Category: News

"We have just discovered the American Theatre Project and want to thank you -- the collective you. For the last five years I, a volunteer, and now 12 volunteers, have been laboring on the San Francisco Opera Archives (budget limitations did not allow for an archivist to be hired). Many of us are former staff members, others subscribers with excellent computer skills, and some with some archive experience. Reading your well laid out document has been a thrill. So useful. I feel such gratitude to have the collective wisdom of you all. Thanks." Ann Faris, Volunteer Coordinator, San Francisco Opera Archives (email, March 17, 2014)...

AMERICAN THEATRE ARCHIVE PROJECT NEWSLETTER www.americantheatrearchiveproject.org March 3, 2014 This newsletter includes highlights of recent developments, team activity, and training events for the American Theatre Archives Project, an initiative of the American Society for Theatre Research. We are pleased to announce that the Northwest ATAP Team, led by Helice Koffler, has been awarded $5000to fund the ATAP Initiation Program for five King County theatre companies in the Seattle, Washington area through 4Culture.   The American Theatre Archive Project is featured in the March issue of American Theatre.  “No File Left Behind” by Nicole Estvanik Taylor describes the early days of ATAP and our mission to support theatre markers in archiving records for the benefit of artists, scholars, patrons, and the public. Team Activity Austin:  The Austin ATAP team, facilitated by the Oscar G. Brockett Center for Theatre History at the University of Austin, continues developing projects with the Rude Mechanicals, Teatro Vivo, and the ZACH Theatre.  In February 2014 the ZACH Theatre completed a “nooks and crannies” tour to survey...

Follow the link below for a profile article on ATAP in the Strategies section of AMERICAN THEATRE (March 2014): "No File Left Behind" by Nicole Estvanik Taylor http://www.tcg.org/publications/at/issue/strategies.cfm?indexID=42...

On Friday, November 8, ATAP will be represented at the annual conference of the American Society for Theatre Research and the Theatre Library Association with a working session entitled, "Expanding Scholarship Through the American Theatre Archive Project."  The following eight papers will be discussed: Claudia Case, City University of New York, Lehman College: "Teaching the Archive: A Graduate Seminar on Reconstructing Performance" Patrick Finelli, University of South Florida: "Broadway Visions: Digital Exhibit of American Scenographers—Boris Aronson" Shannon Fitzsimons, Northwestern University: "Work in Progress: Editorial Communities and New Play Development in Chicago Regional Theatre" Kristin Leahey, Northlight Theatre Company: "The Erased Legacy of Charlotte Chorpenning" Michael Kaufman, Temple University: "Teaching Drama Through Collaborations" Lillian Manzor, University of Miami: "Integrating Archival and New Media Work in the Undergraduate Classroom" Michelle Salerno, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign: "Archiving Inner Voices: Making Space for What Students Have to Say" Cynthia SoRelle, McClennan Community College: "ATAP and LMDA: Surveying the Landscape" Ken Cerniglia (Disney Theatrical Group) and Susan Brady (Yale University) will facilitate the session. The conference will take place...

Austin Theatre Symposium The Brockett Center at the University of Texas Department of Theatre and Dance, the American Theatre Archive Project, and the ZACH Theatre invite you to join us on Friday, September 6, from 7-9pm at ZACH’s Kleberg Stage (1510 Toomey Road, Austin, TX 78704) for a symposium on Austin theatre. The symposium will focus on the characteristics, history, and future of theatre in Austin. The discussion will include remarks from Robert Faires of the Austin Chronicle and a roundtable with members of the Austin theatre community, including the Rude Mechanicals, ZACH Theatre, and Teatro Vivo. Renowned theatre historian, Dr. Charlotte Canning of the University of Texas Department of Theatre and Dance, will moderate the conversation. The event is free and open to the public. For questions about this event, please contact Russ Dembin at the UT Department of Theatre and Dance: rdembin@utexas.edu. ATAP Training Session We would like to invite you to join us on Saturday, September 7, from 9am-1pm in the Winship Drama Building (room 1.134) for a training session the American Theatre...

ATAP is sponsoring a working session at the American Society for Theatre Research/Theatre Library Association conference at the Fairmont Dallas Hotel this coming November 7-10: Expanding Scholarship Through the American Theatre Archive Project (3 Hour Session) Conveners: Susan Brady, Yale University (susan.brady@yale.edu) and Ken Cerniglia, Disney Theatrical Group (ken.cerniglia@gmail.com) An initiative of the American Society for Theatre Research born at the 2009 Puerto Rico conference, the American Theatre Archive Project (ATAP) supports theatre makers in archiving records of their work for the benefit of artists, scholars, patrons, and the public. ATAP seeks: ·         To preserve records of current theatrical process and product for future generations. ·         To employ theatre legacy to develop theatres’ fiscal health and support new work. ·         To promote a better understanding of theatre as a vital element of cultural history. ·         To encourage scholarly research in contemporary American theatre. ·         To increase funding for establishing and maintaining theatre archives. ·         To support collaborations among theatre archivists, practitioners, and scholars. ATAP is a grassroots network of professional...

ATAP is seeking volunteers interested in helping theatres across the country establish and preserve their archives. Theatre scholars, archivists, librarians, students, historians, dramaturgs, and anybody with an interest in preserving theatre materials are welcome. A free ATAP training session will take place on Saturday, May 4th, 2013 from 9am-1pm at the Boston Public Library, 700 Boylston St., Boston, MA 02116. It will take place in the Mezzanine Conference Room, located on the mezzanine level of the Johnson Building. This training session will cover: The Pitch: a 20-minute lecture and Q&A session that any trained ATAP member can present at a conference, at a community meeting, or to a theatre’s board and is intended for theatre professionals who are interested in establishing an archives but have not yet committed to doing so. The ATAP Initiation Program: a collaboration between an archivist/documentarian team and a theatre company. It consists of three steps: the orientation, the assessment, and the workshop. The orientation and the workshop act as book-ends to the assessment,...

AMERICAN THEATRE ARCHIVE PROJECT www.americantheatrearchiveproject.org Fall 2012 Progress Report 29 October 2012 This progress report includes information on ATAP team activity, funding pursuits, and training development from the past quarter as well as fall objectives. Please send fall updates to ken.cerniglia@gmail.com by January 15 for inclusion in the Winter 2013 Progress Report. Teams Northwest – Helice Koffler, chair Implemented a monthly meeting schedule and continued to build capacity and identify local funding sources in Washington and Oregon. Added new members in Eugene and Salem as well as one who splits his time between Portland and Seattle and another who is based in Seattle and New York. Second year iSchool student from the University of Washington, Lydia Vernon, was hired to compile a comprehensive inventory of theatre holdings in the UW Special Collections with funding from the University of Washington Friends of the Libraries. Lydia officially began work on the project in October. Helice made initial contact with West Coast respondents to the Minneapolis survey (representing Alaska, California, and...

Check out the ATAP Member Handbook under RESOURCES -- the all-in-one place for theatre scholars, archivists, dramaturgs, and students to get oriented to the work we're doing....

by Martha Wade Steketee The American Theatre Archive Project New York City (ATAP NYC) team members have been meeting for a year at the New Amsterdam Theatre scheming ways to instill archival instincts in the American theatre world.  Team members are dramaturgs and archivists (and some are both) with a range of job situations.  Some work full time at area theatres as literary staff or archivists, some are freelance dramaturgs or other theatre professionals, and some are archivists who have a personal interest in the theatre arts while being employed at non-theatre organizations.  Speaking from our different professional perspectives at each monthly meeting, we revitalize our focus on our jointly-held goal: to develop the local, regional, national, professional imperative to archive the ephemeral evidence of theatrical productions.  Our contributions through this project, we feel, will develop tools and refine processes that can be adapted and used by theatres and communities of any sizes and types.  We will develop a cadre of trained archivists.  We also...