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[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Stratford Players Records, 1920-1983, UA 0029, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.
The collection was placed on deposit by contract signed by Jane Rupp, then-president of the Stratford Players, on September 25, 1997. The program and playbill file weas added from a vertical file in May 2018.
The original finding aid was created in 1998 by Whitney Anne Naman, a theater student at James Madison University from 1994-1998, and assigned the collection number SP 98-0211. The finding aid was edited in June 2008 by Special Collections staff. In February 2018 the finding aid was revised, a new collection number was assigned, and the collection was updated to include record books and other materials originally held in collection SU 93-0031, "Students: Memorabilia and General."
The Stratford Literary Society was formed in 1914 when members of the Lanier and Lee Literary Societies at the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg joined to form an organization dedicated to the dramatic arts. At the time of founding, the organization's primary focus was on reading theatrical works. In 1919, the Stratford Literary Society was reconstituted to form the Stratford Dramatic Club, or Sigma Delta Chi, and began to hold yearly performances at the New Virginia Theater in downtown Harrisonburg. On April 4, 1950, the group changed its name to Stratford Players.
The Stratford Players – and theater in general – was initially an extracurricular activity, supervised by faculty in the English department. However, when the Department of Speech and Drama was established in 1966, the Stratford Players came under the direction of theater faculty. In 1986, the Department of Theatre and Dance was formed in the College of Fine Arts, where the Stratford Players is now housed. Though the Stratford Players is not independent from the Department of Theatre and Dance, its membership is open to majors and non-majors alike, and members have a voice in play selection and budget decisions.
The Stratford Players have had many faculty advisors over the years, including: James C. Johnston (1919-1921), Ruth Hudson (1921-1965), Argus Tressider (1935-1939), Leland Shubert (1939-1943), Ainslee Harris (1944-1945), Dr. Mary E. Lattimer (1946-1960), James O. Link (1960-1964), Nancy O'Hare (1964), and Horace Burr (1965-1973). In 1973, Stratford Players leadership changed from a single advisor to a team of faculty, which in the early 1970s, included Allen Lyndrup, Thomas L. King, Pam Johnson, Phil S. Grayson and Roger Hall.
The Stratford Players Records is comprised of record books, scrapbooks, correspondence, photographs, newspaper clippings, rehearsal scripts, and copies of yearbook pages, documenting the activities of the Stratford Players (formerly known as the Stratford Literary Society and the Stratford Dramatic Club), from 1914-1983.
The following plays are mentioned in the collection. This is not an exhaustive list, and it is advised to include a two-year margin of error when looking for information on a particular play.
The collection is arranged in two series. Series are arranged chronologically.
This series is comprised of materials that record the routine activities of the Stratford Players, and document its history. The record books include meeting minutes, agenda items, dues and accounting information, membership lists, itemized budget information, cast lists and various iterations of the organization's constitution.
The scrapbooks contain playbills, photographs, newspaper clippings and promotional material documenting performances that occurred in a given year. Scrapbook 1962-1963 contains photographs, programs, tickets, advertisements, show pictures, decorative masks, and a rehearsal schedule for the Glass Menagerie. Scrapbook 1967-1968 contains programs, show information, invitations, a map to a cast party, news clippings, photographs, letters, and information on accusations of violating campus regulations. Scrapbook 1970-1971 contains programs, articles, photographs, audition sheets, show posters, and show information. Scrapbook 1982-1983 contains labeled photographs, show information, programs, news articles, and posters.
The Bridges Scrapbook, 1932-1976, was created in 1978 by JMU student Steven R. Bridges, the chair of the Library Committee of the Stratford Players. It contains photographs, news clippings from The Breeze and the Daily News-Record, seasonal performance information, audition information, programs, posters, advertisements, and news letters from 1932-1976.
The news clippings and yearbooks files contain photocopies of articles about Stratford Players' performances and activities.
The photographs document Stratford Players' performance preparation and events.