Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
Erven (Charles E.) Theater Collection
MS.135
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
William H. Hannon Library, Archives & Special Collections, Manuscripts
Title: Charles E. Erven Theater Collection
creator:
Erven, Charles E.
Identifier/Call Number: MS.135
Physical Description:
25.16 Linear Feet
(24 boxes, 1 map drawer)
Date (inclusive): 1970-2019
Abstract: This collection documents Charles Erven’s creative process from conceptual planning to final set design for many of the plays
he worked on throughout his career.
Language of Material: English
The collection is in original order and organized by location of a production's theater.
Charles E. Erven completed his education at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, earning his Bachelor of Arts in Communication
Arts with a theatre emphasis in 1971 and his Master of Fine Arts in Theatre Design and Technology in 1976. He has worked as
a stage designer in over 230 productions throughout his career and taught at Saddleback College (1978-1979), University of
Colorado at Boulder (1979-1980), University of Wisconsin-Parkside (1980-1983), Carroll College (1983-2002), and Loyola Marymount
University (2002-2019).
Erven has worked as a scenographer throughout the United States, Europe, and Central Asia. He worked for the Great Lakes Shakespeare
Festival and the Colorado Shakespeare Festival in addition to a variety of theatres throughout Los Angeles (Pacific Resident
Theater, Long Beach Playhouse, Ghost Road Theatre). His design for Desire Under the Elms was nominated for Best Scene Design
in Los Angeles by the NAACP. Erven’s work has been exhibited at the Prague Quadrennial and Milwaukee Art Museum. In the 1990s
he organized several student production tours to Uzbekistan and Russia including twice participating in the Podium Festival
in Moscow.
For a detailed curriculum vitae documenting Erven’s work and awards please visit: www.charleserven.com
Collection is open to research under the terms of use of the Department of Archives and Special Collections, Loyola Marymount
University.
Materials in the Department of Archives and Special Collections may be subject to copyright. Unless explicitly stated otherwise,
Loyola Marymount University does not claim ownership of the copyright of any materials in its collections. The user or publisher
must secure permission to publish from the copyright owner. Loyola Marymount University does not assume any responsibility
for infringement of copyright or of publication rights held by the original author or artists or his/her heirs, assigns, or
executors.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Charles E. Erven. Accession number: 2018.19, 2020.25
[Identification of item], Series name, Box and Folder number, Charles E. Erven Theater Collection, MS 135, Department of Archives
and Special Collections, William H. Hannon Library, Loyola Marymount University.
The collection is comprised of production files for many of the plays Erven worked on (including correspondence, paint samples,
rough sketches, inspirational imagery, notes, and more), hand draftings, floorplans, elevations, photographs, and limited
video recordings. A distinguishing feature of the Charles E. Erven Theater Collection is that it represents a career of entirely
hand crafted and drafted work, from undergraduate days to the present.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Theaters--Stage setting and scenery
College theater--United States
Erven, Charles E.