Scope and arrangement
The Boris Tumarin professional files date from 1934 to 1978 and contain scripts, prompt books, production files, photographs, programs, and drawings.
Production files are arranged alphabetically by title and primarily document productions that Tumarin directed. The degree to which each production is represented varies, though files may contain annotated scripts; casting and rehearsal notes; production photographs; scenic and character sketches; programs; schedules; sheet music; contact lists; and telegrams. Among the more thoroughly represented titles are The Cherry Orchard, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Idiot, Royal Gambit, The Seagull, The Glass Menagerie, The Kitchen, and The Firebugs.
Scripts and prompt books primarily document productions that Tumarin directed or acted in. They are arranged alphabetically by title and date from 1934 to 1978. Prompt books contain lighting, music, and movement cues; notes; and, sometimes, stage or scene sketches. Titles include The House of Bernarda Alba, Lamp at Midnight, A Month in the Country, Longing for a Better Life, The Matchmakers, The Criminals, and The Head of Hair. Scripts are generally lightly annotated or clean versions, and include titles such as The Brothers Karamazov, Carnival, Saul, Who's Laughin'?, The Doctor's Duty, Before Breakfast, The Fox and the Grapes, The Stag King, and The Eternal Husband. Also present is one file containing miscellaneous one-acts, monologues, and scene excerpts.
Photographs consist of production stills for Anastasia, The House of Bernarda Alba, The Bear, and some unidentified productions. The collection also contains a small amount of programs and publicity materials for plays and musicals that Tumarin directed or performed in, such as The Westchester Playhouse 1946 productions of You Touched Me, Captain Applejack, and The Time of Your Life. Drawings consist of rough sketches, gesture drawings, and detailed renditions of characters, costumes, and production settings.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged by format. Production Files and Scripts and Prompt Books are arranged alphabetically by production title.