MS 37 Georgia Shakespeare Festival Collection

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.