Guide to the Thomas C. Fichandler papers, 1950-1997

Thomas C. Fichandler C0197

Historical Information

Arena Stage was an early leader in the resident theatre movement. One of the first not-for-profit theatres in the United States as well as a pioneer of the regional theatre movement, the Arena Stage was the first regional theatre to transfer a production to Broadway, the first invited by the U.S. State Department to tour Eastern Europe and the U.S.S.R., and the first to receive a Tony Award. Co-founded in 1950 by Edward Mangum, a teacher from George Washington University, and Zelda Fichandler, one of his students, Arena Stage was opened in Washington, D.C., to fill the void left by the closing of the National Theater in 1948. Deriving it's name from the idea of "theatre in the round," Arena Stage became one of the first resident theatres in the United States, beginning with a company of only eight actors. Today, Arena performs to over 250,000 patrons during a September to June season and employs nearly 200 theatre professionals and craftpersons, who are responsible for all the costumes and scenery seen on stage. Many now-famous actors took part in Arena Stage productions during the early part of their careers. Some of them include Robert Prosky, Morgan Freeman, Dianne Weist, James Earl Jones, Kevin Kline, Christopher Guest, Yeardly Smith and Samuel L. Jackson.

Return to the Table of Contents

Scope and Content

Contains correspondence, memos, reports and other papers created by Thomas C. Fichandler.

Return to the Table of Contents

Arrangement

Organized by subject.

Return to the Table of Contents

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions on personal use. Permission to publish material from the Thomas C. Fichandler papers must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Return to the Table of Contents

Related Material

Special Collections and Archives holds the Arena Stage records.

Return to the Table of Contents

Index Terms

Corporate Names:

Subjects:

Return to the Table of Contents

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Thomas C. Fichandler papers, C0017, Special Collections and Archives, George Mason University Libraries.

Acquisition Information

Donated by Arena Stage in 2000.

Processing Information

Processed by Special Collections and Archives staff.

Return to the Table of Contents

Contents List