subj23. Holdings related to Theater and Drama

Scope and Contents The papers of actress, dancer, and activist Fredi Washington measure 2.14 linear feet. The collection, dating from 1925-1979, documents her stage and film career, her writings on theater, and her professional work in supporting African American actors and actresses. It contains correspondence, photographs, news clippings, honors and awards, scripts, and a scrapbook. Approximately one hundred items of correspondence from 1933 to 1979 are contained in the collection. The...

Scope and Contents The papers of singer, actress, and teacher Isabel Washington Powell document her career in show business, her marriage to Adam Clayton Powell Jr, and her later teaching career in New York City public schools. The collection is .2 linear feet and dates from 1929-1981. It includes correspondence, news clippings, a scrapbook, photographs, and other miscellaneous items pertaining to Powell's life and work. The correspondence in the collection dates from 1966-1981; therefore, none of...

Content Description

The papers of poet, playwright, educator, and actress Haleemon Shaik Felton contain a carbon copy of the script "House of Eternal Darkness," a photocopy of news clippings and programs for the three campuses on which the play was presented, photocopy of poems that appeared in New Voices with the Louisiana Weekly article pertaining to the inclusion, and photocopies of photographs taken during the Dillard University production of "House of Eternal Darkness."

Content Description Junebug Productions is a professional African American arts organization in New Orleans, Louisiana. Junebug's artistic director for many years was John O'Neal, who co-founded the Free Southern Theater as an artistic extension of the Civil Rights Movement. Junebug's mission to "to create, produce, and present high quality theater, dance and music that inspire and support people who work for justice in the African American community and in the world-at-large" continued the goals and efforts of...

Content Description

This collection includes a copy of Ghanaian filmmaker Kwaw Ansah's screenplay “Heritage (The Colonial Subject).” The main character is Quincy Arthur Bosomfield, alias Kwesi Atta Bosomefi. It concerns an identity crisis of a Gold Coast colonial administrator who had been born a member of the Fante people.

Content Description The Bert A. Williams collection contains material and memorabilia collected by Thelma J. Goode of Mobile, Alabama, on early African American entertainer Bert A. Williams. Included are two photographs of Williams, newspaper and magazine clippings about Williams, a typescript list of compositions by Williams, as well as the cover of sheet music for the song "Oh! I Don't Know, You're Not So Warm!" with a picture of Williams. Both photographs are undated, but likely taken in the 1910s; one is...

Scope and Contents This collection documents the literary production and intergroup collaboration of Nkombo Publications, one of the best-organized and most active groups affiliated with the Southern extension of the Black Arts Movement. These records include outgoing and incoming correspondence, published and unpublished manuscripts from both well-known and lesser-known poets of the Black Arts Movement, collected publications and ephemera, and financial documents. The records span the late 1960s and early...

Scope and Contents The papers highlight the personal and professional life of John M. O'Neal, Jr. The John O'Neal papers consist of 25.94 linear feet and document O'Neal's artistic style and vision as an African American actor, director, playwright, and community and civil rights activist. The papers are of interest for studying the southern Black Arts Movement and more specifically the Black Theater Movement; the Free Southern Theater; the Civil Rights Movement; voter rights registration; race relations;...

Scope and Contents The papers of Tom Dent provide a rich documentary source in the areas of African American literature and theater, the Civil Rights Movement, and the society and culture of New Orleans. The collection encompasses 149 linear feet of correspondence, literary manuscripts, oral history interviews, photographs, financial records, and memorabilia generated by one of New Orleans' most treasured poets, playwrights, and oral historians. Dent was a prolific writer of letters, poetry, and...

Scope and Contents The records of the Free Southern Theater (FST) date from 1960 to 1978, but the bulk is from 1965 to 1976. The records total 62 linear feet and eleven oversized boxes. The records have been arranged in four major series (with subseries): Administrative series, theater production series, general correspondence series, and financial record series. Materials reflect the creative output of the FST, and include play scripts, collected ephemera, and photographs of the troupe’s performances. ...