The large Theatre and Dance Department Collection (RG 4/9) in Special Collections and Archives gives researchers an in-depth look at the history of theatrical performance at Missouri State University, with material such as programs, photographs and slides, scrapbooks and albums, recordings of programs and commercials, reports, flyers, newspaper clippings, and more, dating back to the 1910s.

Plays were performed in the early years at of the university, but not initially as a part of any formal department.  The senior class put on a play each spring, and the Coburn Players, an outside organization, performed here during the summers.  It wasn’t until 1915, however, that the first class in theatre was offered to students, as part of the Department of English and Speech.  Theatre became a part of the new Speech and Theatre Department in 1965, and the Theatre and Dance Department was later established in 1984. Dance, prior to 1980, had been a part of the Health and Physical Education Department.

Productions performed by the Theatre and Dance Department have included a variety of formats, such as musicals, operas, one acts, interpreters/readers theatre, USO tours, Tent Theatre productions, variety shows, and dance performances.  Tent Theatre began in 1963 as an alternative to the Carrington Auditorium, which was not air-conditioned at the time.  Even though air conditioning was added to the theater later, Tent Theatre still continues as a campus tradition.

A small selection of the material in this collection, mostly relating to USO tours in the 1950s-1970s, is also available in our online Digital Collections.