The Harry Ransom Center announces the appointment of Eric Colleary as Cline Curator of Theater and Performing Arts. In this position, Colleary will oversee research, access, and interpretation of the Ransom Center’s theater and performing arts materials.
“This appointment signals the Ransom Center’s continued commitment to its already deep theater and performing arts collections, and we can look forward to the many ways Eric will engage students and scholars in the thoughtful exploration of these holdings,” said Ransom Center Director Steve Enniss.
Colleary is currently a visiting professor of performance studies and history in the Department of Theatre and Dance at Macalester College in Saint Paul, MN. He holds a doctorate in Theater Historiography from the University of Minnesota. Previously, Colleary was an archivist and volunteer with the Tretter Collection of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Studies at the University of Minnesota Libraries since 2009, where he organized the exhibition “Stonewall at 40: The Gay and Lesbian Rights Movement in America.” He currently serves on committees for the Theatre Library Association and the American Theatre Archives Project.
“The theater and performing arts collections at the Ransom Center are among the very best in the world,” said Colleary. “I am honored to be joining such a talented team, and I look forward to continuing to develop these collections and engaging with new audiences.”
The Ransom Center has extensive holdings of major American and British dramatists including David Hare, Lillian Hellman, David Mamet, Arthur Miller, George Bernard Shaw, Tom Stoppard, and Tennessee Williams, among others. Within these archives are manuscripts, correspondence, notes, photographs, and performance programs and ephemera.
The performing arts collections contain materials documenting a wide variety of performance genres in the United Kingdom and America. The collections feature holdings in theater, dance, costume and scenic design, opera, and popular entertainments, such as the circus, vaudeville, minstrel shows, puppetry, and magic. The creative process, from concept and staging to publication and revival, constitutes the primary focus of these collections.
Colleary begins his position on July 1.
