Loading...
Creator
International Theatre Institute of the United States
Call number
*T-Mss 2002-032
Physical description
140.4 linear feet (321 boxes)
Preferred Citation

International Theatre Institute / Martha W. Coigney Collection, *T-Mss 2002-032. Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

Repository
Billy Rose Theatre Division
Access to materials
Request an in-person research appointment.Restrictions apply

The International Theatre Institute / Martha W. Coigney Collection comprises material documenting the workings of the ITI institution from its inception to the present, as well as items describing international theatre activity during the latter half of the 20th century. The ITI / U.S. Center deposits organizational records into the Collection on a continuing basis.

Biographical/historical information

The International Theatre Institute / Martha W. Coigney Collection comprises records documenting the workings of the ITI institution from its inception to the present, and items describing international theatre activity during the latter half of the 20th century. It is named after Ms. Coigney in honor of her thirty-five years of service to the organization (as ITI / U.S. Director, President of ITI Worldwide, and President Emeritus).

The ITI is a non-governmental organization that was created by theatre professionals in cooperation with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) to promote the international exchange of knowledge and practice in theatre arts. Such artists as Lillian Hellman and Archibald MacLeish of the U.S., Jean-Louis Barrault of France, and Tyrone Guthrie and J.B. Priestley of the U.K. took part in its formation. It was felt that the theatre needed an official voice after World War II, as artists "could and should communicate across borders even when their governments [might] not."

The Institute's Charter was adopted in 1948 at its Statutory Congress in Prague. ITI's functioning is patterned after that of Unesco: the Institute is composed of National Centers, and its governing body is its World Congress assembly, which meets to determine the main lines of work of the organization. In between Congresses, ITI is administered by an Executive Council and an elected Secretary General. The first Secretary General was Maurice Kurtz, a theatre lecturer and original member of the Unesco secretariat.

The founding Director of the U.S. National Center was theatre writer and editor Rosamond Gilder. Ms. Gilder supervised ITI / U.S. out of its office at the former ANTA (American National Theatre and Academy) headquarters in New York City. Gilder felt that part of ITI's mission as a communications network was to provide "a clearing house of information" for theatre practitioners and scholars. Consequently, all of the international theatre documentation that ITI / U.S. received was cataloged and made available to the public as the ITI / U.S. reference library. This library was initially directed by Elizabeth Burdick, and later, by Louis Rachow.

In 1987, the ITI / U.S. reference library was substantially augmented by the Theatre of Latin America (TOLA) Collection - 2,650 items documenting modern theatre in Latin America and the Caribbean, donated by TOLA founder Joanne Pottlitzer.

In 1994, when ITI / U.S. moved its headquarters to Theatre Communications Group, the bulk of the reference library went into storage. In 2002, the library materials were donated to the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, and re-named the International Theatre Institute / Martha W. Coigney Collection, in honor of Ms. Coigney, the second Director of ITI / U.S. In 2004, records from the ITI / U.S. institutional archives were transferred as well.

The ITI National Centers have grown in number from eight in 1948 to ninety in 2005. ITI has implemented many initiatives, including the Theatre of Nations Festival, international conferences and symposia. The Institute is affiliated with nine other international theatre organizations, covering the areas of acting, criticism, technical theatre, young people's theatre, amateur theatre, puppets, training, theatre research, libraries and museums. The organization's website is available at: http://iti.unesco.org/

Scope and arrangement

    CHRONOLOGY
  • 1946 Nov. 19-Dec. 10 First General Conference of Unesco, London. Resolution is passed to call an international meeting of theatre experts for the purpose of founding an International Theatre Institute.
  • 1947 June 18 Preliminary meeting regarding ITI / U.S. held at the American National Theatre and Academy (ANTA), New York City.
  • 1947 July 28-Aug. 1 Theatre Experts Meeting at Unesco House, Paris. ITI Charter drafted.
  • 1948 June 28-July 3 Statutory Congress of the International Theatre Institute, Prague. Eight member nations vote ITI into being and adopt its Charter.
  • 1949 International office of ITI moves into its Paris headquarters.
  • 1969 ITI / U.S. reference library made available to the public under the direction of Elizabeth B. Burdick.
  • 1987 Latin American theatre materials collected by Joanne Pottlitzer, Founding Director of Theatre of Latin America (TOLA), were donated to the ITI / U.S. reference library, under the sponsorship of The Americas Society / Center for Inter-American Relations.
  • 1989 Jan. Librarian Louis A. Rachow takes over management of ITI / U.S. reference library.
  • 1999 Nov. ITI / U.S. comes under the aegis of Theatre Communications Group (TCG).

The International Theatre Institute Collection consists of records documenting the history of the ITI institution from 1946 to 2005, and items describing international theatre activity during the latter half of the 20th century, with the bulk of the material from the 1970s and 1980s.

The archive of ITI institutional history makes up Series I-VIII, and includes correspondence, minutes, reports, notes, budgets, conference papers, directories, schedules, and other printed matter.

The theatre materials, which were formerly available as part of the ITI / U.S. reference library, comprise Series IX-XI, and include play manuscripts, programs, press releases, newsletters, season brochures, festival catalogs, dramaturgical essays, transcripts of taped interviews, commemorative pamphlets, clippings, and other ephemera.

The ITI collection also contains over 750 books and over 100 periodicals, which may be found in the NYPL online catalog, searchable under the words "International Theatre Institute," or "Martha Coigney," or by title. 100 ITI donated pamphlets are listed in a local database, searchable onsite at the Billy Rose Theatre Division.

Additionally, a separate printed listing of ITI donated books, serials, photographs, and ITI sponsored publications, arranged by country, is available from a librarian at the Theatre Division reference desk.

The collection is particularly strong in its documentation of the ITI / U.S. Center's activities, of ITI's World Congresses, of Latin American playwriting and theatre (courtesy of TOLA and Joanne Pottlitzer), and of European theatre.

The International Theatre Institute / Martha W. Coigney collection is arranged in eleven series:

  • Series I: ITI Formation
    1946-1949
    2 boxes
  • Series II: ITI Executive Council (formerly Executive Committee)
    1948-1999
    6 boxes
  • Series III: ITI World Congresses
    1948-2006
    11 boxes
  • Series IV: ITI National Centers
    1948-2004
    6 boxes
  • Series V: ITI National Centers - U.S
    1948-1998
  • Series VI: ITI Committees
    1951-2003
    5 boxes
  • Series VII: International Conferences
    1949-2003
    3 boxes

    Items include correspondence, schedules, programs and minutes. Much documentation is in both English and French.

  • Series VIII: International Festivals
    1954-1993
    3 boxes
  • Series IX: ITI Library Scripts
    61 boxes

    The playscripts in this series are written in each country's national language unless otherwise noted. The language of the play title listed first is a reflection of the language of the play's text. In the following instance: The wedding dress = Vestido de noiva, the play's text can be assumed to be in English. The translator(s) are indicated when known; dates are indicated when known.

    The vast majority of Spanish language plays were donated to the ITI Library by Theatre of Latin America (TOLA) in conjunction with the Center for Inter-American Relations. A bibliography of Latin American plays, donated by TOLA and compiled at ITI / U.S. with a grant from the Reed Foundation's InterAmericas program, may be found here in Subseries 33: Latin America.

    Other major contributors of manuscripts include the ITI National Centers and Theatre Communications Group (TCG). The donor's name is normally listed or stamped on the play's cover or title page.

  • Series X: ITI Library Subject Files
    178 boxes

    Three Regional Bodies have been set up by ITI: the African Regional Bureau (based at the Burkina Faso ITI National Center), the Latin American and Caribbean Regional Bureau (at the Venezuelan ITI Center), and the Asia-Pacific Regional Bureau (at the Korean ITI Center).

    Scandinavian Theatre is listed as a regional subseries and contains directories of theatrical activity in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden.

    Within each country or region, material is arranged alphabetically under the following subject headings:

    • Arts Councils and Organizations
    • Children's Theatre
    • Circus
    • Design and Theatre Architecture
    • Drama Schools and Training Programs
    • Festivals
    • Mime
    • National Conferences
    • Personalities
    • Puppetry
    • Theatres and Theatre Companies
    • Other printed matter (refers to bibliographies, periodicals, surveys, essays, and clippings that fall outside the subject headings listed above)

    Items in the subject files include: brochures, clippings, directories, flyers, newsletters, programs, press releases, schedules, reports, and commemorative pamphlets. Some photographs have been removed and integrated into the Billy Rose Theatre Division photograph files; these photographs are noted and may be requested from the Theatre reference staff.

    Dates are indicated when known, and reflect the bulk of the material within each country or region. Beginning and end dates do not necessarily imply that there is a complete run of material within those inclusive dates.

    Language in these items is a mix of English and the vernacular.

    The donor's name is listed or stamped on the item when known.

  • Series XI: Oversized Material
    1950-1994, undated
    1 box

    This series includes posters and oversized programs. Advance notice is required for access to the material.

Administrative information

Custodial history

The records and reference library of the International Theatre Institute / U.S were donated to the Billy Rose Theatre Division in 2002-2004 and re-named the International Theatre Institute / Martha W. Coigney Collection. The material had previously been held by the International Theatre Institute / U.S. Center at its New York headquarters. ITI / U.S. deposits organizational documentation into the Collection on a continuing basis.

Source of acquisition

The International Theatre Institute / U.S. Center, under the auspices of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), New York, New York.

Processing information

Processed by Barbara Knowles, with assistance from Pat Wise. Encoded by Barbara Knowles.

Separated material

Selected items from the ITI / U.S. reference library were re-located to the following areas:

  • Hundreds of books and serials were integrated into the Billy Rose Theatre Division, and are searchable through the NYPL online catalog under the words "International Theatre Institute," or "Martha Coigney," or by title.
  • Published plays were transferred to Circulating Drama on the 2nd floor of the Library for the Performing Arts, to the NYPL Humanities and Social Sciences Library, and to the Donnell and Mid-Manhattan branch libraries.
  • Duplicate books on Chinese performance were transferred to NYPL's Chatham Square / Chinatown branch.
  • Photographs were integrated into the Theatre Division photograph files.
  • Clippings from the New York Times were consolidated into the Theatre Division clipping folders.
  • New York Playbills and programs from the Shaw Festival and Stratford Festival of Canada were merged with the Theatre Division program files.
  • A selection of pamphlets has been cataloged into a local database, searchable onsite at the Billy Rose Theatre Division.
  • Video materials were transferred to Theatre on Film and Tape, audio materials to the Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound, dance items to the Jerome Robbins Dance Division, and music and opera materials to the Music Division, all within the Library of Performing Arts.
  • General cultural material, outside the scope of the performing arts, was transferred to the NYPL Humanities and Social Sciences Library.

Related Material

Books and serials published by the International Theatre Institute may be found by searching the NYPL online catalog under the author "International Theatre Institute."

Also available at the Billy Rose Theatre Division:

  • Freedley, George. George Freedley Papers, ca. 1861-1971. Call number: *T-Mss 2003-052
  • Gilder, Rosamond. Rosamond Gilder Papers, 1917-1949. Call number: 8 MWEZ 28381-94
  • Gilder, Rosamond and George Freedley.
  • Theatre collections in libraries and museums : an international handbook.Published, under the auspices of the New York Public Library and the National Theatre Conference, with the cooperation of the American Library Association. New York, Theatre Arts Inc., ca. 1936Call number: MWEC 91-2323
  • Kurtz, Maurice. Maurice Kurtz Papers, 1965-1999. Call number: *T-Mss 2000-024
  • Merin, Jennifer and Elizabeth B. Burdick. International directory of theatre, dance and folklore festivals : a project of the International Theatre Institute of the United States, Inc.Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1979. Call number: *R-Theatre 80-1101
  • Rubin, Don, ed. World encyclopedia of contemporary theatre, (6 vols.) London: Routledge, 1994. Call number: MWEB 95-550
  • Théâtre des Nations : 315 spectacles en 10 ans [Èditée par la Société de Publication Théâtrale et Artistique pour le Compte du Théâtre des Nations].Paris: Théâtre des Nations, 1963. Call number: MWEH (Paris) 82-1469

Bibliography

  • International Theatre Institute website. http://www.iti-worldwide.org/
  • Channick, Joan."From the deputy director : border crossing." American theatre, v. 18 (May/June 2001).
  • Coigney, Martha W."ITItems." The drama review, v. 33, no. 3 (T123 Fall 1989).
  • Coigney, Martha W. "Memories of the future : International Theatre Institute continues its fight for the theatre of tomorrow." American theatre, v. 19 (May/June 2002).
  • Pottlitzer, Joanne. "TOLA : the first 14 years." Theatre in the Americas, v. 1, no. 1 (Spring 1981).
  • Rachow, Louis. "Collective memory of a continent : TOLA, the Theatre of Latin America Collection." ITI bulletin, 1987.

Using the collection

Location

Billy Rose Theatre Division
New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center
40 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023-7498
Third Floor

Conditions Governing Use

For permission to publish, contact the Curator, Billy Rose Theatre Division.

Access restrictions

Some collections held by the Dance, Music, Recorded Sound, and Theatre Divisions at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts are held off-site and must be requested in advance. Please check the collection records in the NYPL's online catalog for detailed location information. For general guidance about requesting offsite materials, please consult: https://www.nypl.org/about/locations/lpa/requesting-archival-materials Photocopying prohibited.