Scope and arrangement
The Music-Theatre Group (MTG) records date from 1972 to 2011. They document the development, staging, promotion, and reception of the group's productions, and, to a lesser extent, fundraising and administration for the organization as a whole. The collection contains administrative records, production files, photographs, press files, and audio and video recordings. Administrative records and production files include electronic records. Some of the electronic records are in unreadable file formats, especially those created before 1993; researchers will only be able to glean a small amount of information from these documents. Audio and video recordings are unavailable pending digitization.
Administrative records are arranged by the staff member or department that created them, or by subject matter, and largely concern fundraising and project development. The files contain correspondence, contracts, grant applications, budgets and expenses, board meeting minutes, and reports on MTG's work. Files related to grants and fundraising may include overviews of the work being funded and reports on the work's progress. Administrative records also include staff and artist biographies, used for promotional purposes.
The bulk of the collection consists of production files, documenting specific productions and creators. The best-represented works in the collection include Africanis Instructus, The Best of Both Worlds, Endangered Species, The Garden of Earthly Delights, The Griffin and the Minor Canon, Juan Darien, The Making of Americans, Marco Polo, Poppie Nongena, Running Man, Vienna: Lusthaus, and You Don't Miss the Water. Among MTG's repeat-collaborators, whose work appears multiple times in the production files, are Martha Clarke, Eve Ensler, Richard Foreman, Diedre Murray, and Stanley Silverman.
The emphasis of the production files is on staging, finances, press and publicity, the hiring of cast and crew, and the logistics of touring. Production files may contain multiple drafts of scripts and scores; scripts and scores annotated with cues or blocking instructions; actor resumes and head shots; casting notes; contracts with authors, cast, crew, and venues; budgets; records of expenses and income; clippings; press releases; itineraries and other travel information; lighting documents; prop and costume inventories; stage plans; and stage manager's production books. Production books contain annotated scripts and scores, contact information, production agreements, performance logs, schedules, and similar documents. Internal MTG correspondence as well as correspondence with partners and collaborators can be found throughout the files.
Production photographs are arranged separately from the other production materials. They consist of performance and promotional photographs, and include prints, slides, negatives, and contact sheets.
Press consists mostly of clippings about specific MTG productions. The press files also contain clippings about MTG in general, MTG press releases, and posters. Clippings and press releases can also be found in the production files.
Video and audio recordings are of performances and special events, mostly produced by MTG. There are also recordings which were used in MTG productions, such as sound effects.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in five categories: Administration, Productions, Production Photographs, Press, and Recordings.