06-25-07

Media Release

New Exhibit Highlights History of OSU Theater

CORVALLIS, Ore. – A new exhibit of historical highlights from the Oregon State University Theatre will be on display until Aug. 30 in the concourse of the Memorial Union on the OSU campus.

The exhibit, “The University Theatre: 1895-2007,” includes posters, costumes, properties, scenery, lighting instruments and photographs from the Oregon State University archives.

The exhibit includes one of the earliest photographs from an OSU production, Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar,” from 1895. It is believed that the production was done at the Corvallis Opera House, which once was at the corner of Third Street and Madison in downtown Corvallis. There also are photographs from outdoor Shakespeare productions from the 1920s. That tradition of outdoor Shakespeare performances will continue this year with “Much Ado about Nothing,” which opens July 25 and will be performed in the quad of the Memorial Union.

There also are photos and posters of Gilbert and Sullivan productions that date from 1989 to 1998. A new OSU production of “H.M.S. Pinafore” will debut on Aug. 16 at Withycombe Hall Main Stage.

Costumes from past plays donated by the Department of Design and Human Environment also will be displayed in the exhibit.

Also featured in the exhibit are color photographs by Jim Folts, former chairman of the Department of Art, and scene design renderings and poster designs from former theater faculty member Alex Wallace.