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The Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) and George Mason University (GMU) Libraries recently hosted a speaker\u2019s event focused on the life and work of Zelda Fichandler. Known for her leadership and innovation as a director and educator in theater during the mid-20th century, Zelda was one of the founders and first artistic director of Washington, DC\u2019s Arena Stage and her work helped redefine and significantly expand the reputation of regional theatre across the country.<\/p>\n
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At the September 19 event, authors Mary Robinson and Todd London, who utilized SCRC\u2019s Zelda Fichandler papers and Arena Stage affiliated collections in their research, discussed their newly published books about Zelda Fichandler\u2019s life and work, and her contributions to Arena Stage and beyond. The evening began with introductions by GMU Library Dean Anne Osterman, SCRC Director Lynn Eaton, and current Arena Stage Executive Producer and President Edgar Dobie.<\/p>\n
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Author Mary Robinson then discussed her personal history with Zelda and the process of beginning, researching, and writing her oral history biography To Repair the World: Zelda Fichandler and the Transformation of American Theater<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/em>. Todd London then followed to discuss his work in taking up editing the book of essays and speeches that Zelda herself had begun, but never finished, that would become The Long Revolution: Sixty Years on the Frontlines of a New American Theater<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/em>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mary and Todd then participated in a Q&A session moderated by Edgar, which included questions from the audience. The discussion covered aspects of Zelda’s life, the legacy of Arena Stage, and the current state of regional and residential theatre.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Following the discussion, attendees were able to view a special selection of items from both the Zelda Fichandler papers (C0010) and the Arena Stage records (C0017), many of which were used by Mary and Todd in researching their books and\/or featured heavily in the narrative of Zelda’s life and career.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Some highlights from the event exhibit can be found below:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The full finding aid for the Arena Stage records (C0017) can be accessed online at the following URL and the collection is open and available for research access: https:\/\/aspace.gmu.edu\/resources\/c0017<\/a><\/span><\/span>. The Zelda Fichandler papers (C0010) are currently being processed, with access for research anticipated to be restored sometime in 2025.\u00a0For reference or appointment inquiries please visit our website<\/a><\/span><\/span>, email us at speccoll@gmu.edu<\/a><\/span><\/span>, or call 703-993-2220.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) and George Mason University (GMU) Libraries recently hosted a speaker\u2019s event focused on the life and work of Zelda Fichandler. Known for her leadership and innovation as a director and educator in theater during the mid-20th century, Zelda was one of the founders and first artistic director of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101024,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,121,893],"tags":[436,455,540,92,356],"class_list":["post-11181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-scrc-interest","category-scrc-picks","category-university-libraries-events","tag-20th-century","tag-archives","tag-performing-arts","tag-theatre","tag-women"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Ep5i-2Ul","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5707,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=5707","url_meta":{"origin":11181,"position":0},"title":"A Tribute to Arena Stage Founder Zelda Fichandler","author":"admin","date":"August 1, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cThe miracle of theater is that it ever happens at all.\u201d -\u00a0Zelda Fichandler, in Laurence Maslon\u2019s The Arena Adventure: The First 40 Years Zelda Fichandler, a powerhouse of the performing arts, passed away Friday, July 29 at the age of 91.\u00a0 Fichandler was a founder of the Arena Stage which\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"Zelda Fichandler and another woman standing in front of an audience in the Hippodrome, probably in 1950. Arena Stage records, #C0017, Box 633, Folder 1, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/C0017B633F001_01-300x231.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9893,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=9893","url_meta":{"origin":11181,"position":1},"title":"Looking Over our Shoulder: Art and Entertainment During the Cold War","author":"admin","date":"November 8, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"This post is part of a series pertaining to SCRC's current exhibition, Looking Over Our Shoulder: The Cold War in American Culture. 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Bill has a Bachelor of Arts in History with a focus in American History from George Mason University. The act of reprocessing a collection is about what half of my time here at SCRC is spent doing. While, processing a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "recently processed"","block_context":{"text":"recently processed","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=162"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Brady.jpg?fit=769%2C486&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Brady.jpg?fit=769%2C486&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Brady.jpg?fit=769%2C486&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/Brady.jpg?fit=769%2C486&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8118,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=8118","url_meta":{"origin":11181,"position":3},"title":"Reprocessing Adventures – The Zelda Fichandler Papers","author":"Amanda Menjivar","date":"December 17, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"This post was written by Bill Keeler, Processing Student Assistant. Bill is studying History with a focus in American History at George Mason University. Since processing the\u00a0Randolph H. Lytton Historical Virginia collection, I have begun reprocessing the\u00a0Zelda\u00a0Fichandler\u00a0papers.\u00a0I had the chance to poke around the collection and\u00a0many problems have presented themselves!\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG_2015.jpg?fit=827%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG_2015.jpg?fit=827%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG_2015.jpg?fit=827%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/IMG_2015.jpg?fit=827%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9007,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=9007","url_meta":{"origin":11181,"position":4},"title":"“Showing Us Our Own Face”: Performing Arts and the Human Experience","author":"Amanda Menjivar","date":"January 23, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Performance is a uniquely human quality. Humans - the only creatures on earth able to conceptualize realities other than the present one \u2013 over the millennia have followed the urge to present these realities to each other in a multitude of ways. 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<\/p>\nMary Robinson (left) and Todd London (right) each spoke individually about their connections with Zelda and their creative process<\/em><\/h6>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Rick-Davis-tagged-photo.jpg?resize=580%2C363&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\nMary Robinson (left), Todd London (center), and Edgar Dobie (right) during the panel discussion<\/em><\/h6>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/IMG_3147-scaled.jpg?resize=580%2C387&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\nEvent attendees listening just before the panel discussion began<\/em><\/h6>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/IMG_3175-scaled.jpg?resize=580%2C387&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\nEvent attendees were able to examine pieces from Zelda’s personal life and theatrical career<\/em><\/h6>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Zelda_10.jpg?resize=580%2C435&ssl=1\")
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<\/p>\nExhibit items included <\/em>original copies of her director scripts, photographs, correspondence, and early drafts of speeches<\/em><\/h6>\n
Follow SCRC on Social Media and look out for future posts on our\u00a0<\/em>Facebook<\/a><\/span>,\u00a0<\/em>Instagram<\/a><\/span>, and\u00a0<\/em>Twitter<\/a><\/span>\u00a0accounts. To search the collections\u00a0held at Special Collections Research Center, go to our\u00a0<\/em>website<\/a><\/span>\u00a0and browse the finding aids by subject or title. You may also e-mail\u00a0us at\u00a0<\/em>speccoll@gmu.edu<\/a><\/span>\u00a0or call 703-993-2220 if you would like to schedule an appointment, request materials, or if you have questions.<\/em><\/h5>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"