For archivist Katherine Mosley, processing the papers of actors Anne Jackson and Eli Wallach felt like joining their social circle.
[Read more…] about Getting to know Anne Jackson and Eli Wallach through their archive
Theatre + Performing Arts
An Inside Look into the Internship in the Performing Arts Collection
Cassidy Schulze is a senior in the Liberal Arts Honors program pursuing degrees in History and Humanities. She holds the Internship in the Performing Arts Collection at the Ransom Center for the 2017-2018 academic year and is currently writing her honors thesis “Archiving and Curating the Ephemerality of Theatre.” Cassidy spoke about what she is learning, her favorite projects, and how her internship has impacted her academic life. [Read more…] about An Inside Look into the Internship in the Performing Arts Collection
Life on the circuit seen through poster repairs
Make-do repairs helped preserve the history of vaudeville
Collection items that have been selected for exhibition frequently come to the paper lab for repair and stabilization before they are prepared for exhibition. Recently, conservators Kimberley Kwan (above) and Jane Boyd repaired several late nineteenth-century lithographic posters for inclusion in the exhibition Vaudeville!
[Read more…] about Life on the circuit seen through poster repairs
Vaudeville Film Series runs throughout May
During the month of May, the Ransom Center hosts the free Vaudeville Film Series in conjunction with its exhibition Vaudeville!, which is on display through July 15. For more than a century, vaudeville was the most popular form of American entertainment and one of the country’s largest cultural exports. [Read more…] about Vaudeville Film Series runs throughout May
Theatre critic Mel Gussow’s legendary interviews available online
by Ellen Cunningham-Kruppa and Eric Colleary
British and American theatre history preserved in candid recordings
Mel Gussow was the lead cultural critic for the New York Times for more than 40 years. Throughout his career, he recorded interviews with stars and unknowns of the American and British theatre. [Read more…] about Theatre critic Mel Gussow’s legendary interviews available online
Grappling with the past: On exhibiting minstrelsy materials
The decision to include collection material depicting blackface minstrelsy in our exhibition on vaudeville is a decision we do not take lightly. Minstrelsy is part of the history of American performance and vaudeville. We have a responsibility not to hide this troubling history, but also to display it in such a way that it is clear that we are not celebrating it. [Read more…] about Grappling with the past: On exhibiting minstrelsy materials