Minor Latham Playhouse/Brinckerhoff Theatre Records

Collection

Identifier: BC13-53

Staff View

Collection Scope and Content Summary

This collection consists of materials from productions presented at the Brinckerhoff Theatre/Minor Latham Playhouse between 1897 and 2005. These materials include programs, posters, scripts, sketches for costumes and set designs, and correspondence. The organizations that produced these shows include: Wigs and Cues, The Barnard College Theatre Company, Associate Alumnae of Barnard College, Undergraduate Association, Philolexian Society, and Barnard Drama Workshop and Summer Theatre. Programs from the 1959 world premiere of The Fantasicks at the Minor Latham Playhouse are included in the material from the Barnard Drama Workshop and Summer Theatre.

The collection also includes programs from plays performed in the Marion Victor Studio, a small performance space in the same building as the Minor Latham Playhouse designed for informal and experimental work.

Administrative materials and materials from exhibits sponsored by the theatre are also in this collection. Of note are the papers of Kenneth Janes, English professor and director of Minor Latham between 1962 and 1983. He founded the Barnard College Theatre Company.

Dates

Creation: 1897 - 2005

Creator

Barnard College. Department of Theatre (Organization)
Barnard College. Minor Latham Playhouse (Organization)

Access

This collection has no restrictions.

Publication Rights

Permission to publish material from the collection must be requested from the Barnard Archives and Special Collections. The Barnard Archives and Special Collections approves permission to publish that which it physically owns; the responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Historical Background

Originally named Brinckerhoff Theatre, the Minor Latham Playhouse located in Milbank Hall was renamed in 1953 after Professor Minor White Latham. Professor Latham was a member of the English Department from 1914-1948. Her theatre classes and productions inspired devotion from students including: Helen Gahagan, Jane Wyatt, Ruth Gordon, Vera Allen and others. The long-running off-broadway musical , The Fantasticks, debuted at the Minor Latham Playhouse in 1959.

Extent

8.59 Linear Feet (5 document boxes, 2 flat file drawers)

Language

English

Additional Description

Abstract

This collection consists of scripts; song lyrics; sketches for posters, programs, costumes, and set design; lists of plays presented; programs; news clippings; press releases; and correspondence relating to plays and workshops presented in the Brinckerhoff Theatre and the Minor Latham Playhouse.

Arrangement

This collection is arranged into five series:

Series 1, Productions, 1897-2005
Series 2, Kenneth Janes Papers, 1974-1985
Series 3, Administrative Records, 1977
Series 4, Minor Latham Scrapbook, 1970-1976
Series 5, Exhibits, 1973; 1990

Physical Location

This collection is located in the Barnard Archives and Special Collections, Barnard Library. To use this collection, please contact the Barnard Archives and Special Collections at 212.854.4079 or archives@barnard.edu.

Acquistion Information

Crew Show material transferred in 1985. The acquisition date and source of the rest of the material is unknown.

Accruals

Additions are expected.

Processing History

This collection was processed and the finding aid written by Alice Griffin in July 2015.

Descriptive Rules Used: Finding aid adheres to that prescribed by Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Encoding: Machine readable finding aid encoded in EAD 2002.

Finding aid written in English.