Georgia Shakespeare Festival Collection
1981-2014 [bulk 1985-1990]
MS 37
Descriptive Summary
Creator: Georgia Shakespeare Company
Title: Georgia Shakespeare Festival Collection
Dates: 1981-2014 [bulk 1985-1990]
Abstract: This collection consists of items and records of the Georgia Shakespeare Festival and its founding institution, the Atlanta Stage Company, with items from 1981 through 2014. Its main focus is the Georgia Shakespeare Festival’s founding and early years, from 1985 through 1990.
Quantity: 7 cubic feet
Processed by: Tabitha Franklin
Administrative History
Georgia Shakespeare was a professional, not-for-profit theatre company located in Atlanta, Georgia, on the campus of Oglethorpe University. Georgia Shakespeare produced plays annually, primarily between June and November. Each year, it welcomed 60,000 patrons to its performances. Lane Anderson, Richard Garner, and Robert Watson founded Georgia Shakespeare Festival in 1985. The company produced two plays each year, with its first offering being productions of The Taming of the Shrew and King Lear in rotating repertoire starting July 10, 1986.
The rising theatre company went through several locations in its first years. Its first season was on the Oglethorpe University front athletic field in a rectangular, white 60′ x 90′ tent with a seating capacity of 300. The theatre changed tents for its second season and was housed in a circular tent with a 90′ diameter. This new tent increased the seating capacity by 50. For the theatre’s fifth season, it moved into a 110′ diameter circular tent that seated 400. In 1991, Georgia Shakespeare expanded to three plays annually, and performed an adaptation of The Three Musketeers as its first work not written by William Shakespeare.
In its later years, the company has performed between three and seven plays per season. In 1997, Georgia Shakespeare opened its season in the $5.7 million John A. and Miriam H. Conant Performing Arts Center with The Tempest. The Conant Center has a 509-seat modified thrust stage, and it was this move that allowed the addition of a fall performance to the season schedule. In 2001, Georgia Shakespeare became a member of the League of Resident Theaters. It was one of only two theatres in the state to be a part of this league. Georgia Shakespeare filed for bankruptcy in 2014, and its collection of organization documents were donated to Oglethorpe University for archival and research purposes.
Description
This collection is arranged into three sections. Boxes 1-8 contain the archival records preserved by the Georgia Shakespeare Festival administration. Box 9 contains the second section, consisting of miscellaneous documents in the archive not related directly to the organization’s history, and also newsprint press articles about the organization. The third section, contained in Box 3D1, contains three-dimensional objects, such as framed drawings and awards.
The first section is arranged chronologically by year. Within each year range, the folders are arranged in the following order, if available: Programs, Marketing, Admin, Development, Financial Records, Education, Press, and Misc. This organization system was created in order to facilitate the search process, as the most likely sources of information are situated first in the hierarchy. In addition to the main folders, there are also sub-folders when applicable for larger groupings of documents that are unique or related in some way. For example, “The Folio” newspapers for a given year are thematically related and usually large, and so therefore they would be located under Misc. – “The Folio” Newspapers.
Restrictions
None.
Subject Headings
Performing Arts Festivals
Drama Festivals – United States – Georgia
Theatre Festivals
Folder List
Box 1
Folder 1: 1981-1984: ASC Financial Records
Folder 2: 1981-1984: ASC Financial Records
Folder 3: 1981-1984: ASC – Misc.
Folder 4: 1984-1985: Development – Mission Statement, By-Laws, and Organizational Development
Folder 5: 1984-1985: Development – Name Change and Incorporation Documents
Folder 6: 1984-1985: Development – Information Requests to Other Festivals
Folder 7: 1984-1985: Development – Seed Money Fundraising Campaign
Folder 8: 1984-1985: Development – Site Selection Process – Stone Mountain
Folder 9: 1984-1985: Development – Site Selection Process – Oglethorpe University
Folder 10: 1984-1985: Financial Records
Folder 11: 1984-1985: Misc. – Letters and Misc. Notes
Folder 12: 1984-1985: Misc. – Newsletters
Box 2
Folder 1: 1986: Programs
Folder 2: 1986: Marketing
Folder 3: 1986: Development
Folder 4: 1986: Financial Records
Folder 5: 1986: Press
Folder 6: 1986: Misc.
Folder 7: 1986: Misc. – Intern/Apprentice Documents
Folder 8: 1986: Misc. – Mailer Artwork and Design Process
Folder 9: 1986: Misc. – Newsletters
Folder 10: 1987: Programs
Folder 11: 1987: Marketing
Folder 12: 1987: Admin
Folder 13: 1987: Development
Folder 14: 1987: Development – Grant Packet
Folder 15: 1987: Financial Records
Folder 16: 1987: Misc.
Folder 17: 1987: Misc. – 1987 Board Retreat
Folder 18: 1987: Misc. – Bob Watson Resignation
Folder 19: 1987: Misc. – Newsletters
Folder 20: 1987: Misc. – Volunteer Committee Documents
Box 3
Folder 1: 1988: Programs
Folder 2: 1988: Marketing
Folder 3: 1988: Admin
Folder 4: 1988: Admin – ’86-’88 Annual Report Summary
Folder 5: 1988: Development
Folder 6: 1988: Development – 1988 Grant Packet
Folder 7: 1988: Financial Records
Folder 8: 1988: Press
Folder 9: 1988: Misc.
Folder 10: 1988: Misc. – ‘Folio’ Newsletters
Folder 11: 1989: Programs
Folder 12: 1989: Marketing
Folder 13: 1989: Admin
Folder 14: 1989: Admin – GSF Board Annual Report
Folder 15: 1989: Development
Folder 16: 1989: Development – 1989 Grant Packet
Folder 17: 1989: Financial Records
Folder 18: 1989: Education
Box 4
Folder 1: 1990: Programs – Souvenir Signed Lane Davies
Folder 2: 1990: Marketing
Folder 3: 1990: Admin – GSF Annual Meeting Report
Folder 4: 1990: Education
Folder 5: 1990: Press
Folder 6: 1990: Misc. – GSF Info Packet Sample
Folder 7: 1990: Misc. – Questionnaire and Analysis
Folder 8: 1991: Programs
Folder 9: 1991: Marketing
Folder 10: 1991: Admin
Folder 11: 1991: Education
Folder 12: 1991: Press
Folder 13: 1991: Misc.
Box 5
Folder 1: 1992: Programs
Folder 2: 1992: Marketing
Folder 3: 1992: Press
Folder 4: 1992: Misc.
Folder 5: 1992: Misc. – ‘Tent Talk’ Newsletters
Folder 6: 1993: Marketing
Folder 7: 1993: Misc.
Folder 8: 1993: Misc. – ‘The Folio’ Newspaper
Folder 9: 1994: Marketing
Folder 10: 1994: Education
Folder 11: 1994: Press
Folder 12: 1994: Misc. – ‘The Folio’ Newspaper
Folder 13: 1995: Marketing
Folder 14: 1995: Admin, Development, and Financial Records
Folder 15: 1995: Education
Folder 16: 1995: Misc. – ‘The Folio’ Newspaper
Folder 17: 1996: Marketing
Folder 18: 1996: Education
Folder 19: 1996: Misc. – ‘The Folio’ Newspaper
Box 6
Folder 1: 1997: Programs
Folder 2: 1997: Marketing
Folder 3: 1997: Admin – 1997 By-Laws Revision
Folder 4: 1997: Education
Folder 5: 1997: Press
Folder 6: 1997: Misc. – ‘The Folio’ Newspaper
Folder 7: 1997: Misc. – ‘The Trial of Iago’
Folder 8: 1998: Programs
Folder 9: 1998: Marketing
Folder 10: 1998: Admin and Financial Records
Folder 11: 1998: Education
Folder 12: 1998: Misc.
Folder 13: 1998: Misc. – 1998 Bard’s Bash: ‘Two Stars in One Sphere”
Folder 14: 1998: Misc. – ‘The Folio’ Newspaper
Folder 15: 1998: Misc. – Shakespeare Theatre Association of America (STAA) Annual Convention
Folder 16: 1998: Misc. – ‘The Trial of Macbeth’s Witches’
Box 7
Folder 1: 1999: Programs
Folder 2: 1999: Marketing
Folder 3: 1999: Education
Folder 4: 1999: Misc.
Folder 5: 1999: Misc. – ‘The Folio’ Newspaper
Folder 6: 1999: Misc. – ‘The Wrongful Death of Romeo and Juliet’
Folder 7: 2000: Development – Capital Campaign
Folder 8: 2000: Misc.
Folder 9: 2001: Misc.
Folder 10: 2002: Misc.
Folder 11: 2002: Misc. – ‘Setting the Stage’ Capital Campaign Final Report
Folder 12: 2003: Misc.
Folder 13: 2004: Misc.
Folder 14: 2005: Misc.
Folder 15: 2006: Misc.
Folder 16: 2007: Misc.
Box 8
Folder 1: 2008: Misc.
Folder 2: 2009: Misc.
Folder 3: 2010: Misc.
Folder 4: 2011: Misc.
Folder 5: 2012: Misc.
Folder 6: 2013: Misc.
Folder 7: 2014: Misc.
Folder 8: Undated: Marketing
Folder 9: Undated: Admin
Folder 10: Undated: Admin – By-Laws Documentation
Folder 11: Undated: Education
Folder 12: Undated: Misc.
Box 9 (ovz.)
Box 3D1
Sketches – costumes
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation:
Please cite Georgia Shakespeare Festival Collection, MS 37, Archives, Philip Weltner Library, Oglethorpe University, Atlanta, Georgia. Permission to publish from this collection must be approved in writing by the Director of the Library, Oglethorpe University.