Montana Masquers scrapbook, 1947-1953

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Montana State University (Missoula). Montana Masquers (Theater group).
Title
Montana Masquers scrapbook
Dates
1947-1953 (inclusive)
Quantity
1 scrapbook
Collection Number
Rg 065
Summary
The Montana Masquers scrapbook includes newsclippings, photographs and some programs from Montana State University's (now the University of Montana-Missoula) Montana Masquers theatrical productions from 1947 to 1953.
Repository
University of Montana, Mansfield Library, Archives and Special Collections
Archives and Special Collections
Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library
University of Montana
32 Campus Dr. #9936
59812-9936
Missoula, MT
Telephone: 406-243-2053
library.archives@umontana.edu
Access Restrictions

Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of Archives and Special Collections, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, and The University of Montana-Missoula.

Languages
English.

Historical NoteReturn to Top

Active from 1904 to 1978, the Montana Masquers student group at the University of Montana’s School of Fine Arts was originally organized as the Quill and Dagger Society to stage theatrical productions. Daniel Bandman, a professional actor who had retired to Montana, helped stage the first play. By 1918, the group became the Masquer Theatre Organization, then later the Montana Masquers. In the 1920s Professor Carl Glick helped establish the first permanent home for the Masquers on campus in Simpkins Hall. Simpkins had been used to handle the influx of trainees during World War I. Names of prominent theatre people dot the University's drama history. John Mason Brown, who later became an internationally known drama critic, helped launch the UM program. Alexander Dean, whose text on directing was the "bible" for a generation of theatre students established, with his wife Virginia, a theatre scholarship, funding it with royalties from his textbook. After leaving UM, Donal Harrington appeared on Broadway and then headed the theatre department at the University of Washington. Charles Dill, class of 1928, was on the New York stage and his classmate, track record holder Arnold Gillette, established a national reputation in academic theatre.

In 1930, much of the impetus for including a theater in the Student Union Building proposal to the Board of Regents came when Lennox Robinson of the Abbey Theater in Dublin helped the Masquers produce "Juno and the Paycock." As UM was one of the few schools in the United States to produce this play, it brought national recognition to the University in American theater circles and added to the push for a theater facility in the soon-to-be-constructed building.

The Masquers student group stopped producing plays after 1978.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The Montana Masquers scrapbook includes newsclippings, photographs and some programs from the group's theatrical productions from 1947-1953. The bulk of the clippings are from the university's student-run newspaper, the Montana Kaimin, but a few are from other regional newspapers.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and any other applicable statutes. Copyright to some materials in the scrapbook is held by The University of Montana- Missoula.

Preferred Citation

[Name of document or photograph number], University of Montana (Missoula, Mont.). School of Fine Arts. Montana Masquers Scrapbook, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana-Missoula.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Custodial History

The creation and chain of ownership of this scrapbook is unknown.

Acquisition Information

This scrapbook was passed to Archives & Special Collections via Tammy Ravas, Mansfield Library Visual & Performing Arts Liason Librarian, 2012.

Related Materials

Archives & Special Collections holds programs to other Montana Masquer's productions in its University Publications (UPUBs) collection.

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top