In November 1766, the Southwark Theatre opened in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the first purpose-built playhouse in the English colonies, marking a foundational moment for American performance history that faced strict bans during the Revolutionary War.
Theatre History and Milestones in Improvisational Training
- The Southwark Theatre opened in Philadelphia in 1766 before later serving as a distillery until its demolition in 1912.
- Viola Spolin created foundational theatre games that shaped modern improvisational training through her son Paul Sills and institutions like The Second City.
- Milestones in 1916 included the debut of Theatre Arts Magazine and the Provincetown Players staging Eugene O’Neill’s first one-act play in Greenwich Village.
Southwark Theatre Opening and Revolutionary Bans
Philadelphia established itself as a performance hub in the colonies when the Southwark Theatre opened its doors in 1766. Thomas Godfrey’s tragedy The Prince of Parthia premiered at the venue the following spring as the first play by an American playwright.
The Continental Congress later banned theatre during the Revolution alongside gambling and horseracing, viewing theatrical productions as a symbol of British decadence. British troops staged amateur productions at the Southwark during the occupation of Philadelphia, and performances gradually returned through the 1780s by being billed as lectures or exhibitions to bypass congressional restrictions.
Viola Spolin and the Rise of Theatre Games
Viola Spolin was born in Chicago to Russian Jewish immigrant parents in 1906, exactly 120 years ago. Trained initially in social work, she used play-based techniques to help immigrant children integrate into the United States.
Spolin relocated to Hollywood in 1948 to found the Young Actors Company, and she later led training for her son Paul Sills’s companies, including the Compass and The Second City. In 1963, she published Improvisation for the Theater, cementing her legacy before her death in Los Angeles in 1994.
The Launch of Theatre Arts Magazine
Theatre Arts Magazine published its first issue in 1916, serving both theatre artists and spectators while aligning closely with the Little Theatre Movement. The quarterly publication was edited by Sheldon Cheney with support from the Detroit Society of Arts and Crafts, and its first issue wryly concluded with a postscript stating intentions not to be swallowed by the movies.
Cheney moved the publication to New York in 1917 and authored the 1929 comprehensive history The Theatre: 3000 Years of Drama, Acting and Stagecraft. The magazine changed its name to Theatre Arts Monthly in 1924, shortened it to Theatre Arts in 1939, and continued publishing until 1964.
Provincetown Players Debut Eugene O'Neill's First Play
The Provincetown Players opened Eugene O’Neill’s first one-act play, Bound East for Cardiff, at their new Greenwich Village theatre in 1916. The experimental company, founded in Massachusetts in 1915, featured founding member and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Susan Glaspell alongside poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, who joined as an actor in 1917.
The production marked the New York debuts for both O’Neill and the Provincetown Players, who continued producing shows through 1922 before officially disbanding in 1923. O’Neill’s posthumous masterpiece Long Day’s Journey Into Night opened on Broadway nearly 40 years to the date after the New York premiere of Bound East for Cardiff.
| Milestone Year | Key Event | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1766 | Southwark Theatre opens as first colonial playhouse | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| 1906 | Viola Spolin born | Chicago, Illinois |
| 1916 | Theatre Arts Magazine launches and Provincetown Players debut O’Neill | New York & Massachusetts |
| 1981 | A Soldier’s Play premieres at Negro Ensemble Company | New York |
Charles Fuller Won a Pulitzer for a Soldier’s Play
Charles Fuller’s drama A Soldier’s Play premiered at the Negro Ensemble Company in 1981, following an investigation into the murder of a Black sergeant at a segregated army camp in Louisiana. The production starred Denzel Washington and Samuel L. Jackson, with Washington reprising his role in the 1984 film adaptation A Soldier’s Story.
The play won the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1982, and Fuller returned to military settings in several other works like The Brownsville Raid and Zooman and the Sign. Fuller passed away in 2022, leaving behind a prolific legacy examining human relationships in racialized America.
