The Edward Choate papers cover primarily the years 1933-1973 and consist of correspondence, contracts, financial records, scripts, clippings, and photographs for many of Choate's independent productions, his association with Margaret Webster, and his involvement in non-theatrical activities. The papers are arranged in seven series: Personal, Theatre, Old Vic Book, Margaret Webster Shakespeare Company, Margaret Webster Company, Independent Citizens Committee of the Arts, Sciences, and Professions, the Stop Censorship Committee, and Clippings.
The PERSONAL papers consist of records, contracts, and correspondence which are of a personal nature or concern theatrical productions not covered among the other series; they are arranged chronologically. Records, 1923-1969, are items of an official nature such as the program of Choate's graduation from Yale in 1930 and his divorce decree in 1961. Contracts, 1933-1972, concern miscellaneous productions with which Choate was associated, including his tenure with the New York State Theatre. General Correspondence, 1933-1973, comprises exchanges between Choate and members of his family, people involved in the theatre, and others. Correspondence, re. S.N. Behrman, 1973, originally bound in a scrapbook, deals with Samuel N. Behrman's death September 9, 1973, and includes obituaries, articles, and letters of appreciation to Choate for his eulogy of Behrman. The chronological arrangement found in Choate's scrapbook has been maintained.
The THEATRE series is arranged alphabetically by title of production. Included are plays Choate produced, plays he considered for production, and other scripts in the production of which he apparently did not participate. Scripts, correspondence, contracts, and financial records are filed together under the title of production in chronological order.
The OLD VIC BOOK concerns Choate's attempt to write about this company's tenure in the United States. Arranged in chronological order, the majority of correspondence reflects monetary contributions made to the book by many of Choate's friends. An article on “The Old Vic” which Choate wrote for Theatre Arts in 1946 is also included along with scattered financial records Choate used for research. A few chapters from the proposed manuscript are arranged in sequential order, although it has been impossible to ascertain whether this work was actually published.
A large quantity of the Choate papers concerns the MARGARET WEBSTER SHAKESPEARE COMPANY. Included is correspondence with Miss Webster, with Louisa Horton, an actress in the Company, with Bill Blair, road manager for the second tour, and with Joseph Verner Reed, financial backer of the tours. Also present is correspondence concerning contracts and bookings, the contracts themselves, a small file of publicity materials, annotated scripts from Julius Caesar and MacBeth, photographs, and looseleaf journals recording places the Company played, problems encountered and general comments on the productions. Also filed with this series are research materials generated by David Fennema, a University of Wisconsin student who wrote a master's thesis on the Company. Included are his correspondence and interviews with members of the Company, a bibliography of articles about the Company, a microfilm copy of portions of the Margaret Webster Papers at the New York Public Library, and other notes. Several of the files contain inventories of their contents by Mr. Fennema.
The sixth series contains papers relating to the MARGARET WEBSTER COMPANY at the Woodstock Playhouse. Comprising this section is correspondence with Michael Linenthal, and with his father Mark who invested in the productions; scripts for The Apollo of Bellac and Dandy Dick, two of the plays presented; and general papers including a playbill, casting lists, and two programs. Relevant letters can also be found in the correspondence files of the preceding series, the MARGARET WEBSTER SHAKESPEARE COMPANY.
The file concerning the INDEPENDENT CITIZENS COMMITTEE OF THE ARTS, SCIENCES, AND PROFESSIONS (ICC), of which Choate was a member of the National Board in 1946, includes letters of reaction to an unfavorable article about the ICC published in Time magazine on September 9, 1946. This organization was comprised of notable people in the arts, sciences, and professions which collectively took a stand on many national and international policy decisions of the United States.
Choate was secretary-treasurer of the STOP CENSORSHIP COMMITTEE in 1948. This organization of artists, musicians, writers and publishers, radio, movie and theatre people who were concerned with blacklisting and the artistic intimidation generated by the House Un-American Activities Committee investigation into communist influence in the arts. Choate's file includes registration sheets from an organizational meeting; tape recordings with transcriptions of a March 11, 1948 meeting at New York's Astor Hotel at which speakers sought funds and support; and a letter of resignation from the Committee from Henry Morgan who protested supporting the defense of the Hollywood Ten.
The CLIPPINGS series, recorded entirely on microfilm, contains material related to several of the series within this collection. The Personal and Miscellaneous clippings consist of articles about Choate, his friends, and miscellaneous theatre productions not covered in the THEATRE series. The Theatre clippings contain publicity, reviews, and articles on five of Choate's productions: Gently Does It, Harvey, Rhinoceros, The Sleeping Prince, and Yankee Point. Old Vic clippings concern that Company's productions in the United States. The Margaret Webster Shakespeare Company clippings are articles, reviews, and publicity about the Company's tours across the country. The three Scrapbooks, arranged in chronological order, contain clippings for the following productions: 1944, Kindred, Juno and the Paycock, and Decision; 1944-1945, Star in the Window, the Tempest, and Common Ground; and 1949-1950, the Taming of the Shrew, Julius Caesar, and miscellaneous other activities.
