Guide to the Pitt Players Records, 1914-1961 CTC.1978.01
Arrangement
Repository
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Title
Pitt Players Records
Creator
University of Pittsburgh. Pitt Players
Collection Number
CTC.1978.01
Extent
1 Linear Feet(3 boxes)
Date
1914-1961
Abstract
The Pitt Players were a University of Pittsburgh student theatre group that operated between 1914-1960. This collection contains programs, photographs and other materials related to their performances. Digital reproductions of the Pitt Players programs and selected photographs are available online.
Language
English
.
Author
William Daw.
Publisher
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Address
University of Pittsburgh Library System Archives & Special Collections Website: library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections Business Number: 412-648-3232 (Thomas) | 412-648-8190 (Hillman) Contact Us: www.library.pitt.edu/ask-archivist URL: http://library.pitt.edu/archives-special-collections
Existence and Location of Copies
Digital reproductions of the collection are available electronically. Links to digitized images of the individual programs are available in the Collection Inventory; selected photographs were scanned and added to the University of Pittsburgh Historic Photographs collection.
Scope and Content Notes
The Pitt Players were a University of Pittsburgh student theatre group that operated between 1914-1960. This collection contains programs, photographs and other materials related to their performances.
Preferred Citation
Pitt Players Records, 1914-1961, CTC.1978.01, Curtis Theatre Collection, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System
Previous Citation
Pitt Players Records, 1914-1961, CTC.1978.01, Curtis Theatre Collection, Special Collections Department, University of Pittsburgh
Pitt Players Records, 1914-1961, CTC.05, Curtis Theatre Collection, Special Collections Department, University of Pittsburgh
Access Restrictions
No restrictions.
Arrangement
I. Programs
II. Photographs
III. Newspaper clippings
IV. Marketing and other materials
Processing Information
This collection was processed by William Daw and Kelsey Thayer in October 2010.
History
The Pitt Players was a student theatre organization at the University of Pittsburgh. They evolved from the Thespian Society, which was the former theatre group before the University moved the campus to Oakland. The founder of the Pitt Players was faculty member George M .P. Baird. He financed, directed, and wrote several of the early plays. Deirdre, by William Butler Yeats, was their first production in 1914; it was performed in Trees gymnasium. The student members of the Players made their own costumes, built their own minimalist sets, and also helped to finance their shows. Their early performances were credited in the newspapers as some of the first experimental theatre productions in the city.
Each season, beginning in the fall, consisted of three or four plays. Each play would be performed between three to six times. Some performances were reserved for University of Pittsburgh students and faculty only. Occasionally, they would perform matinees for area high school students. Productions were halted during World War I, in part due to Baird's enlistment in the service. Pitt Players resumed in 1919 under the direction of Reginald Johnson. Starting in the 1930s, one or two additional productions were offered during the summer. Harvey J. Pope became the director of both the Cap and Gown Club and the Pitt Players in 1947. Before the construction of the Stephen Foster Memorial building, the Pitt Players performed at several locations and venues in Pittsburgh including the Irene Kaufmann Settlement, Heinz House, the Young Men's Hebrew Association, Falk School, Frick Training School, the Schenley Hotel's theater, and the Pittsburgh Playhouse. After 1937, nearly every performance was offered in the Stephen Foster Memorial building. When the Cap and Gown Club was disbanded in 1948, the Pitt Players began to incorporate the musical comedies that made the Cap and Gown Club so popular. The Department of Speech began offering theatre classes as part of their curriculum in 1960. As a result, the Pitt Players dissolved as an extracurricular student group and melded into the University's official theatre troupe. The student actors and actresses were still occasionally referred to as the Pitt Players, but soon even the name faded. In 1982 the Department of Theatre Arts was created and in 1999 the theatre company was named the University of Pittsburgh Repertory Theatre or Pitt Rep.
Related Material
Cap and Gown Club Records, 1908-1978, CTC.1980.01, Curtis Theatre Collection, Archives & Special Collections Department, University of Pittsburgh Library System
George M.P. Baird Papers, ca. 1915-1960, CTC.1970.01, Curtis Theatre Collection, Archives & Special Collections Department, University of Pittsburgh Library System
University of Pittsburgh Department of Theatre Arts Records, Archives & Special Collections Department, University of Pittsburgh Library System
Copyright
The University of Pittsburgh holds the property rights to the material in this collection, but the copyright may still be held by the original creator/author. Researchers are therefore advised to follow the regulations set forth in the U.S. Copyright Code when publishing, quoting, or reproducing material from this collection without the consent of the creator/author or that go beyond what is allowed by fair use.
Subjects
Corporate Names
University of Pittsburgh. Department of Speech and Theatre Arts
University of Pittsburgh. Pitt Players
Genres
Clippings (Information artifacts)
Theater programs
Photographs
Other Subjects
Performing arts -- Study and teaching -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
Theater -- Study and teaching -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
Theater
College and school drama, American -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
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