CSUDH Theatre Department Collection

This collection contains materials documenting the origin and early history of the California State University, Dominguez Hills Theatre Department. It documents many productions, including the first production of the Theatre Depart, held in the temporary Watt Campus. Most of the materials focus on productions held in the first theatre on the permanent campus, the Playbox Theatre. A large number of documents cover the planning, construction, and opening of the University Theatre. Since its establishment in 1969, the department has pushed values of integration and multiculturalism, creating and performing productions that represent the values of the department.

The collection includes programs, flyers and posters from many plays, and they vividly document the different periods and styles of productions mounted by the growing theatre program. Despite the constraints of the small Playbox Theatre, the materials from productions there show constant innovation and inventiveness, helping the department grow and bringing in an audience from the community as well as the campus. With the opening of the University Theatre in 1977, the campus had a truly professional venue. Its first production was "My Fair Lady,"with a guest artist from the Broadway stage. The University Theatre, and the campus, became a greater presence in the Los Angeles theatre scene, and this collection documents the festivals, guest performers, and productions representing its dynamic growth. The collection is rich in materials showing efforts to increase cultural representation, including its connection with the East West Player, and the American College Theatre Festival (ACTF).

Along with the history of the productions and the different venues, the collection gives a good sense of how a university theatre department operates. Many of the production files include calls across the campus for auditions, press releases for productions, correspondence, newsletters, budget and fundraising efforts The last includes announcments of the creation of a Theatre Guild, membership forms, correspondence with members, and programs listing campus donors.