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Dear colleagues: Established in 2009, the American Theatre Archive Project (ATAP) is an initiative of the American Society of Theatre Research (ASTR) that supports theatre makers in archiving records of their work for the benefit of artists, scholars, patrons, and the public. To date, ATAP-assisted companies include ArtsWest, Atlantic Theater Company, Book-It Repertory Theatre, Cherry Lane Theatre, HERE, Jobsite Theatre, New York Theatre Workshop, Rude Mechs, Teatro Vivo, and ZACH Theatre. We invite your support as we continue our mission to preserve the legacy of the American theatre. ATAP is now a permanent ASTR committee. Participants in the November 2014 annual conference of ASTR in Baltimore will notice a number of aspects of the committee's work. In particular: ·       During the morning of Thursday, November 20, ATAP will hold a Training Workshop for Baltimore-area archivists and documentarians at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront. Workshop participants will form the ATAP Baltimore team and work with area theatre companies in the years to come. ·       On Thursday from 5:45–7:15 p.m., local...

A free ATAP training session will be held in Room Essex C at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront hotel on Thursday, November 20, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. to introduce area archivists, dramaturgs, and scholars to the process through which theatre companies establish an archival program -- the ATAP Initiation Program. A diverse group of archivists, librarians, teachers, students, and theatre professionals is expected to attend. The workshop is being conducted in conjunction with the American Society for Theatre Research/Theatre Library Association’s annual conference, “What Performs?,”  in Baltimore from November 20-November 22, 2014. Training session participants will also have the opportunity to attend a conference panel discussion with Baltimore theatre administrators and artists, and are invited to the opening conference reception. Learn more about ATAP and this special opportunity by visiting americantheatrearchiveproject.org  and/or contacting communications {at} americantheatrearchiveproject {dot} org. ATAP is a network of archivists, dramaturgs, and scholars dedicated to preserving the legacy of the American theatre operating under an initiative of the American Society for Theatre Research...

TACOMA, Wash. – In June of 2015 dramaturgs from around North America will gather in New York City to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas (LMDA)—an international service organization representing these theater arts professionals. University of Puget Sound will play a central role in the year leading up to the conference by partnering with LMDA in revisiting the history of the organization and the field. As of May 2014 Puget Sound’s Collins Memorial Library became the official archive for LMDA. This summer thousands of audio, visual, photographic, and paper records, which have been in temporary storage since the late 1990s, will be moved, arranged, described, and made available for public viewing in the library. Geoff Proehl, chair of the university’s Department of Theatre Arts, and Sara Freeman ’95, associate professor of theatre arts, will work with Puget Sound’s archivist, Katie Henningsen, to manage the collection. “Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of the Americas has maintained a close professional relationship with University of Puget...

This newsletter includes highlights of recent developments, team activity, and training events for the American Theatre Archive Project (ATAP). International Association of Libraries and Museums of Performing Arts (SIBMAS)/Theatre Library Association Conference: “Body, Mind, Artifact” – New York City, June 10-14, 2014 ATAP Steering Committee Members Susan Brady and Helice Koffler will present on the American Theatre Archive Project as part of the New Paradigms in Performance Documentation Plenary at the SIBMAS-TLA Conference at John Jay College in New York City June 13, 2014. The full conference program can be found here:  http://www.sibmas.org/conferences/new-york-2014-invitation/conference-programme/. American Society of Theatre Research/Theatre Library Association Conference: “What Performs” – Baltimore, Maryland, November 20-23, 2014 In addition to a working session, “ATAP in Process:  What makes an Archive Perform?,” ATAP plans to conduct a training session for archivists, documentarians, and theatre organizations for the formation and implementation of the American Theatre Archive Project in the Baltimore area.  More information is available here:  http://www.astr.org/. Team Activity Austin:  Work with the Rude Mechanicals has concluded with the...

AMERICAN THEATRE ARCHIVE PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS www.americantheatrearchiveproject.org April 10, 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. The ATAP Working Session proposal has been accepted for the 2014 ASTR-TLA Convention November 20-November 23 in Baltimore, MD.  The call for papers for the working session will be posted to the ATAP listserv later this month. 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.  Oscar G. Brockett Center for Theatre History celebrated the opening of the Oscar G. Brockett archive. Boston:  ATAP Boston held their monthly meeting and discussed recruitment ideas. Florida:  ATAP Florida continues its collaboration with Jobsite Theater, welcoming a new team member, Audry Collins-Buchanan, and consulting on archival practices with Andy Huse, University Librarian and Archivist. Illinois:  Team member April Anderson recently blogged about the ISU...

Check out this blog post on a theatrical archive project at Illinois State: http://my.ilstu.edu/blogs/aander2/2014/03/17/what-were-working-on-illinois-shakespeare-festival-isu-school-of-theatre-and-dance/%C2%A0...

"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...