Come view the history of one of the CSUEB campus' most creative and colorful departments!
Using photographs, archival materials, and artwork supplied by the Theatre & Dance Department from the past half-century, this display showcases various themes that are key to the heritage of the department.
Among the themes explored are, Theatre and Musical Theatre, Dance, Technical and Design, Performance History, Building History, and Beyond Entertainment.
A joint production by the Theatre & Dance Department and the University Libraries.
We were intrigued when the Theatre and Dance folks approached us about collaborating on this exhibit back in 2012.
Theatre staffer April Rodriguez had apparently collected reams of material, created several rough renderings of posters she wished realized, and generally had done much of the legwork required to produce a cohesive exhibit!
So it was that April and the Library - together with help from the folks at the campus' Media and Technology Service (MATS) - began a very easy and fruitful collaboration in which we turned out over twenty 36" x 72" wall posters in time for the Library's Fall Exhibit in 2012!
At our end (in the Library), we simply created the poster layouts using the graphics supplied by the Theatre Department, and then printed these. April even helped us hang the posters!
- DA
Poster #1: Title
[exhibit logo poster header]: 50th Anniversary Celebration: Dance, Theatre, Design.
[random words and phrase]: Acting, inclusive, history, musical theatre, moving, stories of our soul.
Join Us for a Special Exhibit Celebrating CSUEB's Vibrant Theatre and Dance Department.
[central image of dramatic performance]
In the University Library Upper & Lower mall Levels, NOW through January 2013.
[sub-logo]: 50 Years - Theatre and Dance CSUEB
Poster # 2: Beyond Entertainment
[exhibit logo poster header]: Beyond Entertainment.
[random words and phrase]: Diverse, healing, awareness, travel, cultural center, recognized.
[figure of male street dancer with call-out speaking balloon]: "One street kid from Hayward is changing the world, one beat and kid at a time!"
[additional image of performance]
[sub-logo]: 50 Years - Theatre and Dance CSUEB
Poster # 3: Beyond Entertainment
[image of two performers; 8 images of performance program covers].
[quote]: "I am not just a supporter of the Arts, I am a fan...."
- former CSUEB President Norma Rees.
Poster # 4: Beyond Entertainment
[image of two performers; several images of newspaper articles about Cal-State performances].
[quote]: "I believe theatre can serve as avehicle for provoking thought and changing behavior...."
- Professor Rhoda Kaufman.
Poster #5: Building History
The Early Years:
History of the Highlands Playhouse
[1 image of Highland School at original location; 1 shot of the building being moved; image of newspaper clipping about the move].
Highlands Playhouse was originally part of Highland School in Hayward. The building was said to serve as a “cafetorium” - a combination cafeteria and auditorium. The State College for Alameda County purchased the facility in order to turn it into a science building during its earliest years before 1962. Once the college moved to its present hilltop location in 1963, however, it had two new science buildings, and the makeshift labs were no longer needed.
The young Speech and Drama Department then proposed that it be allowed to use the building as a 145-seat theatre. “It has that non-institutional look,” the department’s Professor Donald Muir was quoted as saying. “The playhouse is adequate for the present, but not for the strong program we hope to have in the future.” The first production held in this theatre was The Strongbox (The Daily Review, Hayward, Wed. July 20, 1966).
Poster #6: Building History
The Playhouse Arrives on Campus
[2 exterior and 2 interior images of Highland Playhouse building].
Relocation of the Highlands Playhouse facility from its Highland School location became necessary when the Hayward Unified School District decided to build additional classrooms on the original site of the playhouse structure.
A truck carried the playhouse from nearby Highland School, onto campus land - its new home was west of the South Science Building.
It was predicted at the time that “If all goes well this old playhouse with its revamped facility and relocation will be ready for productions for the fall quarter” (The Daily Review, Hayward, Wed. July 20, 1966).
Poster #7: Building History
[exhibit logo poster header]: Building History
[random words and phrase]: Hayward, home, 1961, 1963, 1974
[image of Campus Master Plan from the 1960s showing a Theatre Complex; aerial image of campus in early 1970s with new Theatre Building evident].
The Earliest Campus Planning Included a Theatre Building
As shown on these panels, however, it took several years for the newly-formed Theatre Department to realize the goal of a dedicated building to support its curriculum. Formed in 1961, the Theatre Department had to improvise with borrowed space between its inception and 1967, when it acquired a small wooden structure from nearby Highland School (see panels to your left). In 1969, construction finally began on the large theatre complex we have today (see panels to your right).
[sub-logo]: 50 Years - Theatre and Dance CSUEB
Poster #8: Building History
New Theatre Complex Opens
[images of newspaper clipping depicting indoor groundbreaking for Speech-Drama Complex, new Theatre complex program from 1974, and Drama Faculty from old yearbook].
“This opening marks an end as well as a beginning: Our Theatre building fulfills the ambitious dreams and painstaking planning of some of our faculty for a decade or more and embodies our confident expectation of a successful future as a cultural center for the University and the community. We hope that you will enjoy our performances of The Comedy of Errors and will return frequently for future productions.”
~ Chairman John C. Hammerback,
Department of Speech and Drama. (University Theatre Dedicatory Series booklet 1974).
Poster #9: Building History
History of the University Theatre & Studio Theatre
[4 interior images of new Theatre Building].
The Theatre Building project was conceived in 1962, as stated by Donald B. Muir in his 1974 letter of invitation to the first production of the new University Theatre. In fact, the first production held in the new Theatre Building actually took place in the Studio Theatre.
The Studio Theatre’s first production was The Lady's Not for Burning, a 1948 play by Christopher Fry. Shortly thereafter, the University Theatre opened its doors.
“With this installation of our complex, [including a] new lighting and sound control system, we can now mount the kind of productions of which we have dreamed.
In celebration of this event we are presenting a gala production of Shakespeare’s ‘The Comedy of Errors’.”
~ Invitation letter from Donald Muir, February 14, 1974
Poster #10: Dance
[no text on this poster - 2 images of solo dancers]
Poster #11: Dance
[exhibit logo poster header]: Dance.
[random words and phrase]: All, bodies @ play, abilities, emotional, flow, powerful, jazz, tap, technique, modern, hip-hop, strikingly original.
[no text in main body of this poster - Images of dancers]
[sub-logo]: 50 Years - Theatre and Dance CSUEB
Poster #12: Dance
[no text on this poster - Images of dancers]
Poster #13: Performance History
[no text on this poster - images of female dance performer; images of 7 selected performance program covers]
Poster #14: Performance History
[exhibit logo poster header]: Performance History.
[random words and phrase]: Premiere, college, world, U.S., drama, original.
[no text in main body of this poster - images of two drama performances; images of 4 selected performance program covers]
[sub-logo]: 50 Years - Theatre and Dance CSUEB
Poster #15: Performance History
[no text on this poster - images of male dramatic performer; images of 7 selected performance program covers]
Poster #16: Technical & Design.
[no text on this poster - image montage of past dramatic performances].
Poster #17: Technical & Design
[exhibit logo poster header]: Technical & Design.
[random words and phrase]: Lights, sound, visually, stunning, managing, collaboration, levels.
[no text in main body of this poster - montage images of several drama performances]
[sub-logo]: 50 Years - Theatre and Dance CSUEB
Poster #18: Technical & Design
[no text on this poster - image montage of past dramatic performances].
Poster #19: Theatre & Musical Theatre
[no text on this poster - image montage of past theatrical performances].
Poster #19: Theatre & Musical Theatre
[exhibit logo poster header]: Theatre & Musical Theatre.
[random words and phrase]: Revealing, captivating, moving, energetic, intimate, rigorous, personalized, performance, training, driven.
[no text in main body of this poster - montage images of several drama performances]
[sub-logo]: 50 Years - Theatre and Dance CSUEB
Poster #21: Theatre & Musical Theatre
[no text on this poster - montage images of several drama performances]
