1834-1942: The Specter of Dionysus Among the Deacons  

Second in the State. theatre at Wake Forest is really an adolescent upstart considering the age of the institution. When Samuel Wait established his "Institute" on the hill in Wake County the existence of a theatre or even dramatic exhibitions were not even on the list of priorities. The young men who were sent to Dr. Wait's Institute (when they applied themselves) had little time left for such frivolous activities as playmaking. Indeed, with one exception, matters theatrical were among the most unlikely concerns of both students and faculty at the institute and college for many years. The one exception was a distant foreshadowing of the development of the theatre at Wake Forest. Pascal records in his history of Wake Forest College that a play celebrating our nation's birthday which was presented on July 4, 1836, in a rustic amphitheatre on the old campus could "be urged as evidence that to Wake Forest belonged the first college playmakers of the State" (Pascal, Vol. 1, p. 156). Alas, the assumption was erroneous since students at the university in Chapel Hill had presented plays in the late 18th century. But certainly the hardy celebrants on the 4th of July were the "second college playmakers" of the Great North State. During the 19th century, the theatre, amateur or professional, never occupied a very large part of the lives and time of the students and faculty at the college. There were occasional "musical evenings" in the homes of the faculty and citizens of the community which included "readings and recitations" but nothing of much substance was presented either in town or on the campus. An occasional visiting elocutionist taught classes so it is not surprising that there were performances of "elocution" in the literary societies. The excesses of this type of entertainment provoked a writer in The Student to offer this faculty resolution: "Resolved that, inasmuch as theatrical declamation ought to be discouraged among our students, the judges in awarding the declamation medal consider a natural delivery of the first importance" (The Student, May 1885, p. 407). The First Restless Stirrings. From the turn of the century to 1941 the theatre activity on the campus was irregular. There were visiting companies which exposed the college community to "professional" productions of both classic and modern plays. The classic plays were generally Shakespearean and the "modern" plays were by Ibsen or Shaw. With the help of people such as Mrs. Coy Carpenter, a faculty wife, to sponsor them, "drama clubs" were formed with more frequency in the late 1920's and the 1930's. None of them, however, seemed to develop enough momentum to endure. The lack of a permanent faculty sponsor who could give leadership and continuity was perhaps the reason that the clubs were so sporadic. The increasing frequency of the dramatic clubs, however, is evidence of the growing feeling among the students at the college that the theatre should be a meaningful part of their education.  

1942-1956: From the Little theatre to the College theatre  

The Little theatre. The momentum for a permanent theatre on the campus came with the arrival of coeds in the early 1940's. In 1942 there was an explosion of activity which resulted in the establishment of a unified producing group which was named the "Little theatre." The Board of Trustees of the College voted to grant the Little theatre a permanent subsidy of $300 the first year. The work done by those hardy volunteer students who organized the Little theatre gave the administration cause to further strengthen theatre art on the campus. Faculty. In the fall of 1948, Professor Franklin R. Shirley joined the faculty of the English Department and became the first full time faculty member of the Speech Arts. "Prof" Shirley was the first faculty "Director of Drama" at the College but this task was only one part of his overall duties in debate and speech. His contributions were, nonetheless, immediately evident. He improved the stage of the new chapel for the production of plays and the literary quality of the plays presented on the campus was improved. The continued success of the theatre on the campus during this time can be attributed to the fact that "Prof" Shirley began teaching regular classes in play production and the students were required to direct one-act plays under his watchful eye. The College theatre. In the fall of 1951 the name of the campus producing group was changed from the Wake Forest Little theatre to the College theatre, a name which served the organization with some slight variations until the name was changed to the Wake Forest University theatre in 1967. The First Full Time Director of the theatre. Because of the expanding interest generated by "Prof" Shirley, Professor Clyde McElroy was appointed as the first full time faculty director for the drama program in 1952. Over the next four years McElroy produced three plays a year with the final production being a Shakespearean play presented in conjunction with the annual Magnolia Festival. In April, 1956, Professor McElroy directed the last play given by the College theatre in old Wake Forest, Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice Accomplishments. The fourteen years between 1942 and 1956 were the most significant in the history of theatre at Wake Forest College for it was during this time that a permanent producing group was founded, college funding was provided, the customs of steady student involvement were established, the need for a faculty director was met by the College, a well-equipped campus stage was temporarily made available for the production of plays and the advantages of educational theatre were made evident to the college community. These developments provided the solid foundation upon which the theatre at Wake Forest has since rested. It was especially important that all of them were ingrained before the college moved to Winston-Salem for there would be a new set of problems in establishing theatrical roots in the red clay of the new campus.  

1956-1976 Winston-Salem: A New Beginning  

New Energy and New theatre Spaces. When the college year began in 1956, there were many new things for the students and faculty to contend with. There were new buildings, newly planted trees, new sidewalks and the usual batch of freshmen students. The College theatre was no exception to all of this newness. There was a new theatre director and a new theatre space on the seventh and eighth floors of the stacks in the newly completed Z. Smith Reynolds Library. James H. Walton was appointed to replace Professor Clyde McElroy. An M.A. graduate in theatre Arts from the University of Nebraska, Walton came to Wake Forest from Lincoln, Nebraska, where he managed the Hayloft Summer theatre. He went right to work and, with the able assistance of the students, built an arena theatre seating 152 in the stack spaces of the library and produced the first play on the new campus, The Innocents by William Archibald. Above the Books. During his ten years as director of the theatre Mr. Walton's accomplishments were many. He built two performance spaces in the space allotted to the theatre on the seventh and eighth levels of the library stacks: one, an arena theatre in the west end of the stack space; and the other, in a proscenium arrangement in the east end. The theatres were built entirely by volunteer student workers whose enthusiasm and dedication never wavered. He extended the season to four productions and because of the demand for tickets some of the productions ran for as many as twelve performances. Further accomplishments during his tenure as director were instituting the awards banquet to celebrate the work of the students during the year and the development of the College theatre into one of the largest extra curricular activities on campus. The faculty doubled with the appointment of one additional professor. In the fall of 1962 Bruce Hopper (MA, University of Arkansas) was appointed Instructor in Speech and Designer and Technical Director for the College theatre. When he resigned, Sherry Dailey (Class of 1961) replaced him for the 1964-65 school year. Harold Tedford was appointed Assistant Professor of Speech and the Designer/TD for the College theatre in the fall of 1965. By the 1965-66 season there over 200 students were actively working in the theatre. The Fourth Director. In the spring of 1966 James Walton resigned to accept an appointment at the University of Delaware and Dr. Shirley appointed Tedford to be the fourth director of the College theatre. That summer Martin Bennison (MA, University of Iowa) was appointed as Designer/TD.   
At this time all of the theatre facilities were located in the Z. Smith Reynolds Library in the following places: on the 7th level, the Arena theatre, the Proscenium theatre, scene shop and dressing rooms; on the 8th level, the light and sound controls for the Arena and the theatre offices; on the 6th level, a new costume shop in a large room above the front entrance; and storage for sets, props and costumes on the 1st level. Faculty Growth. When Tedford took over as Director of the theatre in the fall of 1966 the theatre was on a very sound footing. A tradition for good theatre on the new campus had been established during Walton's term as director. During the next 10 years there were staff changes and additions resulting in a further increase in the number of the faculty of the theatre Division of the Speech Department. Caroline Fullerton, MFA from Texas Christian University, the Director of theatre Speech began her much-needed task of improving the quality of speech in the plays in 1967 and was added as an adjunct faculty member in 1969. Donald Wolfe, a recent Ph.D. graduate of Cornell, first hired as the Designer/TD in 1968 became the Associate Director of the theatre in 1969 when Dr. David Welker joined the faculty as Designer/TD.  
An important event in the growth of the theatre Division was the appointment of Mrs. Marie Bagby as the secretary for the University theatre in 1969. Her patience and level headed control of the office while theatrical storms raged about her have made her indispensable to the production process. She was appointed as Administrative Assistant to the theatre in 1986.  

Innovations.   
While awaiting the oft-promised Fine Arts Center to become a reality, the theatre spaces on the 7th level were extensively remodeled in 1968. A program was begun in 1969 to take students to London to see theatre. In 1974, the first dinner theatre on campus was presented in the Magnolia Room. It was jointly produced by the University theatre and the College Union and it became a popular event for the next ten years. Season tickets for the main-stage series were introduced. An Undergraduate major and a Graduate program in theatre Arts were instituted  
by the Department of Speech Communication and theatre Arts. The Fine Arts Center. In March of 1972 a symposium was held on campus to plan the new Fine Arts Center. Jo Mielziner, the award winning New York theatre designer, was one of the participants. He subsequently was retained by the University as the designer for both of the theatres to be housed in the new complex. Wolfe and Tedford worked carefully with Mr. Mielziner in planning the present theatres. The architectural firm, Caudill Rowlett Scott (CRS) from Houston, was selected to design the building and Professor Charles Allen of the Department of Biology, in his role as chairman of the building committee, supervised everyone involved. The building of the first units of the Fine Arts Center was completed in the late summer of 1976 and in October the first play, Look Homeward Angel,, directed by Harold Tedford, was presented on the main stage. In November Purlie Victorious, directed by Donald Wolfe, was the first production in the Ring theatre. Faculty Growth. Upon moving into the new building, the University funded an addition to the theatre's faculty/staff, Russ Houchen, a recent MFA graduate of The University of Oregon, was appointed as the first full time Technical Director. He stayed for four years, being replaced by John Steele who left in 1983. In 1980 Professor David Welker retired and Mary Wayne was hired as the new designer. Ms. Wayne had just completed her MFA in design from Ohio State. Jon Christman, who was soon to receive his MFA from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, became the TD and Lighting Designer in the fall of 1983. In the spring of 1979 Mr. James Dodding was brought from London to teach and direct while Tedford was professor in residence at Worrell House in London for the semester. He has returned each year since for the spring semester. In the fall of 1983 Darwin Payne, nationally known designer and author, designed the setting for As You Like It and subsequently became Adjunct Professor of Design, teaching in the fall of each year.   

Over the years both majors and non-majors who have participated in the hectic but joyous productions of plays on the campus have gone on to become successful in professions as varied as Law, Medicine, the Ministry, Education, and, of course, theatre. John Tate, (Class of 1969), a successful trial lawyer in Louisville, KY, is quick to attribute part of his success in the court room to his time on and off the 7th level stages in the library. Carole Barbee (Class of 1981) and with an MFA in Acting from UCLA has a burgeoning career as a singer and actress on the West coast. Joe Santi (Class of 1979) after having worked for Actors' Equity Association and Screen Actors Guild in New York left for the West coast where he is a writer-consultant. He is a partner in Long Odds Productions which now has a "first-look" development deal with Robert Greenwald Productions in Los Angeles. John Marc Gulley (Class of 1981) is an assistant professor of theatre at UNCG. Hilton Smith (Class of 1984) and an MFA from UCLA has a burgeoning career in film and television production in Hollywood. Ginger Blake (Class of 1977) is the Assistant Wardrobe Manager for the the current Broadway revival of The King and I. Tammy Greb (Class of 1979) is a career high school drama teacher in Norfolk, VA. Sam Cardea (Class of 1972) has retired as a dancer in the corps de ballet at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York and now works for the Met on their instant translations system. Kathie deNobriga (Class of 1972; MA, 1974) is the director of Alternate Roots, a performing arts coalition in Atlanta. Since 1942 the Wake Forest Little Theatre/College Theatre/University theatre has served as the principle training ground and showcase for theatrical talent on the campus. Those who work in its productions become part of a strong tradition which has been kept alive by the loyal, idealistic and loving students. These students have given of their time (which is precious) and their energies (which seem to be boundless) season after season so that the Wake Forest community and the Winston-Salem community can have available for their entertainment and education exciting productions of the world's great dramatic literature. The Wake Forest University theatre exists for and because of the remarkable dedicated theatre students who are the heart and soul of this 55 year old theatrical enterprise.  

* Harold Tedford, Director of theatre