Use Restrictions

The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)

Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Ken Kitch papers, C0198, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries

Acquisition Information

Donated by Arena Stage in 2000.

Processing Information

Processed by Special Collections Research Center staff. Finding aid updated by Meghan Glasbrenner in January 2024.

Biographical and Historical Information

Kenneth "Ken" K. Kitch attended the University of California, Berkeley and San Francisco Stage College, earning degrees in English Literature and Drama. He began his work in professional, regional theatre as an actor in 1960 for the San Francisco Actor's Workshop where he would later serve as Technical Director, Administrator, and Director, before being named Managing Director in 1965. At the same time he was appointed Associate Professor of World Literature at San Francisco State College, teaching modern continental drama, and coordinator and advisor to San Quentin Prison's all-convict Drama Workshop where he conducted directing workshops and served as Acting Coach. In 1966, he joined John Hancock at the Pittsburgh Playhouse as Production Manager and Director, and later assumed the role of Associate Director of the Circle in the Square production of A Midsummer Night's Dream . He joined Arena Stage in 1967 as Associate Director, where his initial responsibility was serving as administrative coordinator of the capital funds campaign for planning and construction of the Arena II, later Kreeger, theatre. During this time he also served as a theatre consultant for the Central Atlantic Regional Education Laboratory, served on the District of Columbia Committee for the Performing Arts, and taught drama workshops at Lorton Prison. Kitch worked with Arena Stage from August 1967-circa 1970.

One of the first not-for-profit theatres in the United States, as well as a pioneer of the regional theatre movement, Arena Stage was the first regional theatre to transfer a production to Broadway ( The Great White Hope , 1967), the first invited by the U.S. State Department to tour the Soviet Union, and the first to receive a Tony Award. Founded by Zelda Fichandler, with assistance from her husband Thomas C. Fichandler and partner Edward Mangum, in 1950, Arena Stage was opened in Washington, D.C. to fill the void left by the closing of the National Theater in 1948. Deriving its name from the idea of "theater in the round," Arena Stage became one of the first resident theatres in the United States, beginning with a company of only eight actors. During the 1960s, Arena garnered international renown in its new space: the Arena Stage Theatre. The new building, located at Sixth Street and Maine Avenue SW, was the first playhouse built in Washington, D.C. since 1895. Genorosity on the part of David Lloyd Kreeger, and others, led to the construction of the new "Kreeger Theatre," which opened formally on January 15, 1971. Today, Arena Stage performs to over 250,000 patrons during a September to June season and employs nearly 200 theatre professionals.

Scope and Content

This collection contains correspondence, memos, reports, and other materials generated during Ken Kitch's time serving as Associate Director of Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. The majority of the materials relate to Arena II fund raising and donations, construction and opening of the Kreeger Theatre, and Steering Committee Development notes.

Arrangement

Collection is organized roughly into three subjects: Kreeger Theatre, Arena II, and Steering Committee Development.

Related Material

The Special Collections Research Center also holds the Arena Stage records, the Living Stage records, and the J. Burke Knapp papers, as well as the papers of Arena Stage founders Zelda and Thomas C. Fichandler.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Arena Stage (Organization : Washington, D.C.)
• Performing arts
• Theater
• Theater -- United States
• Theater -- Washington (D.C.)