Guide to the Edith Warman Skinner Papers, 1902-1981 CTC.1984.01
Arrangement
Repository
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Title
Edith Warman Skinner Papers
Creator
Skinner, Edith Warman
Collection Number
CTC.1984.01
Extent
1 Linear Feet(2 boxes)
Date
1902-1981
Abstract
This collection relates to Edith Warman Skinner's career as a theatre coach and speech teacher for the performing arts at Carnegie Mellon University (formerly Carnegie Institute of Technology). The collection consists of clippings, papers, programs and photos ca. 1929 -ca. 1978.
Language
English
.
Author
David Sleasman. Revisions occurred to the finding aid as a part of the encoding process in 2005.
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
Biography
Edith Warman Skinner was born on September 22, 1902 in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. She was the third of four daughters born to Herbert Havelock Warman and Agnes Lynn (Orr) Warman. After graduating from high school, Edith moved to the United States and began working at the Beechwood School for Girls in Jenkintown, Pennsylvania. In 1923, she graduated from the Leland Powers School for the Spoken Word in Boston. During her time there, she met Margaret Prendergast McLean, disciple of phonetician William Tilly. Consequently, she became a student of Tilly's and his assistant in 1926. She received her bachelor's and master's degrees from Columbia in 1930 and 1931.
Beginning in 1928, Margaret Hewes (Edith's sister) produced professional summer seasons at the Wharf Theatre in Provincetown, Massachusetts where Skinner coached the company. After 1930, she also instructed apprentices in a full-scale training program - one of the first models for actor-training efforts within a professional company in the United States. In 1935 Hewes turned over control of the Wharf theatre to Skinner. During her tenure as producing director the training program expanded and they produced an acclaimed revival of Ah Wilderness!, starring Sinclair Lewis.
In 1937, Skinner joined the faculty of the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. While at Carnegie Institute of Technology, her teaching affected a generation of actors and their training, including William Ball and Ellis Raab. During her tenure at Carnegie Institute of Technology, she also continued her professional coaching work at the Pittsburgh Playhouse and later throughout the country as former student actors and directors required her skills.
She served as a speech consultant for William Ball's American Conservatory Theatre in 1965, during its' one season in Pittsburgh, before it relocated to San Francisco. In the late 1960's Skinner was invited by John Houseman to join the faculty of the soon-to-be-established Juilliard School of Drama. She accepted this appointment and for the next few years commuted between Pittsburgh and New York maintaining a full academic schedule at both schools. She also worked as speech consultant for McCarter Theatre, Princeton, and Ellis Raab's Lincoln Center Production of a Streetcar Named Desire during this time.
After retiring from the Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1974, she moved to New York City and continued her work at Julliard. She was also active with the Theatre Company of the Brooklyn Academy of Music. She died on July 25, 1981.
Scope and Content Notes
The Edith Warman Skinner Collection consists of a single series of subject files that are arranged alphabetically. The files contain newspaper clippings, papers, programs, and photos that related to her speech instruction. In some cases preservation photocopies have been created for researcher use. The information on the Carnegie Institute of Technology in folders 14-17 contain newspaper clippings, grant applications, photographs, and programs. Folder 14 contains an example of the types of tests that Skinner distributed to her students, with notes and corrections on the student's performance. Folder 18 contains similar items for Carnegie Institute of Technology's Summer Drama School at Old Economy Village. The "Live with Distinction" manuscript in folder 55 is a summary of an interview with Skinner that a student completed for a journalism class. Folders 62-64 contain newspaper clippings, correspondence, and programs for several oratorical competitions. Newspaper clippings and correspondence relating to the Pittsburgh Playhouse are within folders 68-69. In box two, folders 12-15 contain newspaper clippings, a caricature, photographs, resumes, and itineraries pertaining to Edith Skinner.
Access Restrictions
No restrictions.
Acquisition Information
These records were a gift to the University of Pittsburgh.
Previous Citation
Edith Warman Skinner Papers, 1902-1981, CTC.1984.01, Curtis Theatre Collection, Special Collections Department, University of Pittsburgh
Edith Warman Skinner Papers, 1902-1981, CTC.20, Curtis Theatre Collection, Special Collections Department, University of Pittsburgh
Preferred Citation
Edith Warman Skinner Papers, 1902-1981, CTC.1984.01, Curtis Theatre Collection, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System
Processing Information
This collection was processed by David Sleasman in 1992.
Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Andy Newman in November, 2004. Information about the collection title and the controlled access terms was extracted from the MARC record in the University of Pittsburgh catalog Voyager ID number: 1471177.
Copyright
Permission for publication is given on behalf of the University of Pittsburgh as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.
Subjects
Corporate Names
Brooklyn Academy of Music
Carnegie Institute of Technology. Department of Drama
Carnegie-Mellon University. Department of Drama
Pittsburgh Playhouse
Personal Names
Houseman, John
Lewis, Sinclair
O'Neill, Eugene
Skinner, Edith Warman
Williams, Tennessee
Genres
Theater programs
Other Subjects
Performing arts -- Study and teaching -- United States
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