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The Don Boros Theatre Collection have been donated to University Archives from alum Don Boros (who received an undergraduate degree in 1966 and a graduate degree in 1967) over the course of many years. The collection consists of five separate series: Programs, Scrapbooks, Theatre Magazines, Autographs, and Miscellaneous.

Series 1. Programs

This series makes up the majority of the collection and consists of programs for plays and musicals, many of which include newspaper or magazine clippings that discuss the performances. Most of the programs are for performances in the United States, especially on Broadway in New York City, but also include theaters in, among other cities, San Francisco; Chicago; Ann Arbor; Boston; Philadelphia; and Washington, D.C. Most of the foreign programs are for performances in London and other cities in the United Kingdom, with a smaller number coming from the major cities in France, Germany, Austria, and Scandinavia, and several from Canada as well. The collection covers a wide range of performances, and many of them include programs for different productions over the years. This is especially the case with plays by Shakespeare. The programs range in date from 1783 to 2000, with most coming from the 20th century. Where known, the writer, lead, and director are provided. This part of the collection is organized into seven different sub-series.

Sub-Series 1. Single play programs

This sub-series covers programs for single performances and is the bulk of Series 1.

Sub-Series 2. Multiple play programs

This sub-series consists of programs for multiple performances.

Sub-Series 3. Dance companies

This sub-series covers programs for dance companies, most of which are ballet.

Sub-Series 4. Orchestra / Musical performances

This sub-series includes programs for orchestra/musical performances, most of which are orchestral.

Sub-Series 5. Festivals

This sub-series consists of programs and informational booklets for festivals from around the world with subjects that include drama, dance, film, opera, puppets, and folk.

Sub-Series 6. Theatre specific

This sub-series includes programs and informational booklets for specific theaters or people. It has three groupings: items in the first provide information about performances for a specific theater for a single season. Items in the second provide information either about the theater in general or about performances over several years. Items in the third are about specific artists or specific theater events.

Sub-Series 7. Oversize

This sub-series contains oversized programs and flattened posters.

Series 2. Scrapbooks

This series consists of 17 scrapbooks. Most of these are filled with only theater programs or pages from programs, though some include newspaper clippings. One includes programs for special events and ceremonies, and three of them consist of notebooks of handwritten descriptions of theater and opera programs/performances. The dates for the items in these scrapbooks range from 1885 to 1956, with much of them coming from the 1920s.

Series 3. Autographs and Manuscript Material

This series includes of autographs, photographs or printed images, and correspondence from actors, writers, directors, critics, and others from the entertainment industry. Also included here are some published and unpublished material related to individuals and not signed. A few letters with unidentified signatures and some miscellaneous items are also included.

Series 4. Miscellaneous

This series contains miscellaneous items, mainly play reviews fromTime magazine from the 1940s and 1950s, a few foreign language items related to theater, and a variety of miscellaneous items related to theater activities, such as guides and conferences.

This collection contains records from the Department of Theatre, Film Studies, and Dance at St. Cloud State University.  There are 32 boxes and five oversized folders in the collection; the items date from 1956-2007 with the vast majority of the items pertaining to the theatre division. Additions to this series may be ongoing.

The collection is arranged into three series, which are as follows:

Series 1: Administrative Records, 1961-2007

This series includes minutes from staff meetings, building plans, correspondence, and the theatre department’s newsletter, amongst other items.

Series 2: Play Files, 1956-2011

Here is where the bulk of the collection can be found.  The play files, which are alphabetical order by play title, include photographs, posters, and programs for productions that were performed at St. Cloud State University.  There are also records in this series that pertain to SCSU theatre students and producers who took their performances overseas.  The first performances abroad were at military outposts located in Iceland, Greenland, Newfoundland, and Baffin Island in 1961.  They would go on to perform in Germany for the military in 1964.  And in 1987, actors traveled to China to perform in Universities throughout the country.  The larger production posters are located in the oversize cabinets, drawer 17, and are in chronological order. In addition, there is a folder of material from the County Stearns Theaterical Company.

Series 3: Publications, 1978-2001

This series includes newsletters and student handbooks.

Series 4: Costume Sketches, 1970s-early 1990s

Theatre faculty member Harvey Jurik created 502 costume sketches for theatre productions sponsored by St. Cloud State University, 500 which are digitized. The sketches illustrate the character costume designs as well as several scenes for various plays performed from the 1970s through the early 1990s.

This collection contains records from Theatre L'Homme Dieu along with the Performing Arts Foundation at St. Cloud State University.  There are 21 boxes and two oversized folders in the collection; the items date from 1960-2010.  Additions to this series may be ongoing.

The collection is arranged into six series, which are as follows:

Series 1:  Administrative Records, 1960-2010

This series includes records pertaining directly to the Performing Arts Foundation; these include minutes, building plans, correspondence and memorandum, financial statements and grant applications, and historical information.  Blueprints are located in the oversize cabinets, drawer 15, and are in chronological order.

Series 2: Biographical Files, Various Dates

This series contains photographs (mainly head shots) and resumes of Theatre L'Homme Dieu's actors, actresses, and directors.  Photos may be duplicated in the Play Files.

Series 3: Correspondence, 1960-1995, 2002-2003

This series includes correspondence regarding the theatre, both to and from the public.  Common themes in the correspondence collection include reviews and requests of productions from the public along with the theatre advertising and looking for sponsers.

Series 4: Photographs, 1961-1995

This series includes photographs of Theatre L'Homme Dieu's buildings along with photographs of unidentified performances and performers.

Series 5: Play Files, 1961-2007

This series includes play programs, news clippings, box office reports, and attendance records.  The collection also includes photographs, slides, and negatives, with the majority being photographs.  These shots include not only the productions but often headshots as well.  The headshots may also be duplicated in the Biographical Files.

Series 6: Publications and Press Coverage, 1960-2008

This series includes press clippings regarding the theatre.  Posters are located in the oversize cabinets, drawer 17, and are in chronological order.

The 262 letters and 1 poem included in this collection were written by Sinclair Lewis to Marcella Powers between 1939 and 1947. Lewis met Powers in August 1939 when they were both acting in Eugene O’Neill’s play Ah Wilderness! at the Provincetown Theater in Cape Cod. Lewis and Powers began a relationship despite the 36 year age difference between them.

In these letters, Lewis discusses a wide variety of topics - his career, his writing, and his feelings for Powers. During the time of their relationship, Lewis traveled quite a bit throughout the United States giving lectures. He also spent time working in Los Angeles in the motion picture industry and lived in Excelsior and Duluth in Minnesota where he spent much time writing. Lewis also wrote about his social life, including the people that he met, the games of chess that he played, and the books that he read. Many of the letters are very long while others are quite short, with some including cartoons drawn by Lewis.

The letters end in September 1947, shortly after Powers marriage to Michael Amrine. Lewis tells Powers that she will no longer receive an allowance from him, but that if she were ever in need of help that he would be there for her. When Lewis passed away in 1951, Powers was listed in his will.

This collection consists of eight different theater publications: The Billboard Index/Year Book of the New York Legitimate Stage from 1936-1938; New Theatre Magazine from 1960, 1962-1963; Performing Arts from 1967-1976; Plays and Players from 1967-1972; The Stage from 1933-1941; Theatre Arts from 1929-1964; The Theatre Magazine from 1909; Theatre Crafts from 1967-1968.  The Stage and Theatre Arts have the most issues, and thus make up the bulk of this collection.