• Home

• Browse

• Search

• Advanced Search

• Help

A Guide to Her Papers in the Archives of African-American Music and Culture at Indiana University

Finding aid prepared by Levon Williams

Summary Information

Repository
Indiana University, Archives of African American Music and Culture (AAAMC)
Smith Research Center, Rooms 180-181
2805 E. 10th St.
Bloomington, IN 47408-2601
Phone: 812-855-8547
Fax: 812-856-0333
Email: aaamc@indiana.edu
http://www.indiana.edu/~aaamc

Creator
Fletcher, Winona L.

Title
Winona Fletcher Collection, 1939-1987, bulk 1982-1987

Collection No.
SC 2

Extent
3 boxes + 519 slides + 9 audio cassettes + 9 videocassettes (VHS) + 1 videodisc (DVD) + 1 sound reel + 1 video reel

Language
Materials are in English.

Abstract
This collection documents the activities of Dr. Winona Fletcher as Producing Director of the Indiana University Afro-American Arts Institute's 1986 revival of the Federal Theatre Project's 1939 production Prelude to Swing, entitled Prelude to Swing +50.

Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research. Audiovisual materials require the creation of listening and/or viewing copies. Advance notice of your visit is highly recommended to ensure that requested materials will be ready for use upon your arrival. Contact the AAAMC staff for more details.

Biographical Note

Dr. Winona Fletcher taught theatre and drama at Kentucky State College (later University) from 1951 to 1978 and at Indiana University from 1978 to 1994. From 1971-73, while on leave from Kentucky State, she came to IU to assist in the development of the Afro-American Studies Department. Dr. Fletcher has been very involved with a number of theatre organizations, most notably through her work with the Kennedy Center, her research and work with the American College Theatre Festival Lorraine Hansberry contest for new playwrights, and her research into the Negro units of the Federal Theatre Project of the 1930s. Some of the other theatre organizations with which she has been prominently associated include the American Theatre Association, the University & College Theatre Association, the National Association of Dramatic and Speech Arts, the Association for Theatre in Higher Education, the Black Theatre Network, and the National Conference of African American Theatre.

Dr. Fletcher also served as a theater educator, historian, and author as well as a civic and social leader in her community, sorority, and church. During her tenure at at Indiana University, Fletcher served as Producing Director for the Afro-American Arts Institute's 1986 revival of Prelude to Swing entitled Prelude to Swing +50.

Arrangement

Scope and Content Note

This collection consists of 3 boxes of documents pertaining to Indiana University's Afro-American Arts Institute's Prelude to Swing +50 , a revival of the Federal Theatre Project's 1939 production of Prelude to Swing. The collection includes materials related to Fletcher's research of the Federal Theatre Project, personal correspondence and notes related to the Afro-American Arts Institute, production notes related to the 1986 theatrical production of Prelude to Swing +50 , and the 1987 television documentary aired by WTIU under the same name. Also included are two 3-ring binders of slides intended for use in Prelude to Swing +50; 9 audiocassettes of rehearsals, show cues, and a 1986 performance of Prelude to Swing +50 produced in Fort Wayne, IN; 9 videocassettes containing excerpts from the 1986 performance; and 1 DVD of the 1987 documentary.

The 1939 production of Prelude to Swing was directed by Malvina Fried with Carlton Moss and was first performed in Philadelphia. The musical revue featured dancers, a black chorus, and a swing orchestra.

• Indexing Terms

• The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in IUCAT, the IU Libraries' online catalog. Materials about related topics, persons or places can be found by searching the catalog using these terms.

• • Names
  • Indiana University, Bloomington.
  • Afro-American Arts Institute.
• • Subjects
  • Musicals--Production and direction
  • Documentary television programs
  • African American theatre
  • African Americans--Social life and customs--19th century
  • African Americans--Social life and customs--20th century
  • Theatre--19th century
  • Theatre--20th century
  • African Americans--Music--19th century
  • African Americans--Music--20th century
  • African Americans--Civil rights (U.S.)
  • Slaves--Social conditions--United States

Related Material

Winona Lee Fletcher Papers (Accession no.: 1997MS02). CESKAA, Kentucky State University.

Administrative Information

Collection Inventory

---