Dorothy Webb Papers

This collection is minimally processed with arrangement to the series and subseries levels only. The awards and slides were rehoused and arranged to better preserve them. Following are descriptions of what is in each series. When possible, items were arranged chronologically.

Series I: Biographical (boxes 1-2) provides an overview of Dorothy Webb's education and career from 1953 to 2008. The series is arranged chronologically by year. Box 1 houses materials documenting Dorothy Webb's high school and university education and her employment at two university summer theatres. Bulk dates for this box are 1956-1963, 1984-1991, and 2000. The first four folders of box 1 provide a quick summary of Webb's career via curriculum vitas, photographs, a transcript of her oral history, and newspaper articles. Of note are newspaper articles, a program, and a business management guide for the Showboat Majestic, the Indiana University summer theatre touring boat, and a playscript and program for The Shepherd of the Hills by Charlotte McLeod performed at the Shepherd of the Hills Theatre, the Southern Illinois University summer theatre. Box 2 materials document Webb's non-IUPUI advisory and presenter work. Bulk dates are 1979-1984, 1990-1993, 1999-2001, and 2008. Of note are Indiana Theatre Bulletins edited by Webb from 1979 to 1984. This series is arranged in the following categories: advisory committee or board member, chairperson, consultant, dramaturg, editor, reader/reviewer, and workshop presenter. Each category is arranged alphabetically by organization or publication title. Included in this series are: curriculum vitas, photographs, newspaper articles, journals, programs, diplomas, oral history transcriptions, commencement programs and invitations, a playscript, mortarboard tassels, an alumni membership card, a teaching certificate, a wedding invitation, a day planner, and correspondence. For more biographical information, see the three videotaped interviews with Dorothy Webb in Box 47.

Series II: Awards (boxes 3-4) contains awards and certificates presented to Webb by universities and local, state, and national organizations from 1953 to 2010. This series is arranged chronologically by year and then alphabetically by award title. Of note in Box 3 are materials documenting Dorothy Webb's induction into the College of Fellows of the American Theatre in 1997 and her receipt of the Children's Theatre Foundation of America (CTFA) Medallion Award in 2000. Of note in Box 4 are support and nomination materials for the IUPUI President's All University Distinguished Teaching Award, which Webb received in 1984. Included are: award certificates, photographs, newspaper and periodical articles, awards programs, correspondence, an invitation, a publicity brochure, grant proposals, slides, a curriculum vita, a study guide, and a name badge.

Series III: Written By (boxes 5-6) documents Dorothy Webb's literary career through research materials, drafts, and final texts dating from 1828 to 2000. Bulk dates are 1828, 1957, 1960, 1969-1971, and 1994-2000.

Sub-Series A: Dissertation (box 5) contains the research for Webb's dissertation, The Early History of the Arch Street Theatre 1828-1834. Of note are: James Marshall Leonard's dissertation, The Letters of William Duffy, Albany Theatre Manager, 1830-1835, excerpts of books about theatre by Francis Wemyss, and six issues of The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. See also box 48 for Arch Theatre play programs and subscribers' lists from 1828. Included are: a dissertation, an abstract, subscribers lists, periodicals, book chapters, and handwritten notes.

Sub-Series B: Other Writings (box 6) contains college papers, speeches, articles, and plays written by Webb from 1957-2000. This sub-series is arranged chronologically by year and then alphabetically by title. Of note are: a graduate paper titled Louisa Lane Drew: Actress-Manageress about Drew's managerial work at the Arch Theatre; the published edition of Webb's play The Shoes That Were Danced to Pieces, adapted from the Grimm's fairy tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses; and a letter suggesting script revisions from Anchorage Press publisher Sara Spencer. Also of note are Webb's articles on Nora Tully MacAlvay and Betty Kessler Lyman written for Youth Theatre Journal. Included are: speeches, college papers, correspondence, research grant proposals, typescript drafts, research notes, and newspaper articles.

Series IV: Correspondence (boxes 7-9) contains personal and professional correspondence from and to Dorothy Webb from 1959-2012. This series is arranged chronologically.

Sub-Series A: General (boxes 7-8) contains personal and professional correspondence between Dorothy Webb and friends, relatives, university colleagues, and theatre professionals. Bulk dates are: 1959-1966, and 1978-2012. Included are: correspondence, newspaper articles, publicity brochures, resumes, and a speech.

Sub-Series B: Recommendations (box 9) contains letters of recommendation written by Dorothy Webb in support of students and theatre professionals. Bulk dates are 1980-1986, 1991-1995, and 2002-2009. Of note are letters of support for AATE (American Alliance for Theatre & Education) awards. Included is correspondence.

Series V: IUPUI (boxes 10-14) documents Dorothy Webb's administrative and teaching service, the theatre program, and an Honorary Doctorate for Aurand Harris at IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis) from 1968-2000. Unless noted, this series is arranged chronologically.

Sub-Series A: Annual reviews (boxes 10-11) contains Dorothy Webb's teaching contracts, annual reviews, and materials collected in support of these reviews. Of note is the 1986-1987 promotion to full professor packet. Included are: contracts, correspondence, annual self-reviews, curriculum vitas, conference programs, newsletters, periodical and newspaper articles, and a sabbatical report.

Sub-Series B: Administration (box 12) is divided into the following categories: Administration, Dorothy Webb's Sabbaticals, and the IUPUI Theatre Department. The Administration category contains materials about departmental publication and printing costs and Dorothy Webb's travel to attend conferences from 1983-1990. The Sabbaticals category documents her 1990 sabbatical to research and record the history of the Works Progress Administration's Indiana Theatre Project's Children's Theatre Unit; and her 1997-1998 sabbatical to attend the Sundance Institute and the New Visions/New Voices biennial playwriting for young audiences' festival and to write a monograph about these two programs and the Bonderman. The IUPUI Theatre Department category documents the history of the theatre department from 1972-2006. Of note are: annual reports from 1984-1987 and 1990-1991 and articles and correspondence about the theatre department's demise in 1993. Included are: travel vouchers, travel requests, travel authorizations, correspondence, newspaper articles, sabbatical leave applications, press releases, newsletters, grant applications, departmental annual reports, a photograph, and season brochures.

Sub-Series C: Projects (box 13) documents projects connected to IUPUI that Dorothy Webb created and/or worked on from 1972-2000. Project names are: Drama Resources for the Elementary School (for both elementary students and teachers), summer activities planning for the Columbus Parks and Recreation Department, Saturday School in Drama (for youth), the Yesterways Fund (senior theatre), Young Playwrights Incorporated playwriting program, and the Indiana Repertory Theatre (IRT)/Project to Invigorate Educators (PIE). Included are: project proposals, grant applications, correspondence, evaluation forms, meeting minutes and agendas, publicity brochures, press releases, newsletters, newspaper articles, statements of accounts, and curriculum guides. Also see the Waldo M. and Grace C. Bonderman Playwriting Competition and Symposium Records, MSS-331, for materials about this biennial playwriting event, sponsored by IUPUI from 1985-2003. A guide to these materials is available at http://www.azarchivesonline.org/xtf/view?docId=ead/asu/bonderman.xml.

: Aurand Harris Honorary Doctorate (box 14) documents the nomination and presentation of the IUPUI Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters to playwright Aurand Harris in 1991. Bulk dates are 1988-1991. Materials are housed in their original two folders titled Aurand Harris Nomination. Of note are letters of support from numerous notables in the field of theatre for young audiences. Included are: correspondence, nomination letters, resumes, book appendices, newspaper and periodical articles, commencement programs, memorial notice, an interview, a speech, and programs.

Series VI: IUPUI Theatrical Productions (boxes 15-26) documents IUPUI adult, youth, and touring productions from 1963-1999. This series is arranged chronologically.

Sub-Series A: Children's Touring Productions (boxes 15-20) documents all of the IUPUI children's theatre touring productions from 1973-1992. Most of these shows were directed or designed by Dorothy and/or J. Edgar Webb. If either of the Webbs worked on the production, their job titles appear on the folders. Please note that the Indiana Arts Commission (IAC) partially funded most of the IUPUI children's touring productions and many of the production folders include grant materials. Also of note are a variety of funding, production, and visual materials for the following touring shows: Androcles and the Lion (Aurand Harris), Arkansaw Bear (Aurand Harris), Becca (Wendy Kesselman), East of the Sun and West of the Moon (Tom Evans), Hallelujah Hopscotch (Rachael Burchard), Huck Finn's Story (Aurand Harris), Land of the Dragon (Madge Miller), Mean to be Free (Joanna Halpert Kraus), Rapunzel and the Witch (a marionette show and the first IUPUI touring production with a script adapted by Dorothy and Edgar Webb), Ride a Blue Horse (Aurand Harris), Scraps! The Ragtime Girl of Oz (Virginia Glasgow Koste), and The Toby Show (Aurand Harris). Also included are materials that describe the premiere production of Aurand Harris' Ride a Blue Horse (1985), a play commissioned by the White River Park Festival, produced by IUPUI, and directed by J. Edgar Webb. Included are: grant guidelines and proposals, grant final reports, programs, cast lists, study guides, correspondence, newspaper and periodical articles, ground plans, tour contracts, tour schedules, tour evaluation forms, production photographs, actor headshots, directors' promptbooks, rehearsal schedules, play typescripts, press releases, posters, design renderings, statements of accounts, budgets, slides, and costume measurement forms.

Sub-Series B: Non-touring Productions (boxes 21-26) documents youth and adult productions presented on the IUPUI campus and other venues, such as the Indianapolis Children's Museum, from 1963-1999. The majority of the materials are from adult productions. Most of the materials are production slides. Most of these shows were directed or designed by Dorothy and/or Edgar Webb. Each show folder lists their jobs on the production, if known. Included are: programs, newsletters, newspaper articles, production photographs, headshots, a design rendering, a play typescript, a rehearsal schedule, invitations, correspondence, a study guide, a publicity flier, slides, and press releases.

Series VII: Teaching Career (boxes 27-32) documents Dorothy Webb's teaching career at IUPUI and other institutions. Date range is from 1928-2000.

Sub-Series A: Pre-1966 Teaching (box 27) documents Dorothy Webb's teaching from 1958-1965 at Bloomington High School and at Texas Woman's University (TWU). This sub-series is arranged chronologically by year. Of note are numerous newspaper articles from The Daily Lass-O, the Texas Woman's University's newspaper, documenting Webb's productions, awards, and teaching, and production slides of The Wizard of Oz that Webb directed and adapted at this university. Included are: programs, a yearbook, newspaper articles, a photograph, slides, and correspondence.

Sub-Series B: IUPUI Classes (boxes 28-31) documents undergraduate courses taught by Dorothy Webb in the IUPUI Theatre program from 1968-2000. Bulk dates for this series are: 1928, 1954, 1970, 1973, 1976-1977, 1980-1989, and 1993-2000. This sub-series is arranged alphabetically by course title. Materials are included for the following classes: Children's Theatre, Creative Dramatics, Directing, Introduction to Theatre, Playwriting, Playwriting for Young Audiences (a telecourse), Puppetry, Theatre Appreciation (a telecourse), and Theatre History. Box 31 contains children's plays that Dorothy had her classes read, one of which has a copyright of 1928. Of note are complete lecture notes/scripts for a telecourse for G391 Playwriting for Young Audiences developed by Dorothy Webb. See Box 45 for VHS video recordings of this telecourse. Also of note is a Playwriting Workbook containing Webb's handouts and class activities for her Playwriting class. Included are: correspondence, course application forms, grant proposals, syllabi, class assignment guidelines, study guides, class handouts, youth and adult play bibliographies, journal articles, dial-a-story paper wheels, overhead transparencies, a class workbook, course guides, play typescripts, and finger puppets.

Sub-Series C: IUPUI Class Slides (box 32) contains slides of Webb's classes or shown in her classes. This sub-series is arranged alphabetically by title. Most are undated. 18 are unidentified. Subjects include: ancient Roman landmarks, the Royal Shakespeare Theatre's 1965 production of Hamlet, Plastics in Theatre, Stage Lighting Techniques, and theatre history. Of note are pictures of Webb's stagecraft class. Included are slides.

Series VIII: Organizational work (boxes 33-38) documents organizations in which Dorothy Webb was a member from 1973-2009.

Sub-Series A: CTAA/AATY/AATE (boxes 33-35) documents Dorothy Webb's involvement with the Children's Theatre Association of America (CTAA) from 1980-1983, and with its successors, the American Association for Theatre for Youth (AATY) from 1986-1987, and the American Alliance for Theatre and Education (AATE) from 1987-2000 and 2009. This sub-series is arranged chronologically by year and then alphabetically by folder title. The CTAA materials are mostly newsletters and correspondence sent to members. The AATE materials have the following folder titles: Awards, Board and other Leaders, Convention and Conference Guidelines, Award Winning Plays, Nominating Committee, By-laws, and Newsletters. Also included are national and Region III conference programs, many detailing Webb's committee work and scholarly presentations. In a separate section are materials that document her work on the Playwriting Committee and the Unpublished Play Reading Project. Included in the latter are submitted plays' cover letters, rejection and acceptance letters, and evaluation forms for the 2000 Unpublished Play Reading Project. Included in this sub-series are: newsletters, correspondence, awards programs, conference programs, conference guidelines, committee meeting minutes, by-laws, budgets, play submission cover letters, and script evaluation forms.

Sub-Series B: ATA (boxes 36-37) documents Dorothy Webb's involvement with the American Theatre Association (ATA) from 1975-1986, and its Region III from 1973-1987. It is arranged chronologically by year and then alphabetically by folder title. Materials describe Board of Directors' business, membership, Region III conferences and activities, annual conference participation, the Appia Exhibit, the Assembly of States working group, operating codes, by-laws, and the Women's Program. Of note is The Offstage Voice, a publication of the Wisconsin Theatre Association for 1986-1987. Included are: correspondence, newsletters, state directories, meeting minutes, conference programs, budgets, and by-laws.

Sub-Series C: Other organizations (box 38) documents Dorothy Webb's work with other national and state organizations. This sub-series is divided into the following three categories: The American College Theatre Festival (ACTF); ASSITEJ/USA (later named TYA/USA) the American Center for the International Association for Children and Young People; and the Indiana Theatre Association (ITA). Each section is arranged chronologically. The American College Theatre Festival (ACTF) materials, with bulk dates of 1987-1988, 1991-1993, and 1996-2000, contains festival information, programs and Webb's adjudication reports for productions of Ghosts and The Good Person of Sichuan. The ASSITEJ/USA category, dating from 1994-2000, contains One Theatre World conference announcements and correspondence about Webb's 1998 Observership award for a residency with New Visions/New Voices biennial playwriting for young audiences festival. The Indiana Theatre Association (ITA) category, with bulk dates of 1977-1978, 1982-1988 and 1992-1998, contains materials about hosting the 1983 Indiana Theatre Auditions, a 1993 packet for Dean and Pauline Bonderman's nomination for the Leadership/Support Award, and the IUPUI Youth Theatre Playwriting Competition's 1998 Youth Theatre Award. See box 2 for correspondence about and Indiana Theatre Bulletins edited by Webb. Included are: correspondence, a nomination packet, newsletters, conference programs, and production critiques.

Series IX: Conferences Attended (box 39) documents conferences that Dorothy Webb attended or participated in from 1983-2000. This series is arranged chronologically by year and then alphabetically by organization. These meetings include: the IUPUI learning resources committee symposia in 1983, 1985, 1987, and 1989; the Research and Drama International Symposium at Ontario Institute for Students in Education (OISE) in 1983; the National Educational Theatre Conference (NETC) in 1986; Summer Institute for Women in Higher Education Administration in 1992 and 1996; New Visions/New Voices biennial playwriting for young audiences festival in 1995-1996, 1998, and 2000; and Arizona State University's The Voice of the Child in the Future of Theatre in 1996. Included are: conference programs, correspondence, a registration form, a travel reimbursement form, registrants' lists, and an awards citation.

Series X: Print Resource Materials (boxes 40-41) contains print resource materials divided into the following categories: adult plays, adult theatre, arts education, children's plays, children's theatre, Indiana grants information, Indiana University publications, IUPUI, Southern Illinois University, and other. The series is arranged alphabetically by category. Dates range from 1939-2000. Of note are an unpublished children's play titled After Happily Ever After by Ron Schnitzus; essays by J. Edgar Webb titled Criticism in the Field of Theatre and The Physical Actor and His Voice; a Kennedy Center Theatre for Young People's study guide for James Still's Amber Waves; a resource packet for the University of Texas at Austin's Mother Hicks; a typescript of Sara Spencer's play Mary Poppins; and a 1974 program from the Guthrie Theatre's Love's Labor's Lost. Included are: newsletters, essays, published and unpublished playscripts, study guides, a theatre program, an annotated book, adult theatre and theatre for youth periodicals, a journal, and correspondence.

Series XI: Sound Recordings (boxes 42-43) contains audio recordings with information about IUPUI classes and productions, and tapes used as resource materials. Dates range from 1966-1989; most are undated. About half had no labels. Subjects/titles were assigned after listening to each recording.

Sub-Series A: IUPUI (box 42) contains audio recordings relating to IUPUI classes, productions, and administration. Tape subjects are as follows: Dorothy Webb letters for dictation, Webb-led class exercises, Good Speech for the Theatre--American Actor Male and Female exercises, a radio interview about the play East of the Sun and West of the Moon, music for Ride a Blue Horse and other unidentified productions, recording of a 1966 production of Lysistrata with Dorothy Webb playing Lysistrata, The 1940's Radio Hour production, and a taped letter from a former student. Included are: audio cassette tapes and a 7" reel-to-reel audio tape.

Sub-Series B: Resource Materials (box 43) contains audio recordings with the following titles: American Theatre Association 1981 conference sessions Promotion and Tenure: Alternatives to the Publish or Perish Syndrome, New Directions in Children's Drama and Theatre, Critiquing the Student Director, and Opening Ceremony and Keynote Address; Let's Pretend children's radio shows; two copies of Liz Peterson's Wind in the Willows; Cinderella an original cast recording of CTM production, February 1989; and an interview on Seattle radio's NPR about The Former One-on-One Champion play.

Series XII: Moving Images (boxes 44-47) contains video recordings with information about IUPUI classes, touring theatre, and productions, and tapes used as resource materials. Dates range from 1980-2000; many are undated.

Sub-Series A: IUPUI Classes (boxes 44-45) contains video recordings for telecourses and classes taught by Webb. This sub-series is arranged by subject. Box 44 contains four videos of class puppet shows, a puppetry process video, two videos from the telecourse titled Theatre Appreciation, and four 1995 Bonderman Playwriting Symposium videos used in Webb's Children's Theatre class. Included are: VHS video tapes and one 3/4 inch video tape. Box 45 contains eight of the ten lectures and two support videos for Webb's telecourse Writing Plays for Young Audiences.

Sub-Series B: IUPUI Productions (box 46) contains video recordings of IUPUI productions. It is arranged chronologically by year. Dates are from 1981-1995. Titles are as follows: twelve children's theatre touring productions, the adult production of The Dining Room, and a documentary on the preparatory process for Ladyhouse Blues. Of note are East of the Sun and West of the Moon videos taken from four different camera angles. Included are VHS video tapes.

Sub-Series C: Other Videos (box 47) contains interviews with Dorothy and theatre for young audiences' playwrights, an opera, and educational theatre videos. It is arranged by subject. Dates are from 1988-2000. Subjects are as follows: three interviews with Dorothy Webb (two about touring), an interview with James Still about his play And Then They Came For Me, a discussion about the creation of the musical Pocahontas for the Beef and Boards Theatre, a production of The Magic Flute performed by Brevard Community College, an interview with Aurand Harris on playwriting, Aurand Harris: Weaver of Young Hearted Tales a documentary on Aurand Harris, and two videos from the Kennedy Center discussing playwriting and theatre. Included are VHS video tapes.

Series XIII: Oversize (box 48) contains items removed from the other series due to their weight, shape, or size. This sub-series is arranged first by the series the documents were removed from and then chronologically by year. This series includes production photographs from Mean to Be Free and The Magician's Nephew and programs and subscription lists for the Arch Theatre. Included are photographs, programs, and subscription lists.