Scope and arrangement
The papers of Mac Wellman span his high school career, 1959-1963, to the year of donation, 1999. As a poet, playwright, essayist and teacher, Wellman’s roles often overlapped. Similarly, his poems might become plays, and his friendships with other literary/theatrical talents blur the line between personal and professional. Generally, the collection is more personal in the early years, gradually becoming more professional in later years. There are few photographs, either personal or of productions. The heart of the collection are the rough drafts of poetry and prose, of scripts and notebooks, which allow the reader insight into the creation of Wellman’s works.
The Mac Wellman papers are arranged in ten series:
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1960 - 199912 boxes
Mac Wellman’s correspondence is a mix of personal and professional, often within the same document. Photographs and other attachments sent with correspondence remain with the correspondence.
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8 boxes
This series includes appointment/address books from the 1970s-1990s and computer information from the 1990s. Sub-series 3-7 contain papers from the early portions of Wellman’s life, including his education and travels abroad in the 1960s and 1970s.
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Undated - 19992 boxes
This series includes photographs of Wellman himself, as well as family and friends. It does not include photographs of theater productions.
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1945 - 19997 boxes
This series is closed to the public until 2028. Includes financial and legal papers that are considered personal, such as individual tax forms or vital records, as well as more professional documents like contracts and grant applications.
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1969 - 199812 boxes
This series includes professional papers that aren’t directly related to theatrical productions. Wellman was quite involved with the theatrical community outside of his own work, often teaching/lecturing at various universities. He began his career as a poet and continued to write poetry throughout his career, while also writing magazine articles, essays, and books.
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1972 - 19997 boxes
Organized by production title, this series contains a variety of materials including: production schedules, programs, photographs, clippings, fliers, rehearsal notes and music scores. Includes Bad Penny, Crowbar, Terminal Hip, Sincerity Forever and Whirligig.
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10 boxes
Scripts and notebooks are a single series because often Wellman’s notebooks contain ideas for single or multiple scripts. Where possible, they are organized by the script’s final name. Both produced and unproduced scripts are included in this series.
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6 boxes
This series contains published writings by Mac Wellman, as well as published materials by other authors that are inscribed by the author and/or annotated by Wellman.
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This series includes information about different computer programs, their installation disks, etc... It also includes back-up disks (3 ½”) for Annie Salem, Whirligig, pieces written at Bellagio Study & Conference Center, and unnamed plays and poetry. All information seems to be from the 1990s. Permission of the Curator is needed to access this series.
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1 box
This series contains designs, photographs, art, a music score and Wellman’s college diploma. There is also a folder of star maps/registers related to Wellman’s star Whirligig.