Collection inventory

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Boar's Head Collection

An inventory of its records at the Syracuse University Archives

Finding aid created by: Erin Carter
Date: 2015

Revision history:

Historical Note

The Boar's Head Dramatic Society was first conceived by a small group of Syracuse University students in 1904. Their goal was to form an organization that would focus solely on dramatic art and performance. In its first few years of existence, the group was associated with the English Club and remained nameless. In 1904, the players put on their first production, King Lear. By 1906 their numbers had grown, and the club donned the name Boar's Head in recognition of the Boar's Head Tavern in Eastcheap, London, of Shakespeare's Henry IV fame. Originally, the Boar's Head players planned to perform only works by Shakespeare but, as the club evolved, they took on a diverse array of productions.

Boar's Head staged over 200 shows during its lifetime, and its members dabbled in experimental theatre, opera, and comedy, among other genres. Productions were almost always well-received, and the society was popular enough to get its own Boar's Head Playhouse theatre in Machinery Hall. The group functioned, in later years, similar to an honorary, and only the most passionate were welcomed in. As an organization, they were involved in a number of community activities. Members would correspond with incoming freshman, assist in orientation and registration, and conduct learning workshops in the city's schools. They also provided the University community with fun and cheap entertainment. Their one-act shows were incredibly popular, and in 1963 they established the Nickel Theatre, which allowed people to watch rehearsals for upcoming productions for a nickel and participate in the post-show critiquing.

Shows ranged from comedic to tragic, and some were original plays written by a member of the cast or crew. With all of its support, Boar's Head was capable of putting on elaborate shows. Among the long list of plays performed are Macbeth (1906, 1968), Glamour (1930), Blithe Spirit (1947), Death of a Salesman (1955), Peter Pan (1968), and the American premiere of The Guns of Carrar (1963). The costuming and set designs, like the talent, were of high quality, and some shows cost upwards of $10,000 to produce.

The members of Boar's Head saw the society as a social, cultural, and educational unit. Studying drama was not a membership requirement, one just had to demonstrate "an unselfish commitment to the furthering of dramatic art." Notable Boar's Head figures are actor Jerry Stiller '50; actor Frank Langella '59; Professor Sawyer Falk, who was Boar's Head's coach for over 30 years; and his successor Gerald F. Reidenbaugh '49, G'51, G'66, who spent over 10 years with the society and often performed alongside its members.

When the College of Fine Arts disbanded in 1972, leaving the Drama Department in the hands of the College of Visual and Performing Arts, the Boar's Head Dramatic Society also broke apart. A group of students tried to reform it in 1978, and they put on a production of Prisoner of Second Avenue. That was the last play performed under the Boar's Head name.

Scope and Content Note

The Boar's Head Collection is composed of three series:

The Organization Materials series contains meeting notes, small production advertisements, informational booklets, newspaper clippings, and a list of the productions that Boar's Head members were a part of. It also contains photographs not directly related to specific Boar's Head performances; among them are pictures of award ceremonies, banquets, and behind the scenes work.

The Productions series consists of playbills, photographs, and music from many of the Boar's Head players' performances between 1909 and 1978. It also contains playbills and information on theatre programs that were associated with Boar's Head, including the Civic Summer Players, the Civic University Theatre, the Summer Touring Company, and the Summer School Players.

The Recollections series contains submissions for the Boar's Head Memory Book project, which was initiated by Shirley Fenner Reidenbaugh '54. It also includes additional gifts from alumni in the form of photographs, scrapbook pages, newspaper clippings, and photocopied documents.

Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

Please note that the collection is housed off-site, and advance notice is required to allow time to have the materials brought to the Reading Room on campus.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from the Syracuse University Archives and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Related Material

More information on the Boar's Head Dramatic Society can be found in the clippings files, the Photograph Collection, the Sawyer Falk Papers, and the Gerald F. Reidenbaugh Papers in the Syracuse University Archives. Digital images of the playbills, photographs of some of the productions, and further information can be found on the Boar's Head Dramatic Society of Syracuse University's website.

Selected Search Terms

Names

Boar's Head Dramatic Society of Syracuse University.
Syracuse University -- History.
Syracuse University.
Syracuse University. -- College of Fine Arts.

Subjects

Performance.
Student activities.
Theater -- United States.
Higher education.

Types of Material

Photographs.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Boar's Head Collection,
University Archives,
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

The materials in this collection have been gathered by the Syracuse University Archives from various sources, including student organizations and alumni.

Processing Information

Materials are housed in acid-free folders and boxes.

Arrangement

Materials are arranged by series and in alphabetical order.

Table of Contents

Organization Materials

Productions

Recollections

Inventory