Scope and arrangement
The Edward E. Kidder scripts, dated c. 1883 to 1911, document his career as a playwright through annotated typescripts.
The collection offers a detailed representation of the dramatics, comedies and musicals that Kidder created. Several of the plays have copies with slight variations. Most of the plays have not been dated.
Kidder's trademarks include marking up his scripts by underlining sections of text; promoting his theatre credits; commenting on character development; stating the adaptability of his plays for the silent screen; and composing introductory remarks about the merits of the plays.
He occasionally noted the name of the lead actor such as Marguerite Clark (1883-1940) in the comedy The Pearl of Persia; Cora Tanner (1885- ?) in One Error and, Rose Melville (1867-1946) starring in Cinder Sarah in a role created specifically for her. The collection holds the plays Stage Struck and The Stumbling Block co- written by Kidder and his wife Augusta Raymond Kidder (abt, 1856-1939), and the sketch Souffle written by Augusta Kidder.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged by author followed alphabetically by title.