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| Title | Florence Bean James |
| Photographer | Erickson, Richard |
| Date | n.d. |
| Notes | Handwritten on verso of image: Florence Bean James.
Filed in Portraits--James, Florence Bean |
| Contextual Notes | Florence Bean James (1892-1988), with her husband Burton W. James (1888-1951), founded the Seattle Repertory Playhouse and played a central role in the city's theatrical life for nearly 30 years. Florence Bean was the daughter of the co-founder and first mayor of Pocatello, Idaho. She met her future husband in New York City in 1911. They were married in 1917. They shared progressive ideals and a mutual interest in theater. These impulses led them to the Lenox Hill Settlement House in Manhattan, where they staged and directed plays for immigrants. They were working there in 1923 when Nellie Cornish (1876-1956), founder of the Cornish School, coaxed them to come teach drama and produce plays at the Cornish School. They established the Repertory Playhouse (not to be confused with the Seattle Repertory Theatre) five years later. The Jameses sought to turn the Playhouse into a genuine community theater, involving various ethnic groups, intellectuals, artists, workers, and young people. They presented a wide range of material, from the de rigueur drawing room comedies that were popular at the time to internationally acclaimed dramas and classic plays to new works that gave exposure to local playwrights (including Glenn Hughes). They also took steps to widen the audience for live theater. Among other innovations, they staged the first summer drama festival on the West Coast; established the Washington State Theatre Project (the first state theater project in the country) to bring classic plays to high school students; began a resident theater school; and founded a repertory company for black actors. Their reputation was tarnished and their theater forced out of business after they became targets of the Washington State Legislative Committee on Un-American Activities, headed by Rep. Albert Canwell, in 1948. After Burton James' death, Florence James accepted a position as a drama instructor at the Saskatchewan School of the Arts. In 1953, she joined the Saskatchewan Arts Board as drama consultant, holding that position until 1968. She was instrumental in the founding of the acclaimed Globe Theatre in Regina, Saskatchewan. She was much honored for her work in Canada, receiving, among other awards, the Legion of Honor Medal, the Queen's Silver Medal, and the Diplome d'Honneur from the Canadian Conference of the Arts.
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| Subjects (LCTGM) | Theatrical producers & directors--Washington (State)
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| Subjects (LCSH) | James, Florence Bean, 1892-1988
Women in the theater--Washington (State)
Acting teachers--Washington (State)
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| Digital Collection | Portraits Collection
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| Order Number | POR0083
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| Ordering Information | To order a reproduction, inquire about permissions, or for information about prices see: http://www.lib.washington.edu/specialcollections/services/reproduction-info
Please cite the Order Number when ordering. |
| Negative Number | UW3051 |
| Repository | University of Washington Libraries. Special Collections Division |
| Repository Collection | Portraits Collection |
| Object Type | Photograph |
| Digital Reproduction Information | Scanned from a photographic print using a Microtek Scanmaker 9600XL at 100 dpi in JPEG format at compression rate 6 and resized to 768x512 ppi. 2003 |
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