Found matches for performing arts in 879 collections.

The Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center (THPAC) is a non-profit organization based in Brooklyn, New York, whose mission is supporting Black performers and providing community access to dance. The Thelma Hill Performing Arts Center records, which date from the 1920s to 2019, trace the institution's cultural significance through administrative records, performance video footage, photographs, promotional material, and awards files. less

The Chicago Allied Arts, Inc. Records are chiefly comprised of correspondence, contracts, financial records, and drafts of legal documents concerning the establishment and operations of the short-lived organization, which produced an innovative series of programs of new music and dance in Chicago from 1924-1927. less

Lew White (1902?-1955) was a keyboard musician who specialized as an organist, touring theaters and college campuses across the United States, performing on radio, in short films, and recording for various companies. Born in Philadelphia, Lew White studied violin as a boy with his father, a prominent music teacher, and later graduated from the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music. In the silent movie era White provided accompaniment for films, and for a time was in charge of the 'Mighty Wurlitzer' organ at New York's Roxy Theatre, accompanying live stage shows. During the period when talkies were replacing live entertainment White continued to tour the United States as a successful attraction. In addition to his performing, White also maintained a studio in New York, the White Institute of Organ, Inc., where he gave music lessons and sold organs. Lew White was also active in the development of new electrical keyboard instruments such as the Electrovox. Lew White died in New York in March of 1955 at the age of 52. The Lew White papers consist mostly of correspondence concerning White's career as a touring performer in the mid-1930s. Although White had an agent who managed his bookings, it appears that he nonetheless handled much of his own business and promotional correspondence himself. Most of his letters concern the business side of touring, such as scheduling, fees, ticketing, advertising, etc. There is also material pertaining to a 1934 variety show radio broadcast in which Lew White participated as performer and director. less

Fred H. Wilson was a professional stilt-walker, who performed at fundraising events and in other venues in the New York area during the 1920s. Consists of eight letters written to stilt-walker Fred H. Wilson, most of which pertain to his annual performances at the New York Police Department's September Field Day event. There is also a letter from motion picture industry spokesman Will Hays, thanking Mr. Wilson for his performance at a charity drive. The Hays letter includes a tiny snippet of film printed onto paper stock, featuring several frames depicting a stilt-walker, presumably Wilson. There are also two letters from the Metropolitan Opera Company of New York, arranging Wilson's appearance in a 1924 production of Rimsky-Korsakov's COQ D'OR. less

Ida Roley was a coloratura soprano and actress whose performances include a role in the 1923 edition of Jimmie Cooper's Revue, a burlesque show comprised of approximately seventy cast members, both African American and white. The white owner, producer and actor Jimmie Cooper, combined dancing, singing, jazz, comedy, and blackface in his company. The revue formed part of the circuit of the Columbia Amusement Company and performed in New York, Boston, London, and Montreal. Roley also performed in Shuffle Along (1922) and the play The Conjur Man Dies. She was the lead singer in the choir of Lew Leslie's road company of Blackbirds (1929) in Paris, later performing as a soloist and doing song recitals. She also wrote a few short stories. The Ida Roley collection consists of a scrapbook documenting the career of this entertainer, writings by her, and other material. The scrapbook contains news clippings and programs of Roley's performances in Jimmie Cooper's Revue, Lew Leslie's Blackbirds, Shuffle Along, and Plantation Days (1923), in addition to programs of her solo recitals. The scrapbook, which dates from 1923 to 1933 (bulk dates), also contains snapshots of Roley and other performers, news clippings about other singers, and productions in which she did not appear. In addition, the collection contains handwritten manuscripts for two stories Roley wrote in 1937, "Silver Dollars" and "The Unfaithful Wife." There are also two letters from W.C. Handy (1950) regarding his 77th birthday celebration. less

Nat Karson, producer and designer of costumes, sets, and lighting in theatrical and television productions in New York, was born in Zurich, Switzerland in 1908, and moved to Chicago at an early age. He moved to New York in 1929, and worked in theatre productions at the Federal Theatre Project, including the all-black-cast production of Macbeth (1936), directed by Orson Welles. Karson also produced and created set, costume and lighting designs for theatrical productions on Broadway and elsewhere, such as the 1939 New York World's Fair. He served as the art director of Radio City Music Hall (1936-1943), and in 1948 he became consultant producer at the Columbia Broadcasting Company. His credits include The Hot Mikado (1939), Keep off the grass (1940), and Hamlet at the Kronberg Festival in Denmark (1949). Nat Karson died in New York City in 1954. Originals and copies of color costume and set designs; sketches and costume plots; technical drawings; and storyboards by Nat Karson for theatrical and television productions in New York during 1931-1949. The collection also includes 2 sketchbooks of set designs, several cut-outs of stage models, 1 caricature, 2 posters, and some black & white photographs. less

The Marjorie Dycke files date from 1940 to 2004 and document her career as founding chair of the drama department for the High School of Performing Arts in New York City through administrative material, correspondence, photographs, articles, and programs. less

The papers of Hazel Lockwood Muller, covering the period 1910-1954, pertain primarily to the program series “Around the World with Dance and Song”, presented at New York City's Museum of Natural History, which Muller produced from 1943-1952. The business files consist of correspondence and publicity for the Museum series and some scripts for Muller's radio program based on the series. The two boxes of research files, organized by subject or name, are of particular interest as they contain additional information on the artists beyond their participation in the Museum series. The collection also includes personal correspondence to Muller, mostly from her father, Henry C. Lockwood, and a collection of chronologically-arranged series announcements and programs for Around the World with Dance and Song. less

The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) is an organization of more than 420,000 artists that protects the copyrights of its members. The ASCAP records represent a portion of the artists who joined the society from the 1930s to the mid-1980s. Many notable recording artists are represented from vaudeville to rock music. The files hold articles, biographical data sheets, broadsides, film strips, memorandum, obituary notices, photographs and photograph negatives,performance brochures, publicity and sheet music. less

Richard Ward, actor, director, author, educator, and police detective, was born on March 15, 1915. Mr. Ward started out in show business in vaudeville when he was 11 years old when he teamed up with his sisters, calling their act, Dot, Flo, and Dick. For 10 years Mr. Ward was a police detective assigned to the office of Frank S. Hogan, Manhattan district attorney. Richard Ward was born Richard Waugh. "Richard Ward" is a stage name. Mr. Ward died on June 30, 1979. The Richard Ward Papers consist of clippings, correspondence, production notes, photographs and scripts which deal with his career as a scriptwriter and actor. The collection spans the years 1949 to 1980 and include a diary of his army years. less

Clyde Earl was a radio announcer, night club comic, violinist, and vaudeville performer. The Clyde Earl scrapbook consists of clippings, photographs (some of which are inscribed), postcards, menus, and other ephemera, pertaining to Clyde Earl's career as a master of ceremonies, comic, and musician, on radio, in night clubs, on cruise ships, and other venues. less

Emmett "Babe" Wallace is a singer, composer, actor and writer. He has performed in cabarets, musical revues, films and the theater. As a composer and writer, he has produced a voluminous body of musical compositions, poetry essays and journals. Music, songs, poetry, prose, daybooks, scripts, personal papers, printed material, and other papers, relating to Wallace's career in cabarets, musical revues, films, and theater in the United States, Canada, France, and Israel. Themes in his creative work include personal life, civil rights, religion, and politics. less

Pearl Primus (1919-1994) was an internationally recognized dancer, choreographer, and anthropologist. She is best known for presenting African dances, which she researched in Africa; studying their function and meaning; and performing before American audiences. She and her husband and partner, Percival Borde, conducted research in Africa from 1959 through the 1960s, and established a performing arts center in Liberia. However, Primus found her creative impetus in the cultural heritage of African Americans, exploring racism, as well as the dignity, beauty, and strength of Black people. Primus received an M.A. in education (1959) and a Ph.D. (1978) in dance education from New York University. In addition to teaching at such colleges as the five college consortium in Massachusetts, she founded several schools, one of which is the Pearl Primus Dance Language Institute, where her method of blending African American, Caribbean, and African influence with modern dance and ballet was taught. The Pearl Primus collection consists of two interviews conducted by Marcia Ethel Heard (1989) and James Briggs Murray (1992) with Pearl Primus, covering her dance career in the 1940s, the late 1980s, and the meaning of dance to her personally. There are a few programs, news clippings, and articles, as well as eight colored costume sketches for unidentified and undated dances. less

Charles "Cookie" Cook, a vaudeville tap and acrobatic dancer and teacher for more than fifty years, began performing as a child with Garbage and the Two Cans and Sarah Venable and Her Picks. In 1930, he and Ernest (Brownie) Brown formed the headline dance and comedy team Cook and Brown. Their act, seen in such venues as New York's Cotton Club, combined tumbling, dance, and comedic patter. Cook was one of the members of The Copasetics, the fraternity of black entertainers that was influential in the revival of tap dancing in the late 1970s-1980s. Cook also performed in the film Cotton Club, at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, and at a 1990 tap festival in New York He died at age 77 in 1991. The Charles "Cookie" Cook Collection is actually a scrapbook that has been dismantled. The material focuses primarily on Cookie's later years with few primary source documents. There are several letters, telegrams, and postcards expressing appreciation for his performances, but no letters written by Cook. The collection also includes programs for performances in which Cook appeared, especially with the tap dance group The Copasetics in New York City, and other venues in the United States and Rome (1980-1995), as well as flyers advertising for a variety of performances in which Cook was featured (1961-1979). There are also programs for shows where jazz musicians, singers, and other artists appeared, in addition to news clippings discussing Cook, other tap dancers, and entertainers. less

Edward D. Coleman was a musical arranger and composer. He was a member of the trio known as Day, Dawn, and Dusk. Coleman was Dawn; the other members of the trio included, at different times, Robert Carver, Augustus Dewey Simons, and Mack Smith. The group performed during the 1930s and 1940s. this collection consists of handwritten sheet music used by the trio Day, Dawn, and Dusk, including some arrangements by Coleman; letters; and clippings. less

Soloist and leading soprano singer in the Mother Zion Church choir and Mt. Olivet Baptist Church in New York City. Jones spent most of her life in Orange County, Virginia, where she was active in church and community affairs. Collection includes Jones's passport and marriage certificate; broadsides and programs regarding her performances; and a portion of a handwritten poem. less

The George DeMott papers consist of correspondence, some diaries/appointment books, contracts, photographs, and scrapbooks. This material is almost all business related, and there are no significant personal papers. The papers are divided into two distinct parts, with some overlap: items such as contracts and correspondence that relate to the career of Mr. DeMott, and items such as posters, brochures, etc., that he collected, and placed into scrapbooks. The section of the DeMott papers devoted to Booking Agencies and Agents (Series IV) is divided into 18 sub-series, and contains a great deal of correspondence detailing the difficulties George DeMott and his wife Fanny faced booking their act into schools. The scrapbooks comprise the bulk of the collection and contain a variety of items, including clippings, posters, brochures, correspondence, handbills, fliers, photographs, and programs. The oversized material includes a poster and a road map. less

Edith Spencer was an international singer and dancer who appeared in vaudeville, the theatre and in nightclubs during the 1920s and 1930s. She appeared in the Broadway productions of "Runnin' Wild," "Rarin' to Go," and succeeded Florence Mills in "Shuffle Along." Her performances included club engagements and appearances from New York to Los Angeles, London, Paris, and the Far East. After "Shuffle Along" closed, Lottie Gee and Spencer became partners and formed a sister act that was followed by the addition of Allegretti Anderson. The trio was alternately billed as the Harmony Trio, the Creole Beauties, and the Three Dark Sisters. The Edith Spencer Scrapbook documents Spencer's entertainment career and her subsequent employment as a real estate agent. The contents include newspaper clippings, flyers and a photograph of Spencer, Gee and Anderson. less

The Theatre Library Association is a professional organization founded in 1937 for librarians, archivists, curators, and scholars focusing on the performing arts. The Theatre Library Association records contain the administrative records of the organization from 1936 to 2005. less