- unitid
-
{"value"=>"18148", "type"=>"local_mss"}
{"value"=>"*T-Mss 2009-002", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"b18355618", "type"=>"local_b"}
- unitdate
-
{"value"=>"1960-2008", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1960/2008"}
{"value"=>"1960-1993", "type"=>"bulk", "normal"=>"1960/1993"}
- unittitle
-
{"value"=>"Martin Worman papers"}
- physdesc
-
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"28 boxes, 4 oversize folders", "unit"=>"containers"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"11.7 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear_feet"}]}
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"167 audio recordings", "unit"=>"audio_recordings"}]}
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"18 moving image recordings", "unit"=>"moving_image_recordings"}]}
- repository
-
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">Billy Rose Theatre Division</span>"}
- abstract
-
{"value"=>"Martin Worman was an actor, playwright, lyricist, director, drag artist, activist, and academic working in the United States, primarily in San Francisco and New York from the late 1960s through the early 1990s. The bulk of this collection, which ranges in date from 1960 to 1993, extensively covers the professional and academic careers of Martin Worman including production files; syllabi; research files; recordings of lectures; extensive files on The Cockettes including video and audio recordings; and also some personal correspondence and writing."}
- langmaterial
-
{"value"=>"English"}
- origination
-
{"value"=>"Worman, Martin", "type"=>"persname"}
- bioghist
-
{"value"=>"<p>Martin Worman was an actor, playwright, lyricist, director, drag artist, activist, and academic working in the United States, primarily in San Francisco and New York from the late 1960s through the early 1990s. He was born on July 19, 1945 in Paterson, New Jersey, and attended Eastside High School in Paterson. He received a Bachelor of Arts from Rutgers University and an Master of Arts in Theater Arts from Long Island University. After being drafted into the United States Army in July of 1967, Worman was stationed in Fort Irwin, California where he served as the editor of the publication <span class=\"title\">Tank Tracks</span>, until his discharge in December of 1968 for \"unsuitability.\"</p> <p> After his discharge, Worman traveled in Europe and North Africa. He returned to the United States and hitchhiked to San Francisco, where he found himself drawn into the gay liberation and counter-culture movements. Worman joined a drag improvisational theatre troupe called the Cockettes and in July of 1970, he appeared in his first Cockettes show, <span class=\"title\">Hollywood Babylon</span>. Worman had been a fan of the Cockettes since he had seen one of their shows, <span class=\"title\">Gone With the Showboat to Oklahoma</span>.</p> <p> The Cockettes had formed on New Year's Eve, 1969 when a handful of hippies dressed in drag, led by Hibiscus (George Harris, a young actor/model from a prominent theatrical family) offered to perform an opening act at San Francisco's Palace Theatre, in exchange for free tickets to see the movie. The Cockettes were an immediate success with the audience and the manager of the Palace, Sebastian, offered them a regular spot. Their popularity grew, as did the sophistication, length, and size of their shows, eventually upstaging the classic film screenings as the principal draw to the Palace.</p> <p> By the end of 1970, ideological differences among the Cockettes had become apparent. One faction, including the management, wanted to charge for tickets and for the shows to be more scripted. The other faction, led by Hibiscus, believed in performing for free and having the shows be less scripted and more improvisational. Subsequently, Hibiscus and several followers left to form their own group, the Angels of Light.</p> <p> The remaining Cockettes went on to produce more structured shows. When members of the group discovered that Worman had a graduate degree in theater, he was asked to write material, including scripts for sketches and lyrics for songs with music by Richard \"Scrumbly\" Koldewyn. Their popularity grew and press coverage followed, as did prominent visitors, such as Truman Capote and Rex Reed, culminating in a one month engagement in New York, at the Anderson Theatre in the East Village in November of 1971. The bill also featured sometime Cockette and future disco star Sylvester. Despite arriving in a roar of publicity and a star-studded opening night, the show was a notorious flop.</p> <p> Back in San Francisco, the Cockettes put up several more shows, including <span class=\"title\">A Journey to the Center of Uranus</span>, with special guest star, Divine; <span class=\"title\">Hot Greeks</span>, a revival of one of their most popular shows; <span class=\"title\">Pearls Over Shanghai</span>; and <span class=\"title\">L'Etoiles de Paris</span>. Eventually the Palace started hosting solo shows for Cockettes, including Divine and John Rothermel. Gradually, more and more members of the Cockettes left town or accepted other engagements, and by the autumn of 1972 the group dissolved. Earlier in 1972, Worman met Robert Croonquist, who became his life partner.</p> <p> After the dissolution of the Cockettes, Worman received a grant from the Wurlitzer Foundation to work on a rock opera, <span class=\"title\">The Passion of Barbara Martinez</span>, which was sponsored by the San Francisco Arts Commission in 1975. During this time period, Worman wrote the book and lyrics with Janice Sukaitis on <span class=\"title\">Rickets: A Day in the Life of the Counter-Culture</span> (1974), with music by Scrumbly Koldewyn. He also directed Les Nickelettes' <span class=\"title\">Peter Pan</span> (1976).</p> <p> In 1975, Worman co-founded the Gay Mens Theater Collective with David Baker. One of their notable productions was <span class=\"title\">Crimes Against Nature</span> (1976), an autobiographical piece written and performed by ten gay men about their own struggles for survival and acceptance in society. <span class=\"title\">Crimes Against Nature</span> was performed originally at the Gumption Theater in San Francisco and subsequently played engagements in New York and Toronto. He also directed and starred in Noel Grieg's <span class=\"title\">The Dear Love of Comrades</span> (1979), a musical about Victorian socialist and homosexual Edward Carpenter.</p> <p> Worman moved to New York from San Francisco in 1979. He worked as the assistant to the director for Robert Wilson on <span class=\"title\">Edison</span> (1979, Lion Theatre, New York) and <span class=\"title\">Medea</span> (Kennedy Center) and for Jack O'Brien on <span class=\"title\">Porgy and Bess</span>, which was performed in Chicago and in New York at Radio City Music Hall. Worman also worked as a director, often of solo shows, including <span class=\"title\">Flight Nurse</span>, written by and starring his long-time friend Michele Linfante; Lola Pashalinski in Stephen Holt's <span class=\"title\">Cold and Crazy and Elaine</span>; Hibiscus in <span class=\"title\">Hibiscus and the Screaming Violets</span>; and his own adaptations of short stories by Meridel LeSueuer and Sherwood Anderson, <span class=\"title\">The Man Who Became a Woman</span> (1983) and <span class=\"title\">Prairie Solitaire</span> (1984).</p> <p> While in New York, Worman also attended New York University where he earned a doctorate in Performance Studies, studying under Richard Schechner and Brooks McNamara. He created a persona, Dr. Queen (known as the \"Margaret Mead of Drag\"), in which he conducted panels and presentations on drag, travesty theatre, and the Cockettes. Worman wrote his doctoral dissertation on the Cockettes and was also planning a book. As research for this project he conducted interviews with as many living members of the Cockettes as he could find. Worman also taught at New York University in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and then worked as an assistant professor of drama at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He was hired in 1992 to develop a regional theater company at Antioch College. While working at Antioch, Worman died of AIDS-related illness in Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio on November 25, 1993.</p>"}
- scopecontent
-
{"value"=>"<p>The Martin Worman papers, the bulk of which dates from 1960 to 1993, document Worman's theatrical and academic careers, the history of the Cockettes, drag, travesty theatre, and San Francisco in the early 1970s. The collection is arranged into four series covering Worman's personal life, productions he was involved with, the Cockettes, and his academic career. Worman's personal papers in the collection survey his childhood, youth, military career, and adult life. The series contains correspondence, biographical materials, writings, military, and legal documents. The extensive production files relate to Worman's theatrical endeavors, as writer, actor, and director. The series includes scripts, sheet music, publicity ephemera, programs, photographs, research notes, and recordings of performances, rehearsals, and demos of songs. The Cockettes series documents the group's productions and includes photographs, ephemera, and recordings of music, shows, and films. Notably, the series contains Worman's research for his dissertation on the Cockettes, which includes eighty recorded interviews with former Cockettes, many of which have accompanying transcripts. Also present are draft versions of Worman's dissertation. The academic files chronicle his activities as student, instructor, and scholar at Antioch College and New York University.</p>"}
{"value"=>"<p class='list-head'>The Martin Worman papers are arranged in four series:</p>\n<ul class='arrangement series-descriptions'>\n<li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/18148#c124556'>Series I: Personal Papers</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1960-1993</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>2.5 linear feet (6 boxes). 11 audio files. 2 video files</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series contains personal correspondence and candid photographs; biographies, interviews, and obituary notices for Worman, including audio recordings of Worman's memorial; publications edited by Worman while he was in high school, college, and the military; and notes, notebooks, lyrics, and verses. There are also recordings of memorials for friends and former Cockettes members. This series also includes official documentation of Worman's military service, as well as his appointment books.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/18148#c124579'>Series II: Production Files</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1960-1993</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>4.17 linear feet (10 boxes). 25 audio files</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series consists of files for productions which Worman appeared in, directed, wrote, assistant directed, or worked on in any capacity, from the early 1970s through the early 1990s. The production files include such items as scripts, sheet music, lyric sheets, notes, outlines, and background research; programs, agreements, photographs, and correspondence; and clippings, flyers, posters, and other publicity ephemera. Audio recordings of performances and rehearsals are also included. The productions covered most extensively are <span class=\"title\">Crimes Against Nature</span>, <span class=\"title\">The Dear Love of Comrades</span> and <span class=\"title\">Prairie Solitaire</span>. Also included is documentation collected by Robert Croonquist on <span class=\"title\">Reno Besides Myself</span>, written and performed by Reno, and dedicated to Worman's memory.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/18148#c124649'>Series III: The Cockettes</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1969-2008</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>3.78 linear feet (9 boxes, 4 oversize folders). 166 audio files. 11 video files</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series focuses on the psychedelic drag theatre group, the Cockettes, who performed primarily in San Francisco from 1970 to 1972, and includes production files on many of the Cockettes San Francisco shows, their New York engagement, and their film, <span class=\"title\">Tricia's Wedding</span>. The files consist of scripts, sheet music, lyrics, and notes; photographs; posters and clippings; and audio recordings of live performances. The photographs (originals, photocopies and slides) include production and publicity shots and candid images of the Cockettes on stage and off.</p> <p> Also included are items Worman collected for his research on the Cockettes, such as correspondence, notes, and files on solo performances by various Cockettes, including disco star Sylvester; as well as Worman's dissertations and essays. Audio recordings and typed transcripts of interviews Worman conducted with other Cockettes are also held here. After Worman's death in 1993, his companion, Robert Croonquist, continued collecting and adding to Worman's archives. Croonquist's contributions on the Cockettes include information on Cockettes reunions, publicity ephemera, correspondence, a video recording of Bill Weber and David Weissman's 2002 documentary, <span class=\"title\">The Cockettes</span>, and Sweet Pam Tent's book, <span class=\"title\">Midnight at the Palace: My Life as a Fabulous Cockette</span>.</p></div></li><li><div class='series-title'><a href='/the/18148#c124742'>Series IV: Academic Files</a></div>\n<div class='series-date'>1966-1994</div>\n<div class='series-extent'>2.08 linear feet (5 boxes). 67 audio files. 5 video files</div>\n<div class='series-description'><p>This series focuses on Worman's academic career at New York University (NYU), University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Antioch College and consists of papers by Worman; syllabi, reading lists and course proposals; evaluations, correspondence, and administrative records; programs and papers from workshops, panels, and lectures (including Worman in his persona as \"Dr. Queen\"); notes and notebooks; and submissions to a collection of essays he was editing when he died, <span class=\"title\">Gay Theater and Performance in the United States</span>. For his research on drag performance, Worman attended various gay events and pageants, many of which he audio-taped with his own commentary; there are also photographs of and programs for these events. Also included is a series of lectures Worman recorded of the New York University course, Experimental Performance Since 1960, taught by Worman's mentor at NYU, Richard Schechner, a director, author, and teacher in the performance studies movement.</p></div></li></ul>\n", "type"=>"arrangement"}
- acqinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Donated by Dorothy Kirsch and Robert Croonquist, December 2008.</p>"}
- processinfo
-
{"value"=>"<p>Processed by <span class=\"name\">Diana Bertolini</span> in <span class=\"date\">2010</span>.</p>"}
- accessrestrict
-
{"value"=>"<p>Audio and moving image materials can be used onsite at the Library for the Performing Arts. To request materials, please contact the Billy Rose Theatre Division.</p>"}
- relatedmaterial
-
{"value"=>"<p><span class=\"archref\">John Edward Heys papers, ca. 1962-2001 (bulk 1969-2000) . Billy Rose Theatre Division.</span></p>"}
- sponsor
-
{"value"=>"Description of audio and moving image materials was made possible by a grant from\n the Leon Levy Foundation, \"The Shelby White and Leon Levy Initiative to Press Play on the\n Audio and Motion Picture Archives at the New York Public Library for the Performing\n Arts.\""}
- revisiondesc
-
{"value"=>"Contents of Box 29 removed and entered as individual oversized folders. Box 29 deleted\n from container list.", "date"=>"2023 November"}
{"value"=>"Enhanced description for audio and moving image recordings added by Tara D.\n Strongosky.", "date"=>"2024"}
{"value"=>"Made corrections in the AMI content note for one recording - Annemarie van Roessel,\n Billy Rose Theatre Division", "date"=>"2025 March"}
- date_start
-
1960
- keydate
-
1960
- date_end
-
2008
- date_inclusive_start
-
1960
- date_inclusive_end
-
2008
- date_bulk_start
-
1960
- date_bulk_end
-
1993
- extent_statement
-
11.7 linear feet (28 boxes, 4 oversize folders). 167 audio recordings. 18 moving image recordings
- prefercite
-
{"value"=>"Martin Worman papers, *T-Mss 2009-002. Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts"}