Abstract
Sarah Blackstone is Chair of the Department of Theatre at Southern Illinois University and serves on the Advisory Board for the Theatre Museum of Repertoire Americana. Neil and Caroline Schaffner started collecting memorabilia from the repertoire theater movement during the 1950s. They dreamed of one day establishing a museum that would display their collection and other items connected with this wide-spread popular entertainment form. In 1973, with the help of the Midwest Old Settlers and Threshers Association, and endless hours of effort, their dream was realized in the small town of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. Since that time, the Museum of Repertoire Americana has prospered, and it currently houses an impressive collection of uniquely American research materials. Dedicated to preserving the rural theatrical heritage of the Midwest, the Museum has materials related to opera houses, circle stock companies, Uncle Tom shows, showboats, and tent shows of all descriptions. I offer here a brief description of the collection, together with information about the National Society for the Preservation of Tent, Folk, and Repertoire Theatre and the annual Theatre History Seminar this organization holds at the Museum each April.
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