Manuscripts
General topics
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B. Theater Periodicals
Manuscripts
Includes publications concerning the Little Theatre movement that feature the Pasadena Community Playhouse: Little Theatres (New York Drama League, December 1923), with an article on Gilmor Brown; The Little Theatre Magazine (January and November 1933, and February 1934), with photographs and news concerning the Playhouse and its activities; and Little Theatre Arts (February 1937). Also contains serials published by the American National Theatre Association (ANTA), 1960 and 1969; and individual issues of titles including American Theatre Magazine (March 1940); Fink's Magazine (April 1908); The Play Pictorial (1905?); The Playgoer (1939, 1941, 1954, undated); Script (Rob Wagner, September 1943); The Theater (1887-1890); Theater and School (January 1936); The Theatre Annual (1943, 1944); Theatre in Education (April 1951); Theatre Magazine (1924, 1926-1928); Theatrical Times (1846, 1847, 1849, undated); and The Theatergoer (1942, 1945, 1946, 1948). Also includes periodicals concerning general topics, such as the Pasadena Lens and TAB (weekly entertainment guides, 1960) and Survey Graphic (1946), and music (The Concertgoer, 1951).
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Other organizations
Manuscripts
Contains materials relating to the Drama League of Chicago; the Player's Club; American National Theater Academy; and National Theatre Conference.
mssPlayhouse
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Various oversized items
Manuscripts
Contains awards and honors, 1951-1959; floor plans, undated and by unidentified architect; a broadside of Shakespeare and Shakespeare-related images, inscribed to Gilmor Brown by Mrs. H.D. Bentley, 1936, in appreciation of the Midsummer Drama Festival; one painting of Gilmor Brown in a kilt, undated, and one cartoon by Ernest Hix and Doug Hayes, 1948, celebrating Gilmor Brown. Also includes a 17th-century theater prop given to Gilmor Brown by Gareth Hughes: Indenture, used as Shylock's bond, 1687, accompanied by a label stating that this was stage property used in many productions of "The Merchant of Venice." Additionally, contains two copies of a banner advertising Pasadena Playhouse and its College of Theatre Arts, 1959; and portraits, including a photograph of Gilmor Brown's father, a photograph of Percy MacKaye inscribed to Brown, a photo depicting Bob Hope and Bing Crosby with a Pasadena Playhouse student, and photos of Elton Howard's portraits of Brown, Shanewise, Freud, and Wells, approximately 1925.
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J. Spalding, Graydon
Manuscripts
Contains photographs, fliers, programs, and clippings documenting local community theater and the Little Theater movement, including the work of actor Spalding, who appeared in the world premiere of Eugene O'Neill's Lazarus Laughed in 1928 and continued to act at the Playhouse through the 1930s; acted at other San Gabriel Valley venues; and presented one-man shows and workshops for drama classes at Pasadena High School, Pasadena City College, and others. Graydon Spalding later worked in the Rare Books Department of the Huntington Library; his brother, Gordon Spalding, worked as a photographer for the Playhouse, primarily taking publicity photographs.
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Biographical information and business records
Manuscripts
Contains an address by Brown, The Drama of History (1937); address books, circa 1948-1953; brochures and announcements; marketing and publicity materials; clippings and articles relating to Brown's involvement with the Little Theater movement and theatrical organizations; photographs, including one of Brown standing outside of the Playbox (1930); Harriet Green's biography, Gilmor Brown: Portrait of a Man - and an Idea (1933); obituaries and tributes to Brown; ephemera; some personal correspondence; invoices and receipts from lodging and insurance; a memoir by Percy MacKaye and a World War II poster inscribed to Brown; and records of gifts.
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School Advertising, 1936-1939
Manuscripts
Contains first and follow-up letters to prospective students. Major topics include School Inquiries, 1935-1939; Advertisements, 1935-1936, and more, plus advertisements that appeared in magazines including Redbook, Theatre Arts, National Geographic, Modern Mechanics, and various stage publications.
mssPlayhouse