Theatre Today [the first 9 issues]

New York: AIDART (Advanced Institute for Development of American Repertory Theatre). Near Fine. 1968-1970. (Vol. 1, No. 1 - Vol. 3, No. 3). Stapled wraps. [all issues in uniformly nice condition, with just a touch of wear along the spines of a few, and a single inked note on the rear cover of one; six of the nine have the original subscriber's address label affixed to the rear cover]. (B&W photographs) The first nine issues of this very content-rich quarterly newsletter devoted to the repertory theatre scene in (mostly) America. All issues are either 16 or 20 pages in length, and feature primarily stories (often with interviews) about notable individuals or theatre companies, as well as about the general state of repertory theatre. Although the focus isn't usually on individual plays, the first issue does contain a great feature on "Creating 'The Great White Hope'," including comments by playwright Howard Sackler, director Edwin Sherin, and other members of the production team. Articles and features in other issues include: "Robert Macbeth and The New Lafayette Theatre"; "Robert Hooks and The Negro Ensemble Company"; "William Ball and ACT"; a profile of The Minnesota Theatre Company (co-founded by Tyrone Guthrie); "Theatre of Revolution"; "Confessions of a Playwright" by William Murray; interviews with Joseph Papp and Gordon Davidson; "The ANTA Theatre: A Home in New York" (a conversation with Jean Dalrymple and Alfred deLiagre); an article on the Nationaltheatre in Mannheim, Germany; "Margo Jones: Legacy and Legend" by J. Wesley Zeigler. The editor of the first five issues was Leota Diesel; for the remainder, J. Wesley Zeigler. The newsletter ceased publication after Vol. 4, No. 3, so this set lacks only the final four issues. These provide an interesting snapshot of a period in which the federal government had only recently begun to pay some serious attention to arts funding (the National Endowment for the Arts had been established by Congress in 1965), and theatre companies were always scrambling to stay afloat and claim their piece of a never-big-enough pie; several articles in these issues discuss financial, tax, and other "survival" issues. Thus it ever was. .