The Waldo M. and Grace C. Bonderman National Youth Theatre Playwriting Competition and Symposium Records

The Waldo M. and Grace C. Bonderman National Youth Theatre Playwriting Competition and Symposium Records (hereafter referred to as the Bonderman) document the administrative, financial, programming, and play development process for the biennial playwriting for young audiences event held in Indianapolis, Indiana from 1985 to 2011. This collection is divided into twelve series, many with subseries. Unless noted, all series are arranged chronologically by Symposium year, then alphabetically by subject title.

Series I: History provides a quick overview of the history of the Bonderman's programming, awards, and the play development process from 1984-2011. Sub-Series A: General (Boxes 1-2) includes materials that provide a general overview of the Bonderman from 1984-2011. This series is arranged chronologically by date. Included are: a biography, a resume, newspaper and journal articles, correspondence, invitations, a thank you card, press releases, an awards certificate, a telegram, registration brochures, symposium programs, a funding proposal, a book, award citations, a publicity brochure, play list, histories of the competition, a nomination packet, photographs, an awards program, registration packets, a documentary outline, an oral history transcript and a class paper. Of note are: a list of the play titles and team members for all the plays developed, Symposium programs, registration packets and brochures, and a transcript of a Bonderman oral history with Dorothy Webb, Janet Allen, and Pauline Bonderman.

Sub-Series B: After the Bonderman (Box 3) includes materials that document what happened to the semifinalist and finalist plays developed at the Bonderman and their playwrights from 1985-2011. Items are arranged chronologically by the year the play was at the Bonderman, then by semifinalist and finalist categories, and then alphabetically by play title. These materials were collected by Dorothy Webb. Included are: correspondence, playscripts, newspaper articles, journal articles, press kits, posters, playbills, study guides, production photographs, audience response forms, season brochures, a scrapbook, and a publicity postcard.

Series II: Administrative Planning (Boxes 4-16) includes materials directly related to the planning, organization, publicity, assessment, and programming of the symposium from 1980 to 2011. The first folders for each symposium year have articles about that year's events and producer reports. Note that the development team student volunteers were sometimes called interns and sometimes called associate dramaturges. Included are: script reader assignments, publicity postcards, correspondence, symposium evaluation forms, play critique forms, newspaper and journal articles, advertisements, calendar listings, press releases, planning notes and ideas, audition notices, casting notes, registration brochures and drafts, symposium programs and drafts, hotel welcome packets, hotel room reservations, rehearsal schedules, mailing lists, volunteer lists, development team lists, stage managers lists, directors lists, cast lists, dramaturges lists, panelists lists, playwright lists, lists of playwright submissions, winning scripts lists, advisory board lists, registration forms, attendee lists, symposium timetables, maps, dining directories, school assignments, guidelines/entry form brochure and drafts, development team orientation packets, play catalogues, an event manual, a book, and poster drafts.

Series III: Financial documents fundraising and financial disbursement from 1978-2011. Sub-Series A: Donations (Box 17) documents funding from individuals, businesses, and foundations from 1984-2011. Included are: correspondence, donation requests, letters of giving, rejection letters, thank you letters, lists of funding sources, benefactor giving reports, corporate table reservations, mailing labels, address lists, and a program. Of note is program for actress Betty Garret's 80th Birthday Bash. For additional Dean and Pauline Bonderman correspondence, see Boxes 1 and 2.

Sub-Series B: Grants (Boxes 18-20) documents grants from the NEA (National Endowment for the Arts), IAC (Indiana Arts Commission), AATE (American Alliance for Theatre & Education), Melvin A. Simon and Associates, and other arts organizations, foundations and corporations. Information about grants, such as guidelines, applications, and final reports are also included for grants funded and not funded from 1978-2005. Included are: grant guidelines, applications, correspondence, grant agreements, press releases, newspaper articles, grant notification letters, thank you letters, reporting requirements, final grant reports, newsletters and journal articles, and a grant workshop handouts and notes.

Sub-Series C: Accounting (Boxes 21-22) documents financial planning, budgeting, and monetary disbursement for the Bonderman from 1985-2011. Included are: correspondence, budget reports, travel schedules, statements of accounts, disbursement vouchers, expense reports, postage records, a vehicle rental confirmation form, and operating statements.

Series IV: Playwright Entry Forms (Boxes 23-25) contains playwrights entry forms for plays submitted to the competition from 1984-2001 and from 2008-2011. Some have correspondence attached. These were originally housed in three-ring binders by symposium year. They are arranged by assigned numbers for each Bonderman year. Included are: entry forms, correspondence and copyright permission forms.

Series V: Playscripts (Boxes 26-35) contains playscripts submitted to the competition from 1984-2011. Sub-Series A: Finalist/Semifinalist Plays (Boxes 26-32) contains play typescripts and some revised play typescripts from scripts chosen as finalists or semifinalists from 1984-2011. Items are arranged chronologically by the year the play was at the Bonderman, then by semifinalist and finalist categories, and then alphabetically by play title. If there were multiple drafts for a play, they were compared and put in the order they were written. Included are play typescripts.

Sub-Series B: Plays Not Selected (Boxes 33-35) contains various typescripts submitted and not chosen as either semifinalists or finalists from 1987-2008. Most are undated and without an author. These plays were originally located on shelves in Dorothy Webb's house in alphabetical order. Included are play typescripts.

Series VI: Play Critique Forms (Boxes 36-41) contains play critique forms for plays submitted from 1985 to 2009. Forms are not complete for 1987, 1991, 1993, and 1995. These were originally housed in three-ring binders by Symposium year. Included are play critique forms.

Series VII: Development Teams (Boxes 42-45) documents the development process for the semifinalist and finalist plays while in residence in Indianapolis during the Bonderman from 1979-2011. There is also some pre-Bonderman correspondence between the playwrights and the development teams regarding the working process while in Indianapolis. There is one folder with Hallelujah Hopscotch production materials from the 1960s. For development team pre-symposium correspondence, audition notices, casting correspondence, and thank you letters, see Series II, Administrative Planning. This series is arranged first by Symposium year, then by semifinalist and finalist, then alphabetically by play title. Included are: photographs, development team lists, cast lists, headshots, biographies, resumes, audition forms, correspondence, audience and classroom student response forms, rehearsal schedules, semifinalist script pages, casting notes, newspaper and journal articles.

Series VIII: Symposia Proceedings (Boxes 46-47) documents symposium events that occurred in addition to staged play readings from 1984-2011. They have the following titles: town meetings, panels, playwright slams, workshops, forums, and productions of plays not developed at the Bonderman. Most keynote speaker's folders include a copy of the speech. Of note are the 1989-1993 transcriptions of panel discussions on playwriting, directing, publishing, dramaturgy, multiculturalism, and dramatic criticism. Events are arranged chronologically as they happened at the symposium. Included are: correspondence, resumes, a cue sheet, a study guide, keynote addresses, transcription notes and drafts, panelist biographies, newspaper articles, panelist lists, and a session outline.

Series IX: Photographs (Box 48) contains photographs of events during and surrounding the Bonderman event from 1984-2001. Other photographs not taken during the symposium are located in Series I, History (awards and post-Bonderman production photographs) and Series VII, Development Teams (team and actors headshots). Included are photographs, slides, negatives, and correspondence.

Series X: Sound Recordings (Boxes 49-51) contains audio recordings of opening remarks, panel sessions, staged readings, play feedback sessions, a news clip, and music for play submissions from 1985-1999. The descriptions in the folder list duplicate what was written on the original storage boxes and tapes; when needed some documentation was added to better describe the content. Included are audio cassettes.

Sub-Series A: Scores submitted with playscripts (Box 49) contains audio recordings of scores, underscoring, and songs with vocals for scripts submitted from 1987-2001. Included are audio cassettes. Sub-Series B: Play Readings (Box 50) contains audio recordings of staged readings and talkback sessions for semifinalist and finalist plays from 1985-1993. Sub-Series C: Symposium Proceedings (Box 51) contains audio recordings of opening remarks, panels, and a news program from 1987-1999.

Series XI: Moving Images (Boxes 52-54) contains video recordings of opening remarks, introductions of the development teams, town meetings, panel sessions, publishers roundtables, awards banquets, keynote addresses, staged readings, play feedback sessions, news clips, and a documentary from 1984-2007. The descriptions in the folder list duplicate what was written on the original storage boxes and tapes; when needed some documentation was added to better describe the content. Included are VHS video tapes.

Sub-Series A: Play Readings (Box 52) contains video recordings of staged readings of semifinalist and finalist plays from 1987-1995. Sub-Series B: Symposium Proceedings (Boxes 53-54) contains video recordings of news clips, keynote addresses, awards banquets, panel sessions, publishers' roundtables, town meetings, opening remarks, and a documentary from 1984 to 2007.

Series XII: Oversize (Boxes 55-57) contains items removed from the other series due to their weight, shape, or size from 1984-2003. Sub-Series A: Scrapbook (Box 55) is a scrapbook documenting Ellwood High School Drama Club Thespian Troupe #58's production of Young Eugene in 1999. Included are a scrapbook and correspondence. Sub-Series B: Large Articles (Box 56) contains articles from newspapers and other periodicals from 1987-2003. This sub-series is arranged first by the series the documents were removed from and then chronologically by year. Included are newspaper and periodical articles. Sub-Series C: Posters (Box 57) contains publicity posters for the symposium from 1984-2001.