{"value"=>"<p>Professional files are grouped by general professional files regarding companies and studios; theater and film materials; World War I material; and other writings. General professional files are arranged in alphabetical order. The American Play Company and Century Company files contain contracts and royalty statements regarding Mayo's works, and the Selwyn & Co. files represent Mayo's inquest into the company's accounts in order to collect monies owed to her. Selwyn & Co. sold stock rights of some of Mayo's plays to the American Play Company when they merged in 1914 and these sales are also partially documented. The files on Hugh Massie & Company represent the negotiation of the foreign rights of Mayo's works. The company files represent most of Mayo's major and minor works including Baby Mine, Commencement Days, Divorcons, Naughty Wife, Polly of the Circus, Snake Bite, and Twin Beds.</p> <p>The Authors League Fund file concerns her request for financial assistance prior to her death and the posthumous management of her estate including renewal of copyright and royalty statements. The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer files consist of early management documents and policies, initial stock distributions, and Mayo's working files from her position as Head of the Scenario Department. The studio is represented in its three iterations: Goldwyn Pictures Corporation; Metro-Goldwyn; and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Submissions contain letters, often with scenarios, sent to Mayo from writers and production studios requesting that Mayo read their scripts.</p> <p>Film and theater files are arranged alphabetically by title followed by general files arranged by format. These files can include scripts, box office statements, plot books, blocking instructions, and set designs; submission, rejection, and acceptance letters; and legal files. Additionally, some files contain posthumous contracts and royalties. Mayo usually used multiple titles for her plays and she would often revisit and resubmit a play under a new title, sometimes working on the same play over a decade or two. Folders in this series retain Mayo's designation and below is a list of titles and their various iterations:</p> <p> <ul class=\"list\"> <li>Baby Mine: Rock-A-Bye-Baby (musical version)</li> <li>The Cheat: The Flirt, Infatuation, and Zella</li> <li>Dear Debtors: The Dorrits, Mister Dorrit, A Little Matter of Business, Room 60, and Take Your Husband's Word for It</li> <li>His Bridal Night: The Stolen Honey Moon</li> <li>Lovelight: All Lit Up</li> <li>Marie Antoinette: Every Inch a Queen and Queen Gambles</li> <li>Sorry: Behind the Scenes, Bright Lights, Dolly Love, Estranged, and The White Way Polly of the Circus: Peg of the Circus and Spangles (musical version)</li> <li>Poor Boob: Poor Simp</li> <li>Seeing Things: Mousey and Loving Ladies</li> <li>Tom Cat: The Darlings, Pettie Darling, Say It with Flowers, and Scared Cats</li> <li>The Transgressors: The Acting Governor</li></ul></p> <p>Productions most represented include Baby Mine, Crippled Hearts, Polly of the Circus, and The Tom Cat. Files for Baby Mine, Divorcons, Polly of the Circus, and Twin Beds contain material regarding the film versions of the plays. Baby Mine also contains extensive files of royalty statements and contracts including domestic and European productions. Mayo dramatized many novels and short stories-files for Belshazzar and The Marriage of William Ashe contain correspondence with their respective authors, William Stearns Davis and Mary Augusta Ward. The Aubrey Kennedy files contain the scripts God Laughed, The Billion Dollar Mystery, The Power of the Cross, That's That, and Wings of Victory.</p> <p>General theater and film files include an incomplete alphabetical folio that contains the names of plays and scenarios, the dates they were submitted to and returned, and additional comments. The file titled 'Play Letters to be filed,' Mayo's designation, consists of unsorted correspondence regarding particular productions.</p> <p>World War I files represent Mayo's booth at the Allied Bazaar Theater and her participation overseas in the Over There Theatre League. The files contain posters for performances, news clippings, and scripts, as well as correspondence regarding a reunion of performers Mayo attempted to organize in 1945. The files also hold typescript drafts of Trouping for the Troops, Mayo's account of her work during World War I. The miscellaneous files includes printed matter such as The World's Battle Fronts at a Glance (maps, 1918) and Caption A. R. Gercken's Military Tips and Pointers (1918).</p> <p>Writings consist of newspaper submissions; short stories, some under pseudonyms; and drafts for her book A Dog's Life with illustrations by Bert Cobb. Mayo wrote letters to newspaper editors often, and newspapers submissions contain numerous articles and letters on the role of the arts and artists in society, remedies for the Great Depression, Hudson Valley land ordinances and local politics, and the Lindbergh Trial.</p>"}