The History - 1976-1986
Changes
One of the major changes of the fifth decade of the department's existence came when Peter Marroney was required to step down from his position as Head of the Department at the age of 65. Marroney had held the position for thirty-six years, and while he continued to direct and teach until 1983, his retirement from the headship created a shift in the department. In 1983 Robert C. Burroughs was appointed in the new Department Head.
Part of this shift included the introduction of the new University of Arizona Repertory Company, UART in the summer of 1979. This marked the beginning of a professional theatre group on campus, in which the participants received contracts and negotiated fees. This allowed the students to be compensated for their summer work. The first productions of UART included a six week rotation of Winter Chicken, by alumna Jennifer Jarrett; Shakespeare's Two Gentlemen of Verona; and the musical Dames at Sea.
The following autumn saw a few procedural changes within the departmental productions.
The box office reorganized to include sales procedures set by professional theatres, and the number of Mainstage performances increased from nine to fourteen in order to meet audience demand.
On the academic side, the department now offered Master of Fine Arts degrees in Acting/Directing, costume Design, costume Construction, Scene Design, Lighting Design, and Technical Production.
In the 1979-80 season, a traveling musical revue group was inaugurated, The Entertainers. The group, which was conceived as an aid to departmental recruiting and public relations, was under the direction of then graduate student Richard T. Hanson. In the 1996-1997 season, The Entertainers continue to tour throughout Arizona - still directed by Richard T. Hanson, now an associate professor in Acting/Directing area of the department.
In the early eighties, a strong internship program had developed between the department and the Arizona Theatre Company. Selected students interned in the areas of acting, directing, and management. This helped to reinforce the emphasis of the graduate pre-professional training program. In addition, the department was accepted into the University/Resident Theatre Association (U/RTA) in the fall of 1982, having met all the qualifications for membership with relative ease. The department also belonged to the American Theatre Association, The United States Institute for Theatre Technology, The Dramatists' Guild, and The American College Theatre Festival (ACTF). As part of ACTF, the department toured two productions regionally: The Government Inspector in 1980, and Strider in 1981. Both productions toured California under the direction of Dr. Harold Dixon, Acting/Directing faculty member since 1979.
During the same time, a Dinner Theatre program was established in conjunction with the Student Union. Pat Moonen of the Student Union was instrumental in the success of the Dinner Theatre. At first, the Dinner Theatre was not a part of the season offered to subscribers, but this changed with the increased popularity of the productions at the Student Union. The Dinner Theatre attracted a different type of audience than had been attending the regular season shows because of its location. The success of the dinner Theatre influenced these patrons to become season subscribers.
During this decade, the department was privileged to have several guest artists come to the University and participate on a variety of professional levels. Alan Schneider, noted Broadway director, and Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Edward Albee were guest lecturers in the 1979-80 season, participating in the Lyceum season's productions of Rhinoceros and Albee's own Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. Alumna Elaine Moe '67 was brought in to direct a production of Strange Bedfellows in the fall of 1981. Peter Wexler, a prominent Broadway designer, was a guest artist in 1983 when he offered workshops for students and directed The Petrified Forest. Alumnus Fred Nelson '80 returned to play the lead in this production. In the same season, visiting professor Jack Manning directed You Can't Take It With You. Canadian actress Domini Blythe presented a week-long workshop on Period Movement and Styles in the Spring of 1984. In addition, members of the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) presented workshops and performances on campus for a week that spring (See A.C.T.E.R. section).
