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Xerox University Microfilms 300 North Zm (> Road Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106 75-3059 FALB. Carl Paul, J r.. 1936- A WORLD ELSEWHERE: THE STAGE CAREER OF ANEW McMASTER. The Ohio SU te University, Ph.D.. 1974 T h eater *■ }i ; Xerox University MicrofilmsAnn , Arbor, Michigan 48106 1 © 1974 CARL PAUL FALB, JR. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFILMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED. A WORLD ELSEWHERE: THE STAGE CAREER OF ANEW McMASTER DISSERTATION' Presented In Partial Rilflllment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy In the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Carl Paul Falh, Jr., A.B. The Ohio State University 197^ Reading Ccrmlttee: Approved by John C. Marrow Rqy H. Bowen John A. Walker Adviser Department of Theatre ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author wishes to recognize the support and assistance of the following persons and Institutions for their generous contributions toward documenting the story of Anew McMaster: In Ireland—Micheal Mac Liamnoir and Hilton Edwards, Brendan O'Brien of Athlone, Gabriel Fallon, F elicia and Sean Murphy, Treasa Davison and Noel Shiels of Radio Telefis Elreann, and the sta ffs of the * National Library of Ireland, Trinity College library, and the Pearse Street library of the City of Dublin. In Britain—J. C. Trewin, Muriel St. Clare Byrne, Eileen Morley, Kathleen M. D. Barker of the Society For Theatre Research, the British Broadcasting Corporation, and the staffs of the Enthoven Collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Newspaper library of the British Museum, and the Shakespeare Centre at Stratford-upon-Avon. In the United States—lynnette Williams. Special thanks and appreciation are extended to Anew McMaster's children, Mary Rose (Aranson) and Christopher, fo r th e ir help, support, information, and hospitality. It Is hoped the following report will be accepted In partial payment for their patience and understanding. U VITA August 27, 1936 . Bom - Dayton, Ohio 1 9 5 8 ........................................ A.B., Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts 1967-1969 .................... Administrative Assistant to the Chairman Department of Theatre The Ohio State University, Columbus, Chlo 1969-1972 .................... Academic Adviser, University College The Ohio State University, Columbus, Chib * 1 9 7 3 - W .................... Evening Program Coordinator, University College The Ohio State University, Columbus, Chib PUBLICATIONS "Current Developments in B ritish Regional Theatre." (with John Morrow) Today’s Speech. April1968 , FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: Theatre Theatre History. Professors John H. McDowell and John C. Morrow Dramatic Literature. Professors John C. Morrow and Harold Walle, Acting and Directing. Professor Roy H. Bcwen 111 RESEARCH SOURCES When this study was begun, there was the hope that Anew McMaster's fifty years in the theatre had produced a large quantity of memorabilia: programs and p lay b ills, pronptbooks, newspaper cuttings, letters, perhaps even some reminiscences. This hope was not fulfilled. The residue of a lifetime was remarkably scant, and what there was lay unsorted In a cardboard suitcase for more than two-and-a-half years • a fte r the death of Marjorie McMaster, who survived her husband by more than seven years. Hieir son, Christopher, had cleaned out sane desk drawers In his mother's home after her death, placed the material in the suitcase, and brought It to his hone In England. The more inter­ esting and useful parts of this residuum of McMaster's life are discussed In the following sections, but s till It was distressingly little: photographs, letters and fragments of letters, some newspaper cuttings, seme personal Items unrelated to the McMasters' lif e In the theatre. Examination of this material revealed, however, that highly useful information s till remained for the researcher, and It also was dear that almost everything dealing with the more negative aspects of the McMasters' personal and professional lives had been excised. I t appeared that, following the death of her husband, Marjorie McMaster had sorted through the material, kept some, and discarded some. It was a prudent act by someone who had always been protective of her husband, but, to her credit, Marjorie kept much of the inportant evidence, even i v though it tends always toward a positive viewpoint. Perhaps she thought that one day someone would come looking to te ll Mac's stoiy. "A Lifetime in the Theatre" Neither Mac nor Marjorie wrote an autobiography* but in August, 1957, they prepared a series of radio broadcasts for Radio Telefis ELreann (HIE) concerned with McMaster’s career and entitled "Memoirs of an Actor." In 1968, six years a fte r McMaster's death, these radio scripts were published as a twelve-part series in the Irish Times, with the title , "A Lifetime in the Theatre." The author obtained photocopies of these articles from the Irish Times, and they provided the chrono­ logical foundation for this study. Marjorie was the better writer, and extant drafts of the radio scripts indicate Marjorie wrote most of it. But i t is certainly Mac's sto ry , as w ell as his opinions and feelings. After thirty years of marriage, Marjorie could almost te ll Mac's story better than he could. Most of the information contained in the lifetime series was checked against other sources far factual accuracy, and it was with some satisfaction (and relief) that the author discovered that, when Mac said he had been somewhere and dene something, i t was true. There was some small elaboration around the facts, but the factual core was remarkably accurate. lifetime was not the whole story, of course, but It provided a fairly secure basis for further research. Throughout the text of this study, the Irish Times reprints are referred to as "Lifetime." The series was published entirely in 1968, and following are the dates of publication for each segment: v 1 - September 24: "A lifetime in the Theatre" 2 - September 25: "Living in London" 3 - September 26: "Shakespeare in Australia" 4 - September 27: "To Ireland With a Ccmapny of Jfy Own" 5 - September 28: "Enter Mrs. Patrick Campbell" 6 - Septenber 30: "Back to London" 7 - October 1: "Contagious to the Nile" 8 - October 2: "War-Time Doldrums" 9 - October 3: "Back to Australia" 10 - October 4: "Pageant at Slane" 11 - October 5: "America Calls" 12 - October 7: "Life With the American Dream" Manuscript Sources Some manuscript material was found at Christopher McMaster's, much of it drafts of the radio broadcasts and Identical to the final printed version. However, there is a small amount of material written by both Anew and Marjorie McMaster which was apparently edited out or used as first draft and discarded. This material is fragmentary, but gives some additional information that was incorporated in this study. These fragnents are cited in the text as fellows: A. McMaster Small Notebook MS. Pour small pocket-sized note­ books fille d w ith notes and jo ttin g s in McMaster’s handwriting, which appear to be his first random thoughts about the radio scrip ts. A. McMaster 1957 MS. This manuscript fragment appears to be a first draft for the broadcasts. It is in McMaster's hand and deals with his youth and early years in London. Little of this material was used in the broadcasts, and so i t becomes a main source of information about McMaster's early years. Radio Notebook MS. Most of the radio broadcast manuscript was w ritten by the McMasters in red-covered school copybooks. Mich of the text in these copybooks appears in substantially unaltered farm in the Iiis h Times, but one copybook seems to contain an earlier version of the material and does provide information not found in published sources. M. McMaster Single Page MS. A single page of lined notebook paper containing material written by Marjorie McMaster about th e ir return from America.

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