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Janss (Betty) papers
M2971
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Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Title: Betty Janss papers
Creator:
Janss, Betty
Identifier/Call Number: M2971
Physical Description:
3.75 Linear Feet
(8 boxes)
Date (inclusive): circa 1940-1971
Date (bulk): 1954-1967
Abstract: Betty Janss was a theater critic reviewing performances on the San Francisco peninsula in the 1950s and 60s; collection contains
drafts, notes, and clipped reviews.
Language of Material:
English
.
Open for research. Note that material must be requested at least 36 hours in advance of intended use. Audiovisual materials
are not available in original format, and must be reformatted to a digital use copy.
While Special Collections is the owner of the physical and digital items, permission to examine collection materials is not
an authorization to publish. These materials are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Any transmission
or reproduction beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the owners of rights, heir(s) or assigns.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Betty Janss gave her collection to Stanford in 1971 and it was added to the library's Theatre Collection. Her papers were
designated its own collection in 2024.
Collection contains Betty Janss' drama reviews in the form of typescripts and clippings, along with annotated programs, notes,
and correspondence. With few exceptions, reviews are for local/little theater productions on the peninsula, although she also
covered some Monterey county activity.
There are also files (scripts, notes, station brochures) and recordings for a radio program she co-hosted with Jaleen Holm
on KFJC at Foothill College in 1966 called Limelight. Other recordings feature an interview with Janss. Finally, there are
clipped reviews by other local drama critics.
Original chronological order retained.
[identification of item], Betty Janss Papers (M2971). Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford Libraries,
Stanford, Calif.
The following was written by Theater Librarian Celeste Ashley for the Stanford Library Bulletin in 1971:
Along the fifty-mile length of the Peninsula, community and college theatres have been consistent sources of good theatre
for over forty years. In fact, the entire Bay Area has been considered one of the "richest beds of little theatre activity
in the country" for the past two decades. What is remarkable is that most of the talent used in producing the shows has been
donated; some few individuals (directory, costumers, or designers) may be regularly on a payroll but the rest have rarely
been paid for their services. This in itself is something of a comment upon the American's love of theatre and an example
of American generosity.
Such efforts have not gone unnoticed by the Peninsula papers, which are faithful in their coverage of performances.
Among the pioneer critics was Dorothy Nichols, whose music and drama reviews have been appearing in the
Palo Alto Times since 1944. The San Francisco papers were not so consistent, however, until 1953 when Carol Greening became a free-lance
reporter. Joining her, and sharing Peninsula coverage between them, was Betty Janss, whose by-line began to appear in the
San Francisco Chronicle in 1954. When Miss Greening left for the East Coast in 1956, Mrs. Janss became the press reviewer for the entire Peninsula.
In the course of the twelve years of reviewing for the
Chronicle, Betty Janss regularly covered productions from Burlingame to San Jose, and at times, traveled as far away as the Monterey
Peninsula. In bringing the efforts of amateurs and professionals to the notice of the public, she tried to be fair in her
reviews, reflecting her own extensive background in theatre and her ow high standards of production.
This is not to say that she was consistently liked for her reviews. As with any critic, she suffered the slings and arrows
of the outraged when she berated those who she felt had failed a paying puplic. Her admirers were many, however, and many
of them voiced their protest to the
Chronicle when it dropped its free-lance writers in 1966. After that, her by-line appeared in several Peninsula papers, among which
were the
Menlo Park Recorder and the
Palo Alto Times, until her retirement in 1967.
The Theatre Collection has become the fortunate recipient of her first drafts and printed reviews. Included in her gift are
programs of the productions reviewed, her or personal notes, many of her fellow critics' reviews and personal correspondence.
For anyone interested in journalistic reviewing, or in the history of the Peninsula Theatre from 1954-1967, the Betty Janss
Collection with its estimated count of 700 reviews will provide valuable information.
Some programs annotated by Janss were interfiled in the general Theater and film ephemera collection (M2506)
https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/13252151
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Theater critics -- San Francisco Peninsula -- History
Stanford Players Productions
Ram's Head Productions
College theater.
Women journalists