Rachmael ben Avram Papers
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Title: Rachmael ben Avram Papers
Dates: 1950s-1960s
Collection Number: 994.059
Creator/Collector:
Ben Avram, Rachmael
Extent: 5 Boxes. 2 linear feet.
Repository:
Museum of Performance and Design, Performing Arts Library
San Francisco, California 94124
Abstract: Rachmael ben Avram was the founder of the Company of the Golden Hind in Berkeley and San Francisco and prominent theatre figure
in the Bay Area. He directed the Cathedral Civic Theatre in San Francisco, was general director of the Oakland National Repertory
Theater, was the producer of his own weekly TV program, “On Stage,” and lectured in the Speech Department at U. C. Berkeley.
This collection contains black and white photos of productions and programs from the 1950s and 1960s.
Language of Material: English
Entire Collection is open for research.
Reproduction of these materials can occur only if the copying falls within the provisions of the doctrine of fair use. Copyright
varies by item.
[Identification of item]. Rachmael ben Avram Papers. Collection Number: 994.059. Museum of Performance and Design, Performing
Arts Library
The Rachmael ben Avram Papers were donated to the San Francisco Performing Arts Library and Museum on April 29, 1994 by Rachmael
ben Avram.
Biography/Administrative History
New York-born Rachmael ben Avram was educated at University of California, Berkeley, Carnegie Tech, and Mills College. He
studied drama in France via a Fulbright grant, and in 1959 he was one of the ten recipients in America to be awarded a Ford
Foundation grant to theater directors so that he could travel and observe theater practices in Japan, Greece, Germany, France,
and England. Mr. ben Avram founded the Company of the Golden Hind in Berkeley and San Francisco in 1951; he directed the Cathedral
Civic Theater in San Francisco; he was general director of the Oakland National Repertory Theater; he produced his own weekly
TV program ("On Stage"); and, among other similar activities he pursued, he was a lecturer in the Speech Department at U.
C. Berkeley. Mr. ben Avram currently lives in Paris. The Company of the Golden Hind is no longer extant.
Scope and Content of Collection
The obvious highlights of the collection are visual: the colored 35 mm. slides and the black-and white photos of Company of
the Golden Hind productions, mainly in the San Francisco Bay Area, during the 1950's and perhaps the early 1960's [none of
the material is dated]. There are some programs in this file and there are additional programs in the Company of the Golden
Hind file in the theater companies file in the Theater Collection at PALM. Actually, the scope and significance of the work
of Rachmael ben Avram and of the Company of the Golden Hind is only hinted at by the contents of this collection. Anyone wanting
detailed and voluminous material for research purposes should also consult newspaper or other files or documentations of local
theatrical activity during the time span indicated above.
Theaters--California
Cathedral Civic Theater
Company of the Golden Hind
Oakland National Repertory Theater