Special Collections and Archives Contact information: Duane G. Meyer Library
[email protected] Missouri State University http://library.missouristate.edu/archives/ Springfield, MO 65897 417.836.5428 Descriptive Inventory / Manuscript Register Collection Title: Theatre and Dance Department Collection Collection Number: RG 4/9 Dates: 1910-Present (Bulk 1940s-Present) Volume: 29 cubic feet Provenance: The collection was acquired mainly in 2004 and in 2006. It was processed in 2006 by Shannon Western, with additional material added in 2014 and later. Copyright: This collection may be protected from unauthorized copying by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code). Access: The collection is unrestricted. Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish material from the collection must be obtained from the Department of Special Collections and Archives. Citations should be as follows: Identification of the item, box number, Theatre and Dance Department Collection [RG 4/9], Department of Special Collections and Archives, Missouri State University. Digital Access: A selection from this collection has been digitized and is available online: http://purl.missouristate.edu/library/archives/DigitalCollections/MSUTheatreDance Biographical / Historical Sketch In the early years of the school, plays were performed at Missouri State University (then State Normal School and later Southwest Missouri State Teachers College), but not as a part of any formal department. The senior class did a play each spring, and the Coburn Players, an outside organization, performed here during the summers. It wasn’t until 1915 that the first class in theatre was offered to students, and until 1965, theatre classes were a part of the Department of English and Speech.