: Braille programs contains programs in Braille for various Arena productions from the 1990s and early 2000s.  Subseries 4.2: Miscellaneous artwork and programs includes posters from Arena productions and events, enlarged photos, costume sketches, and other oversized material, such as a large model of the Mead Center for American Theater.  Subseries 4.3: Scrapbooks contains scrapbooks created for each of Arena's seasons up until 1988.  It also includes scrapbooks for Arena's tour of the Soviet Union and of visitors to Arena.","Series 5: Audiovisual (1970-2007) contains several types of formats and is divided into 3 subseries.  Series 5.1: Performances on VHS contains VHS tapes (a few of which have associated DVDs) of performances at Arena arranged alphabetically by play title.  Series 5.2: Reel-to-reel contains production and event footage on reel-to-reel film.  Series 5.3: Other audiovisual formats and VHS tapes contains footage of events and productions on audiocassette, Betacam, and U-matic tapes.  "],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are no restrictions.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["There are no restrictions."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"ref2\" label=\"Abstract\"\u003eThe Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from its beginnings in 1950 to the present, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, handwritten correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from its beginnings in 1950 to the present, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, handwritten correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records."],"names_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center.","Arena Stage","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"corpname_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center.","Arena Stage","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"language_ssim":["English\n            "],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":8332,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-01T00:52:17.185Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_arenastage_c02_c03_c1541"}},{"id":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c02_c03_c1541","type":"File","attributes":{"title":"You Can't Take it With You (2 of 2)","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c02_c03_c1541#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c02_c03_c1541","ref_ssm":["vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c02_c03_c1541"],"id":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c02_c03_c1541","ead_ssi":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","_root_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","_nest_parent_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c02_c03","parent_ssi":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c02_c03","parent_ssim":["vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c02","vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c02_c03"],"parent_ids_ssim":["vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c02","vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c02_c03"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Arena Stage records","Series 2: Production files","Subseries 2.3: Production files"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Arena Stage records","Series 2: Production files","Subseries 2.3: Production files"],"text":["Arena Stage records","Series 2: Production files","Subseries 2.3: Production files","You Can't Take it With You (2 of 2)","box 527","folder 6"],"title_filing_ssi":"You Can't Take it With You (2 of 2)","title_ssm":["You Can't Take it With You (2 of 2)"],"title_tesim":["You Can't Take it With You (2 of 2)"],"unitdate_other_ssim":["1979"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1979"],"normalized_title_ssm":["You Can't Take it With You (2 of 2)"],"component_level_isim":[3],"repository_ssim":["George Mason University"],"collection_ssim":["Arena Stage records"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["File"],"level_ssim":["File"],"sort_isi":6346,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["Collection is open to research. Some personnel records in Series 1 Subseries 3 Sub-subseries 2: Personnel, staff contain Social Security Numbers and must be screened by SCRC staff before researchers can view them."],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)"],"date_range_isim":[1979],"containers_ssim":["box 527","folder 6"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Contents note"],"_nest_path_":"/components#1/components#2/components#1540","timestamp":"2026-05-01T00:23:25.700Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","ead_ssi":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","_root_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","_nest_parent_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/GMU/repositories_2_resources_416.xml","title_ssm":["Arena Stage records"],"title_tesim":["Arena Stage records"],"unitdate_ssm":["1949 - 2010"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1949 - 2010"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["C0017","/repositories/2/resources/416"],"text":["C0017","/repositories/2/resources/416","Arena Stage records","Theater -- Washington (D.C.)","Theater","Theater -- United States","Theater programs","Theater -- Production and direction","Performing arts","Video recordings","Sound recordings","Photographic prints","Collection is open to research. Some personnel records in Series 1 Subseries 3 Sub-subseries 2: Personnel, staff contain Social Security Numbers and must be screened by SCRC staff before researchers can view them.","Accruals to this collection are expected.","The collection is arranged into five series, each of which is further divided into subseries:","Series Series 1: Administrative records, 1949-2007 (Boxes 1-196) Series 2: Production files, 1950-2010 (Boxes 197-588, 654-663) Series 3: Photographs, 1950-1991 (Boxes 589-639) Series 4: Oversize materials, 1949-late 2000s (Boxes 640-720) Series 5: Audiovisual materials, 1970-2007 (Boxes 721-739)",""," Maslon, Lawrence, editor. \"The Arena Adventure: The First 40 Years.\" Washington, DC: Arena Stage, 1990.","","From its opening on August 16, 1950, the Arena Stage has dedicated itself to being a space of imagination and innovation, a tool of \"civilization,\" and Washington, D.C.'s preeminent regional theater. Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, the Arena Stage began as a for-profit theater under Arena Enterprises, Inc. The original Hippodrome Theatre, located on Ninth and New York N.W. in D.C., was revolutionary amongst regional theatres for its theatre-in-the-round construction and would provide the blueprint for all future Arena locations.","Arena began its long and successful life with Oliver Goldsmith's  She Stoops to Conquer.  Arena owed its early successes in the 1950s to its fluid play schedule organization and its willingness to put on works that were not commercial successes on Broadway. In November of 1956, after a year's hiatus, the company relocated to a temporary home at the Old Heurich Brewery, dubbed the Old Vat by company members. The move was facilitated in part by the commitment and drive of Board members J. Burke Knapp, Albert M. Berkowitz, Israel Convisser, Leslie Amouri, and Henry J. Danilowicz. However, financial issues would continue to trouble Arena Enterprises, Inc., eventually leading to its dissolution in 1959, and the creation of Arena's new, non-profit parent organization, the Washington Drama Society.","During the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington since 1895. Chicago architect Harry Weese designed the space to be as innovative as possible while still maintaining the theater-in-the-round layout. Now a non-profit theater, Arena drew much of its funding during this time from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and generous donations from both the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundations.","The Arena Stage began some of its most ambitious work during the 1960s including forming the Living Stage Theatre Company, further integrating its cast, and staging its most ambitious and acclaimed work to date:  The Great White Hope. The Great White Hope  included twenty five additional guest actors, including James Earl Jones, and was an enormous success, both critically and financially, for Arena. It was the first major resident theater production to be exported to Broadway. Fichandler also began to experiment with casting African American actors in traditionally white roles during the 1968 season after she published the paper \"Towards a Deepening Aesthetic.\" Fichandler experimented with non-traditional casting in plays like  King Lear  and  The Threepenny Opera , but unfortunately these plays were met with critical confusion and disappointing ticket sales. Arena Stage was incredibly successful in the 1970s, garnering awards and critical approval, and international recognition. Not content with the current Arena Stage configuration, Fichandler and others worked diligently to acquire another stage facility that would collaborate, not compete, with the current Stage. Generosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new Kreeger Theater which opened on January 15, 1971.","In 1973 Arena would have the opportunity to take two of its plays,  Our Town  and  Inherit the Wind  to the U.S.S.R. This was the first ever trip to the Soviet Union undertaken by a resident theater group. The trip was a wild success with Russian audiences giving the cast a standing ovation following their performance of  Inherit the Wind  at the Moscow Art Theatre. In April 1976 the American Theatre Critics Association bestowed upon the Arena Stage a special Tony Award for resident theaters. The ATCA cited Arena's qualities as a \"trailblazer\" in theatrical arts and representative of other theaters that had followed its lead.","The early 1980s were a difficult time for theater, but, in spite of this, Arena continued to push the limits of conventional residential theater. The 1982 production of  K2 , for example, saw the construction of a sheer glacial face on the Kreeger stage according to the vision of set designer Ming Cho Lee. In 1986 twenty-three actors and a thirteen member production staff traveled to Jerusalem to perform Zelda's production of  The Crucible  at the Israel Festival.","1989 marked the end of an era as Zelda Fichandler announced that she would step down as Arena's producing director at the end of the 1990-1991 fortieth anniversary season. Douglas C. Wager would succeed her as artistic director. Amid financial difficulties and changing times for theaters everywhere, Arena's resident company of actors was disbanded by the late 1990s. Wager remained at the helm until 1998, when Molly Smith took over the position. Under Smith's leadership, Bing Thom architects completed another major renovation of Arena's existing buildings into the Mead Center for American Theater in 2010. Smith served as Arena's artistic director until 2023, when she retired and was succeeded by current Aristic Director, Hana Sharif.","Many now-famous actors took part in Arena Stage productions during the early part of their careers. Some of them include Robert Prosky, Morgan Freeman, Dianne Wiest, James Earl Jones, Kevin Kline, Christopher Guest, Yeardley Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Ned Beatty, Jane Alexander, and Ron Perlman. Many other set designers, artists, costume designers, and technical workers owe their early success and experience to the Arena Stage.","The Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to film and audio reels, Betacam, or U-matic tapes contained in Series 5.2 and 5.3. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access.","Processed by Harvard Theatre Collection and George Mason University Special Collections Research Center staff. Reprocessed by Greta Suiter, Kerry Mitchell, Elizabeth Beckman, Diane Stancil, and Nick Welsh. EAD markup completed by Elizabeth Beckman in 2016. Finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in 2025.","The Special Collections Research Center holds the personal papers of several individuals involved with Arena Stage, including the Zelda Fichandler papers, the Thomas C. Fichandler papers, the Ken Kitch papers, as well as the Living Stage records.","The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from 1949 to 2010, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records pertaining to the theater's finances, publicity, buildings, and programs.","Series 1: Administrative records (1949-2007) documents the creation, operation, and maintenance of Arena Stage and its various programs. It is further divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 1.1: Correspondence includes correspondence arranged alphabetically by the correspondent's last name or by organizational name. Some correspondence is further aggregated and then organized alphabetically, such as \"Play Correspondence\" or \"Audience Response.\" Of particular note are letters from President Bill Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and King Kong star Fay Wray. Subseries 1.2: Programs, policies, and procedures, includes records of Arena's programs, such as the \"Arena Angels\" volunteer program and fellowship programs, policies, such as bylaws, diversity policies, and handbooks, and planning, including season planning and long-range plans. This subseries is broken up into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.3.1: Financial papers documents Arena's finances and includes stockholder documents from its beginnings as a for-profit theater, grant-related documentation after the theater transitioned to a non-profit in the late 1950s, and records of the theater's development office, some of which were kept by department director Elspeth Udvarhelyi. Sub-subseries 1.3.2: Personnel records includes information on staff at Arena Stage arranged alphabetically. Of particular interest are headshots and/or resumes of a number of well-known actors, including James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, Henry Winkler, Edward Hermann, Yeardley Smith, Jane Alexander, Swoosie Kurtz, Victor Garber, Ron Perlman, Annette Benning, Olympia Dukakis, John Lithgow, John Voigt, Sigourney Weaver, and Rosemary Harris. Sub-subseries 1.3.3: Casting information contains notes on casting for productions arranged alphabetically by play. Sub-subseries 1.3.4: Production contracts includes official agreements between Arena and others arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 1.4: Meeting minutes contains meeting minutes from Arena's Board of Trustees, staff, and other subgroups within the organization. Subseries 1.5: Communications and events, is also divided into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.5.1: Events documents special events held by Arena Stage, including anniversaries, galas, benefits, openings and press events. Sub-subseries 1.5.2: Communications and Marketing includes records produced by the Communications and Marketing departments, including meeting minutes, planning, research, and correspondence. Sub-subseries 1.5.3: Printed Material includes subscriber materials, mailings, brochures, reviews collected and arranged by play title, and programs organized chronologically. Sub-subseries 1.5.4: Theater Communications Group contains correspondence, reports, and other information generated from Arena's association with the Theater Communications Group, an organization of theaters around the United States. Subseries 1.6: Buildings and facilities includes information about and architectural plans for Arena's various buildings over the years, including the Hippodrome, the Old Vat, the 1960 permanent building, and the Kreeger Theater addition.","Series 2: Production Files (1950-2010) is comprised of records related to the artistic development and performance of Arena's plays. It is divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 2.1: Dramaturgical files documents literary, historical and background research done by Arena's literary department for various plays, including articles, research packets, actor's packets, and scripts. It is generally organized alphabetically by play. Subseries 2.2: Playwright subject files contains research on various playwrights, both living and dead, whose work has been performed at Arena. It is organized alphabetically by playwright's last name. Subseries 2.3: Production files includes scripts, blocking information, correspondence, and other material related to the production of Arena's plays. It is arranged alphabetically by play title. Subseries 2.4: Stage manager's reports includes daily reports by the stage manager of productions for the entire runs of many of Arena's plays from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s. The reports include running times, incident reports, and other commentary on the audience and the performance. Subseries 2.5: Wrap files contains documents collected from throughout the runs of various productions, including reviews that reflect the wider response to the play. Subseries 2.6: Producing director's files contains documents from Arena's second Producing director after Zelda Fichandler, Doug Wager, who served from 1991-1998. It includes pre-production speeches given by Wager, as well as planning files.","Series 3: Photographs (1950-1991)is divided into 3 subseries. Subseries 3.1: Production photographs includes photos of scenes from Arena's productions arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 3.2: Production books includes production photos collected in books, many of which are by professional photographer George de Vincent. Subseries 3.3: Buildings, staff, and events includes photographs of Arena's buildings, staff and cast portraits, and event photographs, such as prints from Arena's 30th anniversary celebration and from Arena's Soviet Union and Israel tours. Subseries 3.4: Negatives and slides includes slides and negatives of Arena's staff and events, as well as some buildings, sets, and production-related images.","Series 4: Oversize (1949-late 2000s) is divided into 3 subseries and contains a variety of oversize material. Subseries 4.1: Braille programs contains programs in Braille for various Arena productions from the 1990s and early 2000s. Subseries 4.2: Miscellaneous artwork and programs includes posters from Arena productions and events, enlarged photos, costume sketches, and other oversized material, such as a large model of the Mead Center for American Theater. Subseries 4.3: Scrapbooks contains scrapbooks created for each of Arena's seasons up until 1988. It also includes scrapbooks for Arena's tour of the Soviet Union and of visitors to Arena.","Series 5: Audiovisual (1970-2007) contains several types of formats and is divided into 3 subseries. Series 5.1: Performances on VHS contains VHS tapes (a few of which have associated DVDs) of performances at Arena arranged alphabetically by play title. Series 5.2: Reel-to-reel contains production and event footage on reel-to-reel film. Series 5.3: Other audiovisual formats and VHS tapes contains footage of events and productions on audiocassette, Betacam, and U-matic tapes. ","The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)","The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from its beginnings in 1950 to the present, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, handwritten correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records.","\nR 5, C 1, S 2 - R 9, C 4, S 7 \n\n\nR29, C1, S2\n\nOS R 3, C 2, S 1 - C 3, S 7\nOS R 4, C 5, S 5 \nOS R 5, C 2, S 3\nOS R 5, C 5, S 4\nOS R 6, C 4, S 6 - S 7\nOS R 7, C 1, S 2\nMap Case 9.1, 11.5","George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)","Fichandler, Thomas C.","Fichandler, Zelda, 1924-2016","English"],"unitid_tesim":["C0017","/repositories/2/resources/416"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Arena Stage records"],"collection_title_tesim":["Arena Stage records"],"collection_ssim":["Arena Stage records"],"repository_ssm":["George Mason University"],"repository_ssim":["George Mason University"],"creator_ssm":["Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"creator_ssim":["Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"creators_ssim":["Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"access_terms_ssm":["The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)"],"acqinfo_ssim":["Donated by Arena Stage in 2000-2024.","This collection has additional unprocessed accessions 2023.040-C and 2024.088-C, and therefore this finding aid may not be fully up to date. Please contact SCRC for more information."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Theater -- Washington (D.C.)","Theater","Theater -- United States","Theater programs","Theater -- Production and direction","Performing arts","Video recordings","Sound recordings","Photographic prints"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Theater -- Washington (D.C.)","Theater","Theater -- United States","Theater programs","Theater -- Production and direction","Performing arts","Video recordings","Sound recordings","Photographic prints"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["369.5 Linear Feet 739 boxes"],"extent_tesim":["369.5 Linear Feet 739 boxes"],"genreform_ssim":["Video recordings","Sound recordings","Photographic prints"],"date_range_isim":[1949,1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCollection is open to research. Some personnel records in Series 1 Subseries 3 Sub-subseries 2: Personnel, staff contain Social Security Numbers and must be screened by SCRC staff before researchers can view them.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access Restrictions"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["Collection is open to research. Some personnel records in Series 1 Subseries 3 Sub-subseries 2: Personnel, staff contain Social Security Numbers and must be screened by SCRC staff before researchers can view them."],"accruals_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAccruals to this collection are expected.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accruals_heading_ssm":["Accruals"],"accruals_tesim":["Accruals to this collection are expected."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is arranged into five series, each of which is further divided into subseries:\u003c/p\u003e","\u003clist type=\"ordered\"\u003e\n      \u003chead\u003eSeries\u003c/head\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 1: Administrative records, 1949-2007 (Boxes 1-196)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 2: Production files, 1950-2010 (Boxes 197-588, 654-663)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 3: Photographs, 1950-1991 (Boxes 589-639)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 4: Oversize materials, 1949-late 2000s (Boxes 640-720)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 5: Audiovisual materials, 1970-2007 (Boxes 721-739)\u003c/item\u003e\n    \u003c/list\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The collection is arranged into five series, each of which is further divided into subseries:","Series Series 1: Administrative records, 1949-2007 (Boxes 1-196) Series 2: Production files, 1950-2010 (Boxes 197-588, 654-663) Series 3: Photographs, 1950-1991 (Boxes 589-639) Series 4: Oversize materials, 1949-late 2000s (Boxes 640-720) Series 5: Audiovisual materials, 1970-2007 (Boxes 721-739)"],"bibliography_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\u003cextptr href=\"http://www.arenastage.org/plan-your-visit/the-mead-center/\" title=\"'Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater.' Arena Stage. Accessed February 3, 2016.\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e \u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e Maslon, Lawrence, editor. \"The Arena Adventure: The First 40 Years.\" Washington, DC: Arena Stage, 1990.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e \u003cextptr href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/theater/features/arena51205.htm\" title=\"Richards, David. 'For Arena Stage, a Pioneering Selection.' Washington Post. December 5, 1997\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e \u003c/p\u003e"],"bibliography_heading_ssm":["Bibliography"],"bibliography_tesim":[""," Maslon, Lawrence, editor. \"The Arena Adventure: The First 40 Years.\" Washington, DC: Arena Stage, 1990.",""],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eFrom its opening on August 16, 1950, the Arena Stage has dedicated itself to being a space of imagination and innovation, a tool of \"civilization,\" and Washington, D.C.'s preeminent regional theater. Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, the Arena Stage began as a for-profit theater under Arena Enterprises, Inc. The original Hippodrome Theatre, located on Ninth and New York N.W. in D.C., was revolutionary amongst regional theatres for its theatre-in-the-round construction and would provide the blueprint for all future Arena locations.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eArena began its long and successful life with Oliver Goldsmith's \u003citalic\u003eShe Stoops to Conquer.\u003c/italic\u003e Arena owed its early successes in the 1950s to its fluid play schedule organization and its willingness to put on works that were not commercial successes on Broadway. In November of 1956, after a year's hiatus, the company relocated to a temporary home at the Old Heurich Brewery, dubbed the Old Vat by company members. The move was facilitated in part by the commitment and drive of Board members J. Burke Knapp, Albert M. Berkowitz, Israel Convisser, Leslie Amouri, and Henry J. Danilowicz. However, financial issues would continue to trouble Arena Enterprises, Inc., eventually leading to its dissolution in 1959, and the creation of Arena's new, non-profit parent organization, the Washington Drama Society.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eDuring the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington since 1895. Chicago architect Harry Weese designed the space to be as innovative as possible while still maintaining the theater-in-the-round layout. Now a non-profit theater, Arena drew much of its funding during this time from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and generous donations from both the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundations.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe Arena Stage began some of its most ambitious work during the 1960s including forming the Living Stage Theatre Company, further integrating its cast, and staging its most ambitious and acclaimed work to date: \u003citalic\u003eThe Great White Hope.\u003c/italic\u003e \u003citalic\u003eThe Great White Hope\u003c/italic\u003e included twenty five additional guest actors, including James Earl Jones, and was an enormous success, both critically and financially, for Arena. It was the first major resident theater production to be exported to Broadway. Fichandler also began to experiment with casting African American actors in traditionally white roles during the 1968 season after she published the paper \"Towards a Deepening Aesthetic.\" Fichandler experimented with non-traditional casting in plays like \u003citalic\u003eKing Lear\u003c/italic\u003e and \u003citalic\u003eThe Threepenny Opera\u003c/italic\u003e, but unfortunately these plays were met with critical confusion and disappointing ticket sales. Arena Stage was incredibly successful in the 1970s, garnering awards and critical approval, and international recognition. Not content with the current Arena Stage configuration, Fichandler and others worked diligently to acquire another stage facility that would collaborate, not compete, with the current Stage. Generosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new Kreeger Theater which opened on January 15, 1971.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eIn 1973 Arena would have the opportunity to take two of its plays, \u003citalic\u003eOur Town\u003c/italic\u003e and \u003citalic\u003eInherit the Wind\u003c/italic\u003e to the U.S.S.R. This was the first ever trip to the Soviet Union undertaken by a resident theater group. The trip was a wild success with Russian audiences giving the cast a standing ovation following their performance of \u003citalic\u003eInherit the Wind\u003c/italic\u003e at the Moscow Art Theatre. In April 1976 the American Theatre Critics Association bestowed upon the Arena Stage a special Tony Award for resident theaters. The ATCA cited Arena's qualities as a \"trailblazer\" in theatrical arts and representative of other theaters that had followed its lead.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe early 1980s were a difficult time for theater, but, in spite of this, Arena continued to push the limits of conventional residential theater. The 1982 production of \u003citalic\u003eK2\u003c/italic\u003e, for example, saw the construction of a sheer glacial face on the Kreeger stage according to the vision of set designer Ming Cho Lee. In 1986 twenty-three actors and a thirteen member production staff traveled to Jerusalem to perform Zelda's production of \u003citalic\u003eThe Crucible\u003c/italic\u003e at the Israel Festival.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e1989 marked the end of an era as Zelda Fichandler announced that she would step down as Arena's producing director at the end of the 1990-1991 fortieth anniversary season. Douglas C. Wager would succeed her as artistic director. Amid financial difficulties and changing times for theaters everywhere, Arena's resident company of actors was disbanded by the late 1990s. Wager remained at the helm until 1998, when Molly Smith took over the position. Under Smith's leadership, Bing Thom architects completed another major renovation of Arena's existing buildings into the Mead Center for American Theater in 2010. Smith served as Arena's artistic director until 2023, when she retired and was succeeded by current Aristic Director, Hana Sharif.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eMany now-famous actors took part in Arena Stage productions during the early part of their careers. Some of them include Robert Prosky, Morgan Freeman, Dianne Wiest, James Earl Jones, Kevin Kline, Christopher Guest, Yeardley Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Ned Beatty, Jane Alexander, and Ron Perlman. Many other set designers, artists, costume designers, and technical workers owe their early success and experience to the Arena Stage.\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["From its opening on August 16, 1950, the Arena Stage has dedicated itself to being a space of imagination and innovation, a tool of \"civilization,\" and Washington, D.C.'s preeminent regional theater. Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, the Arena Stage began as a for-profit theater under Arena Enterprises, Inc. The original Hippodrome Theatre, located on Ninth and New York N.W. in D.C., was revolutionary amongst regional theatres for its theatre-in-the-round construction and would provide the blueprint for all future Arena locations.","Arena began its long and successful life with Oliver Goldsmith's  She Stoops to Conquer.  Arena owed its early successes in the 1950s to its fluid play schedule organization and its willingness to put on works that were not commercial successes on Broadway. In November of 1956, after a year's hiatus, the company relocated to a temporary home at the Old Heurich Brewery, dubbed the Old Vat by company members. The move was facilitated in part by the commitment and drive of Board members J. Burke Knapp, Albert M. Berkowitz, Israel Convisser, Leslie Amouri, and Henry J. Danilowicz. However, financial issues would continue to trouble Arena Enterprises, Inc., eventually leading to its dissolution in 1959, and the creation of Arena's new, non-profit parent organization, the Washington Drama Society.","During the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington since 1895. Chicago architect Harry Weese designed the space to be as innovative as possible while still maintaining the theater-in-the-round layout. Now a non-profit theater, Arena drew much of its funding during this time from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and generous donations from both the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundations.","The Arena Stage began some of its most ambitious work during the 1960s including forming the Living Stage Theatre Company, further integrating its cast, and staging its most ambitious and acclaimed work to date:  The Great White Hope. The Great White Hope  included twenty five additional guest actors, including James Earl Jones, and was an enormous success, both critically and financially, for Arena. It was the first major resident theater production to be exported to Broadway. Fichandler also began to experiment with casting African American actors in traditionally white roles during the 1968 season after she published the paper \"Towards a Deepening Aesthetic.\" Fichandler experimented with non-traditional casting in plays like  King Lear  and  The Threepenny Opera , but unfortunately these plays were met with critical confusion and disappointing ticket sales. Arena Stage was incredibly successful in the 1970s, garnering awards and critical approval, and international recognition. Not content with the current Arena Stage configuration, Fichandler and others worked diligently to acquire another stage facility that would collaborate, not compete, with the current Stage. Generosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new Kreeger Theater which opened on January 15, 1971.","In 1973 Arena would have the opportunity to take two of its plays,  Our Town  and  Inherit the Wind  to the U.S.S.R. This was the first ever trip to the Soviet Union undertaken by a resident theater group. The trip was a wild success with Russian audiences giving the cast a standing ovation following their performance of  Inherit the Wind  at the Moscow Art Theatre. In April 1976 the American Theatre Critics Association bestowed upon the Arena Stage a special Tony Award for resident theaters. The ATCA cited Arena's qualities as a \"trailblazer\" in theatrical arts and representative of other theaters that had followed its lead.","The early 1980s were a difficult time for theater, but, in spite of this, Arena continued to push the limits of conventional residential theater. The 1982 production of  K2 , for example, saw the construction of a sheer glacial face on the Kreeger stage according to the vision of set designer Ming Cho Lee. In 1986 twenty-three actors and a thirteen member production staff traveled to Jerusalem to perform Zelda's production of  The Crucible  at the Israel Festival.","1989 marked the end of an era as Zelda Fichandler announced that she would step down as Arena's producing director at the end of the 1990-1991 fortieth anniversary season. Douglas C. Wager would succeed her as artistic director. Amid financial difficulties and changing times for theaters everywhere, Arena's resident company of actors was disbanded by the late 1990s. Wager remained at the helm until 1998, when Molly Smith took over the position. Under Smith's leadership, Bing Thom architects completed another major renovation of Arena's existing buildings into the Mead Center for American Theater in 2010. Smith served as Arena's artistic director until 2023, when she retired and was succeeded by current Aristic Director, Hana Sharif.","Many now-famous actors took part in Arena Stage productions during the early part of their careers. Some of them include Robert Prosky, Morgan Freeman, Dianne Wiest, James Earl Jones, Kevin Kline, Christopher Guest, Yeardley Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Ned Beatty, Jane Alexander, and Ron Perlman. Many other set designers, artists, costume designers, and technical workers owe their early success and experience to the Arena Stage."],"phystech_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to film and audio reels, Betacam, or U-matic tapes contained in Series 5.2 and 5.3. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access.\u003c/p\u003e"],"phystech_heading_ssm":["Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements"],"phystech_tesim":["The Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to film and audio reels, Betacam, or U-matic tapes contained in Series 5.2 and 5.3. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eArena Stage records, C0017, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Arena Stage records, C0017, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eProcessed by Harvard Theatre Collection and George Mason University Special Collections Research Center staff. Reprocessed by Greta Suiter, Kerry Mitchell, Elizabeth Beckman, Diane Stancil, and Nick Welsh. EAD markup completed by Elizabeth Beckman in 2016. Finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in 2025.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["Processed by Harvard Theatre Collection and George Mason University Special Collections Research Center staff. Reprocessed by Greta Suiter, Kerry Mitchell, Elizabeth Beckman, Diane Stancil, and Nick Welsh. EAD markup completed by Elizabeth Beckman in 2016. Finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in 2025."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Special Collections Research Center holds the personal papers of several individuals involved with Arena Stage, including the Zelda Fichandler papers, the Thomas C. Fichandler papers, the Ken Kitch papers, as well as the Living Stage records.\u003c/p\u003e"],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Material"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["The Special Collections Research Center holds the personal papers of several individuals involved with Arena Stage, including the Zelda Fichandler papers, the Thomas C. Fichandler papers, the Ken Kitch papers, as well as the Living Stage records."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from 1949 to 2010, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records pertaining to the theater's finances, publicity, buildings, and programs.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries 1: Administrative records (1949-2007) documents the creation, operation, and maintenance of Arena Stage and its various programs. It is further divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 1.1: Correspondence includes correspondence arranged alphabetically by the correspondent's last name or by organizational name. Some correspondence is further aggregated and then organized alphabetically, such as \"Play Correspondence\" or \"Audience Response.\" Of particular note are letters from President Bill Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and King Kong star Fay Wray. Subseries 1.2: Programs, policies, and procedures, includes records of Arena's programs, such as the \"Arena Angels\" volunteer program and fellowship programs, policies, such as bylaws, diversity policies, and handbooks, and planning, including season planning and long-range plans. This subseries is broken up into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.3.1: Financial papers documents Arena's finances and includes stockholder documents from its beginnings as a for-profit theater, grant-related documentation after the theater transitioned to a non-profit in the late 1950s, and records of the theater's development office, some of which were kept by department director Elspeth Udvarhelyi. Sub-subseries 1.3.2: Personnel records includes information on staff at Arena Stage arranged alphabetically. Of particular interest are headshots and/or resumes of a number of well-known actors, including James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, Henry Winkler, Edward Hermann, Yeardley Smith, Jane Alexander, Swoosie Kurtz, Victor Garber, Ron Perlman, Annette Benning, Olympia Dukakis, John Lithgow, John Voigt, Sigourney Weaver, and Rosemary Harris. Sub-subseries 1.3.3: Casting information contains notes on casting for productions arranged alphabetically by play. Sub-subseries 1.3.4: Production contracts includes official agreements between Arena and others arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 1.4: Meeting minutes contains meeting minutes from Arena's Board of Trustees, staff, and other subgroups within the organization. Subseries 1.5: Communications and events, is also divided into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.5.1: Events documents special events held by Arena Stage, including anniversaries, galas, benefits, openings and press events. Sub-subseries 1.5.2: Communications and Marketing includes records produced by the Communications and Marketing departments, including meeting minutes, planning, research, and correspondence. Sub-subseries 1.5.3: Printed Material includes subscriber materials, mailings, brochures, reviews collected and arranged by play title, and programs organized chronologically. Sub-subseries 1.5.4: Theater Communications Group contains correspondence, reports, and other information generated from Arena's association with the Theater Communications Group, an organization of theaters around the United States. Subseries 1.6: Buildings and facilities includes information about and architectural plans for Arena's various buildings over the years, including the Hippodrome, the Old Vat, the 1960 permanent building, and the Kreeger Theater addition.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries 2: Production Files (1950-2010) is comprised of records related to the artistic development and performance of Arena's plays. It is divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 2.1: Dramaturgical files documents literary, historical and background research done by Arena's literary department for various plays, including articles, research packets, actor's packets, and scripts. It is generally organized alphabetically by play. Subseries 2.2: Playwright subject files contains research on various playwrights, both living and dead, whose work has been performed at Arena. It is organized alphabetically by playwright's last name. Subseries 2.3: Production files includes scripts, blocking information, correspondence, and other material related to the production of Arena's plays. It is arranged alphabetically by play title. Subseries 2.4: Stage manager's reports includes daily reports by the stage manager of productions for the entire runs of many of Arena's plays from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s. The reports include running times, incident reports, and other commentary on the audience and the performance. Subseries 2.5: Wrap files contains documents collected from throughout the runs of various productions, including reviews that reflect the wider response to the play. Subseries 2.6: Producing director's files contains documents from Arena's second Producing director after Zelda Fichandler, Doug Wager, who served from 1991-1998. It includes pre-production speeches given by Wager, as well as planning files.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries 3: Photographs (1950-1991)is divided into 3 subseries. Subseries 3.1: Production photographs includes photos of scenes from Arena's productions arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 3.2: Production books includes production photos collected in books, many of which are by professional photographer George de Vincent. Subseries 3.3: Buildings, staff, and events includes photographs of Arena's buildings, staff and cast portraits, and event photographs, such as prints from Arena's 30th anniversary celebration and from Arena's Soviet Union and Israel tours. Subseries 3.4: Negatives and slides includes slides and negatives of Arena's staff and events, as well as some buildings, sets, and production-related images.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries 4: Oversize (1949-late 2000s) is divided into 3 subseries and contains a variety of oversize material. Subseries 4.1: Braille programs contains programs in Braille for various Arena productions from the 1990s and early 2000s. Subseries 4.2: Miscellaneous artwork and programs includes posters from Arena productions and events, enlarged photos, costume sketches, and other oversized material, such as a large model of the Mead Center for American Theater. Subseries 4.3: Scrapbooks contains scrapbooks created for each of Arena's seasons up until 1988. It also includes scrapbooks for Arena's tour of the Soviet Union and of visitors to Arena.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries 5: Audiovisual (1970-2007) contains several types of formats and is divided into 3 subseries. Series 5.1: Performances on VHS contains VHS tapes (a few of which have associated DVDs) of performances at Arena arranged alphabetically by play title. Series 5.2: Reel-to-reel contains production and event footage on reel-to-reel film. Series 5.3: Other audiovisual formats and VHS tapes contains footage of events and productions on audiocassette, Betacam, and U-matic tapes. \u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from 1949 to 2010, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records pertaining to the theater's finances, publicity, buildings, and programs.","Series 1: Administrative records (1949-2007) documents the creation, operation, and maintenance of Arena Stage and its various programs. It is further divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 1.1: Correspondence includes correspondence arranged alphabetically by the correspondent's last name or by organizational name. Some correspondence is further aggregated and then organized alphabetically, such as \"Play Correspondence\" or \"Audience Response.\" Of particular note are letters from President Bill Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and King Kong star Fay Wray. Subseries 1.2: Programs, policies, and procedures, includes records of Arena's programs, such as the \"Arena Angels\" volunteer program and fellowship programs, policies, such as bylaws, diversity policies, and handbooks, and planning, including season planning and long-range plans. This subseries is broken up into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.3.1: Financial papers documents Arena's finances and includes stockholder documents from its beginnings as a for-profit theater, grant-related documentation after the theater transitioned to a non-profit in the late 1950s, and records of the theater's development office, some of which were kept by department director Elspeth Udvarhelyi. Sub-subseries 1.3.2: Personnel records includes information on staff at Arena Stage arranged alphabetically. Of particular interest are headshots and/or resumes of a number of well-known actors, including James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, Henry Winkler, Edward Hermann, Yeardley Smith, Jane Alexander, Swoosie Kurtz, Victor Garber, Ron Perlman, Annette Benning, Olympia Dukakis, John Lithgow, John Voigt, Sigourney Weaver, and Rosemary Harris. Sub-subseries 1.3.3: Casting information contains notes on casting for productions arranged alphabetically by play. Sub-subseries 1.3.4: Production contracts includes official agreements between Arena and others arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 1.4: Meeting minutes contains meeting minutes from Arena's Board of Trustees, staff, and other subgroups within the organization. Subseries 1.5: Communications and events, is also divided into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.5.1: Events documents special events held by Arena Stage, including anniversaries, galas, benefits, openings and press events. Sub-subseries 1.5.2: Communications and Marketing includes records produced by the Communications and Marketing departments, including meeting minutes, planning, research, and correspondence. Sub-subseries 1.5.3: Printed Material includes subscriber materials, mailings, brochures, reviews collected and arranged by play title, and programs organized chronologically. Sub-subseries 1.5.4: Theater Communications Group contains correspondence, reports, and other information generated from Arena's association with the Theater Communications Group, an organization of theaters around the United States. Subseries 1.6: Buildings and facilities includes information about and architectural plans for Arena's various buildings over the years, including the Hippodrome, the Old Vat, the 1960 permanent building, and the Kreeger Theater addition.","Series 2: Production Files (1950-2010) is comprised of records related to the artistic development and performance of Arena's plays. It is divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 2.1: Dramaturgical files documents literary, historical and background research done by Arena's literary department for various plays, including articles, research packets, actor's packets, and scripts. It is generally organized alphabetically by play. Subseries 2.2: Playwright subject files contains research on various playwrights, both living and dead, whose work has been performed at Arena. It is organized alphabetically by playwright's last name. Subseries 2.3: Production files includes scripts, blocking information, correspondence, and other material related to the production of Arena's plays. It is arranged alphabetically by play title. Subseries 2.4: Stage manager's reports includes daily reports by the stage manager of productions for the entire runs of many of Arena's plays from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s. The reports include running times, incident reports, and other commentary on the audience and the performance. Subseries 2.5: Wrap files contains documents collected from throughout the runs of various productions, including reviews that reflect the wider response to the play. Subseries 2.6: Producing director's files contains documents from Arena's second Producing director after Zelda Fichandler, Doug Wager, who served from 1991-1998. It includes pre-production speeches given by Wager, as well as planning files.","Series 3: Photographs (1950-1991)is divided into 3 subseries. Subseries 3.1: Production photographs includes photos of scenes from Arena's productions arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 3.2: Production books includes production photos collected in books, many of which are by professional photographer George de Vincent. Subseries 3.3: Buildings, staff, and events includes photographs of Arena's buildings, staff and cast portraits, and event photographs, such as prints from Arena's 30th anniversary celebration and from Arena's Soviet Union and Israel tours. Subseries 3.4: Negatives and slides includes slides and negatives of Arena's staff and events, as well as some buildings, sets, and production-related images.","Series 4: Oversize (1949-late 2000s) is divided into 3 subseries and contains a variety of oversize material. Subseries 4.1: Braille programs contains programs in Braille for various Arena productions from the 1990s and early 2000s. Subseries 4.2: Miscellaneous artwork and programs includes posters from Arena productions and events, enlarged photos, costume sketches, and other oversized material, such as a large model of the Mead Center for American Theater. Subseries 4.3: Scrapbooks contains scrapbooks created for each of Arena's seasons up until 1988. It also includes scrapbooks for Arena's tour of the Soviet Union and of visitors to Arena.","Series 5: Audiovisual (1970-2007) contains several types of formats and is divided into 3 subseries. Series 5.1: Performances on VHS contains VHS tapes (a few of which have associated DVDs) of performances at Arena arranged alphabetically by play title. Series 5.2: Reel-to-reel contains production and event footage on reel-to-reel film. Series 5.3: Other audiovisual formats and VHS tapes contains footage of events and productions on audiocassette, Betacam, and U-matic tapes. "],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)"],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_ec96c412f915842d3012676b73803163\" label=\"Abstract\"\u003eThe Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from its beginnings in 1950 to the present, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, handwritten correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from its beginnings in 1950 to the present, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, handwritten correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records."],"physloc_html_tesm":["\u003cphysloc id=\"aspace_22f8958322c3fdee6366a384bb686980\"\u003e\nR 5, C 1, S 2 - R 9, C 4, S 7 \n\n\nR29, C1, S2\n\nOS R 3, C 2, S 1 - C 3, S 7\nOS R 4, C 5, S 5 \nOS R 5, C 2, S 3\nOS R 5, C 5, S 4\nOS R 6, C 4, S 6 - S 7\nOS R 7, C 1, S 2\nMap Case 9.1, 11.5\u003c/physloc\u003e"],"physloc_tesim":["\nR 5, C 1, S 2 - R 9, C 4, S 7 \n\n\nR29, C1, S2\n\nOS R 3, C 2, S 1 - C 3, S 7\nOS R 4, C 5, S 5 \nOS R 5, C 2, S 3\nOS R 5, C 5, S 4\nOS R 6, C 4, S 6 - S 7\nOS R 7, C 1, S 2\nMap Case 9.1, 11.5"],"names_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)","Fichandler, Thomas C.","Fichandler, Zelda, 1924-2016"],"corpname_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"names_coll_ssim":["Fichandler, Thomas C.","Fichandler, Zelda, 1924-2016"],"persname_ssim":["Fichandler, Thomas C.","Fichandler, Zelda, 1924-2016"],"language_ssim":["English"],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":8332,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-01T00:23:25.700Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c02_c03_c1541"}},{"id":"vifgm_arenastage_c03_c02_c89","type":"File","attributes":{"title":"You Can't Take It With You by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart (1 of 2),","abstract_or_scope":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_arenastage_c03_c02_c89#abstract_or_scope","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","label":"Abstract Or Scope"}},"breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_arenastage_c03_c02_c89#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"vifgm_arenastage_c03_c02_c89","ref_ssm":["vifgm_arenastage_c03_c02_c89"],"id":"vifgm_arenastage_c03_c02_c89","ead_ssi":"vifgm_arenastage","_root_":"vifgm_arenastage","_nest_parent_":"vifgm_arenastage_c03_c02","parent_ssi":"vifgm_arenastage_c03_c02","parent_ssim":["vifgm_arenastage","vifgm_arenastage_c03","vifgm_arenastage_c03_c02"],"parent_ids_ssim":["vifgm_arenastage","vifgm_arenastage_c03","vifgm_arenastage_c03_c02"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Arena Stage records","Series 3: Photographs,","Subseries 3.2: Production books,"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Arena Stage records","Series 3: Photographs,","Subseries 3.2: Production books,"],"text":["Arena Stage records","Series 3: Photographs,","Subseries 3.2: Production books,","You Can't Take It With You by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart (1 of 2),","Box 632","Folder 1",""],"title_filing_ssi":"You Can't Take It With You by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart (1 of 2), \n","title_ssm":["You Can't Take It With You by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart (1 of 2), \n"],"title_tesim":["You Can't Take It With You by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart (1 of 2), \n"],"unitdate_other_ssim":["1979-1980\n"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1979/1980"],"normalized_title_ssm":["You Can't Take It With You by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart (1 of 2),"],"component_level_isim":[3],"repository_ssim":["George Mason University"],"collection_ssim":["Arena Stage records"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["File"],"level_ssim":["File"],"sort_isi":7590,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["Collection is open to research.  Some personnel records in Series 1 Subseries 3 Sub-subseries 2: Personnel, staff contain Social Security Numbers and must be screened by SCRC staff before researchers can view them."],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["There are no restrictions."],"date_range_isim":[1979,1980],"containers_ssim":["Box 632","Folder 1"],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp/\u003e"],"scopecontent_tesim":[""],"_nest_path_":"/components#2/components#1/components#88","timestamp":"2026-05-01T00:52:17.185Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"vifgm_arenastage","ead_ssi":"vifgm_arenastage","_root_":"vifgm_arenastage","_nest_parent_":"vifgm_arenastage","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/gmu/arenastage.xml","aspace_url_ssi":"http://sca.gmu.edu/finding_aids/arenastage.html","title_ssm":["Arena Stage records"],"title_tesim":["Arena Stage records"],"unitdate_ssm":["1949-2010"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1949-2010"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["C0017"],"text":["C0017","Arena Stage records","Theater--Washington (D.C.)","Photographic prints.","Sound recordings.","Video recordings.","Collection is open to research.  Some personnel records in Series 1 Subseries 3 Sub-subseries 2: Personnel, staff contain Social Security Numbers and must be screened by SCRC staff before researchers can view them.","The collection is arranged into five series, each of which is further divided into subseries:","Series 1: Administrative records, 1949-2007 (Boxes 1-196) Series 2: Production files, 1950-2010 (Boxes 197-588, 654-663) Series 3: Photographs, 1950-1991 (Boxes 589-639) Series 4: Oversize materials, 1949-late 2000s (Boxes 640-720) Series 5: Audiovisual materials, 1970-2007 (Boxes 721-739)",""," Maslon, Lawrence, editor. \"The Arena Adventure: The First 40 Years.\" Washington, DC: Arena Stage, 1990.","","From its opening on August 16, 1950, the Arena Stage has dedicated itself to being a space of imagination and innovation, a tool of \"civilization,\" and Washington, DC's preeminent regional theater.  Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, the Arena Stage began as a for profit theater under Arena Enterprises, Inc. The original Hippodrome Theatre, located on Ninth and New York N.W. in DC, was revolutionary amongst regional theatres for its theatre-in-the-round construction and would provide the blueprint for all future Arena locations.","Arena began its long and successful life with Oliver Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer. Arena owed its early successes in the 1950s to its fluid play schedule organization and its willingness to put on works that were not commercial successes on Broadway. In November of 1956, after a year's hiatus, the company relocated to a temporary home at the Old Heurich Brewery, dubbed the Old Vat by company members. The move was facilitated in part by the commitment and drive of Board members J. Burke Knapp, Albert M. Berkowitz, Israel Convisser, Leslie Amouri, and Henry J. Danilowicz. However, financial issues would continue to trouble Arena Enterprises, Inc., eventually leading to its dissolution in 1959, and the creation of Arena's new, non-profit parent organization, the Washington Drama Society.","During the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington since 1895. Chicago architect Harry Weese designed the space to be as innovative as possible while still maintaining the theater-in-the-round layout. Now a non-profit theater, Arena drew much of its funding during this time from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and generous donations from both the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundations.","The Arena Stage began some of its most ambitious work during the 1960s including forming the Living Stage Theater Company, further integrating its cast, and staging its most ambitious and acclaimed work to date: The Great White Hope. The Great White Hope included twenty five additional guest actors, including James Earl Jones, and was an enormous success, both critically and financially, for Arena. It was the first major resident theater production to be exported to Broadway. Fichandler also began to experiment with casting African-American actors in traditionally white roles during the 1968 season after she published the paper \"Towards a Deepening Aesthetic\". Fichandler experimented with non-traditional casting in plays like King Lear and The Threepenny Opera, but unfortunately these plays were met with critical confusion and disappointing ticket sales. Arena Stage was incredibly successful in the 1970s, garnering awards and critical approval, and international recognition. Not content with the current Arena Stage configuration, Fichandler and others worked diligently to acquire another stage facility that would collaborate, not compete, with the current Stage. Generosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new Kreeger Theater which opened on January 15, 1971.","In 1973 Arena would have the opportunity to take two of its plays, Our Town and Inherit the Wind to the USSR. This was the first ever trip to the Soviet Union undertaken by a resident theater group. The trip was a wild success with Russian audiences giving the cast a standing ovation following their performance of Inherit the Wind at the Moscow Art Theatre. In April 1976 the American Theatre Critics Association bestowed upon the Arena Stage a special Tony Award for resident theaters. The ATCA cited Arena's qualities as a \"trailblazer\" in theatrical arts and representative of other theaters that had followed its lead.","The early 1980s were a difficult time for theater, but, in spite of this, Arena continued to push the limits of conventional residential theater. The 1982 production of K2, for example, saw the construction of a sheer glacial face on the Kreeger stage according to the vision of set designer Ming Cho Lee. In 1986 twenty-three actors and a thirteen member production staff traveled to Jerusalem to perform Zelda's production of The Crucible at the Israel Festival.","1989 marked the end of an era as Zelda Fichandler announced that she would step down as Arena's producing director at the end of the 1990-1991 fortieth anniversary season. Douglas C. Wager would succeed her as artistic director. Amid financial difficulties and changing times for theaters everywhere, Arena's resident company of actors was disbanded by the late 1990s. Wager remained at the helm until 1998, when Molly Smith took over the position. Under Smith's leadership, Bing Thom architects completed another major renovation of Arena's existing buildings into the Mead Center for American Theater in 2010. Smith is still Arena's artistic director as of 2016.","Many now-famous actors took part in Arena Stage productions during the early part of their careers. Some of them include Robert Prosky, Morgan Freeman, Dianne Weist, James Earl Jones, Kevin Kline, Christopher Guest, Yeardley Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Ned Beatty, Jane Alexander, and Ron Perlman. Many other set designers, artists, costume designers, and technical workers owe their early success and experience to the Arena Stage.","The Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to watch reel-to-reel film and audio, Betacam, or U-matic tapes contained in Series 5.2 and 5.3. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access.","Processed by Harvard Theatre Collection and George Mason University Special Collections and Archives staff. Reprocessed by Greta Suiter, Kerry Mitchell, Elizabeth Beckman, Diane Stancil, and Nick Welsh.  EAD markup completed by Elizabeth Beckman in 2016.","Special Collections and Archives holds several collections of personal papers of individuals involved with Arena Stage, including the Zelda Fichandler papers, the Thomas Fichandler papers, and the Ken Kitch papers, as well as the Living Stage Theater Company collection and many other theater collections.","The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from 1949 to 2010, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records pertaining to the theater's finances, publicity, buildings, and programs.","Series 1: Administrative records (1949-2007) documents the creation, operation, and maintenance of Arena Stage and its various programs. It is further divided into 6 subseries.  Subseries 1.1: Correspondence includes correspondence arranged alphabetically by the correspondent's last name or by organizational name. Some correspondence is further aggregated and then organized alphabetically, such as \"Play Correspondence\" or \"Audience Response.\" Of particular note are letters from President Bill Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and King Kong star Fay Wray.  Subseries 1.2: Programs, policies, and procedures, includes records of Arena's programs, such as the \"Arena Angels\" volunteer program and fellowship programs, policies, such as bylaws, diversity policies, and handbooks, and planning, including season planning and long-range plans.  This subseries is broken up into four sub-subseries.  Sub-subseries 1.3.1: Financial papers documents Arena's finances and includes stockholder documents from its beginnings as a for-profit theater, grant-related documentation after the theater transitioned to a non-profit in the late 1950s, and records of the theater's development office, some of which were kept by department director Elspeth Udvarhelyi.  Sub-subseries 1.3.2: Personnel records includes information on staff at Arena Stage arranged alphabetically.  Of particular interest are headshots and/or resumes of a number of well-known actors, including James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, Henry Winkler, Edward Hermann, Yeardley Smith, Jane Alexander, Swoosie Kurtz, Victor Garber, Ron Perlman, Annette Benning, Olympia Dukakis, John Lithgow, John Voigt, Sigourney Weaver, and Rosemary Harris.  Sub-subseries 1.3.3: Casting information contains notes on casting for productions arranged alphabetically by play.  Sub-subseries 1.3.4: Production contracts includes official agreements between Arena and others arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 1.4: Meeting minutes contains meeting minutes from Arena's Board of Trustees, staff, and other subgroups within the organization. Subseries 1.5: Communications and events, is also divided into four sub-subseries.  Sub-subseries 1.5.1: Events documents special events held by Arena Stage, including anniversaries, galas, benefits, openings and press events.  Sub-subseries 1.5.2: Communications and Marketing includes records produced by the Communications and Marketing departments, including meeting minutes, planning, research, and correspondence.  Sub-subseries 1.5.3: Printed Material includes subscriber materials, mailings, brochures, reviews collected and arranged by play title, and programs organized chronologically.  Sub-subseries 1.5.4: Theater Communications Group contains correspondence, reports, and other information generated from Arena's association with the Theater Communications Group, an organization of theaters around the United States.  Subseries 1.6: Buildings and facilities includes information about and architectural plans for Arena's various buildings over the years, including the Hippodrome, the Old Vat, the 1960 permanent building, and the Kreeger Theater addition.","Series 2: Production Files (1950-2010) is comprised of records related to the artistic development and performance of Arena's plays.  It is divided into 6 subseries.  Subseries 2.1: Dramaturgical files documents literary, historical and background research done by Arena's literary department for various plays, including articles, research packets, actor's packets, and scripts.  It is generally organized alphabetically by play.  Subseries 2.2: Playwright subject files contains research on various playwrights, both living and dead, whose work has been performed at Arena.  It is organized alphabetically by playwright's last name. Subseries 2.3: Production files includes scripts, blocking information, correspondence, and other material related to the production of Arena's plays.  It is arranged alphabetically by play title.  Subseries 2.4: Stage manager's reports includes daily reports by the stage manager of productions for the entire runs of many of Arena's plays from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s.  The reports include running times, incident reports, and other commentary on the audience and the performance.  Subseries 2.5: Wrap files contains documents collected from throughout the runs of various productions, including reviews that reflect the wider response to the play.  Subseries 2.6: Producing director's files contains documents from Arena's second Producing director after Zelda Fichandler, Doug Wager, who served from 1991-1998.  It includes pre-production speeches given by Wager, as well as planning files.","Series 3: Photographs (1950-1991)is divided into 3 subseries.  Subseries 3.1: Production photographs includes photos of scenes from Arena's productions arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 3.2: Production books includes production photos collected in books, many of which are by professional photographer George de Vincent. Subseries 3.3: Buildings, staff, and events includes photographs of Arena's buildings, staff and cast portraits, and event photographs, such as prints from Arena's 30th anniversary celebration and from Arena's Soviet Union and Israel tours.  Subseries 3.4: Negatives and slides includes slides and negatives of Arena's staff and events, as well as some buildings, sets, and production-related images.","Series 4: Oversize (1949-late 2000s) is divided into 3 subseries and contains a variety of oversize material.  Subseries 4.1: Braille programs contains programs in Braille for various Arena productions from the 1990s and early 2000s.  Subseries 4.2: Miscellaneous artwork and programs includes posters from Arena productions and events, enlarged photos, costume sketches, and other oversized material, such as a large model of the Mead Center for American Theater.  Subseries 4.3: Scrapbooks contains scrapbooks created for each of Arena's seasons up until 1988.  It also includes scrapbooks for Arena's tour of the Soviet Union and of visitors to Arena.","Series 5: Audiovisual (1970-2007) contains several types of formats and is divided into 3 subseries.  Series 5.1: Performances on VHS contains VHS tapes (a few of which have associated DVDs) of performances at Arena arranged alphabetically by play title.  Series 5.2: Reel-to-reel contains production and event footage on reel-to-reel film.  Series 5.3: Other audiovisual formats and VHS tapes contains footage of events and productions on audiocassette, Betacam, and U-matic tapes.  ","There are no restrictions.","The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from its beginnings in 1950 to the present, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, handwritten correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records.","George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center.","Arena Stage","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)","English\n            "],"unitid_tesim":["C0017"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Arena Stage records"],"collection_title_tesim":["Arena Stage records"],"collection_ssim":["Arena Stage records"],"repository_ssm":["George Mason University"],"repository_ssim":["George Mason University"],"creator_ssm":["Arena Stage"],"creator_ssim":["Arena Stage"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["Arena Stage"],"creators_ssim":["Arena Stage"],"access_terms_ssm":["There are no restrictions."],"acqinfo_ssim":["Donated by Arena Stage in 2000-2011."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Theater--Washington (D.C.)","Photographic prints.","Sound recordings.","Video recordings."],"access_subjects_ssm":["Theater--Washington (D.C.)","Photographic prints.","Sound recordings.","Video recordings."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["739 boxes"],"extent_tesim":["739 boxes"],"date_range_isim":[1949,1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCollection is open to research.  Some personnel records in Series 1 Subseries 3 Sub-subseries 2: Personnel, staff contain Social Security Numbers and must be screened by SCRC staff before researchers can view them.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access Restrictions"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["Collection is open to research.  Some personnel records in Series 1 Subseries 3 Sub-subseries 2: Personnel, staff contain Social Security Numbers and must be screened by SCRC staff before researchers can view them."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is arranged into five series, each of which is further divided into subseries:\u003c/p\u003e","\u003clist type=\"ordered\"\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eSeries 1: Administrative records, 1949-2007 (Boxes 1-196)\u003c/item\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eSeries 2: Production files, 1950-2010 (Boxes 197-588, 654-663)\u003c/item\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eSeries 3: Photographs, 1950-1991 (Boxes 589-639)\u003c/item\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eSeries 4: Oversize materials, 1949-late 2000s (Boxes 640-720)\u003c/item\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eSeries 5: Audiovisual materials, 1970-2007 (Boxes 721-739)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/list\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The collection is arranged into five series, each of which is further divided into subseries:","Series 1: Administrative records, 1949-2007 (Boxes 1-196) Series 2: Production files, 1950-2010 (Boxes 197-588, 654-663) Series 3: Photographs, 1950-1991 (Boxes 589-639) Series 4: Oversize materials, 1949-late 2000s (Boxes 640-720) Series 5: Audiovisual materials, 1970-2007 (Boxes 721-739)"],"bibliography_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\n        \u003cextptr type=\"simple\" title=\"'Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater.' Arena Stage. Accessed February 3, 2016.\" show=\"new\" href=\"http://www.arenastage.org/plan-your-visit/the-mead-center/\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e\n      \u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e Maslon, Lawrence, editor. \"The Arena Adventure: The First 40 Years.\" Washington, DC: Arena Stage, 1990.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e\n        \u003cextptr type=\"simple\" title=\"Richards, David. 'For Arena Stage, a Pioneering Selection.' Washington Post. December 5, 1997\" show=\"new\" href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/theater/features/arena51205.htm\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e\n      \u003c/p\u003e"],"bibliography_heading_ssm":["Bibliography"],"bibliography_tesim":[""," Maslon, Lawrence, editor. \"The Arena Adventure: The First 40 Years.\" Washington, DC: Arena Stage, 1990.",""],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eFrom its opening on August 16, 1950, the Arena Stage has dedicated itself to being a space of imagination and innovation, a tool of \"civilization,\" and Washington, DC's preeminent regional theater.  Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, the Arena Stage began as a for profit theater under Arena Enterprises, Inc. The original Hippodrome Theatre, located on Ninth and New York N.W. in DC, was revolutionary amongst regional theatres for its theatre-in-the-round construction and would provide the blueprint for all future Arena locations.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eArena began its long and successful life with Oliver Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer. Arena owed its early successes in the 1950s to its fluid play schedule organization and its willingness to put on works that were not commercial successes on Broadway. In November of 1956, after a year's hiatus, the company relocated to a temporary home at the Old Heurich Brewery, dubbed the Old Vat by company members. The move was facilitated in part by the commitment and drive of Board members J. Burke Knapp, Albert M. Berkowitz, Israel Convisser, Leslie Amouri, and Henry J. Danilowicz. However, financial issues would continue to trouble Arena Enterprises, Inc., eventually leading to its dissolution in 1959, and the creation of Arena's new, non-profit parent organization, the Washington Drama Society.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eDuring the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington since 1895. Chicago architect Harry Weese designed the space to be as innovative as possible while still maintaining the theater-in-the-round layout. Now a non-profit theater, Arena drew much of its funding during this time from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and generous donations from both the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundations.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe Arena Stage began some of its most ambitious work during the 1960s including forming the Living Stage Theater Company, further integrating its cast, and staging its most ambitious and acclaimed work to date: The Great White Hope. The Great White Hope included twenty five additional guest actors, including James Earl Jones, and was an enormous success, both critically and financially, for Arena. It was the first major resident theater production to be exported to Broadway. Fichandler also began to experiment with casting African-American actors in traditionally white roles during the 1968 season after she published the paper \"Towards a Deepening Aesthetic\". Fichandler experimented with non-traditional casting in plays like King Lear and The Threepenny Opera, but unfortunately these plays were met with critical confusion and disappointing ticket sales. Arena Stage was incredibly successful in the 1970s, garnering awards and critical approval, and international recognition. Not content with the current Arena Stage configuration, Fichandler and others worked diligently to acquire another stage facility that would collaborate, not compete, with the current Stage. Generosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new Kreeger Theater which opened on January 15, 1971.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn 1973 Arena would have the opportunity to take two of its plays, Our Town and Inherit the Wind to the USSR. This was the first ever trip to the Soviet Union undertaken by a resident theater group. The trip was a wild success with Russian audiences giving the cast a standing ovation following their performance of Inherit the Wind at the Moscow Art Theatre. In April 1976 the American Theatre Critics Association bestowed upon the Arena Stage a special Tony Award for resident theaters. The ATCA cited Arena's qualities as a \"trailblazer\" in theatrical arts and representative of other theaters that had followed its lead.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe early 1980s were a difficult time for theater, but, in spite of this, Arena continued to push the limits of conventional residential theater. The 1982 production of K2, for example, saw the construction of a sheer glacial face on the Kreeger stage according to the vision of set designer Ming Cho Lee. In 1986 twenty-three actors and a thirteen member production staff traveled to Jerusalem to perform Zelda's production of The Crucible at the Israel Festival.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e1989 marked the end of an era as Zelda Fichandler announced that she would step down as Arena's producing director at the end of the 1990-1991 fortieth anniversary season. Douglas C. Wager would succeed her as artistic director. Amid financial difficulties and changing times for theaters everywhere, Arena's resident company of actors was disbanded by the late 1990s. Wager remained at the helm until 1998, when Molly Smith took over the position. Under Smith's leadership, Bing Thom architects completed another major renovation of Arena's existing buildings into the Mead Center for American Theater in 2010. Smith is still Arena's artistic director as of 2016.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMany now-famous actors took part in Arena Stage productions during the early part of their careers. Some of them include Robert Prosky, Morgan Freeman, Dianne Weist, James Earl Jones, Kevin Kline, Christopher Guest, Yeardley Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Ned Beatty, Jane Alexander, and Ron Perlman. Many other set designers, artists, costume designers, and technical workers owe their early success and experience to the Arena Stage.\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["From its opening on August 16, 1950, the Arena Stage has dedicated itself to being a space of imagination and innovation, a tool of \"civilization,\" and Washington, DC's preeminent regional theater.  Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, the Arena Stage began as a for profit theater under Arena Enterprises, Inc. The original Hippodrome Theatre, located on Ninth and New York N.W. in DC, was revolutionary amongst regional theatres for its theatre-in-the-round construction and would provide the blueprint for all future Arena locations.","Arena began its long and successful life with Oliver Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer. Arena owed its early successes in the 1950s to its fluid play schedule organization and its willingness to put on works that were not commercial successes on Broadway. In November of 1956, after a year's hiatus, the company relocated to a temporary home at the Old Heurich Brewery, dubbed the Old Vat by company members. The move was facilitated in part by the commitment and drive of Board members J. Burke Knapp, Albert M. Berkowitz, Israel Convisser, Leslie Amouri, and Henry J. Danilowicz. However, financial issues would continue to trouble Arena Enterprises, Inc., eventually leading to its dissolution in 1959, and the creation of Arena's new, non-profit parent organization, the Washington Drama Society.","During the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington since 1895. Chicago architect Harry Weese designed the space to be as innovative as possible while still maintaining the theater-in-the-round layout. Now a non-profit theater, Arena drew much of its funding during this time from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and generous donations from both the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundations.","The Arena Stage began some of its most ambitious work during the 1960s including forming the Living Stage Theater Company, further integrating its cast, and staging its most ambitious and acclaimed work to date: The Great White Hope. The Great White Hope included twenty five additional guest actors, including James Earl Jones, and was an enormous success, both critically and financially, for Arena. It was the first major resident theater production to be exported to Broadway. Fichandler also began to experiment with casting African-American actors in traditionally white roles during the 1968 season after she published the paper \"Towards a Deepening Aesthetic\". Fichandler experimented with non-traditional casting in plays like King Lear and The Threepenny Opera, but unfortunately these plays were met with critical confusion and disappointing ticket sales. Arena Stage was incredibly successful in the 1970s, garnering awards and critical approval, and international recognition. Not content with the current Arena Stage configuration, Fichandler and others worked diligently to acquire another stage facility that would collaborate, not compete, with the current Stage. Generosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new Kreeger Theater which opened on January 15, 1971.","In 1973 Arena would have the opportunity to take two of its plays, Our Town and Inherit the Wind to the USSR. This was the first ever trip to the Soviet Union undertaken by a resident theater group. The trip was a wild success with Russian audiences giving the cast a standing ovation following their performance of Inherit the Wind at the Moscow Art Theatre. In April 1976 the American Theatre Critics Association bestowed upon the Arena Stage a special Tony Award for resident theaters. The ATCA cited Arena's qualities as a \"trailblazer\" in theatrical arts and representative of other theaters that had followed its lead.","The early 1980s were a difficult time for theater, but, in spite of this, Arena continued to push the limits of conventional residential theater. The 1982 production of K2, for example, saw the construction of a sheer glacial face on the Kreeger stage according to the vision of set designer Ming Cho Lee. In 1986 twenty-three actors and a thirteen member production staff traveled to Jerusalem to perform Zelda's production of The Crucible at the Israel Festival.","1989 marked the end of an era as Zelda Fichandler announced that she would step down as Arena's producing director at the end of the 1990-1991 fortieth anniversary season. Douglas C. Wager would succeed her as artistic director. Amid financial difficulties and changing times for theaters everywhere, Arena's resident company of actors was disbanded by the late 1990s. Wager remained at the helm until 1998, when Molly Smith took over the position. Under Smith's leadership, Bing Thom architects completed another major renovation of Arena's existing buildings into the Mead Center for American Theater in 2010. Smith is still Arena's artistic director as of 2016.","Many now-famous actors took part in Arena Stage productions during the early part of their careers. Some of them include Robert Prosky, Morgan Freeman, Dianne Weist, James Earl Jones, Kevin Kline, Christopher Guest, Yeardley Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Ned Beatty, Jane Alexander, and Ron Perlman. Many other set designers, artists, costume designers, and technical workers owe their early success and experience to the Arena Stage."],"phystech_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to watch reel-to-reel film and audio, Betacam, or U-matic tapes contained in Series 5.2 and 5.3. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access.\u003c/p\u003e"],"phystech_heading_ssm":["Technical Requirements"],"phystech_tesim":["The Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to watch reel-to-reel film and audio, Betacam, or U-matic tapes contained in Series 5.2 and 5.3. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eArena Stage records, C0017, Special Collections and Archives, George Mason University Libraries.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Arena Stage records, C0017, Special Collections and Archives, George Mason University Libraries."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eProcessed by Harvard Theatre Collection and George Mason University Special Collections and Archives staff. Reprocessed by Greta Suiter, Kerry Mitchell, Elizabeth Beckman, Diane Stancil, and Nick Welsh.  EAD markup completed by Elizabeth Beckman in 2016.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["Processed by Harvard Theatre Collection and George Mason University Special Collections and Archives staff. Reprocessed by Greta Suiter, Kerry Mitchell, Elizabeth Beckman, Diane Stancil, and Nick Welsh.  EAD markup completed by Elizabeth Beckman in 2016."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSpecial Collections and Archives holds several collections of personal papers of individuals involved with Arena Stage, including the Zelda Fichandler papers, the Thomas Fichandler papers, and the Ken Kitch papers, as well as the Living Stage Theater Company collection and many other theater collections.\u003c/p\u003e"],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Material"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["Special Collections and Archives holds several collections of personal papers of individuals involved with Arena Stage, including the Zelda Fichandler papers, the Thomas Fichandler papers, and the Ken Kitch papers, as well as the Living Stage Theater Company collection and many other theater collections."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from 1949 to 2010, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records pertaining to the theater's finances, publicity, buildings, and programs.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSeries 1: Administrative records (1949-2007) documents the creation, operation, and maintenance of Arena Stage and its various programs. It is further divided into 6 subseries.  Subseries 1.1: Correspondence includes correspondence arranged alphabetically by the correspondent's last name or by organizational name. Some correspondence is further aggregated and then organized alphabetically, such as \"Play Correspondence\" or \"Audience Response.\" Of particular note are letters from President Bill Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and King Kong star Fay Wray.  Subseries 1.2: Programs, policies, and procedures, includes records of Arena's programs, such as the \"Arena Angels\" volunteer program and fellowship programs, policies, such as bylaws, diversity policies, and handbooks, and planning, including season planning and long-range plans.  This subseries is broken up into four sub-subseries.  Sub-subseries 1.3.1: Financial papers documents Arena's finances and includes stockholder documents from its beginnings as a for-profit theater, grant-related documentation after the theater transitioned to a non-profit in the late 1950s, and records of the theater's development office, some of which were kept by department director Elspeth Udvarhelyi.  Sub-subseries 1.3.2: Personnel records includes information on staff at Arena Stage arranged alphabetically.  Of particular interest are headshots and/or resumes of a number of well-known actors, including James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, Henry Winkler, Edward Hermann, Yeardley Smith, Jane Alexander, Swoosie Kurtz, Victor Garber, Ron Perlman, Annette Benning, Olympia Dukakis, John Lithgow, John Voigt, Sigourney Weaver, and Rosemary Harris.  Sub-subseries 1.3.3: Casting information contains notes on casting for productions arranged alphabetically by play.  Sub-subseries 1.3.4: Production contracts includes official agreements between Arena and others arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 1.4: Meeting minutes contains meeting minutes from Arena's Board of Trustees, staff, and other subgroups within the organization. Subseries 1.5: Communications and events, is also divided into four sub-subseries.  Sub-subseries 1.5.1: Events documents special events held by Arena Stage, including anniversaries, galas, benefits, openings and press events.  Sub-subseries 1.5.2: Communications and Marketing includes records produced by the Communications and Marketing departments, including meeting minutes, planning, research, and correspondence.  Sub-subseries 1.5.3: Printed Material includes subscriber materials, mailings, brochures, reviews collected and arranged by play title, and programs organized chronologically.  Sub-subseries 1.5.4: Theater Communications Group contains correspondence, reports, and other information generated from Arena's association with the Theater Communications Group, an organization of theaters around the United States.  Subseries 1.6: Buildings and facilities includes information about and architectural plans for Arena's various buildings over the years, including the Hippodrome, the Old Vat, the 1960 permanent building, and the Kreeger Theater addition.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSeries 2: Production Files (1950-2010) is comprised of records related to the artistic development and performance of Arena's plays.  It is divided into 6 subseries.  Subseries 2.1: Dramaturgical files documents literary, historical and background research done by Arena's literary department for various plays, including articles, research packets, actor's packets, and scripts.  It is generally organized alphabetically by play.  Subseries 2.2: Playwright subject files contains research on various playwrights, both living and dead, whose work has been performed at Arena.  It is organized alphabetically by playwright's last name. Subseries 2.3: Production files includes scripts, blocking information, correspondence, and other material related to the production of Arena's plays.  It is arranged alphabetically by play title.  Subseries 2.4: Stage manager's reports includes daily reports by the stage manager of productions for the entire runs of many of Arena's plays from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s.  The reports include running times, incident reports, and other commentary on the audience and the performance.  Subseries 2.5: Wrap files contains documents collected from throughout the runs of various productions, including reviews that reflect the wider response to the play.  Subseries 2.6: Producing director's files contains documents from Arena's second Producing director after Zelda Fichandler, Doug Wager, who served from 1991-1998.  It includes pre-production speeches given by Wager, as well as planning files.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSeries 3: Photographs (1950-1991)is divided into 3 subseries.  Subseries 3.1: Production photographs includes photos of scenes from Arena's productions arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 3.2: Production books includes production photos collected in books, many of which are by professional photographer George de Vincent. Subseries 3.3: Buildings, staff, and events includes photographs of Arena's buildings, staff and cast portraits, and event photographs, such as prints from Arena's 30th anniversary celebration and from Arena's Soviet Union and Israel tours.  Subseries 3.4: Negatives and slides includes slides and negatives of Arena's staff and events, as well as some buildings, sets, and production-related images.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSeries 4: Oversize (1949-late 2000s) is divided into 3 subseries and contains a variety of oversize material.  Subseries 4.1: Braille programs contains programs in Braille for various Arena productions from the 1990s and early 2000s.  Subseries 4.2: Miscellaneous artwork and programs includes posters from Arena productions and events, enlarged photos, costume sketches, and other oversized material, such as a large model of the Mead Center for American Theater.  Subseries 4.3: Scrapbooks contains scrapbooks created for each of Arena's seasons up until 1988.  It also includes scrapbooks for Arena's tour of the Soviet Union and of visitors to Arena.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSeries 5: Audiovisual (1970-2007) contains several types of formats and is divided into 3 subseries.  Series 5.1: Performances on VHS contains VHS tapes (a few of which have associated DVDs) of performances at Arena arranged alphabetically by play title.  Series 5.2: Reel-to-reel contains production and event footage on reel-to-reel film.  Series 5.3: Other audiovisual formats and VHS tapes contains footage of events and productions on audiocassette, Betacam, and U-matic tapes.  \u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from 1949 to 2010, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records pertaining to the theater's finances, publicity, buildings, and programs.","Series 1: Administrative records (1949-2007) documents the creation, operation, and maintenance of Arena Stage and its various programs. It is further divided into 6 subseries.  Subseries 1.1: Correspondence includes correspondence arranged alphabetically by the correspondent's last name or by organizational name. Some correspondence is further aggregated and then organized alphabetically, such as \"Play Correspondence\" or \"Audience Response.\" Of particular note are letters from President Bill Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and King Kong star Fay Wray.  Subseries 1.2: Programs, policies, and procedures, includes records of Arena's programs, such as the \"Arena Angels\" volunteer program and fellowship programs, policies, such as bylaws, diversity policies, and handbooks, and planning, including season planning and long-range plans.  This subseries is broken up into four sub-subseries.  Sub-subseries 1.3.1: Financial papers documents Arena's finances and includes stockholder documents from its beginnings as a for-profit theater, grant-related documentation after the theater transitioned to a non-profit in the late 1950s, and records of the theater's development office, some of which were kept by department director Elspeth Udvarhelyi.  Sub-subseries 1.3.2: Personnel records includes information on staff at Arena Stage arranged alphabetically.  Of particular interest are headshots and/or resumes of a number of well-known actors, including James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, Henry Winkler, Edward Hermann, Yeardley Smith, Jane Alexander, Swoosie Kurtz, Victor Garber, Ron Perlman, Annette Benning, Olympia Dukakis, John Lithgow, John Voigt, Sigourney Weaver, and Rosemary Harris.  Sub-subseries 1.3.3: Casting information contains notes on casting for productions arranged alphabetically by play.  Sub-subseries 1.3.4: Production contracts includes official agreements between Arena and others arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 1.4: Meeting minutes contains meeting minutes from Arena's Board of Trustees, staff, and other subgroups within the organization. Subseries 1.5: Communications and events, is also divided into four sub-subseries.  Sub-subseries 1.5.1: Events documents special events held by Arena Stage, including anniversaries, galas, benefits, openings and press events.  Sub-subseries 1.5.2: Communications and Marketing includes records produced by the Communications and Marketing departments, including meeting minutes, planning, research, and correspondence.  Sub-subseries 1.5.3: Printed Material includes subscriber materials, mailings, brochures, reviews collected and arranged by play title, and programs organized chronologically.  Sub-subseries 1.5.4: Theater Communications Group contains correspondence, reports, and other information generated from Arena's association with the Theater Communications Group, an organization of theaters around the United States.  Subseries 1.6: Buildings and facilities includes information about and architectural plans for Arena's various buildings over the years, including the Hippodrome, the Old Vat, the 1960 permanent building, and the Kreeger Theater addition.","Series 2: Production Files (1950-2010) is comprised of records related to the artistic development and performance of Arena's plays.  It is divided into 6 subseries.  Subseries 2.1: Dramaturgical files documents literary, historical and background research done by Arena's literary department for various plays, including articles, research packets, actor's packets, and scripts.  It is generally organized alphabetically by play.  Subseries 2.2: Playwright subject files contains research on various playwrights, both living and dead, whose work has been performed at Arena.  It is organized alphabetically by playwright's last name. Subseries 2.3: Production files includes scripts, blocking information, correspondence, and other material related to the production of Arena's plays.  It is arranged alphabetically by play title.  Subseries 2.4: Stage manager's reports includes daily reports by the stage manager of productions for the entire runs of many of Arena's plays from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s.  The reports include running times, incident reports, and other commentary on the audience and the performance.  Subseries 2.5: Wrap files contains documents collected from throughout the runs of various productions, including reviews that reflect the wider response to the play.  Subseries 2.6: Producing director's files contains documents from Arena's second Producing director after Zelda Fichandler, Doug Wager, who served from 1991-1998.  It includes pre-production speeches given by Wager, as well as planning files.","Series 3: Photographs (1950-1991)is divided into 3 subseries.  Subseries 3.1: Production photographs includes photos of scenes from Arena's productions arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 3.2: Production books includes production photos collected in books, many of which are by professional photographer George de Vincent. Subseries 3.3: Buildings, staff, and events includes photographs of Arena's buildings, staff and cast portraits, and event photographs, such as prints from Arena's 30th anniversary celebration and from Arena's Soviet Union and Israel tours.  Subseries 3.4: Negatives and slides includes slides and negatives of Arena's staff and events, as well as some buildings, sets, and production-related images.","Series 4: Oversize (1949-late 2000s) is divided into 3 subseries and contains a variety of oversize material.  Subseries 4.1: Braille programs contains programs in Braille for various Arena productions from the 1990s and early 2000s.  Subseries 4.2: Miscellaneous artwork and programs includes posters from Arena productions and events, enlarged photos, costume sketches, and other oversized material, such as a large model of the Mead Center for American Theater.  Subseries 4.3: Scrapbooks contains scrapbooks created for each of Arena's seasons up until 1988.  It also includes scrapbooks for Arena's tour of the Soviet Union and of visitors to Arena.","Series 5: Audiovisual (1970-2007) contains several types of formats and is divided into 3 subseries.  Series 5.1: Performances on VHS contains VHS tapes (a few of which have associated DVDs) of performances at Arena arranged alphabetically by play title.  Series 5.2: Reel-to-reel contains production and event footage on reel-to-reel film.  Series 5.3: Other audiovisual formats and VHS tapes contains footage of events and productions on audiocassette, Betacam, and U-matic tapes.  "],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are no restrictions.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["There are no restrictions."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"ref2\" label=\"Abstract\"\u003eThe Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from its beginnings in 1950 to the present, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, handwritten correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from its beginnings in 1950 to the present, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, handwritten correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records."],"names_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center.","Arena Stage","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"corpname_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center.","Arena Stage","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"language_ssim":["English\n            "],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":8332,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-01T00:52:17.185Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_arenastage_c03_c02_c89"}},{"id":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c03_c02_c89","type":"File","attributes":{"title":"You Can't Take It With You by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart (1 of 2)","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c03_c02_c89#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c03_c02_c89","ref_ssm":["vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c03_c02_c89"],"id":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c03_c02_c89","ead_ssi":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","_root_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","_nest_parent_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c03_c02","parent_ssi":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c03_c02","parent_ssim":["vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c03","vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c03_c02"],"parent_ids_ssim":["vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c03","vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c03_c02"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Arena Stage records","Series 3: Photographs","Subseries 3.2: Production books"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Arena Stage records","Series 3: Photographs","Subseries 3.2: Production books"],"text":["Arena Stage records","Series 3: Photographs","Subseries 3.2: Production books","You Can't Take It With You by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart (1 of 2)","box 632","folder 1"],"title_filing_ssi":"You Can't Take It With You by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart (1 of 2)","title_ssm":["You Can't Take It With You by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart (1 of 2)"],"title_tesim":["You Can't Take It With You by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart (1 of 2)"],"unitdate_other_ssim":["1979-1980"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1979/1980"],"normalized_title_ssm":["You Can't Take It With You by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart (1 of 2)"],"component_level_isim":[3],"repository_ssim":["George Mason University"],"collection_ssim":["Arena Stage records"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["File"],"level_ssim":["File"],"sort_isi":7590,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["Collection is open to research. Some personnel records in Series 1 Subseries 3 Sub-subseries 2: Personnel, staff contain Social Security Numbers and must be screened by SCRC staff before researchers can view them."],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)"],"date_range_isim":[1979,1980],"containers_ssim":["box 632","folder 1"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Contents note"],"_nest_path_":"/components#2/components#1/components#88","timestamp":"2026-05-01T00:23:25.700Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","ead_ssi":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","_root_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","_nest_parent_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/GMU/repositories_2_resources_416.xml","title_ssm":["Arena Stage records"],"title_tesim":["Arena Stage records"],"unitdate_ssm":["1949 - 2010"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1949 - 2010"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["C0017","/repositories/2/resources/416"],"text":["C0017","/repositories/2/resources/416","Arena Stage records","Theater -- Washington (D.C.)","Theater","Theater -- United States","Theater programs","Theater -- Production and direction","Performing arts","Video recordings","Sound recordings","Photographic prints","Collection is open to research. Some personnel records in Series 1 Subseries 3 Sub-subseries 2: Personnel, staff contain Social Security Numbers and must be screened by SCRC staff before researchers can view them.","Accruals to this collection are expected.","The collection is arranged into five series, each of which is further divided into subseries:","Series Series 1: Administrative records, 1949-2007 (Boxes 1-196) Series 2: Production files, 1950-2010 (Boxes 197-588, 654-663) Series 3: Photographs, 1950-1991 (Boxes 589-639) Series 4: Oversize materials, 1949-late 2000s (Boxes 640-720) Series 5: Audiovisual materials, 1970-2007 (Boxes 721-739)",""," Maslon, Lawrence, editor. \"The Arena Adventure: The First 40 Years.\" Washington, DC: Arena Stage, 1990.","","From its opening on August 16, 1950, the Arena Stage has dedicated itself to being a space of imagination and innovation, a tool of \"civilization,\" and Washington, D.C.'s preeminent regional theater. Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, the Arena Stage began as a for-profit theater under Arena Enterprises, Inc. The original Hippodrome Theatre, located on Ninth and New York N.W. in D.C., was revolutionary amongst regional theatres for its theatre-in-the-round construction and would provide the blueprint for all future Arena locations.","Arena began its long and successful life with Oliver Goldsmith's  She Stoops to Conquer.  Arena owed its early successes in the 1950s to its fluid play schedule organization and its willingness to put on works that were not commercial successes on Broadway. In November of 1956, after a year's hiatus, the company relocated to a temporary home at the Old Heurich Brewery, dubbed the Old Vat by company members. The move was facilitated in part by the commitment and drive of Board members J. Burke Knapp, Albert M. Berkowitz, Israel Convisser, Leslie Amouri, and Henry J. Danilowicz. However, financial issues would continue to trouble Arena Enterprises, Inc., eventually leading to its dissolution in 1959, and the creation of Arena's new, non-profit parent organization, the Washington Drama Society.","During the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington since 1895. Chicago architect Harry Weese designed the space to be as innovative as possible while still maintaining the theater-in-the-round layout. Now a non-profit theater, Arena drew much of its funding during this time from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and generous donations from both the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundations.","The Arena Stage began some of its most ambitious work during the 1960s including forming the Living Stage Theatre Company, further integrating its cast, and staging its most ambitious and acclaimed work to date:  The Great White Hope. The Great White Hope  included twenty five additional guest actors, including James Earl Jones, and was an enormous success, both critically and financially, for Arena. It was the first major resident theater production to be exported to Broadway. Fichandler also began to experiment with casting African American actors in traditionally white roles during the 1968 season after she published the paper \"Towards a Deepening Aesthetic.\" Fichandler experimented with non-traditional casting in plays like  King Lear  and  The Threepenny Opera , but unfortunately these plays were met with critical confusion and disappointing ticket sales. Arena Stage was incredibly successful in the 1970s, garnering awards and critical approval, and international recognition. Not content with the current Arena Stage configuration, Fichandler and others worked diligently to acquire another stage facility that would collaborate, not compete, with the current Stage. Generosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new Kreeger Theater which opened on January 15, 1971.","In 1973 Arena would have the opportunity to take two of its plays,  Our Town  and  Inherit the Wind  to the U.S.S.R. This was the first ever trip to the Soviet Union undertaken by a resident theater group. The trip was a wild success with Russian audiences giving the cast a standing ovation following their performance of  Inherit the Wind  at the Moscow Art Theatre. In April 1976 the American Theatre Critics Association bestowed upon the Arena Stage a special Tony Award for resident theaters. The ATCA cited Arena's qualities as a \"trailblazer\" in theatrical arts and representative of other theaters that had followed its lead.","The early 1980s were a difficult time for theater, but, in spite of this, Arena continued to push the limits of conventional residential theater. The 1982 production of  K2 , for example, saw the construction of a sheer glacial face on the Kreeger stage according to the vision of set designer Ming Cho Lee. In 1986 twenty-three actors and a thirteen member production staff traveled to Jerusalem to perform Zelda's production of  The Crucible  at the Israel Festival.","1989 marked the end of an era as Zelda Fichandler announced that she would step down as Arena's producing director at the end of the 1990-1991 fortieth anniversary season. Douglas C. Wager would succeed her as artistic director. Amid financial difficulties and changing times for theaters everywhere, Arena's resident company of actors was disbanded by the late 1990s. Wager remained at the helm until 1998, when Molly Smith took over the position. Under Smith's leadership, Bing Thom architects completed another major renovation of Arena's existing buildings into the Mead Center for American Theater in 2010. Smith served as Arena's artistic director until 2023, when she retired and was succeeded by current Aristic Director, Hana Sharif.","Many now-famous actors took part in Arena Stage productions during the early part of their careers. Some of them include Robert Prosky, Morgan Freeman, Dianne Wiest, James Earl Jones, Kevin Kline, Christopher Guest, Yeardley Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Ned Beatty, Jane Alexander, and Ron Perlman. Many other set designers, artists, costume designers, and technical workers owe their early success and experience to the Arena Stage.","The Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to film and audio reels, Betacam, or U-matic tapes contained in Series 5.2 and 5.3. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access.","Processed by Harvard Theatre Collection and George Mason University Special Collections Research Center staff. Reprocessed by Greta Suiter, Kerry Mitchell, Elizabeth Beckman, Diane Stancil, and Nick Welsh. EAD markup completed by Elizabeth Beckman in 2016. Finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in 2025.","The Special Collections Research Center holds the personal papers of several individuals involved with Arena Stage, including the Zelda Fichandler papers, the Thomas C. Fichandler papers, the Ken Kitch papers, as well as the Living Stage records.","The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from 1949 to 2010, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records pertaining to the theater's finances, publicity, buildings, and programs.","Series 1: Administrative records (1949-2007) documents the creation, operation, and maintenance of Arena Stage and its various programs. It is further divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 1.1: Correspondence includes correspondence arranged alphabetically by the correspondent's last name or by organizational name. Some correspondence is further aggregated and then organized alphabetically, such as \"Play Correspondence\" or \"Audience Response.\" Of particular note are letters from President Bill Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and King Kong star Fay Wray. Subseries 1.2: Programs, policies, and procedures, includes records of Arena's programs, such as the \"Arena Angels\" volunteer program and fellowship programs, policies, such as bylaws, diversity policies, and handbooks, and planning, including season planning and long-range plans. This subseries is broken up into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.3.1: Financial papers documents Arena's finances and includes stockholder documents from its beginnings as a for-profit theater, grant-related documentation after the theater transitioned to a non-profit in the late 1950s, and records of the theater's development office, some of which were kept by department director Elspeth Udvarhelyi. Sub-subseries 1.3.2: Personnel records includes information on staff at Arena Stage arranged alphabetically. Of particular interest are headshots and/or resumes of a number of well-known actors, including James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, Henry Winkler, Edward Hermann, Yeardley Smith, Jane Alexander, Swoosie Kurtz, Victor Garber, Ron Perlman, Annette Benning, Olympia Dukakis, John Lithgow, John Voigt, Sigourney Weaver, and Rosemary Harris. Sub-subseries 1.3.3: Casting information contains notes on casting for productions arranged alphabetically by play. Sub-subseries 1.3.4: Production contracts includes official agreements between Arena and others arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 1.4: Meeting minutes contains meeting minutes from Arena's Board of Trustees, staff, and other subgroups within the organization. Subseries 1.5: Communications and events, is also divided into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.5.1: Events documents special events held by Arena Stage, including anniversaries, galas, benefits, openings and press events. Sub-subseries 1.5.2: Communications and Marketing includes records produced by the Communications and Marketing departments, including meeting minutes, planning, research, and correspondence. Sub-subseries 1.5.3: Printed Material includes subscriber materials, mailings, brochures, reviews collected and arranged by play title, and programs organized chronologically. Sub-subseries 1.5.4: Theater Communications Group contains correspondence, reports, and other information generated from Arena's association with the Theater Communications Group, an organization of theaters around the United States. Subseries 1.6: Buildings and facilities includes information about and architectural plans for Arena's various buildings over the years, including the Hippodrome, the Old Vat, the 1960 permanent building, and the Kreeger Theater addition.","Series 2: Production Files (1950-2010) is comprised of records related to the artistic development and performance of Arena's plays. It is divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 2.1: Dramaturgical files documents literary, historical and background research done by Arena's literary department for various plays, including articles, research packets, actor's packets, and scripts. It is generally organized alphabetically by play. Subseries 2.2: Playwright subject files contains research on various playwrights, both living and dead, whose work has been performed at Arena. It is organized alphabetically by playwright's last name. Subseries 2.3: Production files includes scripts, blocking information, correspondence, and other material related to the production of Arena's plays. It is arranged alphabetically by play title. Subseries 2.4: Stage manager's reports includes daily reports by the stage manager of productions for the entire runs of many of Arena's plays from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s. The reports include running times, incident reports, and other commentary on the audience and the performance. Subseries 2.5: Wrap files contains documents collected from throughout the runs of various productions, including reviews that reflect the wider response to the play. Subseries 2.6: Producing director's files contains documents from Arena's second Producing director after Zelda Fichandler, Doug Wager, who served from 1991-1998. It includes pre-production speeches given by Wager, as well as planning files.","Series 3: Photographs (1950-1991)is divided into 3 subseries. Subseries 3.1: Production photographs includes photos of scenes from Arena's productions arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 3.2: Production books includes production photos collected in books, many of which are by professional photographer George de Vincent. Subseries 3.3: Buildings, staff, and events includes photographs of Arena's buildings, staff and cast portraits, and event photographs, such as prints from Arena's 30th anniversary celebration and from Arena's Soviet Union and Israel tours. Subseries 3.4: Negatives and slides includes slides and negatives of Arena's staff and events, as well as some buildings, sets, and production-related images.","Series 4: Oversize (1949-late 2000s) is divided into 3 subseries and contains a variety of oversize material. Subseries 4.1: Braille programs contains programs in Braille for various Arena productions from the 1990s and early 2000s. Subseries 4.2: Miscellaneous artwork and programs includes posters from Arena productions and events, enlarged photos, costume sketches, and other oversized material, such as a large model of the Mead Center for American Theater. Subseries 4.3: Scrapbooks contains scrapbooks created for each of Arena's seasons up until 1988. It also includes scrapbooks for Arena's tour of the Soviet Union and of visitors to Arena.","Series 5: Audiovisual (1970-2007) contains several types of formats and is divided into 3 subseries. Series 5.1: Performances on VHS contains VHS tapes (a few of which have associated DVDs) of performances at Arena arranged alphabetically by play title. Series 5.2: Reel-to-reel contains production and event footage on reel-to-reel film. Series 5.3: Other audiovisual formats and VHS tapes contains footage of events and productions on audiocassette, Betacam, and U-matic tapes. ","The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)","The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from its beginnings in 1950 to the present, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, handwritten correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records.","\nR 5, C 1, S 2 - R 9, C 4, S 7 \n\n\nR29, C1, S2\n\nOS R 3, C 2, S 1 - C 3, S 7\nOS R 4, C 5, S 5 \nOS R 5, C 2, S 3\nOS R 5, C 5, S 4\nOS R 6, C 4, S 6 - S 7\nOS R 7, C 1, S 2\nMap Case 9.1, 11.5","George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)","Fichandler, Thomas C.","Fichandler, Zelda, 1924-2016","English"],"unitid_tesim":["C0017","/repositories/2/resources/416"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Arena Stage records"],"collection_title_tesim":["Arena Stage records"],"collection_ssim":["Arena Stage records"],"repository_ssm":["George Mason University"],"repository_ssim":["George Mason University"],"creator_ssm":["Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"creator_ssim":["Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"creators_ssim":["Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"access_terms_ssm":["The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)"],"acqinfo_ssim":["Donated by Arena Stage in 2000-2024.","This collection has additional unprocessed accessions 2023.040-C and 2024.088-C, and therefore this finding aid may not be fully up to date. Please contact SCRC for more information."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Theater -- Washington (D.C.)","Theater","Theater -- United States","Theater programs","Theater -- Production and direction","Performing arts","Video recordings","Sound recordings","Photographic prints"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Theater -- Washington (D.C.)","Theater","Theater -- United States","Theater programs","Theater -- Production and direction","Performing arts","Video recordings","Sound recordings","Photographic prints"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["369.5 Linear Feet 739 boxes"],"extent_tesim":["369.5 Linear Feet 739 boxes"],"genreform_ssim":["Video recordings","Sound recordings","Photographic prints"],"date_range_isim":[1949,1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCollection is open to research. Some personnel records in Series 1 Subseries 3 Sub-subseries 2: Personnel, staff contain Social Security Numbers and must be screened by SCRC staff before researchers can view them.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access Restrictions"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["Collection is open to research. Some personnel records in Series 1 Subseries 3 Sub-subseries 2: Personnel, staff contain Social Security Numbers and must be screened by SCRC staff before researchers can view them."],"accruals_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAccruals to this collection are expected.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accruals_heading_ssm":["Accruals"],"accruals_tesim":["Accruals to this collection are expected."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is arranged into five series, each of which is further divided into subseries:\u003c/p\u003e","\u003clist type=\"ordered\"\u003e\n      \u003chead\u003eSeries\u003c/head\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 1: Administrative records, 1949-2007 (Boxes 1-196)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 2: Production files, 1950-2010 (Boxes 197-588, 654-663)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 3: Photographs, 1950-1991 (Boxes 589-639)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 4: Oversize materials, 1949-late 2000s (Boxes 640-720)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 5: Audiovisual materials, 1970-2007 (Boxes 721-739)\u003c/item\u003e\n    \u003c/list\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The collection is arranged into five series, each of which is further divided into subseries:","Series Series 1: Administrative records, 1949-2007 (Boxes 1-196) Series 2: Production files, 1950-2010 (Boxes 197-588, 654-663) Series 3: Photographs, 1950-1991 (Boxes 589-639) Series 4: Oversize materials, 1949-late 2000s (Boxes 640-720) Series 5: Audiovisual materials, 1970-2007 (Boxes 721-739)"],"bibliography_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\u003cextptr href=\"http://www.arenastage.org/plan-your-visit/the-mead-center/\" title=\"'Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater.' Arena Stage. Accessed February 3, 2016.\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e \u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e Maslon, Lawrence, editor. \"The Arena Adventure: The First 40 Years.\" Washington, DC: Arena Stage, 1990.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e \u003cextptr href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/theater/features/arena51205.htm\" title=\"Richards, David. 'For Arena Stage, a Pioneering Selection.' Washington Post. December 5, 1997\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e \u003c/p\u003e"],"bibliography_heading_ssm":["Bibliography"],"bibliography_tesim":[""," Maslon, Lawrence, editor. \"The Arena Adventure: The First 40 Years.\" Washington, DC: Arena Stage, 1990.",""],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eFrom its opening on August 16, 1950, the Arena Stage has dedicated itself to being a space of imagination and innovation, a tool of \"civilization,\" and Washington, D.C.'s preeminent regional theater. Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, the Arena Stage began as a for-profit theater under Arena Enterprises, Inc. The original Hippodrome Theatre, located on Ninth and New York N.W. in D.C., was revolutionary amongst regional theatres for its theatre-in-the-round construction and would provide the blueprint for all future Arena locations.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eArena began its long and successful life with Oliver Goldsmith's \u003citalic\u003eShe Stoops to Conquer.\u003c/italic\u003e Arena owed its early successes in the 1950s to its fluid play schedule organization and its willingness to put on works that were not commercial successes on Broadway. In November of 1956, after a year's hiatus, the company relocated to a temporary home at the Old Heurich Brewery, dubbed the Old Vat by company members. The move was facilitated in part by the commitment and drive of Board members J. Burke Knapp, Albert M. Berkowitz, Israel Convisser, Leslie Amouri, and Henry J. Danilowicz. However, financial issues would continue to trouble Arena Enterprises, Inc., eventually leading to its dissolution in 1959, and the creation of Arena's new, non-profit parent organization, the Washington Drama Society.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eDuring the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington since 1895. Chicago architect Harry Weese designed the space to be as innovative as possible while still maintaining the theater-in-the-round layout. Now a non-profit theater, Arena drew much of its funding during this time from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and generous donations from both the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundations.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe Arena Stage began some of its most ambitious work during the 1960s including forming the Living Stage Theatre Company, further integrating its cast, and staging its most ambitious and acclaimed work to date: \u003citalic\u003eThe Great White Hope.\u003c/italic\u003e \u003citalic\u003eThe Great White Hope\u003c/italic\u003e included twenty five additional guest actors, including James Earl Jones, and was an enormous success, both critically and financially, for Arena. It was the first major resident theater production to be exported to Broadway. Fichandler also began to experiment with casting African American actors in traditionally white roles during the 1968 season after she published the paper \"Towards a Deepening Aesthetic.\" Fichandler experimented with non-traditional casting in plays like \u003citalic\u003eKing Lear\u003c/italic\u003e and \u003citalic\u003eThe Threepenny Opera\u003c/italic\u003e, but unfortunately these plays were met with critical confusion and disappointing ticket sales. Arena Stage was incredibly successful in the 1970s, garnering awards and critical approval, and international recognition. Not content with the current Arena Stage configuration, Fichandler and others worked diligently to acquire another stage facility that would collaborate, not compete, with the current Stage. Generosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new Kreeger Theater which opened on January 15, 1971.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eIn 1973 Arena would have the opportunity to take two of its plays, \u003citalic\u003eOur Town\u003c/italic\u003e and \u003citalic\u003eInherit the Wind\u003c/italic\u003e to the U.S.S.R. This was the first ever trip to the Soviet Union undertaken by a resident theater group. The trip was a wild success with Russian audiences giving the cast a standing ovation following their performance of \u003citalic\u003eInherit the Wind\u003c/italic\u003e at the Moscow Art Theatre. In April 1976 the American Theatre Critics Association bestowed upon the Arena Stage a special Tony Award for resident theaters. The ATCA cited Arena's qualities as a \"trailblazer\" in theatrical arts and representative of other theaters that had followed its lead.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe early 1980s were a difficult time for theater, but, in spite of this, Arena continued to push the limits of conventional residential theater. The 1982 production of \u003citalic\u003eK2\u003c/italic\u003e, for example, saw the construction of a sheer glacial face on the Kreeger stage according to the vision of set designer Ming Cho Lee. In 1986 twenty-three actors and a thirteen member production staff traveled to Jerusalem to perform Zelda's production of \u003citalic\u003eThe Crucible\u003c/italic\u003e at the Israel Festival.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e1989 marked the end of an era as Zelda Fichandler announced that she would step down as Arena's producing director at the end of the 1990-1991 fortieth anniversary season. Douglas C. Wager would succeed her as artistic director. Amid financial difficulties and changing times for theaters everywhere, Arena's resident company of actors was disbanded by the late 1990s. Wager remained at the helm until 1998, when Molly Smith took over the position. Under Smith's leadership, Bing Thom architects completed another major renovation of Arena's existing buildings into the Mead Center for American Theater in 2010. Smith served as Arena's artistic director until 2023, when she retired and was succeeded by current Aristic Director, Hana Sharif.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eMany now-famous actors took part in Arena Stage productions during the early part of their careers. Some of them include Robert Prosky, Morgan Freeman, Dianne Wiest, James Earl Jones, Kevin Kline, Christopher Guest, Yeardley Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Ned Beatty, Jane Alexander, and Ron Perlman. Many other set designers, artists, costume designers, and technical workers owe their early success and experience to the Arena Stage.\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["From its opening on August 16, 1950, the Arena Stage has dedicated itself to being a space of imagination and innovation, a tool of \"civilization,\" and Washington, D.C.'s preeminent regional theater. Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, the Arena Stage began as a for-profit theater under Arena Enterprises, Inc. The original Hippodrome Theatre, located on Ninth and New York N.W. in D.C., was revolutionary amongst regional theatres for its theatre-in-the-round construction and would provide the blueprint for all future Arena locations.","Arena began its long and successful life with Oliver Goldsmith's  She Stoops to Conquer.  Arena owed its early successes in the 1950s to its fluid play schedule organization and its willingness to put on works that were not commercial successes on Broadway. In November of 1956, after a year's hiatus, the company relocated to a temporary home at the Old Heurich Brewery, dubbed the Old Vat by company members. The move was facilitated in part by the commitment and drive of Board members J. Burke Knapp, Albert M. Berkowitz, Israel Convisser, Leslie Amouri, and Henry J. Danilowicz. However, financial issues would continue to trouble Arena Enterprises, Inc., eventually leading to its dissolution in 1959, and the creation of Arena's new, non-profit parent organization, the Washington Drama Society.","During the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington since 1895. Chicago architect Harry Weese designed the space to be as innovative as possible while still maintaining the theater-in-the-round layout. Now a non-profit theater, Arena drew much of its funding during this time from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and generous donations from both the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundations.","The Arena Stage began some of its most ambitious work during the 1960s including forming the Living Stage Theatre Company, further integrating its cast, and staging its most ambitious and acclaimed work to date:  The Great White Hope. The Great White Hope  included twenty five additional guest actors, including James Earl Jones, and was an enormous success, both critically and financially, for Arena. It was the first major resident theater production to be exported to Broadway. Fichandler also began to experiment with casting African American actors in traditionally white roles during the 1968 season after she published the paper \"Towards a Deepening Aesthetic.\" Fichandler experimented with non-traditional casting in plays like  King Lear  and  The Threepenny Opera , but unfortunately these plays were met with critical confusion and disappointing ticket sales. Arena Stage was incredibly successful in the 1970s, garnering awards and critical approval, and international recognition. Not content with the current Arena Stage configuration, Fichandler and others worked diligently to acquire another stage facility that would collaborate, not compete, with the current Stage. Generosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new Kreeger Theater which opened on January 15, 1971.","In 1973 Arena would have the opportunity to take two of its plays,  Our Town  and  Inherit the Wind  to the U.S.S.R. This was the first ever trip to the Soviet Union undertaken by a resident theater group. The trip was a wild success with Russian audiences giving the cast a standing ovation following their performance of  Inherit the Wind  at the Moscow Art Theatre. In April 1976 the American Theatre Critics Association bestowed upon the Arena Stage a special Tony Award for resident theaters. The ATCA cited Arena's qualities as a \"trailblazer\" in theatrical arts and representative of other theaters that had followed its lead.","The early 1980s were a difficult time for theater, but, in spite of this, Arena continued to push the limits of conventional residential theater. The 1982 production of  K2 , for example, saw the construction of a sheer glacial face on the Kreeger stage according to the vision of set designer Ming Cho Lee. In 1986 twenty-three actors and a thirteen member production staff traveled to Jerusalem to perform Zelda's production of  The Crucible  at the Israel Festival.","1989 marked the end of an era as Zelda Fichandler announced that she would step down as Arena's producing director at the end of the 1990-1991 fortieth anniversary season. Douglas C. Wager would succeed her as artistic director. Amid financial difficulties and changing times for theaters everywhere, Arena's resident company of actors was disbanded by the late 1990s. Wager remained at the helm until 1998, when Molly Smith took over the position. Under Smith's leadership, Bing Thom architects completed another major renovation of Arena's existing buildings into the Mead Center for American Theater in 2010. Smith served as Arena's artistic director until 2023, when she retired and was succeeded by current Aristic Director, Hana Sharif.","Many now-famous actors took part in Arena Stage productions during the early part of their careers. Some of them include Robert Prosky, Morgan Freeman, Dianne Wiest, James Earl Jones, Kevin Kline, Christopher Guest, Yeardley Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Ned Beatty, Jane Alexander, and Ron Perlman. Many other set designers, artists, costume designers, and technical workers owe their early success and experience to the Arena Stage."],"phystech_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to film and audio reels, Betacam, or U-matic tapes contained in Series 5.2 and 5.3. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access.\u003c/p\u003e"],"phystech_heading_ssm":["Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements"],"phystech_tesim":["The Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to film and audio reels, Betacam, or U-matic tapes contained in Series 5.2 and 5.3. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eArena Stage records, C0017, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Arena Stage records, C0017, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eProcessed by Harvard Theatre Collection and George Mason University Special Collections Research Center staff. Reprocessed by Greta Suiter, Kerry Mitchell, Elizabeth Beckman, Diane Stancil, and Nick Welsh. EAD markup completed by Elizabeth Beckman in 2016. Finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in 2025.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["Processed by Harvard Theatre Collection and George Mason University Special Collections Research Center staff. Reprocessed by Greta Suiter, Kerry Mitchell, Elizabeth Beckman, Diane Stancil, and Nick Welsh. EAD markup completed by Elizabeth Beckman in 2016. Finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in 2025."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Special Collections Research Center holds the personal papers of several individuals involved with Arena Stage, including the Zelda Fichandler papers, the Thomas C. Fichandler papers, the Ken Kitch papers, as well as the Living Stage records.\u003c/p\u003e"],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Material"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["The Special Collections Research Center holds the personal papers of several individuals involved with Arena Stage, including the Zelda Fichandler papers, the Thomas C. Fichandler papers, the Ken Kitch papers, as well as the Living Stage records."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from 1949 to 2010, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records pertaining to the theater's finances, publicity, buildings, and programs.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries 1: Administrative records (1949-2007) documents the creation, operation, and maintenance of Arena Stage and its various programs. It is further divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 1.1: Correspondence includes correspondence arranged alphabetically by the correspondent's last name or by organizational name. Some correspondence is further aggregated and then organized alphabetically, such as \"Play Correspondence\" or \"Audience Response.\" Of particular note are letters from President Bill Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and King Kong star Fay Wray. Subseries 1.2: Programs, policies, and procedures, includes records of Arena's programs, such as the \"Arena Angels\" volunteer program and fellowship programs, policies, such as bylaws, diversity policies, and handbooks, and planning, including season planning and long-range plans. This subseries is broken up into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.3.1: Financial papers documents Arena's finances and includes stockholder documents from its beginnings as a for-profit theater, grant-related documentation after the theater transitioned to a non-profit in the late 1950s, and records of the theater's development office, some of which were kept by department director Elspeth Udvarhelyi. Sub-subseries 1.3.2: Personnel records includes information on staff at Arena Stage arranged alphabetically. Of particular interest are headshots and/or resumes of a number of well-known actors, including James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, Henry Winkler, Edward Hermann, Yeardley Smith, Jane Alexander, Swoosie Kurtz, Victor Garber, Ron Perlman, Annette Benning, Olympia Dukakis, John Lithgow, John Voigt, Sigourney Weaver, and Rosemary Harris. Sub-subseries 1.3.3: Casting information contains notes on casting for productions arranged alphabetically by play. Sub-subseries 1.3.4: Production contracts includes official agreements between Arena and others arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 1.4: Meeting minutes contains meeting minutes from Arena's Board of Trustees, staff, and other subgroups within the organization. Subseries 1.5: Communications and events, is also divided into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.5.1: Events documents special events held by Arena Stage, including anniversaries, galas, benefits, openings and press events. Sub-subseries 1.5.2: Communications and Marketing includes records produced by the Communications and Marketing departments, including meeting minutes, planning, research, and correspondence. Sub-subseries 1.5.3: Printed Material includes subscriber materials, mailings, brochures, reviews collected and arranged by play title, and programs organized chronologically. Sub-subseries 1.5.4: Theater Communications Group contains correspondence, reports, and other information generated from Arena's association with the Theater Communications Group, an organization of theaters around the United States. Subseries 1.6: Buildings and facilities includes information about and architectural plans for Arena's various buildings over the years, including the Hippodrome, the Old Vat, the 1960 permanent building, and the Kreeger Theater addition.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries 2: Production Files (1950-2010) is comprised of records related to the artistic development and performance of Arena's plays. It is divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 2.1: Dramaturgical files documents literary, historical and background research done by Arena's literary department for various plays, including articles, research packets, actor's packets, and scripts. It is generally organized alphabetically by play. Subseries 2.2: Playwright subject files contains research on various playwrights, both living and dead, whose work has been performed at Arena. It is organized alphabetically by playwright's last name. Subseries 2.3: Production files includes scripts, blocking information, correspondence, and other material related to the production of Arena's plays. It is arranged alphabetically by play title. Subseries 2.4: Stage manager's reports includes daily reports by the stage manager of productions for the entire runs of many of Arena's plays from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s. The reports include running times, incident reports, and other commentary on the audience and the performance. Subseries 2.5: Wrap files contains documents collected from throughout the runs of various productions, including reviews that reflect the wider response to the play. Subseries 2.6: Producing director's files contains documents from Arena's second Producing director after Zelda Fichandler, Doug Wager, who served from 1991-1998. It includes pre-production speeches given by Wager, as well as planning files.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries 3: Photographs (1950-1991)is divided into 3 subseries. Subseries 3.1: Production photographs includes photos of scenes from Arena's productions arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 3.2: Production books includes production photos collected in books, many of which are by professional photographer George de Vincent. Subseries 3.3: Buildings, staff, and events includes photographs of Arena's buildings, staff and cast portraits, and event photographs, such as prints from Arena's 30th anniversary celebration and from Arena's Soviet Union and Israel tours. Subseries 3.4: Negatives and slides includes slides and negatives of Arena's staff and events, as well as some buildings, sets, and production-related images.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries 4: Oversize (1949-late 2000s) is divided into 3 subseries and contains a variety of oversize material. Subseries 4.1: Braille programs contains programs in Braille for various Arena productions from the 1990s and early 2000s. Subseries 4.2: Miscellaneous artwork and programs includes posters from Arena productions and events, enlarged photos, costume sketches, and other oversized material, such as a large model of the Mead Center for American Theater. Subseries 4.3: Scrapbooks contains scrapbooks created for each of Arena's seasons up until 1988. It also includes scrapbooks for Arena's tour of the Soviet Union and of visitors to Arena.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries 5: Audiovisual (1970-2007) contains several types of formats and is divided into 3 subseries. Series 5.1: Performances on VHS contains VHS tapes (a few of which have associated DVDs) of performances at Arena arranged alphabetically by play title. Series 5.2: Reel-to-reel contains production and event footage on reel-to-reel film. Series 5.3: Other audiovisual formats and VHS tapes contains footage of events and productions on audiocassette, Betacam, and U-matic tapes. \u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from 1949 to 2010, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records pertaining to the theater's finances, publicity, buildings, and programs.","Series 1: Administrative records (1949-2007) documents the creation, operation, and maintenance of Arena Stage and its various programs. It is further divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 1.1: Correspondence includes correspondence arranged alphabetically by the correspondent's last name or by organizational name. Some correspondence is further aggregated and then organized alphabetically, such as \"Play Correspondence\" or \"Audience Response.\" Of particular note are letters from President Bill Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and King Kong star Fay Wray. Subseries 1.2: Programs, policies, and procedures, includes records of Arena's programs, such as the \"Arena Angels\" volunteer program and fellowship programs, policies, such as bylaws, diversity policies, and handbooks, and planning, including season planning and long-range plans. This subseries is broken up into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.3.1: Financial papers documents Arena's finances and includes stockholder documents from its beginnings as a for-profit theater, grant-related documentation after the theater transitioned to a non-profit in the late 1950s, and records of the theater's development office, some of which were kept by department director Elspeth Udvarhelyi. Sub-subseries 1.3.2: Personnel records includes information on staff at Arena Stage arranged alphabetically. Of particular interest are headshots and/or resumes of a number of well-known actors, including James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, Henry Winkler, Edward Hermann, Yeardley Smith, Jane Alexander, Swoosie Kurtz, Victor Garber, Ron Perlman, Annette Benning, Olympia Dukakis, John Lithgow, John Voigt, Sigourney Weaver, and Rosemary Harris. Sub-subseries 1.3.3: Casting information contains notes on casting for productions arranged alphabetically by play. Sub-subseries 1.3.4: Production contracts includes official agreements between Arena and others arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 1.4: Meeting minutes contains meeting minutes from Arena's Board of Trustees, staff, and other subgroups within the organization. Subseries 1.5: Communications and events, is also divided into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.5.1: Events documents special events held by Arena Stage, including anniversaries, galas, benefits, openings and press events. Sub-subseries 1.5.2: Communications and Marketing includes records produced by the Communications and Marketing departments, including meeting minutes, planning, research, and correspondence. Sub-subseries 1.5.3: Printed Material includes subscriber materials, mailings, brochures, reviews collected and arranged by play title, and programs organized chronologically. Sub-subseries 1.5.4: Theater Communications Group contains correspondence, reports, and other information generated from Arena's association with the Theater Communications Group, an organization of theaters around the United States. Subseries 1.6: Buildings and facilities includes information about and architectural plans for Arena's various buildings over the years, including the Hippodrome, the Old Vat, the 1960 permanent building, and the Kreeger Theater addition.","Series 2: Production Files (1950-2010) is comprised of records related to the artistic development and performance of Arena's plays. It is divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 2.1: Dramaturgical files documents literary, historical and background research done by Arena's literary department for various plays, including articles, research packets, actor's packets, and scripts. It is generally organized alphabetically by play. Subseries 2.2: Playwright subject files contains research on various playwrights, both living and dead, whose work has been performed at Arena. It is organized alphabetically by playwright's last name. Subseries 2.3: Production files includes scripts, blocking information, correspondence, and other material related to the production of Arena's plays. It is arranged alphabetically by play title. Subseries 2.4: Stage manager's reports includes daily reports by the stage manager of productions for the entire runs of many of Arena's plays from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s. The reports include running times, incident reports, and other commentary on the audience and the performance. Subseries 2.5: Wrap files contains documents collected from throughout the runs of various productions, including reviews that reflect the wider response to the play. Subseries 2.6: Producing director's files contains documents from Arena's second Producing director after Zelda Fichandler, Doug Wager, who served from 1991-1998. It includes pre-production speeches given by Wager, as well as planning files.","Series 3: Photographs (1950-1991)is divided into 3 subseries. Subseries 3.1: Production photographs includes photos of scenes from Arena's productions arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 3.2: Production books includes production photos collected in books, many of which are by professional photographer George de Vincent. Subseries 3.3: Buildings, staff, and events includes photographs of Arena's buildings, staff and cast portraits, and event photographs, such as prints from Arena's 30th anniversary celebration and from Arena's Soviet Union and Israel tours. Subseries 3.4: Negatives and slides includes slides and negatives of Arena's staff and events, as well as some buildings, sets, and production-related images.","Series 4: Oversize (1949-late 2000s) is divided into 3 subseries and contains a variety of oversize material. Subseries 4.1: Braille programs contains programs in Braille for various Arena productions from the 1990s and early 2000s. Subseries 4.2: Miscellaneous artwork and programs includes posters from Arena productions and events, enlarged photos, costume sketches, and other oversized material, such as a large model of the Mead Center for American Theater. Subseries 4.3: Scrapbooks contains scrapbooks created for each of Arena's seasons up until 1988. It also includes scrapbooks for Arena's tour of the Soviet Union and of visitors to Arena.","Series 5: Audiovisual (1970-2007) contains several types of formats and is divided into 3 subseries. Series 5.1: Performances on VHS contains VHS tapes (a few of which have associated DVDs) of performances at Arena arranged alphabetically by play title. Series 5.2: Reel-to-reel contains production and event footage on reel-to-reel film. Series 5.3: Other audiovisual formats and VHS tapes contains footage of events and productions on audiocassette, Betacam, and U-matic tapes. "],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)"],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_ec96c412f915842d3012676b73803163\" label=\"Abstract\"\u003eThe Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from its beginnings in 1950 to the present, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, handwritten correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from its beginnings in 1950 to the present, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, handwritten correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records."],"physloc_html_tesm":["\u003cphysloc id=\"aspace_22f8958322c3fdee6366a384bb686980\"\u003e\nR 5, C 1, S 2 - R 9, C 4, S 7 \n\n\nR29, C1, S2\n\nOS R 3, C 2, S 1 - C 3, S 7\nOS R 4, C 5, S 5 \nOS R 5, C 2, S 3\nOS R 5, C 5, S 4\nOS R 6, C 4, S 6 - S 7\nOS R 7, C 1, S 2\nMap Case 9.1, 11.5\u003c/physloc\u003e"],"physloc_tesim":["\nR 5, C 1, S 2 - R 9, C 4, S 7 \n\n\nR29, C1, S2\n\nOS R 3, C 2, S 1 - C 3, S 7\nOS R 4, C 5, S 5 \nOS R 5, C 2, S 3\nOS R 5, C 5, S 4\nOS R 6, C 4, S 6 - S 7\nOS R 7, C 1, S 2\nMap Case 9.1, 11.5"],"names_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)","Fichandler, Thomas C.","Fichandler, Zelda, 1924-2016"],"corpname_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"names_coll_ssim":["Fichandler, Thomas C.","Fichandler, Zelda, 1924-2016"],"persname_ssim":["Fichandler, Thomas C.","Fichandler, Zelda, 1924-2016"],"language_ssim":["English"],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":8332,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-01T00:23:25.700Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c03_c02_c89"}},{"id":"vifgm_arenastage_c03_c02_c90","type":"File","attributes":{"title":"You Can't Take It With You by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart (2 of 2),","abstract_or_scope":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_arenastage_c03_c02_c90#abstract_or_scope","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","label":"Abstract Or Scope"}},"breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_arenastage_c03_c02_c90#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"vifgm_arenastage_c03_c02_c90","ref_ssm":["vifgm_arenastage_c03_c02_c90"],"id":"vifgm_arenastage_c03_c02_c90","ead_ssi":"vifgm_arenastage","_root_":"vifgm_arenastage","_nest_parent_":"vifgm_arenastage_c03_c02","parent_ssi":"vifgm_arenastage_c03_c02","parent_ssim":["vifgm_arenastage","vifgm_arenastage_c03","vifgm_arenastage_c03_c02"],"parent_ids_ssim":["vifgm_arenastage","vifgm_arenastage_c03","vifgm_arenastage_c03_c02"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Arena Stage records","Series 3: Photographs,","Subseries 3.2: Production books,"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Arena Stage records","Series 3: Photographs,","Subseries 3.2: Production books,"],"text":["Arena Stage records","Series 3: Photographs,","Subseries 3.2: Production books,","You Can't Take It With You by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart (2 of 2),","Box 632","Folder 2",""],"title_filing_ssi":"You Can't Take It With You by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart (2 of 2), \n","title_ssm":["You Can't Take It With You by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart (2 of 2), \n"],"title_tesim":["You Can't Take It With You by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart (2 of 2), \n"],"unitdate_other_ssim":["1979-1980\n"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1979/1980"],"normalized_title_ssm":["You Can't Take It With You by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart (2 of 2),"],"component_level_isim":[3],"repository_ssim":["George Mason University"],"collection_ssim":["Arena Stage records"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["File"],"level_ssim":["File"],"sort_isi":7591,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["Collection is open to research.  Some personnel records in Series 1 Subseries 3 Sub-subseries 2: Personnel, staff contain Social Security Numbers and must be screened by SCRC staff before researchers can view them."],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["There are no restrictions."],"date_range_isim":[1979,1980],"containers_ssim":["Box 632","Folder 2"],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp/\u003e"],"scopecontent_tesim":[""],"_nest_path_":"/components#2/components#1/components#89","timestamp":"2026-05-01T00:52:17.185Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"vifgm_arenastage","ead_ssi":"vifgm_arenastage","_root_":"vifgm_arenastage","_nest_parent_":"vifgm_arenastage","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/gmu/arenastage.xml","aspace_url_ssi":"http://sca.gmu.edu/finding_aids/arenastage.html","title_ssm":["Arena Stage records"],"title_tesim":["Arena Stage records"],"unitdate_ssm":["1949-2010"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1949-2010"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["C0017"],"text":["C0017","Arena Stage records","Theater--Washington (D.C.)","Photographic prints.","Sound recordings.","Video recordings.","Collection is open to research.  Some personnel records in Series 1 Subseries 3 Sub-subseries 2: Personnel, staff contain Social Security Numbers and must be screened by SCRC staff before researchers can view them.","The collection is arranged into five series, each of which is further divided into subseries:","Series 1: Administrative records, 1949-2007 (Boxes 1-196) Series 2: Production files, 1950-2010 (Boxes 197-588, 654-663) Series 3: Photographs, 1950-1991 (Boxes 589-639) Series 4: Oversize materials, 1949-late 2000s (Boxes 640-720) Series 5: Audiovisual materials, 1970-2007 (Boxes 721-739)",""," Maslon, Lawrence, editor. \"The Arena Adventure: The First 40 Years.\" Washington, DC: Arena Stage, 1990.","","From its opening on August 16, 1950, the Arena Stage has dedicated itself to being a space of imagination and innovation, a tool of \"civilization,\" and Washington, DC's preeminent regional theater.  Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, the Arena Stage began as a for profit theater under Arena Enterprises, Inc. The original Hippodrome Theatre, located on Ninth and New York N.W. in DC, was revolutionary amongst regional theatres for its theatre-in-the-round construction and would provide the blueprint for all future Arena locations.","Arena began its long and successful life with Oliver Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer. Arena owed its early successes in the 1950s to its fluid play schedule organization and its willingness to put on works that were not commercial successes on Broadway. In November of 1956, after a year's hiatus, the company relocated to a temporary home at the Old Heurich Brewery, dubbed the Old Vat by company members. The move was facilitated in part by the commitment and drive of Board members J. Burke Knapp, Albert M. Berkowitz, Israel Convisser, Leslie Amouri, and Henry J. Danilowicz. However, financial issues would continue to trouble Arena Enterprises, Inc., eventually leading to its dissolution in 1959, and the creation of Arena's new, non-profit parent organization, the Washington Drama Society.","During the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington since 1895. Chicago architect Harry Weese designed the space to be as innovative as possible while still maintaining the theater-in-the-round layout. Now a non-profit theater, Arena drew much of its funding during this time from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and generous donations from both the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundations.","The Arena Stage began some of its most ambitious work during the 1960s including forming the Living Stage Theater Company, further integrating its cast, and staging its most ambitious and acclaimed work to date: The Great White Hope. The Great White Hope included twenty five additional guest actors, including James Earl Jones, and was an enormous success, both critically and financially, for Arena. It was the first major resident theater production to be exported to Broadway. Fichandler also began to experiment with casting African-American actors in traditionally white roles during the 1968 season after she published the paper \"Towards a Deepening Aesthetic\". Fichandler experimented with non-traditional casting in plays like King Lear and The Threepenny Opera, but unfortunately these plays were met with critical confusion and disappointing ticket sales. Arena Stage was incredibly successful in the 1970s, garnering awards and critical approval, and international recognition. Not content with the current Arena Stage configuration, Fichandler and others worked diligently to acquire another stage facility that would collaborate, not compete, with the current Stage. Generosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new Kreeger Theater which opened on January 15, 1971.","In 1973 Arena would have the opportunity to take two of its plays, Our Town and Inherit the Wind to the USSR. This was the first ever trip to the Soviet Union undertaken by a resident theater group. The trip was a wild success with Russian audiences giving the cast a standing ovation following their performance of Inherit the Wind at the Moscow Art Theatre. In April 1976 the American Theatre Critics Association bestowed upon the Arena Stage a special Tony Award for resident theaters. The ATCA cited Arena's qualities as a \"trailblazer\" in theatrical arts and representative of other theaters that had followed its lead.","The early 1980s were a difficult time for theater, but, in spite of this, Arena continued to push the limits of conventional residential theater. The 1982 production of K2, for example, saw the construction of a sheer glacial face on the Kreeger stage according to the vision of set designer Ming Cho Lee. In 1986 twenty-three actors and a thirteen member production staff traveled to Jerusalem to perform Zelda's production of The Crucible at the Israel Festival.","1989 marked the end of an era as Zelda Fichandler announced that she would step down as Arena's producing director at the end of the 1990-1991 fortieth anniversary season. Douglas C. Wager would succeed her as artistic director. Amid financial difficulties and changing times for theaters everywhere, Arena's resident company of actors was disbanded by the late 1990s. Wager remained at the helm until 1998, when Molly Smith took over the position. Under Smith's leadership, Bing Thom architects completed another major renovation of Arena's existing buildings into the Mead Center for American Theater in 2010. Smith is still Arena's artistic director as of 2016.","Many now-famous actors took part in Arena Stage productions during the early part of their careers. Some of them include Robert Prosky, Morgan Freeman, Dianne Weist, James Earl Jones, Kevin Kline, Christopher Guest, Yeardley Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Ned Beatty, Jane Alexander, and Ron Perlman. Many other set designers, artists, costume designers, and technical workers owe their early success and experience to the Arena Stage.","The Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to watch reel-to-reel film and audio, Betacam, or U-matic tapes contained in Series 5.2 and 5.3. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access.","Processed by Harvard Theatre Collection and George Mason University Special Collections and Archives staff. Reprocessed by Greta Suiter, Kerry Mitchell, Elizabeth Beckman, Diane Stancil, and Nick Welsh.  EAD markup completed by Elizabeth Beckman in 2016.","Special Collections and Archives holds several collections of personal papers of individuals involved with Arena Stage, including the Zelda Fichandler papers, the Thomas Fichandler papers, and the Ken Kitch papers, as well as the Living Stage Theater Company collection and many other theater collections.","The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from 1949 to 2010, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records pertaining to the theater's finances, publicity, buildings, and programs.","Series 1: Administrative records (1949-2007) documents the creation, operation, and maintenance of Arena Stage and its various programs. It is further divided into 6 subseries.  Subseries 1.1: Correspondence includes correspondence arranged alphabetically by the correspondent's last name or by organizational name. Some correspondence is further aggregated and then organized alphabetically, such as \"Play Correspondence\" or \"Audience Response.\" Of particular note are letters from President Bill Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and King Kong star Fay Wray.  Subseries 1.2: Programs, policies, and procedures, includes records of Arena's programs, such as the \"Arena Angels\" volunteer program and fellowship programs, policies, such as bylaws, diversity policies, and handbooks, and planning, including season planning and long-range plans.  This subseries is broken up into four sub-subseries.  Sub-subseries 1.3.1: Financial papers documents Arena's finances and includes stockholder documents from its beginnings as a for-profit theater, grant-related documentation after the theater transitioned to a non-profit in the late 1950s, and records of the theater's development office, some of which were kept by department director Elspeth Udvarhelyi.  Sub-subseries 1.3.2: Personnel records includes information on staff at Arena Stage arranged alphabetically.  Of particular interest are headshots and/or resumes of a number of well-known actors, including James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, Henry Winkler, Edward Hermann, Yeardley Smith, Jane Alexander, Swoosie Kurtz, Victor Garber, Ron Perlman, Annette Benning, Olympia Dukakis, John Lithgow, John Voigt, Sigourney Weaver, and Rosemary Harris.  Sub-subseries 1.3.3: Casting information contains notes on casting for productions arranged alphabetically by play.  Sub-subseries 1.3.4: Production contracts includes official agreements between Arena and others arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 1.4: Meeting minutes contains meeting minutes from Arena's Board of Trustees, staff, and other subgroups within the organization. Subseries 1.5: Communications and events, is also divided into four sub-subseries.  Sub-subseries 1.5.1: Events documents special events held by Arena Stage, including anniversaries, galas, benefits, openings and press events.  Sub-subseries 1.5.2: Communications and Marketing includes records produced by the Communications and Marketing departments, including meeting minutes, planning, research, and correspondence.  Sub-subseries 1.5.3: Printed Material includes subscriber materials, mailings, brochures, reviews collected and arranged by play title, and programs organized chronologically.  Sub-subseries 1.5.4: Theater Communications Group contains correspondence, reports, and other information generated from Arena's association with the Theater Communications Group, an organization of theaters around the United States.  Subseries 1.6: Buildings and facilities includes information about and architectural plans for Arena's various buildings over the years, including the Hippodrome, the Old Vat, the 1960 permanent building, and the Kreeger Theater addition.","Series 2: Production Files (1950-2010) is comprised of records related to the artistic development and performance of Arena's plays.  It is divided into 6 subseries.  Subseries 2.1: Dramaturgical files documents literary, historical and background research done by Arena's literary department for various plays, including articles, research packets, actor's packets, and scripts.  It is generally organized alphabetically by play.  Subseries 2.2: Playwright subject files contains research on various playwrights, both living and dead, whose work has been performed at Arena.  It is organized alphabetically by playwright's last name. Subseries 2.3: Production files includes scripts, blocking information, correspondence, and other material related to the production of Arena's plays.  It is arranged alphabetically by play title.  Subseries 2.4: Stage manager's reports includes daily reports by the stage manager of productions for the entire runs of many of Arena's plays from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s.  The reports include running times, incident reports, and other commentary on the audience and the performance.  Subseries 2.5: Wrap files contains documents collected from throughout the runs of various productions, including reviews that reflect the wider response to the play.  Subseries 2.6: Producing director's files contains documents from Arena's second Producing director after Zelda Fichandler, Doug Wager, who served from 1991-1998.  It includes pre-production speeches given by Wager, as well as planning files.","Series 3: Photographs (1950-1991)is divided into 3 subseries.  Subseries 3.1: Production photographs includes photos of scenes from Arena's productions arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 3.2: Production books includes production photos collected in books, many of which are by professional photographer George de Vincent. Subseries 3.3: Buildings, staff, and events includes photographs of Arena's buildings, staff and cast portraits, and event photographs, such as prints from Arena's 30th anniversary celebration and from Arena's Soviet Union and Israel tours.  Subseries 3.4: Negatives and slides includes slides and negatives of Arena's staff and events, as well as some buildings, sets, and production-related images.","Series 4: Oversize (1949-late 2000s) is divided into 3 subseries and contains a variety of oversize material.  Subseries 4.1: Braille programs contains programs in Braille for various Arena productions from the 1990s and early 2000s.  Subseries 4.2: Miscellaneous artwork and programs includes posters from Arena productions and events, enlarged photos, costume sketches, and other oversized material, such as a large model of the Mead Center for American Theater.  Subseries 4.3: Scrapbooks contains scrapbooks created for each of Arena's seasons up until 1988.  It also includes scrapbooks for Arena's tour of the Soviet Union and of visitors to Arena.","Series 5: Audiovisual (1970-2007) contains several types of formats and is divided into 3 subseries.  Series 5.1: Performances on VHS contains VHS tapes (a few of which have associated DVDs) of performances at Arena arranged alphabetically by play title.  Series 5.2: Reel-to-reel contains production and event footage on reel-to-reel film.  Series 5.3: Other audiovisual formats and VHS tapes contains footage of events and productions on audiocassette, Betacam, and U-matic tapes.  ","There are no restrictions.","The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from its beginnings in 1950 to the present, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, handwritten correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records.","George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center.","Arena Stage","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)","English\n            "],"unitid_tesim":["C0017"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Arena Stage records"],"collection_title_tesim":["Arena Stage records"],"collection_ssim":["Arena Stage records"],"repository_ssm":["George Mason University"],"repository_ssim":["George Mason University"],"creator_ssm":["Arena Stage"],"creator_ssim":["Arena Stage"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["Arena Stage"],"creators_ssim":["Arena Stage"],"access_terms_ssm":["There are no restrictions."],"acqinfo_ssim":["Donated by Arena Stage in 2000-2011."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Theater--Washington (D.C.)","Photographic prints.","Sound recordings.","Video recordings."],"access_subjects_ssm":["Theater--Washington (D.C.)","Photographic prints.","Sound recordings.","Video recordings."],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["739 boxes"],"extent_tesim":["739 boxes"],"date_range_isim":[1949,1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCollection is open to research.  Some personnel records in Series 1 Subseries 3 Sub-subseries 2: Personnel, staff contain Social Security Numbers and must be screened by SCRC staff before researchers can view them.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access Restrictions"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["Collection is open to research.  Some personnel records in Series 1 Subseries 3 Sub-subseries 2: Personnel, staff contain Social Security Numbers and must be screened by SCRC staff before researchers can view them."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is arranged into five series, each of which is further divided into subseries:\u003c/p\u003e","\u003clist type=\"ordered\"\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eSeries 1: Administrative records, 1949-2007 (Boxes 1-196)\u003c/item\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eSeries 2: Production files, 1950-2010 (Boxes 197-588, 654-663)\u003c/item\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eSeries 3: Photographs, 1950-1991 (Boxes 589-639)\u003c/item\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eSeries 4: Oversize materials, 1949-late 2000s (Boxes 640-720)\u003c/item\u003e\n        \u003citem\u003eSeries 5: Audiovisual materials, 1970-2007 (Boxes 721-739)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003c/list\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The collection is arranged into five series, each of which is further divided into subseries:","Series 1: Administrative records, 1949-2007 (Boxes 1-196) Series 2: Production files, 1950-2010 (Boxes 197-588, 654-663) Series 3: Photographs, 1950-1991 (Boxes 589-639) Series 4: Oversize materials, 1949-late 2000s (Boxes 640-720) Series 5: Audiovisual materials, 1970-2007 (Boxes 721-739)"],"bibliography_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\n        \u003cextptr type=\"simple\" title=\"'Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater.' Arena Stage. Accessed February 3, 2016.\" show=\"new\" href=\"http://www.arenastage.org/plan-your-visit/the-mead-center/\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e\n      \u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e Maslon, Lawrence, editor. \"The Arena Adventure: The First 40 Years.\" Washington, DC: Arena Stage, 1990.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e\n        \u003cextptr type=\"simple\" title=\"Richards, David. 'For Arena Stage, a Pioneering Selection.' Washington Post. December 5, 1997\" show=\"new\" href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/theater/features/arena51205.htm\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e\n      \u003c/p\u003e"],"bibliography_heading_ssm":["Bibliography"],"bibliography_tesim":[""," Maslon, Lawrence, editor. \"The Arena Adventure: The First 40 Years.\" Washington, DC: Arena Stage, 1990.",""],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eFrom its opening on August 16, 1950, the Arena Stage has dedicated itself to being a space of imagination and innovation, a tool of \"civilization,\" and Washington, DC's preeminent regional theater.  Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, the Arena Stage began as a for profit theater under Arena Enterprises, Inc. The original Hippodrome Theatre, located on Ninth and New York N.W. in DC, was revolutionary amongst regional theatres for its theatre-in-the-round construction and would provide the blueprint for all future Arena locations.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eArena began its long and successful life with Oliver Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer. Arena owed its early successes in the 1950s to its fluid play schedule organization and its willingness to put on works that were not commercial successes on Broadway. In November of 1956, after a year's hiatus, the company relocated to a temporary home at the Old Heurich Brewery, dubbed the Old Vat by company members. The move was facilitated in part by the commitment and drive of Board members J. Burke Knapp, Albert M. Berkowitz, Israel Convisser, Leslie Amouri, and Henry J. Danilowicz. However, financial issues would continue to trouble Arena Enterprises, Inc., eventually leading to its dissolution in 1959, and the creation of Arena's new, non-profit parent organization, the Washington Drama Society.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eDuring the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington since 1895. Chicago architect Harry Weese designed the space to be as innovative as possible while still maintaining the theater-in-the-round layout. Now a non-profit theater, Arena drew much of its funding during this time from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and generous donations from both the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundations.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe Arena Stage began some of its most ambitious work during the 1960s including forming the Living Stage Theater Company, further integrating its cast, and staging its most ambitious and acclaimed work to date: The Great White Hope. The Great White Hope included twenty five additional guest actors, including James Earl Jones, and was an enormous success, both critically and financially, for Arena. It was the first major resident theater production to be exported to Broadway. Fichandler also began to experiment with casting African-American actors in traditionally white roles during the 1968 season after she published the paper \"Towards a Deepening Aesthetic\". Fichandler experimented with non-traditional casting in plays like King Lear and The Threepenny Opera, but unfortunately these plays were met with critical confusion and disappointing ticket sales. Arena Stage was incredibly successful in the 1970s, garnering awards and critical approval, and international recognition. Not content with the current Arena Stage configuration, Fichandler and others worked diligently to acquire another stage facility that would collaborate, not compete, with the current Stage. Generosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new Kreeger Theater which opened on January 15, 1971.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eIn 1973 Arena would have the opportunity to take two of its plays, Our Town and Inherit the Wind to the USSR. This was the first ever trip to the Soviet Union undertaken by a resident theater group. The trip was a wild success with Russian audiences giving the cast a standing ovation following their performance of Inherit the Wind at the Moscow Art Theatre. In April 1976 the American Theatre Critics Association bestowed upon the Arena Stage a special Tony Award for resident theaters. The ATCA cited Arena's qualities as a \"trailblazer\" in theatrical arts and representative of other theaters that had followed its lead.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eThe early 1980s were a difficult time for theater, but, in spite of this, Arena continued to push the limits of conventional residential theater. The 1982 production of K2, for example, saw the construction of a sheer glacial face on the Kreeger stage according to the vision of set designer Ming Cho Lee. In 1986 twenty-three actors and a thirteen member production staff traveled to Jerusalem to perform Zelda's production of The Crucible at the Israel Festival.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e1989 marked the end of an era as Zelda Fichandler announced that she would step down as Arena's producing director at the end of the 1990-1991 fortieth anniversary season. Douglas C. Wager would succeed her as artistic director. Amid financial difficulties and changing times for theaters everywhere, Arena's resident company of actors was disbanded by the late 1990s. Wager remained at the helm until 1998, when Molly Smith took over the position. Under Smith's leadership, Bing Thom architects completed another major renovation of Arena's existing buildings into the Mead Center for American Theater in 2010. Smith is still Arena's artistic director as of 2016.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eMany now-famous actors took part in Arena Stage productions during the early part of their careers. Some of them include Robert Prosky, Morgan Freeman, Dianne Weist, James Earl Jones, Kevin Kline, Christopher Guest, Yeardley Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Ned Beatty, Jane Alexander, and Ron Perlman. Many other set designers, artists, costume designers, and technical workers owe their early success and experience to the Arena Stage.\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["From its opening on August 16, 1950, the Arena Stage has dedicated itself to being a space of imagination and innovation, a tool of \"civilization,\" and Washington, DC's preeminent regional theater.  Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, the Arena Stage began as a for profit theater under Arena Enterprises, Inc. The original Hippodrome Theatre, located on Ninth and New York N.W. in DC, was revolutionary amongst regional theatres for its theatre-in-the-round construction and would provide the blueprint for all future Arena locations.","Arena began its long and successful life with Oliver Goldsmith's She Stoops to Conquer. Arena owed its early successes in the 1950s to its fluid play schedule organization and its willingness to put on works that were not commercial successes on Broadway. In November of 1956, after a year's hiatus, the company relocated to a temporary home at the Old Heurich Brewery, dubbed the Old Vat by company members. The move was facilitated in part by the commitment and drive of Board members J. Burke Knapp, Albert M. Berkowitz, Israel Convisser, Leslie Amouri, and Henry J. Danilowicz. However, financial issues would continue to trouble Arena Enterprises, Inc., eventually leading to its dissolution in 1959, and the creation of Arena's new, non-profit parent organization, the Washington Drama Society.","During the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington since 1895. Chicago architect Harry Weese designed the space to be as innovative as possible while still maintaining the theater-in-the-round layout. Now a non-profit theater, Arena drew much of its funding during this time from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and generous donations from both the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundations.","The Arena Stage began some of its most ambitious work during the 1960s including forming the Living Stage Theater Company, further integrating its cast, and staging its most ambitious and acclaimed work to date: The Great White Hope. The Great White Hope included twenty five additional guest actors, including James Earl Jones, and was an enormous success, both critically and financially, for Arena. It was the first major resident theater production to be exported to Broadway. Fichandler also began to experiment with casting African-American actors in traditionally white roles during the 1968 season after she published the paper \"Towards a Deepening Aesthetic\". Fichandler experimented with non-traditional casting in plays like King Lear and The Threepenny Opera, but unfortunately these plays were met with critical confusion and disappointing ticket sales. Arena Stage was incredibly successful in the 1970s, garnering awards and critical approval, and international recognition. Not content with the current Arena Stage configuration, Fichandler and others worked diligently to acquire another stage facility that would collaborate, not compete, with the current Stage. Generosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new Kreeger Theater which opened on January 15, 1971.","In 1973 Arena would have the opportunity to take two of its plays, Our Town and Inherit the Wind to the USSR. This was the first ever trip to the Soviet Union undertaken by a resident theater group. The trip was a wild success with Russian audiences giving the cast a standing ovation following their performance of Inherit the Wind at the Moscow Art Theatre. In April 1976 the American Theatre Critics Association bestowed upon the Arena Stage a special Tony Award for resident theaters. The ATCA cited Arena's qualities as a \"trailblazer\" in theatrical arts and representative of other theaters that had followed its lead.","The early 1980s were a difficult time for theater, but, in spite of this, Arena continued to push the limits of conventional residential theater. The 1982 production of K2, for example, saw the construction of a sheer glacial face on the Kreeger stage according to the vision of set designer Ming Cho Lee. In 1986 twenty-three actors and a thirteen member production staff traveled to Jerusalem to perform Zelda's production of The Crucible at the Israel Festival.","1989 marked the end of an era as Zelda Fichandler announced that she would step down as Arena's producing director at the end of the 1990-1991 fortieth anniversary season. Douglas C. Wager would succeed her as artistic director. Amid financial difficulties and changing times for theaters everywhere, Arena's resident company of actors was disbanded by the late 1990s. Wager remained at the helm until 1998, when Molly Smith took over the position. Under Smith's leadership, Bing Thom architects completed another major renovation of Arena's existing buildings into the Mead Center for American Theater in 2010. Smith is still Arena's artistic director as of 2016.","Many now-famous actors took part in Arena Stage productions during the early part of their careers. Some of them include Robert Prosky, Morgan Freeman, Dianne Weist, James Earl Jones, Kevin Kline, Christopher Guest, Yeardley Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Ned Beatty, Jane Alexander, and Ron Perlman. Many other set designers, artists, costume designers, and technical workers owe their early success and experience to the Arena Stage."],"phystech_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to watch reel-to-reel film and audio, Betacam, or U-matic tapes contained in Series 5.2 and 5.3. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access.\u003c/p\u003e"],"phystech_heading_ssm":["Technical Requirements"],"phystech_tesim":["The Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to watch reel-to-reel film and audio, Betacam, or U-matic tapes contained in Series 5.2 and 5.3. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eArena Stage records, C0017, Special Collections and Archives, George Mason University Libraries.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Arena Stage records, C0017, Special Collections and Archives, George Mason University Libraries."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eProcessed by Harvard Theatre Collection and George Mason University Special Collections and Archives staff. Reprocessed by Greta Suiter, Kerry Mitchell, Elizabeth Beckman, Diane Stancil, and Nick Welsh.  EAD markup completed by Elizabeth Beckman in 2016.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["Processed by Harvard Theatre Collection and George Mason University Special Collections and Archives staff. Reprocessed by Greta Suiter, Kerry Mitchell, Elizabeth Beckman, Diane Stancil, and Nick Welsh.  EAD markup completed by Elizabeth Beckman in 2016."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eSpecial Collections and Archives holds several collections of personal papers of individuals involved with Arena Stage, including the Zelda Fichandler papers, the Thomas Fichandler papers, and the Ken Kitch papers, as well as the Living Stage Theater Company collection and many other theater collections.\u003c/p\u003e"],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Material"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["Special Collections and Archives holds several collections of personal papers of individuals involved with Arena Stage, including the Zelda Fichandler papers, the Thomas Fichandler papers, and the Ken Kitch papers, as well as the Living Stage Theater Company collection and many other theater collections."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from 1949 to 2010, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records pertaining to the theater's finances, publicity, buildings, and programs.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSeries 1: Administrative records (1949-2007) documents the creation, operation, and maintenance of Arena Stage and its various programs. It is further divided into 6 subseries.  Subseries 1.1: Correspondence includes correspondence arranged alphabetically by the correspondent's last name or by organizational name. Some correspondence is further aggregated and then organized alphabetically, such as \"Play Correspondence\" or \"Audience Response.\" Of particular note are letters from President Bill Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and King Kong star Fay Wray.  Subseries 1.2: Programs, policies, and procedures, includes records of Arena's programs, such as the \"Arena Angels\" volunteer program and fellowship programs, policies, such as bylaws, diversity policies, and handbooks, and planning, including season planning and long-range plans.  This subseries is broken up into four sub-subseries.  Sub-subseries 1.3.1: Financial papers documents Arena's finances and includes stockholder documents from its beginnings as a for-profit theater, grant-related documentation after the theater transitioned to a non-profit in the late 1950s, and records of the theater's development office, some of which were kept by department director Elspeth Udvarhelyi.  Sub-subseries 1.3.2: Personnel records includes information on staff at Arena Stage arranged alphabetically.  Of particular interest are headshots and/or resumes of a number of well-known actors, including James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, Henry Winkler, Edward Hermann, Yeardley Smith, Jane Alexander, Swoosie Kurtz, Victor Garber, Ron Perlman, Annette Benning, Olympia Dukakis, John Lithgow, John Voigt, Sigourney Weaver, and Rosemary Harris.  Sub-subseries 1.3.3: Casting information contains notes on casting for productions arranged alphabetically by play.  Sub-subseries 1.3.4: Production contracts includes official agreements between Arena and others arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 1.4: Meeting minutes contains meeting minutes from Arena's Board of Trustees, staff, and other subgroups within the organization. Subseries 1.5: Communications and events, is also divided into four sub-subseries.  Sub-subseries 1.5.1: Events documents special events held by Arena Stage, including anniversaries, galas, benefits, openings and press events.  Sub-subseries 1.5.2: Communications and Marketing includes records produced by the Communications and Marketing departments, including meeting minutes, planning, research, and correspondence.  Sub-subseries 1.5.3: Printed Material includes subscriber materials, mailings, brochures, reviews collected and arranged by play title, and programs organized chronologically.  Sub-subseries 1.5.4: Theater Communications Group contains correspondence, reports, and other information generated from Arena's association with the Theater Communications Group, an organization of theaters around the United States.  Subseries 1.6: Buildings and facilities includes information about and architectural plans for Arena's various buildings over the years, including the Hippodrome, the Old Vat, the 1960 permanent building, and the Kreeger Theater addition.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSeries 2: Production Files (1950-2010) is comprised of records related to the artistic development and performance of Arena's plays.  It is divided into 6 subseries.  Subseries 2.1: Dramaturgical files documents literary, historical and background research done by Arena's literary department for various plays, including articles, research packets, actor's packets, and scripts.  It is generally organized alphabetically by play.  Subseries 2.2: Playwright subject files contains research on various playwrights, both living and dead, whose work has been performed at Arena.  It is organized alphabetically by playwright's last name. Subseries 2.3: Production files includes scripts, blocking information, correspondence, and other material related to the production of Arena's plays.  It is arranged alphabetically by play title.  Subseries 2.4: Stage manager's reports includes daily reports by the stage manager of productions for the entire runs of many of Arena's plays from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s.  The reports include running times, incident reports, and other commentary on the audience and the performance.  Subseries 2.5: Wrap files contains documents collected from throughout the runs of various productions, including reviews that reflect the wider response to the play.  Subseries 2.6: Producing director's files contains documents from Arena's second Producing director after Zelda Fichandler, Doug Wager, who served from 1991-1998.  It includes pre-production speeches given by Wager, as well as planning files.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSeries 3: Photographs (1950-1991)is divided into 3 subseries.  Subseries 3.1: Production photographs includes photos of scenes from Arena's productions arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 3.2: Production books includes production photos collected in books, many of which are by professional photographer George de Vincent. Subseries 3.3: Buildings, staff, and events includes photographs of Arena's buildings, staff and cast portraits, and event photographs, such as prints from Arena's 30th anniversary celebration and from Arena's Soviet Union and Israel tours.  Subseries 3.4: Negatives and slides includes slides and negatives of Arena's staff and events, as well as some buildings, sets, and production-related images.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSeries 4: Oversize (1949-late 2000s) is divided into 3 subseries and contains a variety of oversize material.  Subseries 4.1: Braille programs contains programs in Braille for various Arena productions from the 1990s and early 2000s.  Subseries 4.2: Miscellaneous artwork and programs includes posters from Arena productions and events, enlarged photos, costume sketches, and other oversized material, such as a large model of the Mead Center for American Theater.  Subseries 4.3: Scrapbooks contains scrapbooks created for each of Arena's seasons up until 1988.  It also includes scrapbooks for Arena's tour of the Soviet Union and of visitors to Arena.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003eSeries 5: Audiovisual (1970-2007) contains several types of formats and is divided into 3 subseries.  Series 5.1: Performances on VHS contains VHS tapes (a few of which have associated DVDs) of performances at Arena arranged alphabetically by play title.  Series 5.2: Reel-to-reel contains production and event footage on reel-to-reel film.  Series 5.3: Other audiovisual formats and VHS tapes contains footage of events and productions on audiocassette, Betacam, and U-matic tapes.  \u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from 1949 to 2010, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records pertaining to the theater's finances, publicity, buildings, and programs.","Series 1: Administrative records (1949-2007) documents the creation, operation, and maintenance of Arena Stage and its various programs. It is further divided into 6 subseries.  Subseries 1.1: Correspondence includes correspondence arranged alphabetically by the correspondent's last name or by organizational name. Some correspondence is further aggregated and then organized alphabetically, such as \"Play Correspondence\" or \"Audience Response.\" Of particular note are letters from President Bill Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and King Kong star Fay Wray.  Subseries 1.2: Programs, policies, and procedures, includes records of Arena's programs, such as the \"Arena Angels\" volunteer program and fellowship programs, policies, such as bylaws, diversity policies, and handbooks, and planning, including season planning and long-range plans.  This subseries is broken up into four sub-subseries.  Sub-subseries 1.3.1: Financial papers documents Arena's finances and includes stockholder documents from its beginnings as a for-profit theater, grant-related documentation after the theater transitioned to a non-profit in the late 1950s, and records of the theater's development office, some of which were kept by department director Elspeth Udvarhelyi.  Sub-subseries 1.3.2: Personnel records includes information on staff at Arena Stage arranged alphabetically.  Of particular interest are headshots and/or resumes of a number of well-known actors, including James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, Henry Winkler, Edward Hermann, Yeardley Smith, Jane Alexander, Swoosie Kurtz, Victor Garber, Ron Perlman, Annette Benning, Olympia Dukakis, John Lithgow, John Voigt, Sigourney Weaver, and Rosemary Harris.  Sub-subseries 1.3.3: Casting information contains notes on casting for productions arranged alphabetically by play.  Sub-subseries 1.3.4: Production contracts includes official agreements between Arena and others arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 1.4: Meeting minutes contains meeting minutes from Arena's Board of Trustees, staff, and other subgroups within the organization. Subseries 1.5: Communications and events, is also divided into four sub-subseries.  Sub-subseries 1.5.1: Events documents special events held by Arena Stage, including anniversaries, galas, benefits, openings and press events.  Sub-subseries 1.5.2: Communications and Marketing includes records produced by the Communications and Marketing departments, including meeting minutes, planning, research, and correspondence.  Sub-subseries 1.5.3: Printed Material includes subscriber materials, mailings, brochures, reviews collected and arranged by play title, and programs organized chronologically.  Sub-subseries 1.5.4: Theater Communications Group contains correspondence, reports, and other information generated from Arena's association with the Theater Communications Group, an organization of theaters around the United States.  Subseries 1.6: Buildings and facilities includes information about and architectural plans for Arena's various buildings over the years, including the Hippodrome, the Old Vat, the 1960 permanent building, and the Kreeger Theater addition.","Series 2: Production Files (1950-2010) is comprised of records related to the artistic development and performance of Arena's plays.  It is divided into 6 subseries.  Subseries 2.1: Dramaturgical files documents literary, historical and background research done by Arena's literary department for various plays, including articles, research packets, actor's packets, and scripts.  It is generally organized alphabetically by play.  Subseries 2.2: Playwright subject files contains research on various playwrights, both living and dead, whose work has been performed at Arena.  It is organized alphabetically by playwright's last name. Subseries 2.3: Production files includes scripts, blocking information, correspondence, and other material related to the production of Arena's plays.  It is arranged alphabetically by play title.  Subseries 2.4: Stage manager's reports includes daily reports by the stage manager of productions for the entire runs of many of Arena's plays from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s.  The reports include running times, incident reports, and other commentary on the audience and the performance.  Subseries 2.5: Wrap files contains documents collected from throughout the runs of various productions, including reviews that reflect the wider response to the play.  Subseries 2.6: Producing director's files contains documents from Arena's second Producing director after Zelda Fichandler, Doug Wager, who served from 1991-1998.  It includes pre-production speeches given by Wager, as well as planning files.","Series 3: Photographs (1950-1991)is divided into 3 subseries.  Subseries 3.1: Production photographs includes photos of scenes from Arena's productions arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 3.2: Production books includes production photos collected in books, many of which are by professional photographer George de Vincent. Subseries 3.3: Buildings, staff, and events includes photographs of Arena's buildings, staff and cast portraits, and event photographs, such as prints from Arena's 30th anniversary celebration and from Arena's Soviet Union and Israel tours.  Subseries 3.4: Negatives and slides includes slides and negatives of Arena's staff and events, as well as some buildings, sets, and production-related images.","Series 4: Oversize (1949-late 2000s) is divided into 3 subseries and contains a variety of oversize material.  Subseries 4.1: Braille programs contains programs in Braille for various Arena productions from the 1990s and early 2000s.  Subseries 4.2: Miscellaneous artwork and programs includes posters from Arena productions and events, enlarged photos, costume sketches, and other oversized material, such as a large model of the Mead Center for American Theater.  Subseries 4.3: Scrapbooks contains scrapbooks created for each of Arena's seasons up until 1988.  It also includes scrapbooks for Arena's tour of the Soviet Union and of visitors to Arena.","Series 5: Audiovisual (1970-2007) contains several types of formats and is divided into 3 subseries.  Series 5.1: Performances on VHS contains VHS tapes (a few of which have associated DVDs) of performances at Arena arranged alphabetically by play title.  Series 5.2: Reel-to-reel contains production and event footage on reel-to-reel film.  Series 5.3: Other audiovisual formats and VHS tapes contains footage of events and productions on audiocassette, Betacam, and U-matic tapes.  "],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are no restrictions.\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["There are no restrictions."],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"ref2\" label=\"Abstract\"\u003eThe Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from its beginnings in 1950 to the present, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, handwritten correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from its beginnings in 1950 to the present, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, handwritten correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records."],"names_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center.","Arena Stage","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"corpname_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center.","Arena Stage","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"language_ssim":["English\n            "],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":8332,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-01T00:52:17.185Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_arenastage_c03_c02_c90"}},{"id":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c03_c02_c90","type":"File","attributes":{"title":"You Can't Take It With You by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart (2 of 2)","breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c03_c02_c90#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c03_c02_c90","ref_ssm":["vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c03_c02_c90"],"id":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c03_c02_c90","ead_ssi":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","_root_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","_nest_parent_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c03_c02","parent_ssi":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c03_c02","parent_ssim":["vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c03","vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c03_c02"],"parent_ids_ssim":["vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c03","vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c03_c02"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Arena Stage records","Series 3: Photographs","Subseries 3.2: Production books"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Arena Stage records","Series 3: Photographs","Subseries 3.2: Production books"],"text":["Arena Stage records","Series 3: Photographs","Subseries 3.2: Production books","You Can't Take It With You by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart (2 of 2)","box 632","folder 2"],"title_filing_ssi":"You Can't Take It With You by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart (2 of 2)","title_ssm":["You Can't Take It With You by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart (2 of 2)"],"title_tesim":["You Can't Take It With You by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart (2 of 2)"],"unitdate_other_ssim":["1979-1980"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1979/1980"],"normalized_title_ssm":["You Can't Take It With You by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart (2 of 2)"],"component_level_isim":[3],"repository_ssim":["George Mason University"],"collection_ssim":["Arena Stage records"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["File"],"level_ssim":["File"],"sort_isi":7591,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["Collection is open to research. Some personnel records in Series 1 Subseries 3 Sub-subseries 2: Personnel, staff contain Social Security Numbers and must be screened by SCRC staff before researchers can view them."],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)"],"date_range_isim":[1979,1980],"containers_ssim":["box 632","folder 2"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Contents note"],"_nest_path_":"/components#2/components#1/components#89","timestamp":"2026-05-01T00:23:25.700Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","ead_ssi":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","_root_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","_nest_parent_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/GMU/repositories_2_resources_416.xml","title_ssm":["Arena Stage records"],"title_tesim":["Arena Stage records"],"unitdate_ssm":["1949 - 2010"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1949 - 2010"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["C0017","/repositories/2/resources/416"],"text":["C0017","/repositories/2/resources/416","Arena Stage records","Theater -- Washington (D.C.)","Theater","Theater -- United States","Theater programs","Theater -- Production and direction","Performing arts","Video recordings","Sound recordings","Photographic prints","Collection is open to research. Some personnel records in Series 1 Subseries 3 Sub-subseries 2: Personnel, staff contain Social Security Numbers and must be screened by SCRC staff before researchers can view them.","Accruals to this collection are expected.","The collection is arranged into five series, each of which is further divided into subseries:","Series Series 1: Administrative records, 1949-2007 (Boxes 1-196) Series 2: Production files, 1950-2010 (Boxes 197-588, 654-663) Series 3: Photographs, 1950-1991 (Boxes 589-639) Series 4: Oversize materials, 1949-late 2000s (Boxes 640-720) Series 5: Audiovisual materials, 1970-2007 (Boxes 721-739)",""," Maslon, Lawrence, editor. \"The Arena Adventure: The First 40 Years.\" Washington, DC: Arena Stage, 1990.","","From its opening on August 16, 1950, the Arena Stage has dedicated itself to being a space of imagination and innovation, a tool of \"civilization,\" and Washington, D.C.'s preeminent regional theater. Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, the Arena Stage began as a for-profit theater under Arena Enterprises, Inc. The original Hippodrome Theatre, located on Ninth and New York N.W. in D.C., was revolutionary amongst regional theatres for its theatre-in-the-round construction and would provide the blueprint for all future Arena locations.","Arena began its long and successful life with Oliver Goldsmith's  She Stoops to Conquer.  Arena owed its early successes in the 1950s to its fluid play schedule organization and its willingness to put on works that were not commercial successes on Broadway. In November of 1956, after a year's hiatus, the company relocated to a temporary home at the Old Heurich Brewery, dubbed the Old Vat by company members. The move was facilitated in part by the commitment and drive of Board members J. Burke Knapp, Albert M. Berkowitz, Israel Convisser, Leslie Amouri, and Henry J. Danilowicz. However, financial issues would continue to trouble Arena Enterprises, Inc., eventually leading to its dissolution in 1959, and the creation of Arena's new, non-profit parent organization, the Washington Drama Society.","During the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington since 1895. Chicago architect Harry Weese designed the space to be as innovative as possible while still maintaining the theater-in-the-round layout. Now a non-profit theater, Arena drew much of its funding during this time from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and generous donations from both the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundations.","The Arena Stage began some of its most ambitious work during the 1960s including forming the Living Stage Theatre Company, further integrating its cast, and staging its most ambitious and acclaimed work to date:  The Great White Hope. The Great White Hope  included twenty five additional guest actors, including James Earl Jones, and was an enormous success, both critically and financially, for Arena. It was the first major resident theater production to be exported to Broadway. Fichandler also began to experiment with casting African American actors in traditionally white roles during the 1968 season after she published the paper \"Towards a Deepening Aesthetic.\" Fichandler experimented with non-traditional casting in plays like  King Lear  and  The Threepenny Opera , but unfortunately these plays were met with critical confusion and disappointing ticket sales. Arena Stage was incredibly successful in the 1970s, garnering awards and critical approval, and international recognition. Not content with the current Arena Stage configuration, Fichandler and others worked diligently to acquire another stage facility that would collaborate, not compete, with the current Stage. Generosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new Kreeger Theater which opened on January 15, 1971.","In 1973 Arena would have the opportunity to take two of its plays,  Our Town  and  Inherit the Wind  to the U.S.S.R. This was the first ever trip to the Soviet Union undertaken by a resident theater group. The trip was a wild success with Russian audiences giving the cast a standing ovation following their performance of  Inherit the Wind  at the Moscow Art Theatre. In April 1976 the American Theatre Critics Association bestowed upon the Arena Stage a special Tony Award for resident theaters. The ATCA cited Arena's qualities as a \"trailblazer\" in theatrical arts and representative of other theaters that had followed its lead.","The early 1980s were a difficult time for theater, but, in spite of this, Arena continued to push the limits of conventional residential theater. The 1982 production of  K2 , for example, saw the construction of a sheer glacial face on the Kreeger stage according to the vision of set designer Ming Cho Lee. In 1986 twenty-three actors and a thirteen member production staff traveled to Jerusalem to perform Zelda's production of  The Crucible  at the Israel Festival.","1989 marked the end of an era as Zelda Fichandler announced that she would step down as Arena's producing director at the end of the 1990-1991 fortieth anniversary season. Douglas C. Wager would succeed her as artistic director. Amid financial difficulties and changing times for theaters everywhere, Arena's resident company of actors was disbanded by the late 1990s. Wager remained at the helm until 1998, when Molly Smith took over the position. Under Smith's leadership, Bing Thom architects completed another major renovation of Arena's existing buildings into the Mead Center for American Theater in 2010. Smith served as Arena's artistic director until 2023, when she retired and was succeeded by current Aristic Director, Hana Sharif.","Many now-famous actors took part in Arena Stage productions during the early part of their careers. Some of them include Robert Prosky, Morgan Freeman, Dianne Wiest, James Earl Jones, Kevin Kline, Christopher Guest, Yeardley Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Ned Beatty, Jane Alexander, and Ron Perlman. Many other set designers, artists, costume designers, and technical workers owe their early success and experience to the Arena Stage.","The Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to film and audio reels, Betacam, or U-matic tapes contained in Series 5.2 and 5.3. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access.","Processed by Harvard Theatre Collection and George Mason University Special Collections Research Center staff. Reprocessed by Greta Suiter, Kerry Mitchell, Elizabeth Beckman, Diane Stancil, and Nick Welsh. EAD markup completed by Elizabeth Beckman in 2016. Finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in 2025.","The Special Collections Research Center holds the personal papers of several individuals involved with Arena Stage, including the Zelda Fichandler papers, the Thomas C. Fichandler papers, the Ken Kitch papers, as well as the Living Stage records.","The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from 1949 to 2010, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records pertaining to the theater's finances, publicity, buildings, and programs.","Series 1: Administrative records (1949-2007) documents the creation, operation, and maintenance of Arena Stage and its various programs. It is further divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 1.1: Correspondence includes correspondence arranged alphabetically by the correspondent's last name or by organizational name. Some correspondence is further aggregated and then organized alphabetically, such as \"Play Correspondence\" or \"Audience Response.\" Of particular note are letters from President Bill Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and King Kong star Fay Wray. Subseries 1.2: Programs, policies, and procedures, includes records of Arena's programs, such as the \"Arena Angels\" volunteer program and fellowship programs, policies, such as bylaws, diversity policies, and handbooks, and planning, including season planning and long-range plans. This subseries is broken up into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.3.1: Financial papers documents Arena's finances and includes stockholder documents from its beginnings as a for-profit theater, grant-related documentation after the theater transitioned to a non-profit in the late 1950s, and records of the theater's development office, some of which were kept by department director Elspeth Udvarhelyi. Sub-subseries 1.3.2: Personnel records includes information on staff at Arena Stage arranged alphabetically. Of particular interest are headshots and/or resumes of a number of well-known actors, including James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, Henry Winkler, Edward Hermann, Yeardley Smith, Jane Alexander, Swoosie Kurtz, Victor Garber, Ron Perlman, Annette Benning, Olympia Dukakis, John Lithgow, John Voigt, Sigourney Weaver, and Rosemary Harris. Sub-subseries 1.3.3: Casting information contains notes on casting for productions arranged alphabetically by play. Sub-subseries 1.3.4: Production contracts includes official agreements between Arena and others arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 1.4: Meeting minutes contains meeting minutes from Arena's Board of Trustees, staff, and other subgroups within the organization. Subseries 1.5: Communications and events, is also divided into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.5.1: Events documents special events held by Arena Stage, including anniversaries, galas, benefits, openings and press events. Sub-subseries 1.5.2: Communications and Marketing includes records produced by the Communications and Marketing departments, including meeting minutes, planning, research, and correspondence. Sub-subseries 1.5.3: Printed Material includes subscriber materials, mailings, brochures, reviews collected and arranged by play title, and programs organized chronologically. Sub-subseries 1.5.4: Theater Communications Group contains correspondence, reports, and other information generated from Arena's association with the Theater Communications Group, an organization of theaters around the United States. Subseries 1.6: Buildings and facilities includes information about and architectural plans for Arena's various buildings over the years, including the Hippodrome, the Old Vat, the 1960 permanent building, and the Kreeger Theater addition.","Series 2: Production Files (1950-2010) is comprised of records related to the artistic development and performance of Arena's plays. It is divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 2.1: Dramaturgical files documents literary, historical and background research done by Arena's literary department for various plays, including articles, research packets, actor's packets, and scripts. It is generally organized alphabetically by play. Subseries 2.2: Playwright subject files contains research on various playwrights, both living and dead, whose work has been performed at Arena. It is organized alphabetically by playwright's last name. Subseries 2.3: Production files includes scripts, blocking information, correspondence, and other material related to the production of Arena's plays. It is arranged alphabetically by play title. Subseries 2.4: Stage manager's reports includes daily reports by the stage manager of productions for the entire runs of many of Arena's plays from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s. The reports include running times, incident reports, and other commentary on the audience and the performance. Subseries 2.5: Wrap files contains documents collected from throughout the runs of various productions, including reviews that reflect the wider response to the play. Subseries 2.6: Producing director's files contains documents from Arena's second Producing director after Zelda Fichandler, Doug Wager, who served from 1991-1998. It includes pre-production speeches given by Wager, as well as planning files.","Series 3: Photographs (1950-1991)is divided into 3 subseries. Subseries 3.1: Production photographs includes photos of scenes from Arena's productions arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 3.2: Production books includes production photos collected in books, many of which are by professional photographer George de Vincent. Subseries 3.3: Buildings, staff, and events includes photographs of Arena's buildings, staff and cast portraits, and event photographs, such as prints from Arena's 30th anniversary celebration and from Arena's Soviet Union and Israel tours. Subseries 3.4: Negatives and slides includes slides and negatives of Arena's staff and events, as well as some buildings, sets, and production-related images.","Series 4: Oversize (1949-late 2000s) is divided into 3 subseries and contains a variety of oversize material. Subseries 4.1: Braille programs contains programs in Braille for various Arena productions from the 1990s and early 2000s. Subseries 4.2: Miscellaneous artwork and programs includes posters from Arena productions and events, enlarged photos, costume sketches, and other oversized material, such as a large model of the Mead Center for American Theater. Subseries 4.3: Scrapbooks contains scrapbooks created for each of Arena's seasons up until 1988. It also includes scrapbooks for Arena's tour of the Soviet Union and of visitors to Arena.","Series 5: Audiovisual (1970-2007) contains several types of formats and is divided into 3 subseries. Series 5.1: Performances on VHS contains VHS tapes (a few of which have associated DVDs) of performances at Arena arranged alphabetically by play title. Series 5.2: Reel-to-reel contains production and event footage on reel-to-reel film. Series 5.3: Other audiovisual formats and VHS tapes contains footage of events and productions on audiocassette, Betacam, and U-matic tapes. ","The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)","The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from its beginnings in 1950 to the present, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, handwritten correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records.","\nR 5, C 1, S 2 - R 9, C 4, S 7 \n\n\nR29, C1, S2\n\nOS R 3, C 2, S 1 - C 3, S 7\nOS R 4, C 5, S 5 \nOS R 5, C 2, S 3\nOS R 5, C 5, S 4\nOS R 6, C 4, S 6 - S 7\nOS R 7, C 1, S 2\nMap Case 9.1, 11.5","George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)","Fichandler, Thomas C.","Fichandler, Zelda, 1924-2016","English"],"unitid_tesim":["C0017","/repositories/2/resources/416"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Arena Stage records"],"collection_title_tesim":["Arena Stage records"],"collection_ssim":["Arena Stage records"],"repository_ssm":["George Mason University"],"repository_ssim":["George Mason University"],"creator_ssm":["Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"creator_ssim":["Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"creator_corpname_ssim":["Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"creators_ssim":["Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"access_terms_ssm":["The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)"],"acqinfo_ssim":["Donated by Arena Stage in 2000-2024.","This collection has additional unprocessed accessions 2023.040-C and 2024.088-C, and therefore this finding aid may not be fully up to date. Please contact SCRC for more information."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Theater -- Washington (D.C.)","Theater","Theater -- United States","Theater programs","Theater -- Production and direction","Performing arts","Video recordings","Sound recordings","Photographic prints"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Theater -- Washington (D.C.)","Theater","Theater -- United States","Theater programs","Theater -- Production and direction","Performing arts","Video recordings","Sound recordings","Photographic prints"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["369.5 Linear Feet 739 boxes"],"extent_tesim":["369.5 Linear Feet 739 boxes"],"genreform_ssim":["Video recordings","Sound recordings","Photographic prints"],"date_range_isim":[1949,1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eCollection is open to research. Some personnel records in Series 1 Subseries 3 Sub-subseries 2: Personnel, staff contain Social Security Numbers and must be screened by SCRC staff before researchers can view them.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access Restrictions"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["Collection is open to research. Some personnel records in Series 1 Subseries 3 Sub-subseries 2: Personnel, staff contain Social Security Numbers and must be screened by SCRC staff before researchers can view them."],"accruals_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAccruals to this collection are expected.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accruals_heading_ssm":["Accruals"],"accruals_tesim":["Accruals to this collection are expected."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe collection is arranged into five series, each of which is further divided into subseries:\u003c/p\u003e","\u003clist type=\"ordered\"\u003e\n      \u003chead\u003eSeries\u003c/head\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 1: Administrative records, 1949-2007 (Boxes 1-196)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 2: Production files, 1950-2010 (Boxes 197-588, 654-663)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 3: Photographs, 1950-1991 (Boxes 589-639)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 4: Oversize materials, 1949-late 2000s (Boxes 640-720)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 5: Audiovisual materials, 1970-2007 (Boxes 721-739)\u003c/item\u003e\n    \u003c/list\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["The collection is arranged into five series, each of which is further divided into subseries:","Series Series 1: Administrative records, 1949-2007 (Boxes 1-196) Series 2: Production files, 1950-2010 (Boxes 197-588, 654-663) Series 3: Photographs, 1950-1991 (Boxes 589-639) Series 4: Oversize materials, 1949-late 2000s (Boxes 640-720) Series 5: Audiovisual materials, 1970-2007 (Boxes 721-739)"],"bibliography_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003e\u003cextptr href=\"http://www.arenastage.org/plan-your-visit/the-mead-center/\" title=\"'Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater.' Arena Stage. Accessed February 3, 2016.\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e \u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e Maslon, Lawrence, editor. \"The Arena Adventure: The First 40 Years.\" Washington, DC: Arena Stage, 1990.\u003c/p\u003e","\u003cp\u003e \u003cextptr href=\"http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/theater/features/arena51205.htm\" title=\"Richards, David. 'For Arena Stage, a Pioneering Selection.' Washington Post. December 5, 1997\" show=\"new\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e \u003c/p\u003e"],"bibliography_heading_ssm":["Bibliography"],"bibliography_tesim":[""," Maslon, Lawrence, editor. \"The Arena Adventure: The First 40 Years.\" Washington, DC: Arena Stage, 1990.",""],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eFrom its opening on August 16, 1950, the Arena Stage has dedicated itself to being a space of imagination and innovation, a tool of \"civilization,\" and Washington, D.C.'s preeminent regional theater. Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, the Arena Stage began as a for-profit theater under Arena Enterprises, Inc. The original Hippodrome Theatre, located on Ninth and New York N.W. in D.C., was revolutionary amongst regional theatres for its theatre-in-the-round construction and would provide the blueprint for all future Arena locations.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eArena began its long and successful life with Oliver Goldsmith's \u003citalic\u003eShe Stoops to Conquer.\u003c/italic\u003e Arena owed its early successes in the 1950s to its fluid play schedule organization and its willingness to put on works that were not commercial successes on Broadway. In November of 1956, after a year's hiatus, the company relocated to a temporary home at the Old Heurich Brewery, dubbed the Old Vat by company members. The move was facilitated in part by the commitment and drive of Board members J. Burke Knapp, Albert M. Berkowitz, Israel Convisser, Leslie Amouri, and Henry J. Danilowicz. However, financial issues would continue to trouble Arena Enterprises, Inc., eventually leading to its dissolution in 1959, and the creation of Arena's new, non-profit parent organization, the Washington Drama Society.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eDuring the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington since 1895. Chicago architect Harry Weese designed the space to be as innovative as possible while still maintaining the theater-in-the-round layout. Now a non-profit theater, Arena drew much of its funding during this time from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and generous donations from both the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundations.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe Arena Stage began some of its most ambitious work during the 1960s including forming the Living Stage Theatre Company, further integrating its cast, and staging its most ambitious and acclaimed work to date: \u003citalic\u003eThe Great White Hope.\u003c/italic\u003e \u003citalic\u003eThe Great White Hope\u003c/italic\u003e included twenty five additional guest actors, including James Earl Jones, and was an enormous success, both critically and financially, for Arena. It was the first major resident theater production to be exported to Broadway. Fichandler also began to experiment with casting African American actors in traditionally white roles during the 1968 season after she published the paper \"Towards a Deepening Aesthetic.\" Fichandler experimented with non-traditional casting in plays like \u003citalic\u003eKing Lear\u003c/italic\u003e and \u003citalic\u003eThe Threepenny Opera\u003c/italic\u003e, but unfortunately these plays were met with critical confusion and disappointing ticket sales. Arena Stage was incredibly successful in the 1970s, garnering awards and critical approval, and international recognition. Not content with the current Arena Stage configuration, Fichandler and others worked diligently to acquire another stage facility that would collaborate, not compete, with the current Stage. Generosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new Kreeger Theater which opened on January 15, 1971.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eIn 1973 Arena would have the opportunity to take two of its plays, \u003citalic\u003eOur Town\u003c/italic\u003e and \u003citalic\u003eInherit the Wind\u003c/italic\u003e to the U.S.S.R. This was the first ever trip to the Soviet Union undertaken by a resident theater group. The trip was a wild success with Russian audiences giving the cast a standing ovation following their performance of \u003citalic\u003eInherit the Wind\u003c/italic\u003e at the Moscow Art Theatre. In April 1976 the American Theatre Critics Association bestowed upon the Arena Stage a special Tony Award for resident theaters. The ATCA cited Arena's qualities as a \"trailblazer\" in theatrical arts and representative of other theaters that had followed its lead.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe early 1980s were a difficult time for theater, but, in spite of this, Arena continued to push the limits of conventional residential theater. The 1982 production of \u003citalic\u003eK2\u003c/italic\u003e, for example, saw the construction of a sheer glacial face on the Kreeger stage according to the vision of set designer Ming Cho Lee. In 1986 twenty-three actors and a thirteen member production staff traveled to Jerusalem to perform Zelda's production of \u003citalic\u003eThe Crucible\u003c/italic\u003e at the Israel Festival.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003e1989 marked the end of an era as Zelda Fichandler announced that she would step down as Arena's producing director at the end of the 1990-1991 fortieth anniversary season. Douglas C. Wager would succeed her as artistic director. Amid financial difficulties and changing times for theaters everywhere, Arena's resident company of actors was disbanded by the late 1990s. Wager remained at the helm until 1998, when Molly Smith took over the position. Under Smith's leadership, Bing Thom architects completed another major renovation of Arena's existing buildings into the Mead Center for American Theater in 2010. Smith served as Arena's artistic director until 2023, when she retired and was succeeded by current Aristic Director, Hana Sharif.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eMany now-famous actors took part in Arena Stage productions during the early part of their careers. Some of them include Robert Prosky, Morgan Freeman, Dianne Wiest, James Earl Jones, Kevin Kline, Christopher Guest, Yeardley Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Ned Beatty, Jane Alexander, and Ron Perlman. Many other set designers, artists, costume designers, and technical workers owe their early success and experience to the Arena Stage.\u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Historical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["From its opening on August 16, 1950, the Arena Stage has dedicated itself to being a space of imagination and innovation, a tool of \"civilization,\" and Washington, D.C.'s preeminent regional theater. Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, the Arena Stage began as a for-profit theater under Arena Enterprises, Inc. The original Hippodrome Theatre, located on Ninth and New York N.W. in D.C., was revolutionary amongst regional theatres for its theatre-in-the-round construction and would provide the blueprint for all future Arena locations.","Arena began its long and successful life with Oliver Goldsmith's  She Stoops to Conquer.  Arena owed its early successes in the 1950s to its fluid play schedule organization and its willingness to put on works that were not commercial successes on Broadway. In November of 1956, after a year's hiatus, the company relocated to a temporary home at the Old Heurich Brewery, dubbed the Old Vat by company members. The move was facilitated in part by the commitment and drive of Board members J. Burke Knapp, Albert M. Berkowitz, Israel Convisser, Leslie Amouri, and Henry J. Danilowicz. However, financial issues would continue to trouble Arena Enterprises, Inc., eventually leading to its dissolution in 1959, and the creation of Arena's new, non-profit parent organization, the Washington Drama Society.","During the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington since 1895. Chicago architect Harry Weese designed the space to be as innovative as possible while still maintaining the theater-in-the-round layout. Now a non-profit theater, Arena drew much of its funding during this time from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and generous donations from both the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundations.","The Arena Stage began some of its most ambitious work during the 1960s including forming the Living Stage Theatre Company, further integrating its cast, and staging its most ambitious and acclaimed work to date:  The Great White Hope. The Great White Hope  included twenty five additional guest actors, including James Earl Jones, and was an enormous success, both critically and financially, for Arena. It was the first major resident theater production to be exported to Broadway. Fichandler also began to experiment with casting African American actors in traditionally white roles during the 1968 season after she published the paper \"Towards a Deepening Aesthetic.\" Fichandler experimented with non-traditional casting in plays like  King Lear  and  The Threepenny Opera , but unfortunately these plays were met with critical confusion and disappointing ticket sales. Arena Stage was incredibly successful in the 1970s, garnering awards and critical approval, and international recognition. Not content with the current Arena Stage configuration, Fichandler and others worked diligently to acquire another stage facility that would collaborate, not compete, with the current Stage. Generosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new Kreeger Theater which opened on January 15, 1971.","In 1973 Arena would have the opportunity to take two of its plays,  Our Town  and  Inherit the Wind  to the U.S.S.R. This was the first ever trip to the Soviet Union undertaken by a resident theater group. The trip was a wild success with Russian audiences giving the cast a standing ovation following their performance of  Inherit the Wind  at the Moscow Art Theatre. In April 1976 the American Theatre Critics Association bestowed upon the Arena Stage a special Tony Award for resident theaters. The ATCA cited Arena's qualities as a \"trailblazer\" in theatrical arts and representative of other theaters that had followed its lead.","The early 1980s were a difficult time for theater, but, in spite of this, Arena continued to push the limits of conventional residential theater. The 1982 production of  K2 , for example, saw the construction of a sheer glacial face on the Kreeger stage according to the vision of set designer Ming Cho Lee. In 1986 twenty-three actors and a thirteen member production staff traveled to Jerusalem to perform Zelda's production of  The Crucible  at the Israel Festival.","1989 marked the end of an era as Zelda Fichandler announced that she would step down as Arena's producing director at the end of the 1990-1991 fortieth anniversary season. Douglas C. Wager would succeed her as artistic director. Amid financial difficulties and changing times for theaters everywhere, Arena's resident company of actors was disbanded by the late 1990s. Wager remained at the helm until 1998, when Molly Smith took over the position. Under Smith's leadership, Bing Thom architects completed another major renovation of Arena's existing buildings into the Mead Center for American Theater in 2010. Smith served as Arena's artistic director until 2023, when she retired and was succeeded by current Aristic Director, Hana Sharif.","Many now-famous actors took part in Arena Stage productions during the early part of their careers. Some of them include Robert Prosky, Morgan Freeman, Dianne Wiest, James Earl Jones, Kevin Kline, Christopher Guest, Yeardley Smith, Samuel L. Jackson, Ned Beatty, Jane Alexander, and Ron Perlman. Many other set designers, artists, costume designers, and technical workers owe their early success and experience to the Arena Stage."],"phystech_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to film and audio reels, Betacam, or U-matic tapes contained in Series 5.2 and 5.3. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access.\u003c/p\u003e"],"phystech_heading_ssm":["Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements"],"phystech_tesim":["The Special Collections Research Center does not have the equipment necessary to film and audio reels, Betacam, or U-matic tapes contained in Series 5.2 and 5.3. Additional time and money may be required to digitize this material for access."],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eArena Stage records, C0017, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Arena Stage records, C0017, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eProcessed by Harvard Theatre Collection and George Mason University Special Collections Research Center staff. Reprocessed by Greta Suiter, Kerry Mitchell, Elizabeth Beckman, Diane Stancil, and Nick Welsh. EAD markup completed by Elizabeth Beckman in 2016. Finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in 2025.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["Processed by Harvard Theatre Collection and George Mason University Special Collections Research Center staff. Reprocessed by Greta Suiter, Kerry Mitchell, Elizabeth Beckman, Diane Stancil, and Nick Welsh. EAD markup completed by Elizabeth Beckman in 2016. Finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in 2025."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Special Collections Research Center holds the personal papers of several individuals involved with Arena Stage, including the Zelda Fichandler papers, the Thomas C. Fichandler papers, the Ken Kitch papers, as well as the Living Stage records.\u003c/p\u003e"],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Material"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["The Special Collections Research Center holds the personal papers of several individuals involved with Arena Stage, including the Zelda Fichandler papers, the Thomas C. Fichandler papers, the Ken Kitch papers, as well as the Living Stage records."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from 1949 to 2010, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records pertaining to the theater's finances, publicity, buildings, and programs.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries 1: Administrative records (1949-2007) documents the creation, operation, and maintenance of Arena Stage and its various programs. It is further divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 1.1: Correspondence includes correspondence arranged alphabetically by the correspondent's last name or by organizational name. Some correspondence is further aggregated and then organized alphabetically, such as \"Play Correspondence\" or \"Audience Response.\" Of particular note are letters from President Bill Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and King Kong star Fay Wray. Subseries 1.2: Programs, policies, and procedures, includes records of Arena's programs, such as the \"Arena Angels\" volunteer program and fellowship programs, policies, such as bylaws, diversity policies, and handbooks, and planning, including season planning and long-range plans. This subseries is broken up into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.3.1: Financial papers documents Arena's finances and includes stockholder documents from its beginnings as a for-profit theater, grant-related documentation after the theater transitioned to a non-profit in the late 1950s, and records of the theater's development office, some of which were kept by department director Elspeth Udvarhelyi. Sub-subseries 1.3.2: Personnel records includes information on staff at Arena Stage arranged alphabetically. Of particular interest are headshots and/or resumes of a number of well-known actors, including James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, Henry Winkler, Edward Hermann, Yeardley Smith, Jane Alexander, Swoosie Kurtz, Victor Garber, Ron Perlman, Annette Benning, Olympia Dukakis, John Lithgow, John Voigt, Sigourney Weaver, and Rosemary Harris. Sub-subseries 1.3.3: Casting information contains notes on casting for productions arranged alphabetically by play. Sub-subseries 1.3.4: Production contracts includes official agreements between Arena and others arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 1.4: Meeting minutes contains meeting minutes from Arena's Board of Trustees, staff, and other subgroups within the organization. Subseries 1.5: Communications and events, is also divided into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.5.1: Events documents special events held by Arena Stage, including anniversaries, galas, benefits, openings and press events. Sub-subseries 1.5.2: Communications and Marketing includes records produced by the Communications and Marketing departments, including meeting minutes, planning, research, and correspondence. Sub-subseries 1.5.3: Printed Material includes subscriber materials, mailings, brochures, reviews collected and arranged by play title, and programs organized chronologically. Sub-subseries 1.5.4: Theater Communications Group contains correspondence, reports, and other information generated from Arena's association with the Theater Communications Group, an organization of theaters around the United States. Subseries 1.6: Buildings and facilities includes information about and architectural plans for Arena's various buildings over the years, including the Hippodrome, the Old Vat, the 1960 permanent building, and the Kreeger Theater addition.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries 2: Production Files (1950-2010) is comprised of records related to the artistic development and performance of Arena's plays. It is divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 2.1: Dramaturgical files documents literary, historical and background research done by Arena's literary department for various plays, including articles, research packets, actor's packets, and scripts. It is generally organized alphabetically by play. Subseries 2.2: Playwright subject files contains research on various playwrights, both living and dead, whose work has been performed at Arena. It is organized alphabetically by playwright's last name. Subseries 2.3: Production files includes scripts, blocking information, correspondence, and other material related to the production of Arena's plays. It is arranged alphabetically by play title. Subseries 2.4: Stage manager's reports includes daily reports by the stage manager of productions for the entire runs of many of Arena's plays from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s. The reports include running times, incident reports, and other commentary on the audience and the performance. Subseries 2.5: Wrap files contains documents collected from throughout the runs of various productions, including reviews that reflect the wider response to the play. Subseries 2.6: Producing director's files contains documents from Arena's second Producing director after Zelda Fichandler, Doug Wager, who served from 1991-1998. It includes pre-production speeches given by Wager, as well as planning files.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries 3: Photographs (1950-1991)is divided into 3 subseries. Subseries 3.1: Production photographs includes photos of scenes from Arena's productions arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 3.2: Production books includes production photos collected in books, many of which are by professional photographer George de Vincent. Subseries 3.3: Buildings, staff, and events includes photographs of Arena's buildings, staff and cast portraits, and event photographs, such as prints from Arena's 30th anniversary celebration and from Arena's Soviet Union and Israel tours. Subseries 3.4: Negatives and slides includes slides and negatives of Arena's staff and events, as well as some buildings, sets, and production-related images.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries 4: Oversize (1949-late 2000s) is divided into 3 subseries and contains a variety of oversize material. Subseries 4.1: Braille programs contains programs in Braille for various Arena productions from the 1990s and early 2000s. Subseries 4.2: Miscellaneous artwork and programs includes posters from Arena productions and events, enlarged photos, costume sketches, and other oversized material, such as a large model of the Mead Center for American Theater. Subseries 4.3: Scrapbooks contains scrapbooks created for each of Arena's seasons up until 1988. It also includes scrapbooks for Arena's tour of the Soviet Union and of visitors to Arena.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eSeries 5: Audiovisual (1970-2007) contains several types of formats and is divided into 3 subseries. Series 5.1: Performances on VHS contains VHS tapes (a few of which have associated DVDs) of performances at Arena arranged alphabetically by play title. Series 5.2: Reel-to-reel contains production and event footage on reel-to-reel film. Series 5.3: Other audiovisual formats and VHS tapes contains footage of events and productions on audiocassette, Betacam, and U-matic tapes. \u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from 1949 to 2010, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records pertaining to the theater's finances, publicity, buildings, and programs.","Series 1: Administrative records (1949-2007) documents the creation, operation, and maintenance of Arena Stage and its various programs. It is further divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 1.1: Correspondence includes correspondence arranged alphabetically by the correspondent's last name or by organizational name. Some correspondence is further aggregated and then organized alphabetically, such as \"Play Correspondence\" or \"Audience Response.\" Of particular note are letters from President Bill Clinton, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and King Kong star Fay Wray. Subseries 1.2: Programs, policies, and procedures, includes records of Arena's programs, such as the \"Arena Angels\" volunteer program and fellowship programs, policies, such as bylaws, diversity policies, and handbooks, and planning, including season planning and long-range plans. This subseries is broken up into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.3.1: Financial papers documents Arena's finances and includes stockholder documents from its beginnings as a for-profit theater, grant-related documentation after the theater transitioned to a non-profit in the late 1950s, and records of the theater's development office, some of which were kept by department director Elspeth Udvarhelyi. Sub-subseries 1.3.2: Personnel records includes information on staff at Arena Stage arranged alphabetically. Of particular interest are headshots and/or resumes of a number of well-known actors, including James Earl Jones, Morgan Freeman, Henry Winkler, Edward Hermann, Yeardley Smith, Jane Alexander, Swoosie Kurtz, Victor Garber, Ron Perlman, Annette Benning, Olympia Dukakis, John Lithgow, John Voigt, Sigourney Weaver, and Rosemary Harris. Sub-subseries 1.3.3: Casting information contains notes on casting for productions arranged alphabetically by play. Sub-subseries 1.3.4: Production contracts includes official agreements between Arena and others arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 1.4: Meeting minutes contains meeting minutes from Arena's Board of Trustees, staff, and other subgroups within the organization. Subseries 1.5: Communications and events, is also divided into four sub-subseries. Sub-subseries 1.5.1: Events documents special events held by Arena Stage, including anniversaries, galas, benefits, openings and press events. Sub-subseries 1.5.2: Communications and Marketing includes records produced by the Communications and Marketing departments, including meeting minutes, planning, research, and correspondence. Sub-subseries 1.5.3: Printed Material includes subscriber materials, mailings, brochures, reviews collected and arranged by play title, and programs organized chronologically. Sub-subseries 1.5.4: Theater Communications Group contains correspondence, reports, and other information generated from Arena's association with the Theater Communications Group, an organization of theaters around the United States. Subseries 1.6: Buildings and facilities includes information about and architectural plans for Arena's various buildings over the years, including the Hippodrome, the Old Vat, the 1960 permanent building, and the Kreeger Theater addition.","Series 2: Production Files (1950-2010) is comprised of records related to the artistic development and performance of Arena's plays. It is divided into 6 subseries. Subseries 2.1: Dramaturgical files documents literary, historical and background research done by Arena's literary department for various plays, including articles, research packets, actor's packets, and scripts. It is generally organized alphabetically by play. Subseries 2.2: Playwright subject files contains research on various playwrights, both living and dead, whose work has been performed at Arena. It is organized alphabetically by playwright's last name. Subseries 2.3: Production files includes scripts, blocking information, correspondence, and other material related to the production of Arena's plays. It is arranged alphabetically by play title. Subseries 2.4: Stage manager's reports includes daily reports by the stage manager of productions for the entire runs of many of Arena's plays from the late 1960s to the mid-1990s. The reports include running times, incident reports, and other commentary on the audience and the performance. Subseries 2.5: Wrap files contains documents collected from throughout the runs of various productions, including reviews that reflect the wider response to the play. Subseries 2.6: Producing director's files contains documents from Arena's second Producing director after Zelda Fichandler, Doug Wager, who served from 1991-1998. It includes pre-production speeches given by Wager, as well as planning files.","Series 3: Photographs (1950-1991)is divided into 3 subseries. Subseries 3.1: Production photographs includes photos of scenes from Arena's productions arranged alphabetically by play. Subseries 3.2: Production books includes production photos collected in books, many of which are by professional photographer George de Vincent. Subseries 3.3: Buildings, staff, and events includes photographs of Arena's buildings, staff and cast portraits, and event photographs, such as prints from Arena's 30th anniversary celebration and from Arena's Soviet Union and Israel tours. Subseries 3.4: Negatives and slides includes slides and negatives of Arena's staff and events, as well as some buildings, sets, and production-related images.","Series 4: Oversize (1949-late 2000s) is divided into 3 subseries and contains a variety of oversize material. Subseries 4.1: Braille programs contains programs in Braille for various Arena productions from the 1990s and early 2000s. Subseries 4.2: Miscellaneous artwork and programs includes posters from Arena productions and events, enlarged photos, costume sketches, and other oversized material, such as a large model of the Mead Center for American Theater. Subseries 4.3: Scrapbooks contains scrapbooks created for each of Arena's seasons up until 1988. It also includes scrapbooks for Arena's tour of the Soviet Union and of visitors to Arena.","Series 5: Audiovisual (1970-2007) contains several types of formats and is divided into 3 subseries. Series 5.1: Performances on VHS contains VHS tapes (a few of which have associated DVDs) of performances at Arena arranged alphabetically by play title. Series 5.2: Reel-to-reel contains production and event footage on reel-to-reel film. Series 5.3: Other audiovisual formats and VHS tapes contains footage of events and productions on audiocassette, Betacam, and U-matic tapes. "],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)"],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_ec96c412f915842d3012676b73803163\" label=\"Abstract\"\u003eThe Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from its beginnings in 1950 to the present, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, handwritten correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["The Arena Stage records consist of material that spans the theater's history from its beginnings in 1950 to the present, including production notebooks, photographs, audiotapes, videotapes, playbills, scrapbooks, scripts, handwritten correspondence, and other production materials, as well as administrative records."],"physloc_html_tesm":["\u003cphysloc id=\"aspace_22f8958322c3fdee6366a384bb686980\"\u003e\nR 5, C 1, S 2 - R 9, C 4, S 7 \n\n\nR29, C1, S2\n\nOS R 3, C 2, S 1 - C 3, S 7\nOS R 4, C 5, S 5 \nOS R 5, C 2, S 3\nOS R 5, C 5, S 4\nOS R 6, C 4, S 6 - S 7\nOS R 7, C 1, S 2\nMap Case 9.1, 11.5\u003c/physloc\u003e"],"physloc_tesim":["\nR 5, C 1, S 2 - R 9, C 4, S 7 \n\n\nR29, C1, S2\n\nOS R 3, C 2, S 1 - C 3, S 7\nOS R 4, C 5, S 5 \nOS R 5, C 2, S 3\nOS R 5, C 5, S 4\nOS R 6, C 4, S 6 - S 7\nOS R 7, C 1, S 2\nMap Case 9.1, 11.5"],"names_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)","Fichandler, Thomas C.","Fichandler, Zelda, 1924-2016"],"corpname_ssim":["George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)"],"names_coll_ssim":["Fichandler, Thomas C.","Fichandler, Zelda, 1924-2016"],"persname_ssim":["Fichandler, Thomas C.","Fichandler, Zelda, 1924-2016"],"language_ssim":["English"],"descrules_ssm":["Describing Archives: A Content Standard"],"total_component_count_is":8332,"online_item_count_is":0,"component_level_isim":[0],"sort_isi":0,"timestamp":"2026-05-01T00:23:25.700Z"}]}},"label":"Breadcrumbs"}}},"links":{"self":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_repositories_2_resources_416_c03_c02_c90"}},{"id":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_150_c01_c01_c67","type":"File","attributes":{"title":"\"You Can't Take It with You\" Reviews","abstract_or_scope":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_repositories_2_resources_150_c01_c01_c67#abstract_or_scope","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":"\u003cp\u003eAlso contains advertisements, rosters, and announcements.\u003c/p\u003e","label":"Abstract Or Scope"}},"breadcrumbs":{"id":"https://search.arvasarchive.org/catalog/vifgm_repositories_2_resources_150_c01_c01_c67#breadcrumbs","type":"document_value","attributes":{"value":{"ref_ssi":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_150_c01_c01_c67","ref_ssm":["vifgm_repositories_2_resources_150_c01_c01_c67"],"id":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_150_c01_c01_c67","ead_ssi":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_150","_root_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_150","_nest_parent_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_150_c01_c01","parent_ssi":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_150_c01_c01","parent_ssim":["vifgm_repositories_2_resources_150","vifgm_repositories_2_resources_150_c01","vifgm_repositories_2_resources_150_c01_c01"],"parent_ids_ssim":["vifgm_repositories_2_resources_150","vifgm_repositories_2_resources_150_c01","vifgm_repositories_2_resources_150_c01_c01"],"parent_unittitles_ssm":["Robert Prosky Papers","Series 1: Professional","Subseries 1.1: Theater"],"parent_unittitles_tesim":["Robert Prosky Papers","Series 1: Professional","Subseries 1.1: Theater"],"text":["Robert Prosky Papers","Series 1: Professional","Subseries 1.1: Theater","\"You Can't Take It with You\" Reviews","box 3","folder 22","Also contains advertisements, rosters, and announcements."],"title_filing_ssi":"\"You Can't Take It with You\" Reviews","title_ssm":["\"You Can't Take It with You\" Reviews"],"title_tesim":["\"You Can't Take It with You\" Reviews"],"unitdate_other_ssim":["1979-1980, 1997-1998"],"normalized_date_ssm":["1979/1998"],"normalized_title_ssm":["\"You Can't Take It with You\" Reviews"],"component_level_isim":[3],"repository_ssim":["George Mason University"],"collection_ssim":["Robert Prosky Papers"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"child_component_count_isi":0,"level_ssm":["File"],"level_ssim":["File"],"sort_isi":69,"parent_access_restrict_tesm":["There are no access restrictions."],"parent_access_terms_tesm":["The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)"],"date_range_isim":[1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998],"containers_ssim":["box 3","folder 22"],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAlso contains advertisements, rosters, and announcements.\u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Contents note"],"scopecontent_tesim":["Also contains advertisements, rosters, and announcements."],"_nest_path_":"/components#0/components#0/components#66","timestamp":"2026-05-01T00:38:19.956Z","collection":{"numFound":1,"start":0,"numFoundExact":true,"docs":[{"id":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_150","ead_ssi":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_150","_root_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_150","_nest_parent_":"vifgm_repositories_2_resources_150","ead_source_url_ssi":"data/oai/GMU/repositories_2_resources_150.xml","title_filing_ssi":"Robert Prosky papers","title_ssm":["Robert Prosky Papers"],"title_tesim":["Robert Prosky Papers"],"unitdate_ssm":["1909-2007"],"unitdate_inclusive_ssm":["1909-2007"],"level_ssm":["collection"],"level_ssim":["Collection"],"unitid_ssm":["C0022","/repositories/2/resources/150"],"text":["C0022","/repositories/2/resources/150","Robert Prosky Papers","Actors -- United States","Theater -- Washington (D.C.)","Theater -- United States","Television","Motion pictures -- United States","Performing arts","Theater","Acting","Photographs","Video recordings","There are no access restrictions.","Audiovisual materials in Series 4 have been digitized are available for access. Please contact SCRC for more information.","Arranged into six series:","Series Series 1: Professional, 1954-2007 (Boxes 1-5) Series 2: Personal, 1909-2007 (Boxes 5-8) Series 3: Photographs, 1930s-2005 (Boxes 9-11) Series 4: Audiovisual, 1960-2007 (Boxes 12-13) Series 5: Oversize, 1950s-2006 (Boxes 14-15) Series 6: Realia, 1998-2004 (Box 16)","Born in Philadelphia, Robert Prosky (1930-2008) spent much of his career as an actor in more than 200 plays at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., on Broadway in New York City, and in regional theatre. Prosky's association with the Arena Stage included more than 130 productions over the course of 20 years. His Broadway appearances included \"Glengarry Glenross,\" \"A Walk in the Woods,\" and \"A View from the Bridge.\" Highlights from regional theater include \"Death of a Salesman,\" \"Twelfth Night,\" and \"You Can't Take It With You.\" He also performed on stage in the Moscow Art Theatre in the then-Soviet Union, the Gate Theater in Dublin, Ireland, as well as in a Chinese theater in Hong Kong.","Beginning in the 1980s, he regularly appeared in film and television. His films include \"Christine,\" \"Mrs. Doubtfire,\" \"The Natural,\" \"The Scarlet Letter,\" and \"Dead Man Walking.\" Television credits include three years on \"Hill Street Blues,\" many television films and guest shots.","He received or was nominated for two Tony awards, two Helen Hayes awards, an Emmy, the Drama Desk award, and the American Express Tribute To An American Actor. He continued to perform on stage and present lectures on his long career at universities, film festivals, for theater benefits, business groups and on cruises. He died on December 8, 2008, in Washington, D.C. ","Processed in 2008 by Sarah Patton, Jennifer Munson, and Jordan Patty. EAD markup completed in 2008 by Jordan Patty and Jennifer Munson. Finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in May 2025.","The Special Collections Research Center also holds the   and the papers of other Washington, D.C. theatre artists.","An oral history was performed with Robert Prosky for the   and is available for access.","Consists of materials that span actor Robert Prosky's career in theatre, film, and television. Materials include playbills, photographs, scripts, reviews, fan letters, scrapbooks, and audiovisual materials. ","The collection consists of six series. The first series contains documents from his professional career divided into three subseries and arranged alphabetically by play, film, or television title, then chronologically. Subseries 1.1 includes playbills that date from his early performances at the Quarterdeck Theatre to his most recent performances in Washington, D.C. There are also numerous reviews as well as a few scripts with Prosky's handwritten notes. Subseries 1.2 contains mostly clippings and reviews about Prosky's film career, but there are a few scripts and emphemra, such as the trading card from \"The Last Action Hero.\" Subseries 1.3 contains documents from his television career, mostly clippings from his time as a cast member on \"Hill Street Blues\" and \"Veronica's Closet.\" Note that there are additional professional documents, such as posters, in the oversize series. ","The second series contains personal documents and is divided into two subseries and arranged alphabetically and chronologically. Subseries 2.1 consists of correspondence to and from Prosky. The bulk of the correspondence concerns Prosky's family and close friends. There are also many greeting cards wishing Prosky luck on opening nights as well as offering congratulations and thanks. Subseries 2.2 contains many biographical articles discussing Prosky's life as an actor. The articles also discuss Prosky's wife and sons. Also contained in the subseries are clippings, programs, and certificates from awards ceremonies that Prosky participated in as a nominee and won. Of particular interest are transcripts from an autobiography by Prosky. Note that there are additional biographical articles in the oversize series both loose and in scrapbooks. ","The third series contains photographs of Prosky' professional and personal life. Many of the photographs document Prosky's theatre and film career. There are also photographs from his personal life, such as family snapshots. The photographs range in size from 3\"x5\" to 8\"x10\". Most of the theatre and professional photographs are larger and in black and white while the personal snapshots are smaller and in color. Arranged by category, then production title or other description, and then arranged chronologically. Note that there are additional photographs in the oversize series both loose and in scrapbooks. ","The fourth series consists of copies of Prosky's film and television appearances, particularly \"Veronica's Closet.\" There are also copies of public service announcements and commercials. Most of the media contained on VHS cassettes and reel-to-reel audio tapes. There are also DVD copies of speaking engagements at George Mason University and other locations. ","The fifth series contains items too large for the other series. Included are photographs, scrapbooks, and posters documenting Prosky's professional career and personal life. ","The sixth series consists of objects from Prosky's professional career and personal life, such as opening night gifts and production souvenirs. ","The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)","Consists of materials that span actor Robert Prosky's career in theatre, film, and television. Materials include playbills, photographs, scripts, reviews, fan letters, scrapbooks, and audiovisual materials.","George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center","Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)","Prosky, Robert, 1930-2008","English \n.    "],"unitid_tesim":["C0022","/repositories/2/resources/150"],"normalized_title_ssm":["Robert Prosky Papers"],"collection_title_tesim":["Robert Prosky Papers"],"collection_ssim":["Robert Prosky Papers"],"repository_ssm":["George Mason University"],"repository_ssim":["George Mason University"],"creator_ssm":["Prosky, Robert, 1930-2008"],"creator_ssim":["Prosky, Robert, 1930-2008"],"creator_persname_ssim":["Prosky, Robert, 1930-2008"],"creators_ssim":["Prosky, Robert, 1930-2008"],"access_terms_ssm":["The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)"],"acqinfo_ssim":["Donated by Robert Prosky in 2007-2008."],"access_subjects_ssim":["Actors -- United States","Theater -- Washington (D.C.)","Theater -- United States","Television","Motion pictures -- United States","Performing arts","Theater","Acting","Photographs","Video recordings"],"access_subjects_ssm":["Actors -- United States","Theater -- Washington (D.C.)","Theater -- United States","Television","Motion pictures -- United States","Performing arts","Theater","Acting","Photographs","Video recordings"],"has_online_content_ssim":["false"],"extent_ssm":["9 Linear Feet 16 boxes"],"extent_tesim":["9 Linear Feet 16 boxes"],"genreform_ssim":["Photographs","Video recordings"],"accessrestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThere are no access restrictions.\u003c/p\u003e"],"accessrestrict_heading_ssm":["Access Restrictions"],"accessrestrict_tesim":["There are no access restrictions."],"altformavail_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eAudiovisual materials in Series 4 have been digitized are available for access. Please contact SCRC for more information.\u003c/p\u003e"],"altformavail_heading_ssm":["Alternative Form Available"],"altformavail_tesim":["Audiovisual materials in Series 4 have been digitized are available for access. Please contact SCRC for more information."],"arrangement_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eArranged into six series:\u003c/p\u003e","\u003clist type=\"ordered\"\u003e\n      \u003chead\u003eSeries\u003c/head\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 1: Professional, 1954-2007 (Boxes 1-5)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 2: Personal, 1909-2007 (Boxes 5-8)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 3: Photographs, 1930s-2005 (Boxes 9-11)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 4: Audiovisual, 1960-2007 (Boxes 12-13)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 5: Oversize, 1950s-2006 (Boxes 14-15)\u003c/item\u003e\n      \u003citem\u003eSeries 6: Realia, 1998-2004 (Box 16)\u003c/item\u003e\n    \u003c/list\u003e"],"arrangement_heading_ssm":["Arrangement"],"arrangement_tesim":["Arranged into six series:","Series Series 1: Professional, 1954-2007 (Boxes 1-5) Series 2: Personal, 1909-2007 (Boxes 5-8) Series 3: Photographs, 1930s-2005 (Boxes 9-11) Series 4: Audiovisual, 1960-2007 (Boxes 12-13) Series 5: Oversize, 1950s-2006 (Boxes 14-15) Series 6: Realia, 1998-2004 (Box 16)"],"bioghist_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eBorn in Philadelphia, Robert Prosky (1930-2008) spent much of his career as an actor in more than 200 plays at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., on Broadway in New York City, and in regional theatre. Prosky's association with the Arena Stage included more than 130 productions over the course of 20 years. His Broadway appearances included \"Glengarry Glenross,\" \"A Walk in the Woods,\" and \"A View from the Bridge.\" Highlights from regional theater include \"Death of a Salesman,\" \"Twelfth Night,\" and \"You Can't Take It With You.\" He also performed on stage in the Moscow Art Theatre in the then-Soviet Union, the Gate Theater in Dublin, Ireland, as well as in a Chinese theater in Hong Kong.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eBeginning in the 1980s, he regularly appeared in film and television. His films include \"Christine,\" \"Mrs. Doubtfire,\" \"The Natural,\" \"The Scarlet Letter,\" and \"Dead Man Walking.\" Television credits include three years on \"Hill Street Blues,\" many television films and guest shots.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eHe received or was nominated for two Tony awards, two Helen Hayes awards, an Emmy, the Drama Desk award, and the American Express Tribute To An American Actor. He continued to perform on stage and present lectures on his long career at universities, film festivals, for theater benefits, business groups and on cruises. He died on December 8, 2008, in Washington, D.C. \u003c/p\u003e"],"bioghist_heading_ssm":["Biographical Information"],"bioghist_tesim":["Born in Philadelphia, Robert Prosky (1930-2008) spent much of his career as an actor in more than 200 plays at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., on Broadway in New York City, and in regional theatre. Prosky's association with the Arena Stage included more than 130 productions over the course of 20 years. His Broadway appearances included \"Glengarry Glenross,\" \"A Walk in the Woods,\" and \"A View from the Bridge.\" Highlights from regional theater include \"Death of a Salesman,\" \"Twelfth Night,\" and \"You Can't Take It With You.\" He also performed on stage in the Moscow Art Theatre in the then-Soviet Union, the Gate Theater in Dublin, Ireland, as well as in a Chinese theater in Hong Kong.","Beginning in the 1980s, he regularly appeared in film and television. His films include \"Christine,\" \"Mrs. Doubtfire,\" \"The Natural,\" \"The Scarlet Letter,\" and \"Dead Man Walking.\" Television credits include three years on \"Hill Street Blues,\" many television films and guest shots.","He received or was nominated for two Tony awards, two Helen Hayes awards, an Emmy, the Drama Desk award, and the American Express Tribute To An American Actor. He continued to perform on stage and present lectures on his long career at universities, film festivals, for theater benefits, business groups and on cruises. He died on December 8, 2008, in Washington, D.C. "],"prefercite_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eRobert Prosky papers, C0022, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.\u003c/p\u003e"],"prefercite_tesim":["Robert Prosky papers, C0022, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries."],"processinfo_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eProcessed in 2008 by Sarah Patton, Jennifer Munson, and Jordan Patty. EAD markup completed in 2008 by Jordan Patty and Jennifer Munson. Finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in May 2025.\u003c/p\u003e"],"processinfo_heading_ssm":["Processing Information"],"processinfo_tesim":["Processed in 2008 by Sarah Patton, Jennifer Munson, and Jordan Patty. EAD markup completed in 2008 by Jordan Patty and Jennifer Munson. Finding aid updated by Amanda Menjivar in May 2025."],"relatedmaterial_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe Special Collections Research Center also holds the \u003cextptr show=\"new\" title=\"Arena Stage records\" href=\"https://aspace.gmu.edu/resources/c0017\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e and the papers of other Washington, D.C. theatre artists.\u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eAn oral history was performed with Robert Prosky for the \u003cextptr show=\"new\" title=\"George Mason University Oral History Program collection\" href=\"https://aspace.gmu.edu/resources/r0121\"\u003e\u003c/extptr\u003e and is available for access.\u003c/p\u003e"],"relatedmaterial_heading_ssm":["Related Material"],"relatedmaterial_tesim":["The Special Collections Research Center also holds the   and the papers of other Washington, D.C. theatre artists.","An oral history was performed with Robert Prosky for the   and is available for access."],"scopecontent_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eConsists of materials that span actor Robert Prosky's career in theatre, film, and television. Materials include playbills, photographs, scripts, reviews, fan letters, scrapbooks, and audiovisual materials. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe collection consists of six series. The first series contains documents from his professional career divided into three subseries and arranged alphabetically by play, film, or television title, then chronologically. Subseries 1.1 includes playbills that date from his early performances at the Quarterdeck Theatre to his most recent performances in Washington, D.C. There are also numerous reviews as well as a few scripts with Prosky's handwritten notes. Subseries 1.2 contains mostly clippings and reviews about Prosky's film career, but there are a few scripts and emphemra, such as the trading card from \"The Last Action Hero.\" Subseries 1.3 contains documents from his television career, mostly clippings from his time as a cast member on \"Hill Street Blues\" and \"Veronica's Closet.\" Note that there are additional professional documents, such as posters, in the oversize series. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe second series contains personal documents and is divided into two subseries and arranged alphabetically and chronologically. Subseries 2.1 consists of correspondence to and from Prosky. The bulk of the correspondence concerns Prosky's family and close friends. There are also many greeting cards wishing Prosky luck on opening nights as well as offering congratulations and thanks. Subseries 2.2 contains many biographical articles discussing Prosky's life as an actor. The articles also discuss Prosky's wife and sons. Also contained in the subseries are clippings, programs, and certificates from awards ceremonies that Prosky participated in as a nominee and won. Of particular interest are transcripts from an autobiography by Prosky. Note that there are additional biographical articles in the oversize series both loose and in scrapbooks. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe third series contains photographs of Prosky' professional and personal life. Many of the photographs document Prosky's theatre and film career. There are also photographs from his personal life, such as family snapshots. The photographs range in size from 3\"x5\" to 8\"x10\". Most of the theatre and professional photographs are larger and in black and white while the personal snapshots are smaller and in color. Arranged by category, then production title or other description, and then arranged chronologically. Note that there are additional photographs in the oversize series both loose and in scrapbooks. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe fourth series consists of copies of Prosky's film and television appearances, particularly \"Veronica's Closet.\" There are also copies of public service announcements and commercials. Most of the media contained on VHS cassettes and reel-to-reel audio tapes. There are also DVD copies of speaking engagements at George Mason University and other locations. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe fifth series contains items too large for the other series. Included are photographs, scrapbooks, and posters documenting Prosky's professional career and personal life. \u003c/p\u003e\n","\u003cp\u003eThe sixth series consists of objects from Prosky's professional career and personal life, such as opening night gifts and production souvenirs. \u003c/p\u003e"],"scopecontent_heading_ssm":["Scope and Content"],"scopecontent_tesim":["Consists of materials that span actor Robert Prosky's career in theatre, film, and television. Materials include playbills, photographs, scripts, reviews, fan letters, scrapbooks, and audiovisual materials. ","The collection consists of six series. The first series contains documents from his professional career divided into three subseries and arranged alphabetically by play, film, or television title, then chronologically. Subseries 1.1 includes playbills that date from his early performances at the Quarterdeck Theatre to his most recent performances in Washington, D.C. There are also numerous reviews as well as a few scripts with Prosky's handwritten notes. Subseries 1.2 contains mostly clippings and reviews about Prosky's film career, but there are a few scripts and emphemra, such as the trading card from \"The Last Action Hero.\" Subseries 1.3 contains documents from his television career, mostly clippings from his time as a cast member on \"Hill Street Blues\" and \"Veronica's Closet.\" Note that there are additional professional documents, such as posters, in the oversize series. ","The second series contains personal documents and is divided into two subseries and arranged alphabetically and chronologically. Subseries 2.1 consists of correspondence to and from Prosky. The bulk of the correspondence concerns Prosky's family and close friends. There are also many greeting cards wishing Prosky luck on opening nights as well as offering congratulations and thanks. Subseries 2.2 contains many biographical articles discussing Prosky's life as an actor. The articles also discuss Prosky's wife and sons. Also contained in the subseries are clippings, programs, and certificates from awards ceremonies that Prosky participated in as a nominee and won. Of particular interest are transcripts from an autobiography by Prosky. Note that there are additional biographical articles in the oversize series both loose and in scrapbooks. ","The third series contains photographs of Prosky' professional and personal life. Many of the photographs document Prosky's theatre and film career. There are also photographs from his personal life, such as family snapshots. The photographs range in size from 3\"x5\" to 8\"x10\". Most of the theatre and professional photographs are larger and in black and white while the personal snapshots are smaller and in color. Arranged by category, then production title or other description, and then arranged chronologically. Note that there are additional photographs in the oversize series both loose and in scrapbooks. ","The fourth series consists of copies of Prosky's film and television appearances, particularly \"Veronica's Closet.\" There are also copies of public service announcements and commercials. Most of the media contained on VHS cassettes and reel-to-reel audio tapes. There are also DVD copies of speaking engagements at George Mason University and other locations. ","The fifth series contains items too large for the other series. Included are photographs, scrapbooks, and posters documenting Prosky's professional career and personal life. ","The sixth series consists of objects from Prosky's professional career and personal life, such as opening night gifts and production souvenirs. "],"userestrict_html_tesm":["\u003cp\u003eThe copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)\u003c/p\u003e"],"userestrict_heading_ssm":["Use Restrictions"],"userestrict_tesim":["The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)"],"abstract_html_tesm":["\u003cabstract id=\"aspace_cb72825d540615d1fef3eb400e234f81\" label=\"Abstract\"\u003eConsists of materials that span actor Robert Prosky's career in theatre, film, and television. Materials include playbills, photographs, scripts, reviews, fan letters, scrapbooks, and audiovisual materials.\u003c/abstract\u003e"],"abstract_tesim":["Consists of materials that span actor Robert Prosky's career in theatre, film, and television. 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