Manuscripts Department
Library of the University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill
SOUTHERN HISTORICAL COLLECTION
#4378
SAMUEL SELDEN PAPERS
Inventory
Abstract: Samuel Selden was chairman of the Dept. of
Dramatic Art and director of the Carolina Playmakers
at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill,
1944-1959.
Drafts of books, speeches, articles, bulletins,
and plays, and correspondence relating to them;
scripts of plays Selden directed; subject files; and
photographs. The subjects of the writings include
stage scenery and lighting, acting, playwriting,
directing, outdoor drama, educational theater, and
other topics relating to theatrical production. Also
included are typescripts of plays written by Selden
and annotated scripts of plays directed by Selden, as
well as programs, clippings, and correspondence
relating to the outdoor plays Selden directed. About
half of the material in the subject files relates to
outdoor drama, including both general information
about the production of outdoor plays and programs of
individual plays. The photographs are chiefly prints
of scenes from outdoor plays and work on outdoor
plays, scenes from Carolina Playmakers productions,
and illustrations from Selden's books.
Online Catalog Terms:
Carolina Playmakers.
College teachers--North Carolina--History--20th century.
College theater--North Carolina--History--20th century.
Dramatists, American--20th century.
Selden, Samuel, 1899- .
Theater, Open-Air--United States.
Theaters--Stage-setting and scenery.
Theatrical producers and directors--North Carolina--History--
20th century.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dept. of Dramatic
Art.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill--Faculty--
History--20th century.
Size: About 2000 items (2.5 feet).
Provenance: Received from Mrs. Samuel Selden of Chapel Hill,
North Carolina, in April 1987, and from University
Archives (UNC-CH) in April 1983. Addition received
from the estate of Tom Rezzuto through Bobbi Owen
of Chapel Hill, N.C., and the North Carolina
Collection, Library of the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill, in May 2001 (Acc. 98941)
and July 2000 (Acc. 98982).
Access: No restrictions.
Processing Note: Items separated: P-4378/1-240.
Related Material: University Archives. Academic Affairs:
Records of the Department of Dramatic Arts.
Copyright: Retained by the authors of items in these papers,
or their descendants, as stipulated by United
States copyright law.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Biographical Note
Collection Overview
Series Descriptions
Series 1. Writings and Speeches
Series 2. Director's Scripts
Series 3. Subject Files
Series 4. Pictures
Additions
INTRODUCTION
Biographical Note
On 2 January 1899, Samuel Selden was born in Canton, China,
where his parents, Charles Card and Gertrude Thwing Selden, were
medical missionaries. In 1917, Selden came to the United States.
After his arrival, he served a year in the United States Army
Medical Corps, and then attended Yale University where he
received the A. B. degree in 1922. For the next five years,
Selden worked in professional theater in New York, notably as
assistant technical director and stage manager at the
Provincetown Playhouse.
In 1927, Selden came to the University of North Carolina as
technical director of the Carolina Playmakers and instructor in
English. He stayed at the University for thirty-one years. For
the last fourteen of those years, from 1944 to 1959, Selden
served as chairman of the Department of Dramatic Art and director
of the Carolina Playmakers. He left the University of North
Carolina to go to the University of California at Los Angeles as
chairman of the Department of Theatre Arts. When he left Los
Angeles, he went for one year (1966-67) to Southern Illinois
University as distinguished visiting professor. He then returned
to Chapel Hill and was visiting professor in the Department of
Dramatic Art from 1967 to 1971.
In addition to teaching, Selden wrote books on various aspects
of theater, and wrote and directed plays. He became an expert on
outdoor drama and directed, supervised, and advised numerous
productions of outdoor plays. He directed the first seasons of
Paul Green's The Lost Colony, from 1937 to 1941 and 1946 to 1952.
Selden married Wautell Gray Lambeth on 19 July 1936. They had
two children, Priscilla Lambeth and Samuel Thwing Selden. Mrs.
Selden died in May 1948. On 25 October 1951, Selden married
Emily Polk Crow.
Samuel Selden died on 27 April 1979 at the age of 80.
Collection Overview
This collection best reflects Samuel Selden as author and
director. The majority of the material relates to Selden's
books, plays, articles, and speeches or to plays he directed.
Material related to outdoor drama appears in all parts of the
collection. Although there is some material from early in
Selden's career, the bulk of the material comes from later years.
In general, Selden's arrangement of items within folders has
been retained. The folders have been arranged into the following
series:
Series 1. Writings and Speeches
Series 2. Director's Scripts
Series 3. Subject Files
Series 4. Pictures
For more detailed information, see the series descriptions
that follow.
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
Series 1. Writings and Speeches
1922-1975 and undated. About 1000 items.
Drafts of Selden's books, speeches, plays, articles and other
short writings, along with notes, correspondence, and
miscellaneous items pertaining to them.
Books
There are notes and correspondence relating to eight of
Selden's published books, but no manuscripts of these works.
There are four book-length manuscripts of works never published
and notes and correspondence relating to them.
Folders 1-2. "A Brief Guide to Play-Directing"
3. Essentials of Stage Scenery (1972)
4-6. First Steps in Acting (1947, 1961, 1964)
7-11. "From a Story-Maker's Workshop"
12. An Introduction to Playwriting (1946)
13-14. "Little Fables"
15. Man in His Theatre (1957)
16-17. Modern Theatre Practice (1935, 1939, 1946,
1959)
18-19. Shakespeare: A Player's Handbook of Short
Scenes (1960)
20-21. The Stage in Action (1941, 1961)
22. Stage Scenery and Lighting (1930, 1936, 1959)
23-24. Theatre Double Game (1969)
Speeches
Typescripts of talks by Selden and notes for talks. For most,
there is no indication of when or where they were given.
Folder 27. "The Carolina Playmakers Now Fifty Years Old"
28. "A Child's Share in Outdoor Historical Plays"
29. "The Department of Dramatic Art at UNC Is Still
Growing"
30. "Does Educational Theatre Have a Future?"
31. "Education and the Theatre"
32. "The Education of a Director"
33. "Future Directions of Educational Theatre"
34. "Gamesmanship in the American Theatre"
35. "Harry Ellerbe Davis"
36. "The Importance of the Arts in the Lives of
Our Young People"
37. "Kinetic Imagery in Expressive Speech"
38. Miscellaneous Speeches
39. "The Place of the Audience in the Theatre"
40. "The Playwright's Use of Native Materials"
41. Presidential Address (Denver 1960)
[American Educational Theatre Association]
42. "The Problem of Design in Directing"
43. "The Responsibility for Providing a Good Time
in the Theatre"
44. "A Sketch of the Rebel Artist as Aristocrat"
45. "Southern History in Pageantry"
46. "Theatre as Adventure"
47. "The Three Parts of a Liberal Education"
Short Writings
Drafts and reprints of articles, bulletins, and short,
unpublished writings, as well as material for courses Selden
taught.
Folder 48. "Academic Theater in the U. S.--An Assessment"
49. "The Art of the Actor"
50. Backgrounds of Theatre Art
51. "The Basic Planning of a Stage for a
Schoolhouse Auditorium"
52. "Cleon Throckmorton, Stage Artist and
Playfellow"
53. Conceptual Foundations of Modern Theatre
54. Dialogue Across the Generation Gap
55. Dramatic Composition
56. "Dramatic Extension in North Carolina"
57. Formula for a Play
58. Intellectualism (in the Theatre)
59. Miscellaneous Articles
60. Miscellaneous Short Writings
61. Modern Drama
62. "Notes on Playwriting"
63. "Paul Green"
64. Playwriting
65. "Producing America's Outdoor Dramas"
66. "The Production of Local History Plays and
Pageants"
67. "Research in Drama and the Theatre in the
Universities and Colleges of the United
States from 1937 to 1942"
68. "A Responsibility for Creating a Good Time in
the Theatre"
69. Scenario for a Full-Length Play
70. Scenario for a One-Act Play
71. Seminar
72. "Some Experimental Thoughts on the State of
Educational Theatre"
73. Story Sketches
74. "Theatre's Magic Triangle"
75. "Three Cries from the Auditorium"
76. "What Do Theatrical Agents Think of University
Graduates?"
77. What a Playwright Should Be
78. What the Playwright Has to Deal With
Plays
Typescripts of plays by Selden. Some have a small amount of
correspondence with them concerning publication or production.
79-80. The Enchanted Mountain
81-82. The Ghosts of Kill-Devil Tavern
83. The King of the Beggars
84-88. The Silence at Titan's Rock
89-91. Uncle Tom's Cabin
92. While the Horses Are Saddled
93. The White Doe
Series 2. Director's Scripts
1957-1964 and undated. About 150 items.
Annotated scripts of plays directed by Selden, and programs,
clippings, leaflets, correspondence relating to outdoor plays he
directed.
Plays Directed
Scripts only.
Folder 94. Anastasia
95. Of Thee I Sing
96. Peter Pan
97. R. U. R.
98. Romeo and Juliet
99. The Taming of the Shrew
Outdoor Plays Directed
Scripts and programs for outdoor plays directed by Selden.
There is also correspondence related to The Stephen Foster Story
and Home Is the Hunter. There is no script for Home Is the
Hunter.
Folders 100-101. The Confederacy
102-104. Home Is the Hunter
105-112. The Stephen Foster Story
113-116. Wilderness Road
Series 3. Subject Files.
1918-1977 and undated. About 400 items.
Reference material, notes, and miscellaneous correspondence.
About half of the material relates to outdoor drama, including
both general information about production of outdoor plays and
programs of individual plays. Most of these files were
established and titled by Selden.
Folder 117. Art in the University
118. The Art of Theatre
119. Arvold, Alfred
120. California
121. Characters
122. Copywright
123. Jack McAndrew's Microvarium
124. Miscellaneous Correspondence (1937-1958)
125. Miscellaneous Correspondence (1959-1977 and
undated)
126. National Playwriting Project
127. National Theatre Conference
128. Outdoor Plays: Advice
129. Outdoor Plays: Announcements
130. Outdoor Plays: Arena Theatre of the
Philippines
131. Outdoor Plays: Author's Attitude
132. Outdoor Plays: Bibliography
133. Outdoor Plays: The Common Glory
134. Outdoor Plays: Cross and Sword
135. Outdoor Plays: Forever This Land
136. Outdoor Plays: Horn in the West
137. Outdoor Plays: Lecture Material
138. Outdoor Plays: The Liberty Tree
139. Outdoor Plays: The Lost Colony
140. Outdoor Plays: New Projects
141. Outdoor Plays: Oregon Shakespeare Festival
142. Outdoor Plays: The Pilgrimage Play
143. Outdoor Plays: Promotion and Publicity
144. Outdoor Plays: Proposed Book
145. Outdoor Plays: Proposed Resort Area Survey
146. Outdoor Plays: Ramona
147. Outdoor Plays: Reference Materials
148. Outdoor Plays: Reports
149. Outdoor Plays: Texas
150. Outdoor Plays: Training and Performance
151. Outdoor Plays: Unto These Hills
152. Pageant
153. Savage, George
154-159. Selden, Samuel
160. Shanghai American School
161. Statires-Menexes, Elias
162. Story Models
163. Titles for Plays
164. Travel
165. Travel to Orient
Series 4. Pictures
1937-1970 and undated. 240 items.
Chiefly 8 x 10 black and white glossy prints of scenes from
outdoor plays and work on outdoor plays, plus some photographs
used to illustrate two of Selden's books, and others of Carolina
Playmakers productions, of Selden, and of others.
Folder 1. Selden, Samuel
P-4378/1 Samuel Selden, 1937
P-4378/2-12 Samuel Selden
P-4378/13 Samuel Selden, John Payne, Bob Sonkonsky
with mint juleps at the plantation of
Winston Coleman, summer, 1956
P-4378/14 Selden receiving commission from Labon
Jackson as Kentucky Colonel
P-4378/15 Selden adopted into the tribe of White
Buffalo, 29 August 1960
P-4378/16 Gathering of UNC-CH English faculty,
1970
P-4378/17 Selden at rostrum, Andy Griffith and
unidentified woman at table
P-4378/18 Selden standing in aisle (Paul Green
among audience)
P-4378/19 Selden, Red Skelton, three unidentified
men
Folder 2. The Stage in Action
P-4378/20-26 Illustrations
Folder 3. Stage Scenery and Lighting
P-4378/27-33 Illustrations
Folder 4. The Common Glory
P-4378/34-39 Scenes from the play, technicians
preparing scenery, amphitheatre
Folder 5. Horn in the West
P-4378/40-59. Scenes from the play, amphitheatre.
Folder 6. The Lost Colony
P-4378/59 Samuel Selden
P-4378/60-63 Cast members
P-4378/64 F. H. Koch, Supervising Director; Howard
W. Bailey, State Director, Federal
Theater Project; Paul Green, author;
Samuel Selden, Production Director
P-4378/65-76 Members of staff
P-4378/77-80 Auditions
P-4378/81-85 Cast
P-4378/86-97 Theater and set
P-4378/98-156 Scenes from The Lost Colony
P-4378/157-170 Backstage
P-4378/171-177 Roanoke Island
Folder 7. The Stephen Foster Story
P-4378/180-194 Scenes
Folder 8. Unto These Hills
P-4378/195-207 Scenes
Folder 9. Wilderness Road
P-4378/208-224 Scenes, backstage, amphitheatre
Folder 10. Carolina Playmakers
P-4378/225-233 Scenes from Playmakers productions
Folder 11. Miscellaneous
P-4378/234 Frederick Henry Koch
P-4378/235 Tom Patterson
P-4378/236 Paul Green (and Mrs. Green?)
P-4378/237 Forest Theater
P-4378/238 Arena Theatre of the Philippines
P-4378/239-240 Unidentified
ADDITION OF MAY 2001 (Acc. 98941)
Size: About 200 items (1.5 linear feet).
Dates: [1960s].
Provenance: Received from the estate of Tom Rezzuto through
Bobbi Owen of Chapel Hill, N.C., and the North
Carolina Collection, Library of the University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Access: No retrictions.
Description: Typed and handwritten drafts, galley proofs, page
proofs, photographs, and a few other items related
to Selden's books, Essentials of Stage Scenery
(with Tom Rezzuto), and to Modern Theatre Practice
and Stage Scenery and Lighting.
Filed in Box 5
ADDITION OF JULY 2001 (Acc. 98982)
Size: About 10 items.
Dates: 1950s.
Provenance: Received from Bobbi Owen of Chapel Hill, N.C.,
through and the North Carolina Collection, Library
of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Access: No retrictions.
Description: Script and sheet music for "Love and Measles: A
Musical Comedy" with book and lyrics by Emily
Selden and music by Walter Goode. Also included is
one letter about the play.
Filed in Box 5