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Shakespeare at Amherst

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Julius Ceasar, 1949
 
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The Tempest, 1951
 
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A Midsummer Night's Dream, 1952

Julius Caesar (1949)

Poster for the March 1949 stage production

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Charles Rogers' set design of an Elizabethan stage

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The cast at dress rehearsal in Kirby Theater

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The 1949 Television Production of Julius Caesar at the
Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, D. C.

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On Sunday, April 3, 1949, the Amherst College Masquers, an honorary undergraduate dramatic organization, made television history. NBC broadcast the entire performance of Julius Caesar to 14 cities nationwide, marking the first time in history that an entire play of William Shakespeare's was televised. Arranged by then network vice-president Charles R. Denney (AC 1933), this performance of Julius Caesar also marked the first use of the Elizabethan Playhouse in the Library and the first production of the play in the Elizabethan format. The play featured about fifty students in the cast and stage crew and was directed by F. Curtis Canfield (AC 1925), Professor of Dramatic Arts and director of Amherst's Kirby Theater.
Poster for the April 1949 televised production at the Folger Shakespeare Library
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Itinerary for trip to Washington, D.C.
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Television truck and crew
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Sewing the costumes for the production
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Cast, crew and designers
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Director Curtis Canfield (center) with the cast
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Tuffy McGoun '27 (right), Technical Director
and Louis Wright, Folger Shakespeare Librarian
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The production
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Lighting Cue Script
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Program for the Folger Shakespeare Library production
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Director Curtis Canfield (left) off stage
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Poster advertising kinescope film showing of the television broadcast
January 23, 1950
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Scrapbook documenting the production
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The Tempest (November 1951)
The Program
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Left: Costume design by Charles Rogers for the dogs in The Tempest.
Right: Dog masks used in the production.
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A Midsummer Night's Dream (November 1952)
Poster
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Cast and Crew
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Set design by Charles Rogers
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Newspaper advertisements for the production
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Costume designs by Charles Rogers
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Hippolyta
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Lysander
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Oberon
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Puck
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Theseus
Scenes from the production
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Pages from the prompt book used for the production
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