In 2001 and 2002, Peter Harris interviewed various persons associated with Texas Tech University Department of Theatre and Dance. He also donated older interviews, though the person doing the interviewing has not been identified. Individuals interviewed include:
Richard A. Weaver was a professor, department chair and director of the department from 1972-1997. During Weaver's tenure a department chair, several degree programs were created, including a theatre management program.
Professor George W. Sorensen directed more than 125 productions during his tenure at Texas Tech from 1976-1996. Sorensen also taught theatre arts at Abilene Cooper High School, Hardin Simmons University and Texas Christian University.
Norman A. Bert was chair of the theatre department from 1995-2001, and is currently still a professor there.
Dorothy (Rushing) Walton was part of the Texas Technological College class of 1932. In her oral history, she discusses the very earliest period of Theatre at Texas Tech, including profiles of Professors Ruth Pirtle and Annah Jo Pendleton, the first two directors of Speech, and anecdotes about plays presented by Sock and Buskin, a theatre organization set up in the first days of the college. Mrs. Walton was present when Texas Tech's location was first announced in 1923, and took part in a parade preceding the laying of the Administration Building cornerstone in 1924.
Thomas V. (Jeff) Coffey, class of 1942, and his wife, Kiti, were also members of Sock and Buskin. Their most important theatrical work was with The Varsity Show, a major student-produced variety show in 1941-1942.
Dr. Roland Myers was a theatre student from 1956 to 1965 and frequently participant in theatrical shows as actor, director, and designer.
The collection consists of 6 oral history interviews on cassette tape and printed notes on these interviews. The notes contain a full list of topics discussed, relating to developments in the department from 1972 to 2002. They are mainly summaries of the discussions and are not word-for-word unless quotations are used.
Major topics covered include the state of theatre in Lubbock in 1972; the development of the graduate program; the role of Texas Tech in the American College Theatre Festival; adjustments in the presentation schedule to cover the changing economic climate; and the controversies surrounding the hiring of four new professors in 1988 and the refusal to renew one professor's contract in 1990.
The collection is arranged in chronological order.
The subject headings used by the Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library are derived from the Library of Congress and/or locally developed.
Collection accession #(s):
Gifts, 2002
Open for research
Lynn Whitfield, December 2002
University Theatre Records, 1990 and 2002, Southwest Collection/Special Collections Library, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas
Clifford Ashby Papers, 1977
Drama (Lubbock, Tex.) Papers, 1960-1966
Jean Grossman Papers, 1944-1966
Ronald E. Shulz Papers, 1926-1985
University Theatre Records, 1929-1975
University Theatre Records, 1943-1999
University Theatre Records, 1943-1999 and undated
University Theatre Records, 1950-2000