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Magic Theatre Records
BANC MSS 81/184 c
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Contributing Institution:
The Bancroft Library
Title: Magic Theatre records
Creator:
Magic Theatre
Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS 81/184 c
Physical Description:
36.25 linear feet
(29 cartons, 3 oversize boxes, 16 oversize folders, 1 volume, 2 tubes; 1 digital object (1 image))
Date (inclusive): 1967-1990
Abstract: The Magic Theatre records contain the administrative, production, financial, and publicity records of a theatre company that
grew from a handful of graduate students to a well respected company known for its support of new theatrical works. The collection,
which spans the period of John Lion's tenure as Artistic Director and General Director, includes corresondence, bylaws, manuscripts
of writings and speeches, programs, posters, financial statements, and clippings. Includes documents relating to the relationship
between the Magic Theatre and Sam Shepard, who followed Michael McClure as an important playwright for the company.
Physical Location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Language of Material: Collection materials are in English
Cartons 1-5 and 7-12, oversize boxes 1-3, oversize folders 1-16, volume 1, and tubes 1-2: open for research.
Carton 6: RESTRICTED. Salary Surveys by the Theatre Communications Group. Curatorial permission required for use.
Note on Access to Unprocessed Materials
Cartons 13-29: UNARRANGED. UNAVAILABLE FOR USE. Inquiries regarding possible mediated use of these unprocessed materials should
be submitted to The Bancroft Library via the Notice of Interest in Unprocessed Collections form at http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/libraries/bancroft-library/unprocessed-collections-form
The Magic Theatre Scripts were received as part of the Magic Theatre Records, purchased by The Bancroft Library, via Serendipity
Books, in three installments, in 1980, 1988, and 1990.
Digital reproductions of selected items are available.
The Magic Theatre was founded in 1967 in Berkeley, Calif., with a production of Eugene Ionesco's, The Lesson, by a group of
University of California, Berkeley graduate students, headed by John Lion, who had an interest in the newly emerging, avant-garde
European playwrights, including Ionesco, Genet, and Beckett. They had no intention of starting a theatre, but with the success
of The Lesson, the company moved into the Steppenwolf Bar on San Pablo Avenue in Berkeley, and began producing plays as the
Magic Theatre, a name adopted from Hesse's novel, Steppenwolf.
European playwrights dominated the Magic Theatre's early productions, but these were soon augmented by American authors emerging
from the political, social, and artistic ferment of the 1960s, including Leroi Jones, Michael McClure, and Sam Shepard. The
work of the Magic Theatre reflected the social upheaval of the time, with the intention of presenting different aspects of
a chaotic world without becoming polarized to one point of view. Magic Theatre's goal was to concentrate its efforts on newly
scripted works, with the purpose of developing new playwrights and giving an alternative, experimental forum to established
writers. They drew not only from the theatrical community but from the talents of people in many areas of the arts -- painters,
sculptors, film makers, poets, musicians, and dancers, and deliberately represented no particular political point of view
except that of free expression.
Over the past twenty-five years, the Magic Theatre was housed in some ten locations, not including touring bookings. There
were several stints each at Steppenwolf and Mandrake's Bars in Berkeley. They also performed at the University Art Museum,
and in a theatre the staff built in an old building at the corner of University and Shattuck Avenues until 1972, when the
company moved permanently to San Francisco. It was located briefly in the Firehouse Theatre (now the Lumier Cinema), the Museum
of Erotic Art (now defunct), the Intersection Theatre, and the Rose and Thistle Pub on California and Polk Streets. In 1977,
the Magic Theatre finally moved to a permanent home at Fort Mason, and eventually built two playhouses of its own.
From the very beginning, John Lion assumed the role of general and artistic director, and brought the theatre from a group
of college students with no base and no funding to become the Bay Area's leading producer of new plays. In 1976, Lion recruited
the British theatre critic and essayist, Martin Esslin, as dramaturg. His early books on Brecht, the theatre of the absurd,
and avant-garde European plays had been the strongest guidelines to the originators of the Magic Theatre.
Not every production at the Magic Theatre has been a smashing success. But the experimental theatre has witnessed an increasing
number of subscribers and plays each year, and both local and national critics have been following their progress with much
interest and acclaim.
[Identification of item], Magic Theatre records, BANC MSS 81/184 c, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley
Funding for the 1980 acquisition provided by a gift from The Friends of The Bancroft Library, and with donations made in memory
of Theodore R. Meyer. Funding for the 1988 and 1990 additions were provided by the Richard Henry Chabot Dieckmann Fund.
Title: Magic Theatre Scripts,
Identifier/Call Number: BANC MSS 81/14 c
The Magic Theatre Records, 1967-1990, contain the administrative, production, financial, and publicity records of a theatre
company that grew from a handful of graduate students to a well respected company known for its support of new theatrical
works. The collection, which spans the period of John Lion's tenure as Artistic Director and General Director of Magic Theatre,
includes correspondence, bylaws, manuscripts of writings and speeches, programs, posters, financial statements, and clippings.
An extensive collection of scripts received with the company's archives have been separated from these records and are collected
as Magic Theatre Scripts, 1966-1990 (BANC MSS 81/14 c).
The records of the Magic Theatre provide insight into how a theater company can survive and become established in financially
difficult times, while maintaining the avant garde spirit of its original productions. For this reason, much of its financial
records consist of grant applications and funding requests, while publicity records contain mostly information about ticket
subscription campaigns. In the administrative files, correspondence documents the company's contact with playwrights, actors,
and contractors concerning the theme of the plays, payment, and stage design, and along with the organizational files, present
an overview of Magic's general operation, mission, and history. The artistic relationship between Magic Theatre and Sam Shepard,
who followed Michael McClure as an important playwright for the company, is well documented. In its attempt to support other
artists, Magic Theatre also sponsored exhibits of contemporary art in its lobby and hallways, took part in arts festivals,
and sponsored interns and training programs.
The public reaction to Magic Theatre's plays was best reflected in the production files, which contains reviews of individual
plays, and in the press reviews, which contains articles about the company. The collection also includes posters from many
of Magic Theatre's productions from its earliest years until the early 1980's.
- Photographs have been transferred to Pictorial Collections of The Bancroft Library.
- Videotapes/sound recordings have been transferred to the Microforms Collection of The Bancroft Library.
Materials in this collection may be protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition, the reproduction
of some materials may be restricted by terms of University of California gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions,
privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond
that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be
commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the
Head of Public Services, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley 94720-6000. See:
http://bancroft.berkeley.edu/reference/permissions.html .