This collection consists primarily of typescripts of Bradford's plays arranged chronologically. Also included are newspaper clippings, letters, brochures and flyers, and several music manuscripts.
Identification:
MS SC PA-5
Language:
Material in English
Repository:
Arizona State University Library. Rare Books and Manuscripts P.O. Box 871006 Tempe, AZ 85287-1006 Phone: (480) 965-4932 E-Mail: archives@asu.edu Questions? Ask An Archivist!
Biographical Note
A Paducah, Kentucky physician, Benjamin Bradford wrote plays in his spare time. He had several off-Broadway plays produced in New York in the late 1960s and early 1970s. At least 20 of his works were staged by experimental theaters in Los Angeles, where he worked for a period of time. His Where Are You Going, Hollis Jay? was published by the Samuel French Co. and has been staged by theaters and drama festivals throughout the United States and in England. He formed the production company, Brelco Inc., with co-writer Brian Eller.
Scope and Content Note
This collection consists primarily of typescripts of Bradford's plays arranged chronologically. Also included are newspaper clippings, letters, brochures and flyers, and several music manuscripts.
Arrangement
This collection consists of four boxes divided into two series:
To view this collection, make an appointment at least five business days prior to your visit by contacting Ask an Archivist or calling (480) 965-4932. Appointments in the Wurzburger Reading Room at Hayden Library (rm. 138) on the Tempe campus are available Monday through Friday. Check the ASU Library Hours page for current availability.
Copyright
Arizona State University does not own the copyright to this collection. We recognize that it is incumbent upon the researcher to procure permission to publish information from this collection from the owner of the copyright.
Review of Where Are You Going, Hollis Jay? in Isis,
1969 February 5 (Photocopy)
1
11
The Anthropologists,
1970 (Typescript)
Published by Edgemoor Publishing Company, Houston. Includes Application for Right to Perform or to Read Copyrighted Material.
1
12
Flyer for The Best Short Plays,
1970
1
13
Concentric Circles,
1970 (Typescript)
1
14
Review of Concentric Circles in the Maine Times,
1970 August 21 (Photocopy)
Box
Folder
2
1
Fancy,
1970 (Typescript)
2
2
Flavors,
1970 (Typescript)
2
3
The Goats,
1970 (Typescript)
2
4
Program for Goats at the Kentucky Theatre Association Secondary School Division One-Act Festival,
1979 October 19-21
2
5
Lettie’s in the Kitchen,
1970 (Typescript)
2
6
Look Away, Look Away,
1970 (Typescript)
2
7
Lunch,
1970 (Typescript)
2
8
Post Mortem,
1970 May 12 (Typescript)
Includes photocopies of Radio Nederland Golden Windmill Radio Drama Award First Prize to this play.
2
9
Press Release regarding Post Mortem winning the Radio Nederland Golden Windmill Radio Drama Award First Prize,
1970 May 12 (2 Copies)
2
10
Princess,
1973
Published by Performance Publishing, Elgin, Illinois. Inscription by author to Anna Mae on title page.
2
11
Princess,
1970 (Typescript)
2
12
The Purgation List,
1970 (Typescript)
2
13
Rendezvous,
1970 (Typescript)
Enclosed letter from Bradford to Anna Mae (1971 October 19) discusses adding this manuscript to the Helton collection of Bradford plays.
2
14
A Victim of the Silence,
1970 (Typescript)
2
15
Charcoals and Pastels: Seven Short Plays and Sketches,
circa 1970 (Typescript)
Includes an inscription on the title page from Benjamin Bradford to Anna Mae Helton (1971 March 16) and the following plays:
Glissade
Rehearsal
Plotters
At the Bottom of the Convolution
Roy’s Letters
Zap!
My Name Was Never Angel
2
16
Newspaper article from the Sunday Herald-Leader regarding Plotters,
1970 September 21
Includes a photograph of Dean J. Robert Wills directing the play.
2
17
Little Plays for a Dark Theatre,
1970 (Typescript)
Includes a University of Kentucky memo regarding pick-up of script by Anna Mae Helton (1971) and the following plays:
Losing Things
Touch and Go
The Fence War
Conversation Piece
The Sack of Oak Park
Code Ninety-nine
Good Days, Bad Days
2
18
Pitfall for a Rational Man
, 1971 (Typescript)
2
19
Doilies
, 1972 (Typescript)
Box
Folder
3
1
Life and Death in a Public Place,
1972 (Typescript)
Includes the following plays:
Mary Stuart
O Julia
The Washboard Climax
Life and Death in a Public Place
3
2
Reviews of the Staircase Company's production of Life and Death in a Public Place,
1973 (Photocopies; 4 Items)
3
3
The Middle Ground,
1972 (Typescript)
3
4
Poster/Program and ticket from the Market House Theatre production of The Middle Ground,
1979 April 17
3
5
O Julia,
1972 (Typescript)
3
6
Odysseus, a libretto for an opera loosely based upon The Odyssey of Homer,
1970s (Typescript)
3
7
Roots: An American Comedy,
1975 (Typescript Carbon)
3
8
Roots: An American Comedy,
1975 (Manuscript Copy of Music)
3
9
To Make a Man, [originally titled Roots],
1975 (Typescript)
3
10
Poster/Programs from the Market House Theatre production of To Make a Man (2 items); Program and newspaper review from the Gulfport Little Theatre production,
1978 February 23-25
3
11
I, Woman,
1988 (Typescript)
Includes revisions and inscription from Bradford to Anna Mae on title page.
3
12
Newspaper article regarding I, Woman in the Courier-Journal,
1989 July 23
Includes letters from Bradford to Anna Mae (September 6, 1989) and from Anna Mae to Bradford (September 14, 1989).
3
13
Margaret: The Fall and Rise of the Moon (Typescript)
Includes a letter from Bradford to Anna Mae (October 1, 1988).
