Playwrights' Center history documented in University of Minnesota archives

For the first time, the history of the Playwrights’ Center is on display in the University of Minnesota’s Performing Arts Archive. Materials from the last 43 years, including programs, flyers, press releases, newspaper clippings, correspondence, production and administrative records, and audio/visual materials were donated to the University Archives in January 2014.

Producing Artistic Director Jeremy Cohen, Associate Artistic Director Hayley Finn, and Artistic Administrator Amanda Robbins-Butcher assisted curator Cecily Marcus in organizing and moving 48 cubic feet of material. From 1990s casting records to rehearsal recordings from the 1980s and photos from our early days at our current Seward neighborhood location, the collection offers a unique perspective on the many programs and writers the Center has housed over the years.

The Performing Arts Archives are housed in the Elmer L. Anderson Library on the West Bank Campus of the University. In addition to the Playwrights’ Center archives, the library houses the Archie Givens, Sr. Collection of African American Literature and the brand new African American Theater History Project.

Andersen library, from umn.edu