Scope and arrangement
The Builders Association records consist of production files from all Builders Association productions; administrative and financial files from the company; and production materials from shows in which Marianne Weems was involved prior to the founding of Builders Association (including productions she worked on with Ron Vawter at the Wooster Group). Though this is a collection of company records, its composition is influenced by the position of the collection donor, Marianne Weems, as the company's artistic director, and by her background in dramaturgy. The administrative and financial files document the process of running and financing a theatre company. Audio and video recordings were regularly used as part of Builders Association productions and these are a substantial component of the collection.
The Builders Association records are arranged in three series:
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1983-2014
This Series consists of two Subseries: Productions (1990-2014) and Adminstrative and Financial Files (1993-2014).
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1983-1995
This Series consists mainly of production materials for productions Weems worked on before founding the Builders Association, at such companies and performance venues as The Kitchen, Manhattan Theater Club, The Merry Pit Bull Theater, and The Wooster Group. As with the Builders Association production materials, these files extensively document dramaturgical research and script development, and also include press materials, programs, photographs, and designs. This series also contains correspondence, notes, class lists, and syllabi, and other files relating to courses, lectures, and workshops in which Marianne Weems participated or conducted.
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1983-2014
The Builders Association records contain a significant amount of audio and moving image material, mostly video recordings of rehearsals, interviews, and performances. There are also video recordings of interviews, films, documentaries, and television programs conducted or collected as background research for Builders productions and for productions Weems worked on at the Wooster Group and other theatre companies. Video and audio recordings which were used in productions and also included.