University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 1961 Calamity Jane| A pageant-drama in three acts John McLain Watkins The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Watkins, John McLain, "Calamity Jane| A pageant-drama in three acts" (1961). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 1730. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/1730 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. CALAMITY JANE A PAGEANT-DRAMA IN THREE ACTS by JOHN McLAIN WATKINS B.A. Montana State University, 1959 Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY 1961 Approved by* f\j—y M-t Chairman, Board of Examiners Dean, Graduate School JUL 5 1961 Date UMI Number: EP34056 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent on the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. JJMT Dissertation AMsHng UMI EP34056 Copyright 2012 by ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This edition of the work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The writer wishes to express his sincere appreciation to the Faculty of the Department of Speech and Dr. Melvin C. Wren of the Department of History for their assistance during the course of this thesis study. Especial appreciation is extended to Professor Bert Hansen for his guiding hand and many helpful suggestions, and, most of all, for his valued friendship during the past several years. TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. THE PROBLEM 1 Definitions of Pageantry 1 Characteristics of Pageantry 5 Statement of the Problem 30 Definition of Terms 30 The Importance of the Study 32 Limitations of the Study 32 Organization of the Remainder of the Thesis 33 II. METHOD OF PROCEDURE 34 III. RESULTS OF THE STUDY 38 Reported Events in the Life of Calamity Jane 38 Calamity Jane 1 IV. BIBLIOGRAPHY 73 iii CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM I. DEFINITIONS OF PAGEANTRY The term "modern pageantry" has been applied to that form of pageantry which evolved through the initial contribution of Louis N. Parker at Sherbourne, England in 1905. Parker defined his contribu­ tion as "the representation of the history of a town, in dramatic form, from earliest period to some later point forming a fitting cli- max." At least one of Parker's contemporaries shared his concept of the limitations of pageantry and saidi The Pageant is the drama of the history and life of a community showing how the character of the community as a community has developed. Or, the Pageant is the dramatic portrait of a commu­ nity.^ Professor George Pierce Baker considered pageantry in terms of purpose and defined pageantry as "a free dramatic form, which teaches, though not abstractly, by stimulating local pride for that in the past which makes the best incentive to future civic endeavor and accom- 3 pli6hment." ^"Robert Withington, "A Manual of Pageantry," Indiana University Bulletin. XIII (June 15, 1915), 6. 2 William C. Langdon, "The Pageant-grounds and Their Technical Requirements," American Pageant Association Bulletin, No. 11 (Decem­ ber 1, 1914). 3Withington, cit. 1 2 Another definition, that of the American Pageant Association, A followed the Parker concept of pageantry, with slight modification. The definition states that a pageant is "a dramatic chronicle play, portraying the history of a town, or a social idea, presented solely „5 by the cooperation of individuals in that community or social group." Beegle, in relating various definitions applied to the term "pageant," noted a dictionary definition stating that a pageant is "an elaborate or spectacular display or exhibition, devised for the 6 entertainment of the public or some well known person." She stated furthers The word Pageant . has offered such excellent value as publicity that one finds today all forms of entertainment from the small Sunday School Concert to the great Community Drana enrolling thousands, listed and advertised under the name of Pageant. On the other hand, Professor Bert Hansen of Montana State University wrote in 1947* The enthusiasm for the historical pageant in America is based largely upon a desire of the community to glorify its past. Usually the pageant is presented to commemorate an anniversary. The event to be celebrated is reenacted as a colorful spectacle in which truth is sacrificed for effect, realism for sentimen­ tality, simplicity for tomfoolery, and trained judgment for en­ thusiasm. As a result, the pageant, in spite of its popular 4 Mary Porter Beegle, "The Fundamental Essentials of Successful Pageantry," American Pageant Association Bulletin. No. 7 (September 15, 1914). 5 "A Record List of American Pageants," American Pageant Asso­ ciation Bulletin. No. 10 (November 15, 1914). f\ Beegle, loc. cit. 7Ibid. 3 appeal, has fallen into disrepute as ^ serious dramatic form and as a worthwhile community enterprise. As may be observed from the preceding definitions and statements, there has been a divergence among the various conceptions of pageantry— a divergence brought about as suggested by Beegle, for practical reasonsj or as suggested by Hansen, through a deterioration of the art form from its earlier, more respected position as a form of community drama. Professor Hansen did not feel, however, that pageantry needed to be subject to such a commentary. He stated further* There is no good reason why the historical pageant, a community drama based on local history, performed out of doors by local actors, cannot be a theatrically effective medium for truthful community expression.9 In 1945, at the request of members of the Montana Study Group, Professor Hansen guided the people of Darby, Montana, in a dramatic reproduction of the evolution of sociological conditions existing in Darby at that time, for the purpose of community introspection. The type of drama employed by Professor Hansen was one of several types of sociodrama. As stated by J. Lo Morenos There are versions of sociodrama in which the gathering of in­ formation and the form of production differ from the classic, spontaneous-creative version. Information is gathered in many places, at different times and the production is written down piecemeal, conserved, rehearsed and finally enacted.2-0 ®Bert Hansen, '"Tale of the Bitter Root'* Pageantry as Socio­ drama," The .Quarterly Journal _of Sgeech, XXXIII (April, 1947), 162. 9Ibid. Lo Moreno, "Workshop in Sociodrama," Sociatrv. I (December, 1947), 333. 4 Although Moreno, according to Hansen, referred to the art form as "conserved sociodrama," Professor Hansen regarded the form as "com- 11 munity rehearsed sociodrama." The latter term was not, however, sa­ tisfactorily in common parlance to allow its use in popularly denoting Professor Hansen's program. Consequently, he sought a term already in common use which might be used synonymously with "community rehearsed sociodrama." The resulting term was "pageant-drama." Accordingly, Professor Hansen's concept of pageantry is that a pageant (pageant-drama) is "a community drama based on local history, organized and produced by citizens of the conraunity 12 under the direc­ tion of an experienced director who has prepared the drama with the 13 vital aid of a local script committee." Inasmuch as the production of a pageant has not been incorpo­ rated in this study, the preceding conception of a pageant is not entirely applicable to the present study. Therefore, the definition to which the present study has adhered is that a pageant is a form of drama based upon local history, written by an individual who has examined the available evidence and incorporated in the manuscript that evidence which is applicable to the subject or theme of the pageant. ^Statement by Bert Hansen. Personal interview. •^"A community may be . any organization that wishes to face problems of group and inter-group relations." Bert Hansen, "Sociodrama in Community Integration," Sociology and Social Research, XXXII (Sep­ tember-October, 1936), 546-547. 13 Statement by Bert Hansen. Personal interview. 5 II. SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF PAGEANT-DRAMA The pageant as an historical dramatization. The definitive limi­ tation that a pageant is based upon local history implies that the script should, in light of available evidence, plausibly reconstruct those events which have occurred in history in dramatic foim. Additionally, it limits the subject matter of the pageant to that which is contained within, or has affected, the history of a locale or personage, but does not mean that the events portrayed must be only those concerning the locale as a whole. For example, a pageant portraying the events leading to the cap­ ture of an outlaw leader by the Vigilantes might be centered around the meetings of the Vigilantes, or might portray the life of one of the participants in those events. Since the pageant is to be based on local history, the pageant writer is, in reality, both a dramatist and an historian. He selects the subject of the pageant, gathers the available evidence, examines that evidence to determine if it probably accurately reports past events, determines the dramatic theme to be employed in the pageant, selects from the compiled evidence that evidence which pertains to the dramatic theme, and finally interprets that evidence by dramatic method.