Guthrie Theater Archives

Summary Information

Title: Guthrie Theater Archives
Dates: 1957-[ongoing]
Creator: Guthrie Theater
Extent: 410 cubic feet
Location: Mezzanine, AV Room, High Bay
Language: English
Collection Number: PA 3
Abstract:

Collection includes play production material for every production staged, including promptbooks; correspondence; information on members of the theater company, including biographical sketches, résumés, and photos; lighting plans, stage plans and layouts, dressing room assignments, notes kept by the stage manager during rehearsals, and rehearsal schedules; equity files; purchase orders; office memos; scrapbook of clippings concerning theater productions and affairs; and programs, brochures, flyers, and news releases produced for the theater and The Other Place, its experimental outgrowth.

Repository: University of Minnesota Libraries. Performing Arts Archives, Manuscripts Division

Access and Use

Acquisition Information:

Initial donation was in 1966. Materials are added to the collection on a regular basis.

Access Restrictions:

Access to unpublished documents is restricted; permission to view and reproduce material is allowed only with permission of the Guthrie Theater. Please contact the archivist for details.

Copyright:

The Guthrie Theater retains copyright to materials in the collection

Processing Information:

The collection was initally processed by Inez Waltman Bergquist in 1984. Barbara Bezat has processed production materials as they arrive; other collection series have not been processed in detail since 1984.

This finding aid was written by Leslie Czechowski, 2004.

Preferred Citation:

Guthrie Theater Archives (PA 3), Performing Arts Archives, University of Minnesota Libraries, Minneapolis.

Arrangement

The collection is organized in six series:

• Series 1. Production Materials
• Series 2. Audio-Visual Materials
• Series 3. Publications
• Series 4. Reviews and General Information
• Series. 5. Administrative Files
• Series 6. Company Files

Historical Note

The idea of the theater began in 1959 during a series of conversations among Tyrone Guthrie and two colleagues -- Oliver Rea and Peter Zeisler -- who were disenchanted with Broadway. They wanted to create a theater with a resident acting company that would perform the classics. In Minneapolis/St. Paul a steering committee was formed to bring theater to the Twin Cities. The T.B. Walker Foundation donated the land behind the Walker Art Center for a building and contributed $400,000 for construction. The steering committee agreed to raise at least $900,000 from the community. The new theater was completed in 1963, planned by architect Ralph Rapson with a 1,441-seat thrust stage designed by Tanya Moiseiwitsch. The Guthrie Theater opened on May 7, 1963 with a production of Hamlet directed by Sir Tyrone Guthrie, the theater's founder.

Artistic Directors. Sir Tyrone Guthrie was the Artistic Director from 1963 through 1966 and thereafter returned to direct each year until 1969. In 1966 Guthrie's protégé, actor/director Douglas Campbell, took over as Artistic Director. Michael Langham was Artistic Director from 1971 to 1977. He was a respected colleague of Tyrone Guthrie and came to the Guthrie after 12 years as Artistic Director of Canada's Stratford Festival Theatre. In 1977 the Guthrie Board appointed their first American Artistic Director, Alvin Epstein, who had worked as an actor and director primarily at the Yale Repertory Theatre. In 1980, an international search for Epstein's successor resulted in the appointment of Liviu Ciulei, former Artistic Director of the Bulandra Theatre in Romania.

After Ciulei's resignation in 1985, the Board concluded that the next Artistic Director should be the single head of the organization and they wanted an Artistic Director committed to a resident acting company, to the classical repertory, and with a vision for the Guthrie as a leader in American Theater. Garland Wright was selected as the sixth Artistic Director of the Guthrie Theater. Joe Dowling, internationally-known director who was affiliated with Ireland's the Abbey Theatre, was named Artistic Director in 1995.

Smaller theater spaces. In 1968 the Guthrie began presenting work on smaller stages, a tradition that has continued and evolved through the years. From 1968 to 1971 productions were staged at the 500-seat Crawford-Livingston Theater in St. Paul. In addition, the Guthrie presented three seasons (1968-71) at The Other Place, a 200-seat theater just two blocks away from the mainstage. The Other Place was an alternative theater that experimented with new plays and methods of production.

When The Other Place was torn down for urban renewal, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation awarded a grant for another theater--Guthrie 2, located on Washington Avenue near the University of Minnesota. This space helped the Guthrie fulfill its responsibility to the ongoing development of its artists and to the American theater. The Guthrie 2 program continued until 1978. Garland Wright was also committed to the idea of a second performing space, and created the Guthrie Laboratory located at 700 North First Street in the Minneapolis Warehouse District. The Laboratory was established to provide a facility to explore and develop new work and performance techniques with the purpose of enhancing the actors' skills.

In the 21st century the Guthrie is building a new multistage theater center on the banks of the Mississippi River designed by Jean Nouvel and scheduled to open in 2005. The complex will include three stages: a classic thrust stage for the classics, a proscenium stage for the more intimate classics, and a studio theater for developing the classics of tomorrow.

A more complete history of the Guthrie Theater is available from their Web site at: http://www.guthrietheater.org/act_II/history.htm

Collection Scope and Content Note

The collection contains play production material for every production staged, including promptbooks, lighting plans, stage plans and layouts, dressing room assignments, notes kept by the stage manager during rehearsals, and rehearsal schedules; correspondence, largely of the managing director and his aides, information on members of the theater company, including biographical sketches, résumés, and photos;equity files; purchase orders; office memos; scrapbook of clippings concerning theater productions and affairs; and programs, brochures, flyers, and news releases produced for the theater and The Other Place, its experimental outgrowth.

Related Material

The Minnesota Historical Society has materials in their collection that relate to the Guthrie Theater.

The Guthrie Theater maintains a chronological list of productions on their Web site.

An unpublished finding aid with detailed lists of contents is available in the archives.

Subject Terms

Index Terms

• This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the University of Minnesota Libraries. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.
• Guthrie Theater -- Archives
• Theater -- Production and direction -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis -- History -- Sources
• Theater -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis. -- History -- Sources

Summary of Collection

Location		Title
		Series 1. Production Materials
		Prompt books and other production materials, 1963 - [ongoing] ((190 boxes))   Note These materials include prompt books, technical information, photos, artistic directions that go into the actual production of the play. They are for Mainstage, Guthrie Lab, and tour productions and for St. Paul & T.O.P. productions from 1967-1970. May include prompt book, cast lists, performance reports, music, rehearsal schedules, scene breakdowns, technical notes, script, costume sketches, ground plan, etc. Filed by season
		Costume bibles, 1963 - [ongoing]  Note These include original costume designs, swatches of fabric, and other materials relating to costumes. Arranged by season
		Scenic designs, 1963-1980  Note Designs for each show may range from one sheet to multiple sheets and may include ground plans, detail drawings, blueprints, elevations, shop drawings, etc. Includes plans for the Crawford Livingston Theatre, St. Paul, 1963-1969
		Series 2. Audio-Visual Materials
		Reel-to-reel audio tapes, 1963-1970 ((ca. 75 tapes))   Note Includes interviews, lectures, speeches, symposiums, etc. Includes Sir Tyrone Guthrie's profile by the National Educational Television Network. Includes "Backstage at the Guthrie Theatre," 1963: discussions with leading actors, directors, & designers including Zoe Caldwell, Lee Richardson, Tyrone Guthrie, Jessica Tandy, Tanya Moiseiwitsch, and Hume Cronyn.
		Production reel-to-reel audio tapes, 1965-1978, 1983 ((24 boxes))   Note Arranged alphabetically by play title.
		Audio cassette tapes, 1973-1984 (?), 1989-1990 ((6 boxes))   Note Includes a wide variety of content: interviews (some from radio and television), production tapes, rehearsal tapes.
		Videocassette tapes, 1976-1992, undated ((19 boxes))   Note Includes production tapes, workshops, publicity tapes, tapes from television shows, etc. Also includes printouts of interviews of noted actors, directors, stagehands, architect Ralph Rapson, etc. for the video, "Onstage! 25 Years at the Guthrie," KTCA-TV (no date).
		Tyrone Guthrie films, 1973, no date   Note "Arturo Ui" and "Becket" among others
		Phonograph records
		Photographs
		Photographs and negatives, 1963-1975 ((205 items))   Note Includes portraits, head shots, production photos, etc.
		Production slides, 1975-1981 ((2 boxes))
		Series 3. Publications
		Publications, 1961 - [ongoing] ( (19 boxes))   Note Includes press packets, duplicate programs, study guides, photographs, posters, and an assortment of publications. Arranged chronologically.
		Programs, 1963 - [ongoing] ((8 boxes))   Note Arranged by calendar year
		Series 4. Reviews and General Information
		Reviews, 1963-1994 ((12 boxes))   Note Arranged chronologically
		General information, 1963-1994 ((21 boxes))   Note Contains unbound scrapbook pages that include clippings about the theater.
		Series 5. Administrative Files
		Equity and non-Equity contracts, 1960-1967   Note Contains correspondence and contracts between Guthrie Theater and members of Minnesota Theatre Company chiefly pertaining to matters of compensation. Most of these materials are restricted; correspondence and other material contained in these files which does not discuss salary terms may be consulted. Curator may make this material available on request.
		General correspondence from the front office, 1957-1971  Note Subjects include: general information, employment and employment requests, insurance, arrangements for guests and tours, box office and budgets, financial reports, community and educational programs, and correspondence with foundations. Filed by calendar year
		Group sales   Note Filed by year.
		Purchase orders   Note Filed by year.
		Series 6. Company Files, ca. 1963-1967  Note Contains folders of information about members of the Minnesota Theatre Company including biographical sketches or career resumes, photos, correspondence, and other information. See also Administrative Files that contain restricted records about company members.