The History - 1946-1956

Post-War Boom

After the war ended, the Department of Drama resumed its full scale production schedule and endeavored to increase the size and capacity of the department in a variety of ways.

The department became a major community resource in the late forties. Productions were playing to full houses and in such demand that performance dates were increased to a total of six per production. Course work included four semesters of acting and theatre history, and two semesters each of stagecraft, makeup, scene design, directing, playwriting, and costuming.

In 1947, to fulfill the needs of the department's growth, new faculty were brought in. Fairfax Walkup was appointed to replace Lucy Barton as costume designer. Walkup was a noted costumer, historian and had been educational administrator of the Pasadena Playhouse prior to coming to Tucson. While at the University of Arizona, Walkup's second edition of her book, Dressing the Part, was published. This text, along with Lucy Barton's costume text, formed the cornerstone of costume design education for decades. Walkup served the department for eleven years before retiring to return to the Pasadena Playhouse.

In the same year that Walkup arrived at the department, Robert C. Burroughs was appointed Art and Technical Director. Burroughs taught, directed, and acted in the department for forty-three years, serving as Department Head in the 1980's. During the early fifties, Burroughs was able to raise thousands of dollars for the Public School Health Fund through outreach performances for children's plays such as Beauty and the Beast, Pinocchio, and The Steadfast Tin Soldier. Performances were presented to public school children in the University Auditorium. The long-term dedication of faculty like Burroughs has continued to influence the department. Indicative of his life-long commitment, Burroughs continues to serve the theatre department in retirement as a life member of the department's community Advisory Board.

Along with the addition of faculty and courses, the department was given approval to develop a curriculum for a Master of Arts Degree in Drama in 1951. This was not the only degree development in the second decade of the department. In addition, the Bachelor of Arts in Education with a major in Drama Education and the Bachelor of Arts with a major in Drama were established in the fall of 1953.

In 1950-51, the students in the department responded in their own way to the growth of the theatre on the University of Arizona's campus by creating The Lariat Theatre.

This student group performed in the basement of the Student Union where Louie's lower Level is now located. At the time that Lariat Theatre began using the space, it was still unfinished. The group had to spike a large area rug to the dirt floor to keep the dust down during rehearsals. The first show produced by the Lariat Theatre was The Milky Way. This theatre space was used for the next three years.

The end of the department's second decade was capped by the final performance to be staged in Herring Hall. Bullfight, by Leslie Storm, was produced March 20-26, 1956. The season finished with an in-the-round production of The Merchant of Venice on the Auditorium stage (now Centennial Hall), in part because the new theatre facilities were not completed. Forty years after Bullfight, Herring Hall was condemned after construction surrounding the building forced it to close.