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Creator
American Theatre Association
Call number
*T-Mss 1987-003
Physical description
5.3 linear feet (13 boxes)
Preferred Citation

American Educational Theatre Association records, *T-Mss 1987-003. Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library.

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

The American Educational Theatre Association (AETA), which later became the American Theatre Association, acted as an advocacy group, promoting theatre and theatre education. The American Educational Theatre Association records, dating from 1950 to 1985, hold administrative records, an institutional history, office files, and vice-presidential files.

Biographical/historical information

The American Educational Theatre Association was formed in 1936 by a group of privately-owned theatres. Recruiting its members from the ranks of teachers, actors, students, and directors, the Association acted as an advocacy group, promoting theatre and theatre education. The group published and disseminated materials for use in children's secondary schools, colleges and universities, and community theatres, pushed for federal funding of theatre education, promoted the touring of educational theatre groups, and worked with the armed forces to develop mutually beneficial theatre programs. The Association also sought to stimulate creative activity and scholarship in educational theatre and supported the art of American playwriting, pushing for the production of new plays and seeking out appropriate venues. The group was structured into divisions, committees, and projects. In 1972, the American Educational Theatre Association restructured itself as the American Theatre Association.

Scope and arrangement

The American Educational Theatre Association (AETA) records, dating from 1950 to 1985, hold administrative records, office files, vice-presidential files, and a history of the organization.

The Administrative Records are a combination of files from offices and individuals around the country, which were collected after the dissolution of the American Theatre Association in 1986. The records contain correspondence with or regarding affiliated organizations, such as the Speech Association of America and the National Council for the Arts in Education; committee correspondence; records of AETA conferences from 1953 to 1963, but mainly from the 1963 conference; correspondence files from three Presidents of the association; files from four divisions of AETA, such as the American Community Theatre Association and the Children's Theatre Conference; meeting minutes; and project files, including the Playwright's Program, the Rights and Royalties Project, and the Manuscript Play Project. The files regarding the 1963 AETA conference were cataloged under call number 8-MWEZ + n.c. 19,902. This call number appears in notes with the associated files.

The Office Files are arranged in a separate filing system, kept by the association's Washington office. The arrangement is a system unique to the association. Letter and number codes have been provided with the folder titles so the user can see the structure of the filing system and identify patterns and missing files. The files consist of correspondence relating to projects, committees, and general administration. Subjects are listed when present; some folders bear only the code, not a subject. There is significant overlap between these files and the Administrative Records.

Paul Kozelka, second vice-president of AETA in the early 1960s, was the program chair for the 1964 conference. His files contain correspondence with presenters and other AETA officials regarding program content and scheduling.

The institutional history of the association, titled Founders of the American Theatre Association, was produced in 1985 by the Golden Anniversary Committee and edited by Bernard Hewitt. Two drafts are present, one of which is final.

Arrangement

The records are in four divisions: Administrative Records, Institutional History, Office Files, and Paul Kozelka (Vice-Presidential) Files.

Administrative information

Source of acquisition

Unknown.

Processing information

Compiled by Matthew Snyder, 2015

Related Material

American Educational Theatre Association records. Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library. American Theatre Association records, *T-Mss 2001-003. Billy Rose Theatre Division, The New York Public Library.

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

The author/creator retains copyright of materials. For information on obtaining permission to publish, contact the Theatre Division at theatre@nypl.org.