Student Life: Musical and Dramatic Organizations: Gilbert and Sullivan Players Records, 1938-2005
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Administrative/Biographical History
The Oberlin College Gilbert & Sullivan Players became a recognized group in the Spring of 1949. The organization was conceived by two Oberlin students, Alan Garb (BA 1951) and Ellen Uhrbrock (BA 1951). From the period of 1949 to 1953 presentations of The Pirates of Penzance, Trial by Jury, The Mikado, Iolanthe and HMS Pinafore were done in the Oberlin High School auditorium or in the Apollo Theatre. Once Hall Auditorium was completed G&S presented, on average, two productions per college year from the period of 1953 to 1966. In the summers from 1953 to 1966, the G&S Players held summer stock in Cape Cod at various locales and under differing conditions. Each summer production period averaged six weeks and five to six different productions. The last place of residence for the Cape Cod summer stock was the Highfield Theater in Falmouth, MA.1
1968 was the last season of the Oberlin Gilbert & Sullivan Players at Highfield Theater. It was immediately followed in 1969 by the College Light Opera Company, founded and still run by Robert Haslun. Many Oberlin student participate in this program each summer, but it is no longer particularly a Gilbert and Sullivan troupe, nor is it officially associated with Oberlin College.
After Dr. Boyers’ retirement in 1967, the campus players saw hard times as well. The loss of Dr. Boyers dedicated and influential leadership was not the only problem. The creation of the Theater and Dance Department in 1968 was a factor limiting student theater in general. The increasing number of faculty-sponsored productions gradually edged student theater out of Hall Auditorium. The number of G&S productions declined to one per year in 1968-70. The interests of Oberlin students during the late ‘60s were understandably directed more towards social politics than student theater, and in the spring of 1970, while the attention of all was directed towards Kent State University, two things failed to happen. No executive board was elected for 1970/71, and the traditional December slot in Hall Auditorium was not reserved for the Gilbert and Sullivan Players.
Students who had been involved in recent G&S shows were invited to revive the organization, and what resulted was a “student organization with financial support, supervision and encouragement for the Music and Theater Department of the Conservatory of Music.” This second G&S Players produced G&S operettas sporadically in Hall Auditorium until 1975. After that year, the G&S Players were limited to continuing their collaborations, begun in 1973, with the also weakened Mummer’s Guild, on non-G&S works. These included Anything Goes and Kismet, and were most often produced in Wilder Main Lounge. The last of these collaborations, Candide, did get a Hall slot, but it marked the end of student-run theater in Hall Auditorium. In the fall of 1978, all the student theater groups on campus (including G&S and the Mummers) merged into the Oberlin Student Theater Association (OSTA), which is still operating.
In the fall of 1980, Gayden Wren ‘83, dissatisfied that no G&S operetta had been produced in five years, began work towards the chartering of a new student organization, dedicated particularly to the production of G&S. This naturally caused distress among OSTA leadership, still very aware of their role as a coalition of near-defunct organizations. They maintained that G&S was but one of many OSTA projects, and that after the energetic Wren had graduated no need would be felt for an independent G&S Players. Nonetheless, perhaps owing to strong alumni sympathy (and nostalgia), G&S got its charter, and has produced 25 G&S operettas since then, and 3 commencement shows. Twelve of the thirteen performable G&S operettas have been produced since 1980, as well as a performance of Cox and Box, by Sullivan and Burnand. The current third Gilbert and Sullivan Players differ from the first two in that it is entirely student-run in all areas, including administration. The productions in general have less traditional D’Oyly Carte polish, but more daring innovation. Outrageously different interpretations of the operas, which would not be possible under any other conditions, have been extremely popular with students and experienced alumni alike. Despite a near collapse in 1986, sailing has been relatively smooth for G&S, and since 1988 growth has been steady. A new, more specific charter was adopted in November 1989, and passed by the General Faculty in May 1990. Relations between OSTA and G&S have been steadily improving since 1988, and recently overtures for increased communication with the Theater and Dance Department have been received by both student organizations. Gilbert and Sullivan is definitely alive and well at Oberlin, and looking for opportunities to grow and improve.
(History of G&S from 1966-1990 by David Zajic).2
SOURCES CONSULTED
1The Oberlin College Gilbert and Sullivan Players, 1949 - 1966: Its past with recommendations for the future. Prepared by Hayden Boyers, c. November 1966. Located in RG 19/3/3 case file.
2Continued History of the Oberlin Gilbert and Sullivan Players, 1966-1990. David Zajic, 1989/90 President of the Oberlin Gilbert and Sullivan Players, May 21, 1990. Located in RG 19/3/3 case file.
Author: Carol Jacobs and David M. Zajic Forms of Material (links to similar genres) Administrative InformationThe first lot of records (mostly early financial records and a few programs up to about 1968) was received prior to 1987, along with records of the Oberlin Dramatic Association. The next lot of materials came in January, 1990, courtesy of David Zajic, president of the Gilbert & Sullivan Players, 1989-90, and covered the period from the 1960's to the present. Mr. Zajic assisted with the preliminary arrangement and description of these records. The records, which he deposited on behalf of the student group, included materials of the current Gilbert & Sullivan Players as well as items sent to him by previous members of the Gilbert & Sullivan Players, Ellen Weiss, Muriel Minot, and founding member Ellen Uhrbrock. Programs from the 1950s were received from the Oberlin College Library, Special Collections, in 2001.
Additional materials were received from private donors and College offices between 2002 and 2007.
The major group of related materials may be found in the papers of the former director of the Gilbert & Sullivan Players, Hayden Boyers, 30/56. Included in that collection are twelve scrapbooks of deteriorating news clippings, 1950-1967. All but the earliest scrapbook deal with the Gilbert & Sullivan Players' summer productions on Cape Cod. Other Gilbert & Sullivan materials in the Boyers collection include a folder of scripts and libretti and about 1.2 linear feet of audio-visual materials such as slides, photos, filmstrips and reel tapes.
Another source of records for the Gilbert & Sullivan Players is the files of the Student Union Office. Those files contain such records as officer lists for the past fifteen years, office use agreements, descriptions of the organization and charters (1949, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1990).
A final source of related materials is in "Reunion Weekends," a series in Record Group 20, "Oberlin Alumni Association." The file on the 1986 Gilbert & Sullivan Players' Reunion in 1986 includes a description of the reunion weekend, a program of the revue "Sufficiently Decayed," list of participants, correspondence, text of "Sufficiently Decayed" in handwriting of Smith Brittingham, photos, and participation forms.
Although Gilbert and Sullivan operettas have been produced at Oberlin at least since the 1930’s, the Oberlin Gilbert and Sullivan Players, as a group, was formed in 1949. The first production, The Pirates of Penzance, took place in 1950. The bulk of records cover the period 1949-1990. The collection occupies 4.95 linear feet. A few financial records from Gilbert and Sullivan productions of the 1930’s and 1940’s can be found in Series 4, “Financial Records.”
The history of the Gilbert and Sullivan Players is detailed in a number of documents: a history by Hayden Boyers (director of Gilbert and Sullivan productions from 1949-1966) covering the years 1949-66; a history by David Zajic (Class of 1990 and president of Gilbert and Sullivan Players, 1989-90) covering the years 1966-90; program notes from productions in 1960 and 1989 describing the history of Gilbert and Sullivan on Cape Cod, and the Players in general; photocopies of clippings describing the formation and first season of the Gilbert and Sullivan Players.
The most comprehensive group of records is Series 4, which contains a nearly complete run of programs of all campus productions of the Gilbert and Sullivan Players, 1950-1990.
The photographic material (Series 11) lacks complete documentation. Some of it had original identification labels, some of it was identified by David Zajic, but much of it contains no identification marks whatsoever.
SERIES DESCRIPTION
Series 1. Charter, 1986, 1990, n.d.
The 1986 charter is a preliminary, unofficial document submitted by the officers of the G&S Players. The 1990 charter is the official document approved by the Student Life Committee in March, 1990. A memo by Clark Drummon, Coordinator of Student Activities, dated 8 May 1990, reports on the Gilbert and Sullivan Players' official status.
Series 2. Administrative Officers & Production Data, 1949-2002, n.d.
Contains a list of student officers and faculty advisors for all season, 1949/50-1990/91. Also included are a charts and lists detailing the following information: all Gilbert and Sullivan operettas produced by any Oberlin student group, all campus productions of the G&S Players, and the existence and location of programs and/or videotapes for each Gilbert and Sullivan production (most of these items were compiled by David Zajic). This series also contains five folders and one oversized computer printout of member rosters that list the names of Gilbert and Sullivan Players participants throughout most of the club’s history (1950-2002). While the information on each roster varies, the scope of these lists tends to include the names of each participant, the shows and years in which they performed, and often times, alumni contact information. Also found here is an “Official Guide for the Office of His/Her Majesty’s Royal Publicity Manager,” an instructional booklet compiled in 2000 for incoming publicity managers for the Gilbert and Sullivan players. The booklet contains tips for management as well as sample tickets, flyers, and publicity items.
Series 3. Correspondence, 1956-59, 1967-68, 1980-81, 1984-2004
The correspondence series consists of letters and memos of students and faculty associated with the G&S Players. The content of the correspondence mainly outlines the administrative business of the Gilbert and Sullivan players, including discussion and decisions regarding specific productions and as well as the future existence of the organization. A few letters of Hayden Boyers, and an undated petition form concerning production facilities of G&S Players, are included.
Series 4. Financial Records, 1938-1986, .2 l.f.
Includes six ledgers (five bound, one unbound): 1938-46, 1938-50, 1951-52, 1955-66, 1956-57, 1965-68. The 1955-66 and the 1965-68 volumes are oversize items. The 1955-66 volume contains financial records for 1955, and attendance records for the Players’ 1966 summer season at the Highfield Theater on Cape cod. One accordion file contains miscellaneous financial information: invoices and reimbursement forms, 1985; budget allocation sheets & budget request, 1984-5; financial statements, 1984-5; two notebooks of expenditures and receipts, 1982, 1985.
Series 5. Historical File, early 1950s, 1980-1986, 1990, 2000, n.d.
Found here is a variety of historical memorabilia for the Gilbert and Sullivan Players. In Oversized Box 3 are two scrapbooks of clippings, correspondence, photographs, and concert programs for Oberlin Gilbert and Sullivan productions during the early 1950s and 1980s. In the half-sized legal Box 3A are four folders of materials relating to the 50th anniversary of the Oberlin Gilbert and Sullivan Players. The 50th anniversary materials include alumni-submitted memories of experiences in OGASP, logistical correspondence relating to the reunion production, and a history of the founding of the organization, How the Gilbert and Sullivan Players Was Founded written by Gayden Wren. The historical file also contains a folder of miscellaneous notes and background information compiled by the president of the Gilbert and Sullivan Players, David Zajic (1990), for future leadership and planners.
Series 6. Programs, 1950-69, 1971-72, 1975, 1977, 1980-2004, n.d. .2 l.f.
Almost a complete run of programs for campus G&S productions can be found in this series. A list (compiled by David Zajic) of missing programs and what is known about them is included.
Series 7. Miscellaneous Information and Clippings, early 1950’s-2005, n.d.
This series contains two folders of newspaper clippings (1950-2005) regarding Oberlin Gilbert and Sullivan productions. Also found here is a sequence of internet printouts related to Gilbert and Sullivan plays, and more specifically the 1999 OGASP production of The Gondoliers. In Oversized Box 3, there are two large banners with signatures and handwritten memories from past OGASP participants. The series also contains two folders of miscellaneous items such as tickets, ticket order forms, and audition schedules (2000-2005).
Series 8. Prompt books, Scores, and Libretti 1963, 1986, 1996, n.d. 1.25 l.f.
Most of the prompt books in this series contain handwritten notes indicating staging and blocking instructions, or musical dynamics. Hayden Boyers’ name appears on many of them. One prompt book for Princess Ida is dedicated to Boyers by Robert A. Gibson (1958). This series contains prompt books, scores or libretti for the following operettas:
Cox and Box
Gondoliers
Iolanthe
The Mikado (stage guide & prompt book)
Patience
Princess Ida
Yeomen of the Guard
The Princess (The Three Princesses Project)
Series 9. Posters and Flyers, 1950, 1983, 1985-86, 1988, 1990-98, 2000, 2002
This series contains two folders posters and flyers for various G&S productions from 1950 and most of the organizations history from the 1980s to the present.
Series 10. Non-textual Materials, 1950-2004
The non-textual series is divided into three subseries. Subseries 1 consists of three boxes of photographs and slides. These materials are arranged by title of production and include documentation of OGASP performances of Ruddigore, The Pirates of Penzance, Iolanthe, The Grand Duke, Trial By Jury, The Yoemen of the Guard, Patience, The Gondoliers, The Sorcerer, Bartleby, The Mikado and Very Truly Yours, the 50th anniversary OGASP production. Also included are two photographic scrapbooks of various productions and two folders of miscellaneous and/or unidentified photographs.
Subseries 2 houses four boxes of videotapes of OGASP productions such as The H.M.S. Pinafore, Trial By Jury, and Princess Ida among others, spanning from 1983 to the present day. Please consult the inventory section of the finding guide for a complete listing of videotapes.
The third subseries is made up of compact discs, floppy discs, and cassette tapes. Most of the computer discs contain programs, pictures, cast lists, and production data for various productions as well as general administrative information for the OGASP organization. Please see the inventory for a complete listing of discs and cassettes.
Series 11. Cape Cod Productions, 1950s and 1960s, n.d.
In the 1950s and 60s, the Oberlin Gilbert and Sullivan Players would perform multiple operettas in Cape Cod, Massachusetts during the summertime. Most of the OGASP Cape God shows were performed at the Highland Theater in Falmouth, Massachusetts. Series 11 contains historical files, newspaper clippings, programs, scripts, libretti, prompt books, photographs, slides, posters, and miscellaneous information for these productions.
Series 12. Newsletters, 1999-2000
The newsletters series holds one folder consisting of three OGASP-related publications: Taradiddle, the OGASP Newsletter, and VTY2K: The Newsletter. The issues of Taradiddle and VTY2K mainly cover developments and plans for the 50th anniversary celebration of OGASP’s existence. The issue of the OGASP Newsletter has articles concerning productions and the history of specific Gilbert and Sullivan operettas.
Series ??. (As of July 31, 2007, missing) .1 l.f.
Most of these have handwritten staging notes. Scripts or libretti for the following operettas are included:
La Belle Helene
The Gypsy Baron
The Sorcerer
Trial By Jury
The Princess