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American Variety Stage, 1870-1920, is a multimedia anthology that showcases popular entertainment forms, especially vaudeville, from 1870 to 1920. The materials include memorabilia documenting the career of Harry Houdini, English- and Yiddish-language playscripts, souvenir playbills and programs, theater posters, motion pictures, and sound recordings. Many items include the bawdy humor and ethnic stereotypes typical of the period.
For Houdini, Houdini: A Biographical Chronology
Development of the Industrial United States, 1876-1915
American Life Histories, 1936-1940
Read More About It! - A bibliography
Each page of the playscripts and the playbills has been digitized as an image. This means that these items are not full-text searchable. However, the subject terms in the bibliographic records are searchable. Use the Subject Index to give you ideas for search terms and help narrow your search.
You can read and search all of the text in this collection and most of the images without special viewers. To view high-resolution archival images you will need a special viewer. For help with viewers, go to American Memory Viewer Information |
The multimedia American Variety Stage, 1870-1920 collection relates to a wide range of themes in the history of the United States. The playscripts, sound recordings, motion pictures, and theater playbills reflect the growth of European immigrant populations in America and recount their assimilation experiences. The playscripts take up issues of labor, mass production, and mass consumption in the late 19th century. The collection touches on issues including women's rights and women's roles, urban culture, and, of course, popular entertainment. With guidance, students can use the materials in the collection to explore issues of discrimination, nativism, and racism in the U.S. during this time.
5) American Variety Stage, 1870-1920 is an excellent resource for examples of popular culture. The 61 motion pictures in this collection record acts that audience members of the day saw. Browse the Title List for Motion Pictures, which is grouped by genre, to see a cross-section of the types of acts found in vaudeville and variety stage shows, such as comic sketches and dance.
6) Stereotypes abound in American Variety Stage, 1870-1920. Items in the collection can be used as a gateway for discussion of discrimination, racism, and stereotypes.
Students can observe stereotyping in the language of the playscripts. Students will note that many scripts are written in the vernacular. They can also observe visual stereotyping in the motion pictures within the collection. For example, students might review A Wake in "Hell's Kitchen", and then identify which group is being stereotyped (the Irish). (Visit the American Memory Viewer Information page if you need assistance viewing these films.) |
Chronological Thinking By studying items in this collection, students can begin to explore historical issues of the period from 1870-1920. 1) Students might examine the theater playbills, playscripts, and motion pictures in order to look at how history was presented in theatrical productions. Search on history and tableaux to find items such as Spirit of '76, which shows a living version of the popular painting by Archibald Willard. (Visit the American Memory Viewer Information page if you need assistance viewing these films.) Spirit of '76, 1905
Historical Comprehension
Historical Analysis and Interpretation In American Variety Stage, 1870-1920, different values and themes are explored, often in caricature and excess. Most playscripts provide monologue or dialogue, often from characters that are representative of social types - either by ethnicity, social class, or occupation. For example, in the playscript Twenty Minutes at Coffee Dan's, students will find in the cast of characters College Boy, Old Man, and Shop Girl. In the course of the play, Shop Girl and College Boy meet, fall in love, and marry, much to the chagrin of the Old Man, who is College Boy's father. Shop Girl, speaking to the Old Man, defends the marriage:
Search on class distinctions to find this and other playscripts dealing with issues of class and social status.
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Language ArtsUsing the playscripts and sound recordings in American Variety Stage, 1870-1920, students can practice a wide range of reading, language, writing, and listening skills.Reading Comprehension Students can use the playscripts to decipher the meaning of sketches peppered with vernacular, malapropisms, puns, and reversals. Search on pun, malapropisms, and language style to find sketches and monologues employing these devices. For example, search on malapropisms to find The Shmoosers.
The Shmoosers, 1914, p.6, (image 7) Literary Devices
Creative Writing Themes of heroism, love, honor, courage, pathos, and loyalty can be found in the playscripts, often presented through irony or sentimentality. Using this collection, students can practice creative writing by rewriting scripts. Students might write a modern version of a playscript. For example, they might rewrite a "war between men and women" to reflect gender issues of today. Search on gender relations and marital relations to find playscripts dealing with the roles of men and women in society. Listening
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Last updated 06/10/2002 |