Project Abstract;A Fabulous Era:
the story of theatre in northwestern Pa.

"A Fabulous Era" invloves the production of three half-hour
radio programs--"Frank Coitman^trouper from Tidioute," "Michael

V.Ball,passionate playgoer in Warren," and "T.H.Lloyd,manager of

St.Petersburg's opera house"--in a projected series of fifteen
programs.
Most evidently our bias is regional,but it is our thesis
that the story of theatre in Pennsylvania's Oil Region is sub­

stantively the story of the great American road,1875-1915.To
make our point we examine the local opera house as a national

Institution even as we consider its manager,audiences,and those

attractions,appearing for One Night Only!,that reflected the
prejudices,predelictions,and preconceptions of Americans at

large in the period under consideration.

Scripts will be prepared by Dr.John L.Marsh-and reviewed
by Dr.Douglas McDermott--both nationallly recognized as publishing
scholars in the area of the nineteenth century American theatre.

The three programs will be produced by Dr.Gary Christiensen,a compr-.
etent specialist in educational communications.Once prepared

the programs will be aired to an audience of 250,000 potential
listeners.

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Program Description

background: and objectives
The project has grown out of the research effort of Dr.John

L.Marsh,Professor of English at Edinboro State College,Edinboro,

Pa,For a decade Dr.Marsh has pursued his interest in the nine­
teenth century American theatre by researching the story of
theatrical activity throughout Pennsylvania’s Oil Region.This

effort,in turn,led Dr.Marsh to publish monographs and articles

dedicated to recreating the look and feel of theatre in its

fabulous era.
In response to the publicity attendent on his publications

mahy of the region's historical societies asked Dr.Marsh to
present

programs at their annual or seasonal meetings*These

presentations provoked the interest of area radio stations,

one of which aired a program devoted to theatrical activity
in northwestern Pennsylvania.Very evidently an-interest

existed on the part of the public in Dr.Marsh's materials,and
in response to it,he met with Dr.Gary Christiansen,head of the

production facility at Edinboro State College.Together they
agreed to collaborate in the production of a series of halfhour radio programs if adequate funding could be secured.
As matters now stand,Drs.Marsh and Christiansen have

agreed on the subject area of three initial programs and have

projected an additional tweiVeeacripts to complete a series of

fifteen programs."Frank Coltman,trouper from Tidioute," "Michael

V.Bal1,passionate playgoer in Warren," and

T.H.Lloyd,manager

of St.Petersburg's opera house," have been selectd as the ta^g^t

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for potential funding.
The first of the programs,"Frank Coltman," recreats the
career of a long forgotten player whose career provides a

case study of the combination system at work;the opportunities
it provided,the hardships it virtually mandated,and the taste

in theatre it fostered,at once in the actors themselves and

most certainly in their audiences."Michael V.Ball" looks at
the viewing experience of a most unexceptional playgoer from

from Warren.Extracts from his diaries tally the national
taste for scenic spectacles in which yards of canvas and box­

cars of special effects soldethe show,for soulful dramas whose
every scene was a domestic sermon,and for black-face minstrel

entertainments promising a plethora of individual talent.
Just how such attractions reached playgoers like Ball
is subject matter for the third program,which takes a look

at the local opera house manager.T.H.Lloyd,the*individual in

question,managed St.Petersburg's opera house from 1876 to
1883.The; faded and cramped entries in his account book not
only reflect the kind of fare that Warren viewers enjoyed

but recurring references to Sam T.Jack,the creator of the
Oil Region Circuit,make possible an enlightened look at
just how attractions like the Buffalo Bill Combination
were secured by managers of small houses like Lloyd.

And it is in such houses and the attractions they offered

that one finds the meanings of labels like "The Confident
Years" or "Our Age of Innocence."

*

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centrality to the humanities
A series of programs devoted to the American theatre in

a given time frame has an obvious relationship to the human­

ities »and never more so than in the period between 1875 and
1915 when theatre-going was the great American pastime.Virtually

everyone--a handful of the morally alert excepted--patronized

the theatre on a more or less regular basis--in tank towns and
in metropolitan centers.And to meet the demands of this national

audience popular playwrights fashioned vehicles that supported
cherished concepts of home and hearth,domestic virtues and
filial responsibilities,private property and corporate profits.

Such plays,whatever their aesthetic limitations,met the

demands--moral and intellectual^-that audiences required of

them.Moreover,they reflected some of the most cherished
wish-fulfillments of the generation associated with the

Gilded Age.And though dramatists certainly did. not mirror
life as it was lived by the generality of men,their creations

were a reflection of life as many in the audience wished it
might be;and,in fact,believed it to be--at least for the evening.
Many a youth even attempted with more or less success to model

his life upon the behavior of the stage's most heroic stereo­
types, as the program devoted to Michael V.Ball makes clear.

To be sure our particular theatrical sample is regional
in its bias,but the story of theatre in Pennsylvania's Oil

Region is substantively the story of theatre in Cohoes,New York,
or Butte,Montana.For,in the days of the road,it was .pQt: i'-;r.

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necessary for the audience to travel to the theatre;rather the
theatre travelled wherever there were rail lines.The known and

the unknown,the memorable and the ephemeral criss-crossed the
land;and though the major figures of the day,given their chpice,

would have preferred a succession of split-week stands,the
economics of the road dictated that they fill in the distances
between population centers with one-night stands.Thus the

theatrical world came to country doorsteps and satisfied audiences
by the degree to which it reflected the preconceptions,predelic­

tions,and prejudices of a national audience.In a very real sense
it vjas a mirror of the audience of our granparents'generation.

working relationships

In the preparation done to date Dr.Marsh and Dr,Christ­
iansen have established a working relationship not only with

one another but with other key participants in the projected

project.Should funding be secured,Dr.Marsh would prepare
the first of three "working scripts."Once completed,it will be

reviewed by Dr.Christiansen and his production staff for
comment as to its presentational possibilites and technical
demands.Comments supplied by these professionals will be

incorporated into a "proof script" that will be sent to Dr.
Douglas McDermott,Professor of Drama,California State College,

Stanislaus,a recognized scholar in the field of nineteenth

century American theatre.As well,two co-participants in the

audio presentation--Professor Jack Tohtz and Professor Richard

Andersen,will have an opportunity to comment on the script.'.s
readability from their point of view.

The return of the script by Dr.Me Dermott will provide
the occasion for a conference involving the immediate principals

Dr.Christiansen and his production staff together with Dr. Marsh
and Professors Tohtz and Anderson,who will be involved in the

audio presentation.They will review all comments and,wo.king

from their guidence,Dr.Marsh will prepare a "final script."

When completed,it will be typed,duplicated,and distributed to
all concerned.Readers for dramatic inserts will be recruited
as needed to join the program's three principals and Dr.Christ­

iansen will establish rehearsal and taping dates.lt is antic­

ipated that much the same course of action will prevail in the

implementation of programs two and three.

evaluation procedures
Evaluative procedures proposed are two fold.First,manage»v^

nient. level personnel at WQLN-FM, Erie, Pa., have agreed to critique
programs strengths and weaknesses as examples of public broad­

casting. Secondly , a plan has been devided whereby contact will
be made with historical societies in the area of the broadcasts. •
I

Specifically,the executive directors of these organizations will
be asked to furnish the names of a least three individuals

competent to critique the programs from the standpoint of local
history.At least one individual in each area will be asked for

his comments on the programs.Such critiques will be utilized
not only to guide and shape the current programs but in the

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planning and production of the remaining twelve programs.

participating personnel
John L.Marsh,series creator

Dr.Marsh (PhD,Univ.of Penna.,American Studies) is the

author of book-length monographs and articles devoted to the

history of theatre in the golden days of the road.Periodicals
that have published his work in this area include DRAMATICS,

PLAYERS,JOURNAL OF POPULAR CULTURE,EDUCATIONAL THEATRE JOURNAL,
THEATRE-SURVEY,MARQUEE,MONTANA the MAGAZINE OF WESTERN HISTORY,
WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA HISTORICAL MAGAZINE AND THE PENNSYLVANIA
MAGAZINE OF HISTORY AND BIpGRAPHY.In fact,many of the scripts
in the proposed series will be developed from materials pub-

-

lished in the journals noted above.

Dr.Marsh,a professor of English at Edinboro State College,
served as the chairman of his department from -1967 to 1970.Today

the senior professor of the department,he teaches courses in

American literature at both the graduate and undergraduate levels.
For twelve years he was the commander of the 308th Military Intell­

igence Detachment,USAR,which was repeatedly designated a "Superior
Unit" by the Secretary of the Army.Upon his promotion to full
colonel,USAR,he was assigned to the Defense Intelligency Agency,
r.
where he occupies a Joint Staff assignment at DoD level.

Gary Christiansen,series, producer
Dr .Christiansen (EdD,Univ.of Pittsburgh, Educational

Communications) is an Associate Professor of Radio and TV

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at Edinboro State College.As well,he serves as the director of

a remote studio for WQLN,FM,Erie,and in the past four years he

has been responsible for the production and supervision of more
than 2000 hours of programing.

Series Talent Staff

Prof.Jack E.Tohtz (MA,plus,Univ.of Minnesota,English) is presently
an Associate Professor of English at Edinboro.He has been a major

participant in EDINBORO ON THE MOVE,a series of 25 half•?hour'TV

programs broadcast over Channel 24,Erie,Pa.,and he was a co­
participant in the late 1960*s in an educational TV series

devoted to the study of English and American literature that"'
attracted approximately a thousand students a semester.

Prof.Richard Andersen (MA,plus,Pennsylvania State Univ.,Dramatics)
is an i^ssociate Professor of English at Edinboro.He has been a

full time radio announcer for WGAL,Lancaster,Pa.,and a full time

director for WNBF,Binghamton,N.Y.Since joining the Edinboro

faculty,he has served as a drama coach,and we anticipate that
Prof.Andersen will recruit actor/readers and supervise the

inclusion of dramatic inserts in our projected series.

Series Secretary

Mrs.Joan Lindred (BA,Wellesley,Psychology) has served as an
academic/literary typist and editorial consultant over the

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past fifteen years for faculty and students at more than twenty

colleges and universities.

Production facilities

The Radio-TV Center,Edinboro State College,consists of a stereo­

audio studio devoted,in part,to the production of broadcast

quality radio programs aired via a remote arrangement with
WQLN-FM,Erie.The manager and associate manager of the center

are recepients of doctorates in educational communications
with over twenty-five years experience in educational broad­

casting. They are supported by a staff of four technicians
(3electronic equipment technicians and 1 photographic specialist).
This staff is not only competent to produce the programs

proposed for funding but the entire series of fifteen programs.
As well,the drama department at the college has among its faculty

and students sufficient talent to support the undertaking with

dramatic readings.

Target Population and publicity materials

The planning that has gone into the proposal to date has been
extensive and the materials themselves have been tested before

live and radio audiences and met with considerable interest.
As well, we have contacted area radio stations and had positive
responses from general managers and program directors.To us it

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it seems evident that we will be able to air our programs to
a potential audience of 250^000 listeners.

Obviously not everyone will be interested in our subject
matter but our materials,focusing as they do on the area in

which our listeners reside,have a built-in appeal.Then,too,
because of our focus on the local,we expect newspapers and
radio stations will use publicity materials we will prepare.

Once theLlistener has tuned in,we hope to hold his attention
by recapturing something of the drama,color,and excitement

that prevailed when troupers--strangers from strange lands--

appeared For One Night Only!