Next up in our list of newly processed collections for the spring are three collections related to different areas of San Diego performing arts history. The Sellman Playscripts collection includes annotated scripts and stagings for what was presumably a local company of actors at the turn of the century. The Merle Clayton Papers include fascinating correspondence from a local actress of the "golden ages" of both San Diego theatre and Hollywood, as well as a number of photographs of Julian Eltinge, "the greatest female impersonator of the twentieth century." And the Records of JuleTone Productions includes wonderful materials documenting rehearsals, stage directions, musical compositions, participants, and venue preparation for a local musical theatre production company which specialized in providing entertainment for charities and private events. An online exhibit complementing the JuleTone collection is available here. Hunton D. Sellman Playscripts Collection, 1900-1913 (MS-0414)
This collection is made up of ten manuscript playscripts and actors sides, from plays written between 1900 and 1913. Some are copyrighted and published by the Chicago Manuscript Company. The majority seem to have been produced by a theatrical company called "Gray, Dowell, and Company"; the names Julia Gray and Ed Dowell appear consistently as names of actors. Scripts and sides have manuscript notations and stage directions, presumably made by the actors; most side have the name of the actor to play the role pencilled on the front cover. These playscripts were donated by Hunton D. Sellman, a professor of Theatre and stage lighting designer at San Diego State until his retirement in 1971. It is not known whether Sellman had any personal involvement in the production of these plays.
This collection is made up of ten manuscript playscripts and actors sides, from plays written between 1900 and 1913. Some are copyrighted and published by the Chicago Manuscript Company. The majority seem to have been produced by a theatrical company called "Gray, Dowell, and Company"; the names Julia Gray and Ed Dowell appear consistently as names of actors. Scripts and sides have manuscript notations and stage directions, presumably made by the actors; most side have the name of the actor to play the role pencilled on the front cover. These playscripts were donated by Hunton D. Sellman, a professor of Theatre and stage lighting designer at San Diego State until his retirement in 1971. It is not known whether Sellman had any personal involvement in the production of these plays.
Merle Clayton Papers, 1951-1976 (MS-0089)
This small collection consists primarily of research materials used by Merle Clayton, author of several local history pieces for San Diego Magazine. The materials consist of paper records, photographs, and several copies of San Diego Magazine. Clayton did a series of pieces on topics in the history of theatre and performing arts in San Diego, and most of this material pertains to that work. Of special note in Series I is the six-year correspondence between Clayton and actress Virginia Brissac, who he interviewed several times in person for a series of articles on her life. Brissac was famous in San Diego during the most active period in its performing arts theater; first with the Savoy Players and World's Fair Stock Company, then founding and managing the Virginia Brissac Company, a stock company which put on a play a week from about 1915 to 1921. Perhaps the most interesting materials in Series I are the publicity stills and photographs of Julian Eltinge, a local entertainer who was called "the best female impersonator of the twentieth century." Eltinge played various female characters in vaudeville acts, on Broadway, and on screen from about 1910 until about 1935. Records of JuleTone Productions Incorporated, 1958-2007 (MS-0418)
Julie Golden and Toni Michetti founded JuleTone Productions, Inc. as a musical theatre production company that provided entertainment for local charities and private events using local talent, including prominent San Diegans, such as Rolf Benirschke, Jim Laslavic, Ron Mix, Willie Buchanon, Pete Wilson, and Valerie Harp. Organizations such as the YMCA, the Balboa Theatre Foundation, Children's Hospital, the SDSU Alumni Association, the San Diego Symphony Association, and the San Diego Rotary Club hired JuleTone entertainment for their fundraisers and events. The JuleTone Productions, Inc. Records document rehearsals, stage directions, musical compositions, participants, and venue preparation for JuleTone performances. The collection consists of sheet music with notations, original lyrics, cast lists, news clippings, photographs, audio recordings, production invoices, invitations, correspondence, stage directions, programs, plaques, and performance DVDs.