- unitid
-
{"value"=>"20951", "type"=>"local_mss"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1945-1948", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1945/1948"}
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"American Negro Theatre scrapbook"}
- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"1 vol"}], "supress_display"=>true}
- repository
-
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">The New York Public Library. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division.</span> <div class=\"address\"> <span class=\"addressline\">Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture</span> <span class=\"addressline\">515 Malcolm X Boulevard, New York, NY 10037-1801</span></div>"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"The American Theatre Scrapbook was donated and possibly compiled by Maxwell Glanville, however there is no mention of him in the programs or articles."}
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"<p>American Negro Theatre scrapbook, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, The New York Public Library</p>"}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"American Negro Theatre", "type"=>"corpname", "role"=>"creator"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>Maxwell Glanville was born in February 1918 in Antigua, West Indies and attended the New School for Social Research in New York City. He began his career as an actor with the American Negro Theatre (ANT) and the Committee for the Negro in the Arts (CNA), but subsequently became a playwright, producer, and director. Glanville was also a founder and artistic director of the American Community Theatre (ACT); all three groups were formed in Harlem, New York. His theatre credits include: <span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\">Home Is the Hunter</em></span>(1945); <span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\">Walk Hard</em></span>(1946); <span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\">Anna Lucasta</em></span>(1946 to 1947); <span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\">How Long Till Summer</em></span>(1949); <span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\">Freight</em></span>(1950) <span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\">Autumn Garden</em></span>(1951); <span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\">Take A Giant Step</em></span>(1953) <span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\">Cat on a Hot Tin Roof</em></span>(1955); <span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\">Simply Heavenly</em></span>(1959); <span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\">Nat Turner</em></span>(1960); <span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\">Golden Boy</em></span>(1964) and <span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\">Zelda</em></span>(1969). He also appeared in such films as: <span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\">Cotton Comes to Harlem</em></span>, <span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\">The Out of Towners</em></span>(1970), and <span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\">Come Back Charleston Blue</em></span>(1972) and on television in <span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\">N.Y.P.D.</em></span>, <span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\">, Newark</em></span> and <span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\"> Reality</em></span>(1979), and in a Bell Telephone commercial (1981).</p> <p>The American Negro Theatre (ANT), 1940 to 1951, was cofounded by Abram Hill and Frederick O'Neal. ANT provided professional training and development, and produced plays concerning aspects of black life that appealed primarily to the Harlem community. The Committee for the Negro in the Arts (CNA) was active in the theatre although it was more of an interracial, cultural group that, according to one author, was comprised of the “Harlem radical political leftwing.” During the period of the CNA's activity, 1947 to 1954, a number of black-authored plays were produced, among them: <span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\">Florence</em></span>, <span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\">, Just A Little Simple,</em></span>and <span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\">A Medal for Willie.</em></span>Unlike ANT, CNA's upscale fee for admittance to its productions hindered many Harlem community theatergoers from attending CNA's productions.</p> <p>In 1951, Glanville produced <span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\">Soul Gone Home</em></span>at Club Baron and three plays, <span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\">Alice in Wonder</em></span>, <span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\"> The Other Foot,</em></span>and <span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\">A World Full of Men.</em></span>Following the demise of ANT (1951) and CNA (1954), Glanville founded the American Community Theatre (ACT) in 1958 and became its artistic director. While with ACT, he produced some of his own plays, including <span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\">The Bonus</em></span>(1961), <span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\">Cindy</em></span>(1962), and, <span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\">Long Stretch-Short Haul</em></span>(1969). In 1970 Glanville wrote <span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\">Dance to the Nosepicker's Drum</em></span>with Rudy Gray, one of his students from ACT. At that time it was decided to emphasize training rather than the development of a theatre company, therefore, the company was renamed ACT/Pro/Workshop. Productions of ACT were usually presented at various community theatres around New York City including the Harlem Young Men's Christian Association.</p> <p>Moreover, Glanville directed <span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\">Light in the Cellar</em></span>(1975), <span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\">Tale of an Instant Junkie</em></span>, <span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\"> Anna Lucasta</em></span>(1978), <span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\">Branches from the Same Tree</em></span>(1980), <span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\">God's Trombone</em></span>(1982) and <span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\">Outside Daughters</em></span>(1986). Less than a decade before his death in January 1992, Glanville wrote <span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\">TWIT</em></span>with Gertrude Greenidge (1986).</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>The American Negro Theatre scrapbook, donated by Maxwell Glanville, dates from 1945 to 1947 and contains articles from the Burrell Clippings Service, as well as clippings from other sources, telegrams, and programs. Programs include <span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\">On Strivers' Row,</em></span><span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\">Juno and the Paycock</em></span>(featuring student actors), <span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\">You Can't Take It With You,</em></span>and <span class=\"title\"><em render=\"italic\">Angel Street.</em></span>The scrapbook contains reviews of plays, follow-up articles on actors and actresses who appeared in ANT productions, and articles on ANT's history until approximately one decade after its founding. There is also publicity on ANT ancillary activities, specifically ANT radio broadcasts of plays and operas, and their theatre instruction classes, articles on Frederick O'Neal and Abram Hill, newspaper and magazine pictures from ANT productions, and editorials about the ANT.</p> <p>Maxwell Glanville is not listed on the above programs nor mentioned in any of the newspaper clippings. There is no discernible arrangement to the contents in the scrapbook.</p>"}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Gift of Maxwell Glanville, 1983 (SCM 83-22).</p>"}
- processinfo
-
{"type"=>"processing", "value"=>"<p>Processed by Paula Williams, 1998; machine-readable finding aid created by Apex Data Services and Terry Catapano, 1999-2000; revised by Hillel Arnold, 2009.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p>Processed by Paula Williams; machine-readable finding aid created by Apex Data Services; revised by Terry Catapano and Hillel Arnold.</p>"}
- sponsor
-
{"value"=>"This inventory was prepared as part of an archival preservation project to arrange,\n describe and catalog resources essential for the study of the African-American\n theater history. The necessary staff and supplies for the Blacks on Stage: African-American Theater Arts Collection Project were\n made available through a combination of funding from the National Endowment for the\n Humanities and the City of New York."}
- dsc_type
-
combined
- date_start
-
1945
- keydate
-
1945
- date_end
-
1948
- date_inclusive_start
-
1945
- date_inclusive_end
-
1948
- extent_statement
-
1 vol