Guide to the Iron Clad Agreement Records, 1973-1989 CTC.1990.01

Arrangement

Repository
ULS Archives & Special Collections
Title
Iron Clad Agreement Records
Creator
Iron Clad Agreement (Theatrical company)
Collection Number
CTC.1990.01
Extent
18.5 Linear Feet (27 boxes)
Date
1973-1989
Abstract
The Iron Clad Agreement theatre company integrated historical research and live theatre. The group operated in Pittsburgh and New York City from 1976 till 1985. The collection contains operational files, correspondence, scripts, photographs, slides, audio and audio/visual recordings relating to the company's operation.
Language
English .
Author
David Sleasman.
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

Previous Citation

Iron Clad Agreement Records, 1973-1989, CTC.1990.01, Curtis Theatre Collection, Special Collections Department, University of Pittsburgh

Iron Clad Agreement Records, 1975-1985, CTC.22, Curtis Theatre Collection, Special Collections Department, University of Pittsburgh

Preferred Citation

Iron Clad Agreement Records, 1973-1989, CTC.1990.01, Curtis Theatre Collection, Archives & Special Collections, University of Pittsburgh Library System

Acquisition Information

Gift of Julia Royall, Iron Clad Agreement Producer, 1990. Additional materials were donated by Julia Royall in 2015.

Access Restrictions

No restrictions.

Arrangement

The Iron Clad Agreement materials are arranged into seven series.

Series I. Operational Files, 1973-1986

Series II. Playscripts, 1976-1989

Series III. Photographs, 1976-1982

Series IV. Slides, 1977-1981

Series V. Audio Recordings, 1975-1984

Series VI. Audio/Visual Recordings, 1977-1982

Series VII. Oversized and Ephemera, 1976-1981

Scope and Content Notes

The Iron Clad Agreement records are arranged into seven series. The first is a group of operational files that are arranged alphabetically. Series II is a complete set of play scripts for all the productions that the Iron Clad Agreement performed. All of these play scripts are cross-referenced in the Curtis Play script and Acting Edition collection binder. These first two series make up the bulk of the collection. The remaining series III-VII are photographs, slides, audio recordings, video recordings, and oversized/ephemera, respectively. Please note that the Iron Clad Agreement founder Julia Royall is citied throughout the finding aid as Julia Swoyer, her name at the time.

History

The Iron Clad Agreement was founded in Pittsburgh in 1976 by Julia Royall and K. Wilson Hutton as a traveling forum for producing original theatre productions. Their work integrated historical research and live theatre emphasizing the performer as the most portable element of theatre. The Iron Clad Agreement sought to explore the age of America's Industrial Revolution--its inventors, workers, feminists, and labor leaders. Scripts and songs were written specifically for or by the company in the unique Iron Clad style, somewhere between vaudeville and documentary drama. The group performed extensively in a variety of non-traditional theatre settings for audiences of all ages and economic backgrounds.

Besides performances, the company's services included post-performance discussions; artistic and administrative internships; and workshops in acting, directing, movement, speech and voice. In 1981, the company moved their central base of operation to New York City with live history-oriented theatre productions and projects including the Eastern U.S., U.K. and Hong Kong. In addition to several Pittsburgh radio productions, they ventured into some television and film around the same thematic focus.

Major premiers included Edison at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, NYC; Virgins and Dynamos at The Royal Society of Arts, London; and The Gilded Age of Invention at the Edinburgh International Festival, Scotland. The company was also featured on the Creativity with Bill Moyers television series and the Smithsonian Institution's film Mr. Edison and his Amazing Invention Factories. The company continued its unique style of blending history with theatre until ceasing major operations in 1985. Its final production, Hasta Cuando? for the National Conference of Puerto Rican Women under the auspices of We the People 2000, occurred in 1987.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by David Sleasman in 1992. It was entered into Archivists' Toolkit by Christie Graci in June 2010. Corrections to the finding aid with the assistance of Julia Royall and K. Wilson Hutton were made by William Daw in December 2016.

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

    • Iron Clad Agreement (Theatrical company)
    • Edinburgh International Festival
    • Royal Society of Arts (Great Britain)
    • Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts

    Personal Names

    • Lee, Muna
    • Whitney, Eli
    • Adams, Henry
    • Heinz, H. J. (Henry John)
    • Chesnut, Mary Boykin Miller
    • O'Casey, Sean
    • Hutton, Wilson
    • Grimké, Sarah Moore
    • Grimké, Angelina Emily
    • Edison, Thomas A. (Thomas Alva) -- Drama
    • Guggenheim, Solomon R. (Solomon Robert)
    • Carnegie, Andrew
    • Eastman, George
    • Royall, Julia
    • Meyers, Larry John
    • Ford, Henry
    • Westinghouse, George
    • Barnum, P.T. (Phineas Taylor)
    • Burbank, Luther

    Genres

    • Audiocassettes
    • Audiotapes
    • Videotapes
    • Videocassettes
    • Video recordings (physical artifacts)
    • Scripts (Documents)
    • Photographs
    • Slides (Photographs)

    Other Subjects

    • Theater
    • Inventors -- Drama
    • Industrial revolution -- Drama
    • Theater -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Performing arts -- United States
    • Performing arts -- Pennsylvania -- Pittsburgh
    • Theater -- United States
    • Creativity with Bill Moyers
    • Mr. Edison and his amazing invention factories (Motion picture)

Container List