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Show THE VARSITY PLAYERS Being a Record of the First Commercial Theatre Ever Managed Under the Auspices of Any University. By Virgil Wyatt The drama was wedded to college life many years ago until at present dramatic societies and clubs are considered a part of the institutions. But the University of Utah today holds the enviable record of running successfully for one season the first full-fledged Little Theatre ever conceived. And it was not unlike the Chicago or New York institutions. In contrast to the other amateur attempts, this theatre competed with the legitimate houses and drew its patronage from the adult theatregoers. There are not many denizens of the West who have never heard of the Social Hall theatre. It is a quantity conceived relic of old pioneer architecture built on straight, substantial lines and hedged in between great modern buildings on State street not many steps from the Bee-hive house and the Church buildings. Built by Brigham Young in 1852 to meet the ever-increasing demand for recreation, it has heroically survived the decades and the coming of electricity and things modern. It is one of the oldest playhouses west of the Mississippi River, and has served as an art school, cafeteria, gymnasium, etc., in its lifetime. Little was altered in the interior of the Social Hall theare when the college thes-pians took possession last fall. There still remains those walls measuring several feet in thickness, the soft grey interior and the curtains to match. The old-time chandeliers have surrendered to Father Time, however, and in place of candles, electric lights now hold sway. The stage is small but the ingenuity of Maurice Browne rendered it available for the best plays in the list. Regarding the personnel and management of the first college commercial theatre, the three names of Van Volkenburg, Babcock and Browne stand out pre-eminently. The two Brownes- or more properly, Miss Ella Van Volkenburg, and Maurice Browne, actors, producers, and artists, headed the cast of the Varsity Players. These two exponents of the Drama introduced the Little Theatre idea into the United States and were royally received by critics in their work in the Chicago Little Theatre, which was closed in 1914 because of the war conditions. Before coming to Salt Lake, the Brownes toured the country in "The Trojan Women." The offer of the University of Utah to the Brownes to initiate a new movement was remarkable in that it was accepted in preference to other commercial inducements from eastern theatres. And so, with a desire to produce the Drama for Art's Sake, and incidentally to open a new field of College theatricals, the Brownes arrived and planned the initial opening of the Varsity Players. Meanwhile at this end of the wire, matters were being handled in a masterly manner by Maud May Babcock, veteran of college drama for many years and head of the Department of Public Speaking. It was she who conceived the idea of combining college with commercial drama. It was Miss Babcock who dreamed of productions that would repay their audiences by the force and strength of the lines and the beauty of their symmetry. With the historic little old playhouse renovated, scenery contracted for and improvements completed, she met the Brownes and the Little Theatre idea was put into action. The indomitable trio together with the actors, many of which were recruited from the student body and faculty of the University worked like Trojans those first few days. It was a new endeavor. How would the people greet the new idea? Page One Hundred Nineteen |