The History - 1956-1966

A Sign of the Times

Theatre has always been a reflection of the society in which it plays. The third decade of the Department of Drama's growth saw an increased effort to match the changing climate of the world.

The department started its new decade in new facilities. The season opened in the fall of 1956 in the new Drama building, known today as The Marroney Theatre, with a production of Hamlet. This new theatre was the best facility in the state and influenced the construction of theatres statewide. Before another ten years could pass, the department realized more space was needed in order to meet the more experimental needs of the faculty and students. The addition of the Park Theatre and an adjacent building gave the department room to experiment with new and innovative techniques in theatre, which would allow for greater educational opportunities and better training for the students. The new space allowed the department to expand experimental theatre and laboratory theatre programs.

The need for these experimental spaces was due in large part to the changing climate of the theatrical world. To facilitate students' entry into the professional theatre world, the graduate program was reorganized to include an experimental theatre program, which gave graduate directors the opportunity to handle the entire creative process and mount their own productions. Among the shows produced by the graduate in the experimental theatre were Murder in the Cathedral, Waiting for Godot, The Sandbox, Escurial, and several original plays.

More reorganization occurred in the summer of 1957, when a summer program was initiated to meet the increased production demands of both the students and the Tucson audience. The inaugural summer season included productions of The Man by Mel Dinelli and The time of The Cuckoo by Arthur Laurents.

One of the unique endavors of the department at this time was an exchange program with the Academia de Arte Dramatico de la Universidad de Sonora (the Departmtne of Dramatic Art at the University of Sonora) in Hermosillo in 1958. The exchange as part of a program launched by the agriculture division of the Rockefeller Foundation, aimed at creating a friendly and receptive climate for international cooperation in fine arts and humanities as well as the sciences. The group from the University of Sonora first presented their production of En la Ardiente Oscuridad (The Burning Darkness) to Tucson audiences. In return, the department, spearheaded by Peter Marroney, took a production of Lorca's Blood Wedding to Hermosillo.

The following year, the University of Sonora brought another production to Tucson, this time a Spanish adaptation of a Victorian thriller, Luces de Gas (Gaslight). The last of the exchange lays, the department's production of Montserrat, traveled to Hermosillo in December of 1959. Unfortunately, the program's funding was pulled shortly thereafter following the confusion caused by the Mexican government's discovery of a cache of weapons connected to the University of Sonora.

During the 1963-64 season the department, along with many American and English theatres, was involved in the celebration of Shakespeare's quadricentennial. The department's season revolved around productions of Much Ado About Nothing which toured to Yuma, and Othello. In addition, graduate student Paul Emerson produced As You Like It and Macbeth at the Temple of Music and Art.

Recognition of the quality of the department's work during this time came from a variety of different scholarships and outside funding. In 1962, the Pauline Landon Memorial Scholarship was formed to assist drama students. Landon had attended the University of Arizona from 1953 to 1957, and went on to the Pasadena Playhouse. In addition, stipends for scholarships cam from The Steve Miller foundation and the Sam S. Shubert foundation. These stipends were for the areas of playwriting, directing, and acting, and continued for several years.