Collection inventory

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Sawyer Falk Papers

An inventory of his papers at the Syracuse University Archives

Finding aid created by: Meg Mason
Date: 2015

Revision history:

Biography

Sawyer Falk (1898-1961) served as the director of the Drama Department at Syracuse University from 1927 to 1961.

Falk was born in Key West, Florida, on December 9, 1898. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from New York University and a Master of Arts degree from Columbia University. After teaching at Columbia between 1922 and 1924, Falk moved on to Hillsdale College in Michigan.

In 1927 Falk came to Syracuse University to establish a drama program. He became the head of the new Drama Department and took on the title Director of Dramatic Activities. Remaining at Syracuse for over 30 years, Falk taught acting and script-writing and directed dramatic productions. He also worked closely with the students of the Boar's Head Dramatic Society and served as their mentor. He helped transform drama from an extracurricular activity into an academic discipline.

Falk was an internationally-recognized authority in his field. He was on the Board of Directors for the American National Theatre and Academy, for which he was elected vice president in 1952. He also served as president of the National Theatre Conference in the 1940s. In 1948 Falk studied university drama activities abroad on a Ford Foundation grant. He worked as a consultant specialist in drama in India, Turkey, Greece, and Israel for the United States State Department between 1957 and 1959. The following year he directed a summer drama course at Stratford-on-Avon in England. Falk also wrote plays and served as a "play doctor" for Broadway productions that needed improvement.

Sawyer Falk died suddenly in Paris, France in August 1961 while leading a tour of students.

Scope and Content Note

Spanning from 1875 to 1963, the Sawyer Falk Papers encompass a wide variety of materials. These include playbills, scripts, photographs and other materials related to dramatic productions, including those Falk directed at Syracuse University. There are also files covering Falk's work in the Drama Department, his teaching materials, papers related to his work in various theatrical organizations, and correspondence. Newspaper clippings and various published and unpublished writings, many by Falk, are also included in his papers.

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 University Archives,
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Libraries and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Related Material

Various Syracuse University publications were removed and placed in the Archives Reference Collections.

In addition to these papers, the Syracuse University Archives also holds a portrait file and a clipping file for Sawyer Falk.

Many of the playbills and photographs of dramatic productions from the Falk Papers were digitized. Please consult the archivist for more information.

Selected Search Terms

Names

Falk, Sawyer, 1898-1961.
Syracuse University.
Syracuse University. -- College of Visual and Performing Arts.
Syracuse University. -- School of Speech and Dramatic Art.

Subjects

College and school drama, American.
College theater.
College teachers.
Higher education.

Types of Material

Photographs.
Playbills.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows

Sawyer Falk Papers,
University Archives,
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Gift of Mrs. Sawyer Falk, 1961.

Processing Information

The Falk Papers have only been partially processed, mainly placed in acid-free boxes.

Table of Contents

Departmental Records

Syracuse University Dramatic Presentations

General Files

Theatrical Associations

Class and Lecture Notes

Student Notebooks

Published Material on the Stage and Cinema

Newspaper Articles

Playbills

Photographs, Stage and Cinema

Play Manuscripts

Correspondence

Memorabilia

Printed Material

Writings

Dramatic Presentations

Inventory