Access
Publication Rights
Preferred Citation
Acquisition Information
Processing History
Biography
Biographical/Historical note
Collection Scope and Content Summary
Collection Arrangement
Contributing Institution:
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine
Libraries
Title: Robert Cohen papers
Creator:
Cohen, Robert
Identifier/Call Number: MS.P.069
Physical Description:
8.7 Linear Feet
(20 boxes and one oversized folder) and 2.3 unprocessed linear
feet
Date (inclusive): 1966-2014
Abstract: This collection comprises papers of
Robert Cohen, a professor of drama and founding faculty member at the University of
California, Irvine. Fifty-three production books, which include scripts, reviews,
photographs and stage directions, document Cohen's work as director for theater productions
at UCI and the Utah and Colorado Shakespeare Festivals. The collection also includes
reviews, correspondence, and information about UCI Drama Department alumni, as well as
textbooks and articles written by Cohen and issues of theater publications.
Language of Material:
English .
Access
The collection is open for research. Access to original film is restricted; researchers may
request viewing copies.
Publication Rights
Property rights reside with the University of California. Literary rights are retained by
the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or to publish,
please contact the Head of Special Collections and Archives.
Preferred Citation
Robert Cohen Papers. MS-P069. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries,
Irvine, California. Date accessed.
For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information
about sources consulted in this collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder
descriptions, and box/folder locations.
Acquisition Information
Gifts of Robert Cohen, 2005 and 2013. Additions are expected.
Processing History
Processed by Audrey Pearson, 2007. Accession added by Alix Norton, 2013.
Biography
Robert Cohen is the founding chair of the University of California, Irvine Drama Department
and a renowned professor, director, translator, playwright, essayist, and drama critic. In
2001 he was named Claire Trevor Professor of Drama at UCI.
Cohen was born in Washington, D.C. in 1938. As an undergraduate he studied at Dartmouth
College and UC Berkeley. After earning his Doctor of Fine Arts at Yale University in 1965,
he joined the faculty at UCI.
Over the course of his career, Cohen has directed over 70 stage productions at UCI. He is
also the author of many books on theatre, including
Acting One/Acting
Two
,
Acting Professionally,
Acting Power,
Acting in Shakespeare,
Theatre,
More Power To You,
Creative Play Direction,
Giraudoux: Three
Faces of Destiny
, two dramatic anthologies, and many plays, translations,
scholarly articles, and reviews. He has frequently directed productions for the Utah and
Colorado Shakespeare Festivals. In 1993 he was awarded the UCI Medal, UCI's highest honor,
and in 1999 he received the Career Achievement Award from the Association for Theatre in
Higher Education.
Biographical/Historical note
Chronology
1938 |
Born in Washington, D.C. |
1965 |
Received Doctor of Fine Arts from Yale School of Drama. |
1965 |
Appointed founding chair of UCI's Drama Department. |
1967 |
Founded the Student Repertory Theatre at UCI. |
1990 |
Stepped down as Chair of the Drama Department. |
1993 |
Awarded the UCI Medal. |
1999 |
Received the Career Achievement Award from the Association for Theatre in Higher
Education.
|
2001 |
Named Claire Trevor Professor of Drama. |
2005 |
Re-appointed Chair of the Drama Department. |
Collection Scope and Content Summary
This collection comprises papers of Robert Cohen, a drama professor at the University of
California, Irvine. The collection spans his career at UCI, beginning with the opening of
the campus in 1965. Fifty-three production books, which include scripts, reviews,
photographs and stage directions, document Cohen's work as director for theater productions
at UCI and the Utah and Colorado Shakespeare Festivals. The collection also includes
reviews, correspondence, information about UCI Drama Department alumni, an unpublished
manuscript titled
Edwin Booth in Performance, various
textbooks and articles written by Cohen, issues of theater publications, and a film reel of
John M. Whiteley.
Collection Arrangement
This collection is arranged into 3 series:
- Series 1. Production books, 1966-2007
- Series 2. Subject files, 1966-2010
- Series 3. Textbooks and journals, 1970-2011
This collection also contains 1 unprocessed addition:
Accession 2018.021. Unprocessed addition 2018, 1984-2014. 2.3 linear feet
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Scripts (documents) -- 20th century.
Costume design drawings -- 20th century.
Drama -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- 20th century
Theater programs -- 20th century.
College theater -- California -- Irvine -- History -- Sources
Photographic prints -- 20th century.
Cohen, Robert -- Archives
University of California, Irvine. Student's Repertory
Theatre -- Archives
University of California, Irvine -- Faculty -- Archives
University of California, Irvine -- Archives
University of California, Irvine. Department of Drama --
Archives