The History - Pre-1936
Setting the Stage
The beginning of theatre at The university of Arizona closely mirrored the growth of the university as a whole. As early as the 1870'' the Tucson community proved to be very supportive of theatre and the university was seen as a promising training ground.
Drama on campus was originally instigated by the students or student organizations. The first dramatic performance from a play was performed in 1899 when the junior class performed scenes of The Merchant of Venice for the Philomathean Society. Before this, individual courses would occasionally perform tableaux and recitations as part of University Public Assemblies, a forum for the arts created on campus in 1892. Drama was not organized under university supervision until 1903, when the Drama club was formed within the English Department. The Drama Club's first production was of Richard Brinsley Sheridan's The Rivals. It was produced at the Tucson Opera House with great success, and then toured to Bisbee. Unfortunately, the Bisbee audience was sparse, and the Drama Club returned to Tucson disappointed.
The Drama Club underwent many changes as it grew, and was reorganized and renamed several times. It was first reorganized in 1917 as The Sock and Buskin Dramatic Society, and became the University Players in 1923. The following year the name again changed - this time to The Shaman Players. This last group moved into new quarters at the Temple of Music and Art in 1928 and eventually became the nucleus of The Tucson Little Theatre. With their departure from campus, The University Players reactivated. The connection established with the community by the Shaman Players' move proved that both the community and the university could support theatre and the arts.
The first university credit in Drama was offered in 1910, and as demand rose, more and more classes were added in such theatre-related areas as Elizabethan and Classical Drama, Dramatic Action, and Elocution. The School of Elocution, under the direction of Gertrude B. Hughes, was divided into two areas: voice building and physical culture. Hughes led her students through a variety of emotional studies, dramatic analyses, and light gymnastics in order to tune and condition their vocal and physical instruments. Classes specifically in Shakespearean Drama, as well as classes covering other classical dramatists, grew in number and size. In addition, training in technical production was established in 1923 by Professor Hubert C. Heffner. When Drama moved into its own space, the Players Theatre under the stadium in 1930, students interested in theatre were provided a space where they could receive training in theory, acting, stage makeup, costumes, direction, managing, scene design, construction, and lighting.
One of the people who was most influential in the establishment of Drama as a separate department was Mrs. Marguerite Morrow. Morrow came to The University of Arizona in 1926 when she was appointed Director of Drama and Instructor in the English Department. Her energy and commitment contributed to seasons of widely popular plays, and an increase in the number of shows produced each year. In addition to this productivity on campus, Morrow believed in the necessity of taking shows out into the community. It was on one of her many tours that she received a severe hip and knee injury in 1931. After extensive surgery, her injuries still left her unable to walk. She turned her duties over to her Assistant Director, Harry Behn, with the hope that she would be able to return to her work with the Drama club after a short rest. She would not return to her work until 1934, but during her extended convalescence, was in frequent communication with the President of the University, Dr. Leroy Shantz. He continually hoped for her recovery, and corresponded with her about the making of a College of Fine Arts by merging the College of Music with Art, Drama, and Speech. The groundwork for the Department of Dramatic Art was laid in this correspondence.
