Rise of the woman director on Broadway, 1920-1950

144 Pages·2012·2.77 MB·English

by  Compton, Tamara L.

:
/THERISEOFTHEWOMANDIRECTORONBROADWAY,
1920-1950/
by
TAMARAL. COMPTON
B. A., UniversityofCalifornia, SantaBarbara, 1970
AMASTER'STHESIS
submittedinpartialfulfillmentofthe
requirementsforthedegree
MASTEROFARTS
DepartmentofSpeech
KANSASSTATEUNIVERSITY
Manhattan, Kansas
Approvedby
Dr. LewisE. Shelton
•mTiis-
TABLEOFCONTENTS
Chapter
I. INTRODUCTION 1
Proposal 1
ExistingLiterature 3
Methodology 7
II. BACKGROUNDHISTORY 15
HistoryoftheAmericanDirector 15
TheActress-Manager inAmerica 20
Changes inSociety'sViewofWomen 25
III. WOMENINTHEATRE, 1900-1950 33
IV. THEDEVELOPMENTOFTHEWOMANDIRECTOR 53
V. SELECTEDWOMEN-DIRECTORS 68
VI. CONCLUSION 102
APPENDIX 108
BIBLIOGRAPHY 128
CHAPTER I
Introduction
Proposal
UsingtheBurnsMantleBestPlays yearbookseries, a
statistical reviewofBroadwayproductionsanddirectors
revealsthatin 1894, 3.23percentoftheplaysweredirected
byawoman. In 1983thatfigurewas2.38percent. While
thesepolarfiguressuggestthattherehasbeen littlechange
inthelastninetyyears, therewere importantvariations.
Hostsignificantlyfrom 1920to 1950therewasariseinthe
percentageofwomendirectorsonBroadwayfromthreepercent
in1919tothirteenpercent in 1950. After 1950 the
percentagesdeclinedandby 1955thefigurewaszero.1The
threedecadeperiodof 1920-1950representsthepeakperiod
ofsuccessfoi»-thewomandirectoronBroadway. Thisstudy
willdocumentstatisticallythatrise, investigatethe
factorsthathamperedwomenandsuggestforcesthat
contributedtotheemergenceofthewomandirector, and
surveythecareersofthemajorfemaledirectorsofthe
period 1920-1950.
Althoughtheprofessionofstagedirectingaroseasa
specialtybeginningabout 1895, theemergenceofthewoman
directorwasdelayedduetothreefactors: 1) theroleofthe
directorasautocratandtechnical expert, 2) entrancetothe
2
professionthroughthemale-dominatedprofessionofstage
manager, and3) thepredominanceofmaleproducers, as
typifiedbytheSyndicate, whohiredfewwomendirectors.
By 1910bothasaudiencemembersandasperformers, some
womenbegantogrowdissastisfiedwiththeAmericandramaas
itwasshapedandcontrolledbymen. Inordertopromote
qualitydrama, womenneededtohavegreatercontrol. To
meetthisneed, womenorganizedprofessional clubsanddrama
societiestoprovidenetworksandeducationforthemselves.
Theyhelpedorganize littletheatregroups inwhichthey
couldgainexperienceasproducersanddirectors. By 1920
thesebetter-educatedandmoreexperiencedwomenwereableto
findmoreemploymentasdirectors incommercial theatres.
Theriseofthewomandirectorafter 1920wasaidedby:
1) thechange intheroleofthedirectortooneof
interpretiveartistandpsychologist, 2) increasedequality
forwomen ingeneral, 3) economicprosperitywhichallowed
moreproductionsandgreaterrisk-taking inthechoiceof
drama, and4) theshift inproductioncontrol totheatre
companies <manyofwhichhadoriginatedintheLittleTheatre
movement) and tosuch menastheShubertswhoregularlyhired
2
womendirectors. Theriseofthewomandirectorcontinued
throughthe1940sbywhichtimewomenwereabletoenterthe
professiondirectly insteadofgoingthroughthepreviously
prescribedrouteofactingorplaywriting.
After 1950thepercentageofwomendirectorsonBroadway
3
sharplydeclineddueto 1) ageneral change insocietal
attitudesbacktotraditional values, and2) increasing
productioncostswhichforcedproducerstomakemore
conservative investmentdecisions. Withthechange in
attitudesandtypesofdramaproduced, womendirectors, both
voluntarilyand involuntarily, lefttheBroadwaystage.
l25i§ti2HLiterature
Existingscholarly literatureinthefieldofwomen
directorsfalls intotwoprimarycategories: thegeneral
historyofdirectingandthehistoryofwomen intheatre.
Mostgeneral studiesonthehistoryofdirectingin
Americaareunpublisheddoctoraldissertationswritten inthe
1950sand 1960s. "Rehearsal-DirectionPracticesandActor-
DirectorRelationships intheAmericanTheatrefromthe
HallamstoActors' Equity" byDavidSchaal, 1956, coveredthe
actor-managerthroughmanager-directorperiod, fromColonial
Americato 1919, withconcentrationontherehearsal
3
practices. CharlotteCushman, AnnaCoraMowatt, andLaura
Keenewere includedasactress-managers.
Thenextstudy, in 1957, wasCharlesCox's "The
EvolutionoftheStageDirector inAmerica"whichevaluated
thechangingroleofthedirectorfromthenineteenthcentury
stagemanagertothemoderndirectorofthemid-twentieth
4
century. Hisstudy includeddiscussionsofLaura Keeneand
MargaretWebsterwithadditional briefcommentsonMargaret
.
4
Anglin, EvaLeGallienneandLillianHellman. Theappendixto
Cox'sstudy, basedon theBurnsMantleseriesof Best Plays,
listed theNewYork productionsbydirector'snamefrom 1894-
1950. Thisappendixwas importantasastartingpointfor
thepresentstudy
Coveringthesamegeneral trendsasCox, butnarrowing
thescope, JamesCochranwrote "TheDevelopment ofthe
Professional StageDirector: aCritical-Historical
Explanation ofRepresentativeProfessional Directorsonthe
5
NewYorkStage, 1896-1916" in 1958. Thebasisof hisstudy
centeredonthetheoriesandpracticesoftenmajordirectors
ofthatperiod: BenTeal, JosephHumphries, ClydeFitch,
EugenePresbrey, GeorgeMarion, HughFord, GeorgePiatt, John
Emerson, andMinnieMaddernFiske.
CharlesMettenshiftedtheemphasis from practicesto
writings inhis1960study "TheDevelopment inAmericaof
TheoriesofDirectingasFound inAmericanWritings, 1914-
6
1930." As in theCochranstudy, Fiskewastheonlymajor
womandirectorincluded.
RobertHazzardreturnedto lookingatspecificdirectors
in"TheDevelopmentofSelectedAmericanStageDirectorsfrom
7
1926to 1960," completed in 1962. Althoughheevaluatedthe
theoriesand practicesofdirectorsduringthepeak periodof
activitybywomendirectors in NewYork, hisstudy included
nowomen, onlytwelvemen. Heexplained that he limitedhis
worktoAmericanswhohaddirectedaminimal numberof plays
5
onBroadwayandwhowerenotsignificantlyactive inany
other field, suchasactingandplaywriting, andyethe
includedElmerRice. Henotedthat he hadeliminated Eva
LeGallienne becauseofa lackof informationonherdirecting
techniques. WhyheeliminatedothersuchwomenasAgnes
Morgan, AntoinettePerry, or MargaretWebsterwasnot
specified.
In 1963thefirstgeneral studyofthehistoryof
directingtobedonebyawomanwascompleted: Helen Krich
Chinoy's "The Impactof theStageDirectoronAmericanPlays,
8
PlaywrightsandTheatres, 1860-1930." Herstudydid include
women but theconcentrationwason their participation in the
littletheatres, ratherthan onBroadway, anddoesnotgo
beyond 1930.
After the 1960s, researchshiftedtowardsstudiesof
individual directorsratherthanhistorical overviews.
Fiske, LeGallienne, WebsterandMargoJoneswerethemost
recognizedand studiedwomendirectorsof the twentieth
century.
Asummationof thefindingsoftheSchaal, Cox, Cochran,
Metten, Hazzard, andChinoystudieswill befound in Chapter
II, SectionA, ofthiswork.
Researchonwomen intheatreasaseparatephenomenon
isaratherrecentfield. Oneof theearliestworks, Ruth
Manser's "The Influenceof theAmericanActressonthe
Developmentof theAmericanTheatre, 1835-1935" (1938), was
indicativeof theequation ofwomenand theacting
professionandwascompletedbeforetheriseofthewoman
9
directorwouldhavebeendocumented. Herstudy coveredthe
historyoftheactress-manager inAmericafromCharlotte
CushmantoEvaLeGallienne, and includedMrs. John Drew,
Julia Marlowe, Mrs. Fiske, MargaretAnglin, Ethel Barrymore,
and Alia Nazimova.
Until themid-1970sotherscholarly studieson women in
theatrecenteredon individuals. SpeechCommunicationand
TheatreArts^ aClassifiedBibliography,of Thesesand
Dissertations^ 1973-1978, listeda 1974thesis, "TheRoleof
AmericanWomen inAmericanTheatre, 1940-1970" byNancy
10
Kolhoff. Sincethisworkwasunobtainable atthetimeof
thisstudy, specificsof itscoveragearenotknown; however,
thestudycoveredonlytheperiodafter 1940. Theonlyother
notationofascholarlyworkon thegeneral historyof women
directorswasfound intheappendix listingofstudies in
Women inAmericanTheatre--"TheContributionsofSelected
Women Directors inTwentiethCenturyAmericanTheatre"by
11
MaryNewell, WayneStateUniversity,(1975). Notraceofthis
study, however, wasfound intheComprehensive Dissertation
12
iQdexor by theWayneStateUniversityLibrary.
The twomajorpublishedworks inthefieldofwomen
intheatreare Women inAmericanTheatre (1981), by Helen
KrichChinoyandLindaWalshJenkins, and Women in Theatre:
13
CompassionandHope (1983), editedbyKarenMalpede. Both
books Includewritingsbyandaboutselectedwomen ina
varietyof theatrical professions. ChinoyandJenkins
includeddirectorsMaryShaw, Rachel CrothersandAnne
Nichols. Halpede's bookincludedonlyEvaLeGallienneas a
directorfrom the 1900-1950period.
As interestinthefieldofwomen intheatregrows,
additional publicationsareemergingsuchasAlbertAuster's
ActressesandSuffragists! W2!!§Q ±0 theAa®Ei£9STheater.!
I§§Qzl§20 (1984), andthesoon tobe publishedNotableWomen
14
In AmericanTheatre, abiographical encyclopedia.
Althoughtheaboveliteratureonwomen inAmerican
theatrehasbeenan invaluableresourcefor thisstudy,
nonehasspecificallypinpointed thenumerical riseofwomen
directors incommercial NewYork theatrefortheperiod
1920-1950norexclusively triedtoevaluate thecontributory
factors involved inthat rise.
Methodology
Thefirst step inpreparingthisstudyoftherise of
thewomandirectoron Broadwaywastostatistically
illustratethis phenomenon. Sincethe impetusforthisstudy
wassparked bythenotationof the large numberofwomen
included in theappendix listingofNewYork directors, 1894-
1950, in theCoxdissertation, thepresent investigation
15
beganthere. Acomplete listofall thewomen includedwas
extracted. Thosenames listedwithonly initialsorwith
8
genericfirst names, such Val orLynn, werecheckedagainst
biographical indexes, orinsome casesreviews, to determine
thesexofthe individual.
Inordertoextendthestatistical picture, asimilar
listofdirectorsandproductionswascompiledfortheperiod
1951-1983usingthesame sourceasCox, theBestPlaysseries
16
foreach year. As intheCox list, onlythoseproductions
thatincludedthenameofadirectorwereused, andoperas,
iceshows, anddanceconcertswereexcluded. Usingboth
lists, countsweremade, byyear, of thetotal numberof
productions listedand thetotal numberofdirectors. Since
someproductionsusedtwoor moredirectors, the second
number isgreaterformostyears. Countswerethenmadeof
the numberofproductions, byyear, listedunderawoman's
name. Percentages ofplaysdirected bywomenwerethen
calculatedusing thesefigures. Exceptforsomeminor
fluctuations, this surveyshowedanobviousriseinthe
percentageofwomendirectorsafterWorldWar I. Thisnumber
continuedtorisethroughWorldWar II butabruptlyfell
after 1950. SincesuchscholarsasRobertHazzardeliminated
womendirectors from theirstudieson thegroundsthatthey
wereprimarily actressesorplaywrights, notationswere made
oftheauthors, producersandwhetherthedirectoralso
appearedasaperformer. Thi3 informationwasalso tabulated
intoastatistical summary. Bothofthesestatistical charts
are included inthetextofChapter III. The listofwomen