Theresa Helburn
Encyclopedia
Theresa Helburn was an important figure in 20th century American theater and a Bryn Mawr College
alumna, best known for her work with New York's Theatre Guild
.
Involved with The Theatre Guild from its foundation in 1919, Helburn served first as a literary manager and then as casting director and eventually became (along with Lawrence Langner
) a co-producer. The Theatre Guild specialized in bringing the highest-quality drama of Europe and America to Broadway stages. Breaking away from the common practice of single-ticket sales and productions built around famous stars, the Theatre Guild built a large and loyal season subscription audience as well as establishing enduring relationships with renowned playwrights such as George Bernard Shaw
and Eugene O'Neill
, as well as the actors Alfred Lunt
and Lynn Fontanne
, among many other notable names. She and the other founding members of this production company brought serious, ground-breaking plays back to the Broadway stage, and together they proved that it was possible to produce work that was both artistically and commercially successful.
Helburn's responsibilities were wide-ranging, including everything from vetting scripts, to casting plays, to fund-raising, to leading advertising and marketing campaigns. In 1925, just six short years from the establishment of the production company, she presided over the ground-breaking ceremony for the new Guild Theatre. In the early 1930s, she worked briefly in Hollywood, and maintained strong ties with the film and television industries until the time of her death.
A significant collection of theatrical ephemera, photographs, and writings relating to the life of Theresa Helburn and to the Theatre Guild is housed at Bryn Mawr College in College Collections and Special Collections.
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College is a women's liberal arts college located in Bryn Mawr, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, ten miles west of Philadelphia. The name "Bryn Mawr" means "big hill" in Welsh....
alumna, best known for her work with New York's Theatre Guild
Theatre Guild
The Theatre Guild is a theatrical society founded in New York City in 1918 by Lawrence Langner, Philip Moeller, Helen Westley and Theresa Helburn. Langner's wife, Armina Marshall, then served as a co-director. It evolved out of the work of the Washington Square Players.Its original purpose was to...
.
Involved with The Theatre Guild from its foundation in 1919, Helburn served first as a literary manager and then as casting director and eventually became (along with Lawrence Langner
Lawrence Langner
Lawrence Langner the Great was a playwright, author, and producer.Born near Swansea, South Wales and working most of his life in the United States, he started his career as one of the founders of the Washington Square Players troupe in 1914.In 1919 he founded the Theatre Guild, where he supervised...
) a co-producer. The Theatre Guild specialized in bringing the highest-quality drama of Europe and America to Broadway stages. Breaking away from the common practice of single-ticket sales and productions built around famous stars, the Theatre Guild built a large and loyal season subscription audience as well as establishing enduring relationships with renowned playwrights such as George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
and Eugene O'Neill
Eugene O'Neill
Eugene Gladstone O'Neill was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into American drama techniques of realism earlier associated with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish...
, as well as the actors Alfred Lunt
Alfred Lunt
Alfred Lunt was an American stage director and actor, often identified for a long-time professional partnership with his wife, actress Lynn Fontanne...
and Lynn Fontanne
Lynn Fontanne
Lynn Fontanne was a British actress and major stage star in the United States for over 40 years. She teamed with her husband Alfred Lunt.She lived in the United States for more than 60 years but never relinquished her British citizenship. Lunt and Fontanne shared a special Tony Award in 1970...
, among many other notable names. She and the other founding members of this production company brought serious, ground-breaking plays back to the Broadway stage, and together they proved that it was possible to produce work that was both artistically and commercially successful.
Helburn's responsibilities were wide-ranging, including everything from vetting scripts, to casting plays, to fund-raising, to leading advertising and marketing campaigns. In 1925, just six short years from the establishment of the production company, she presided over the ground-breaking ceremony for the new Guild Theatre. In the early 1930s, she worked briefly in Hollywood, and maintained strong ties with the film and television industries until the time of her death.
A significant collection of theatrical ephemera, photographs, and writings relating to the life of Theresa Helburn and to the Theatre Guild is housed at Bryn Mawr College in College Collections and Special Collections.
Literature
- Theresa Helburn: A wayward quest. The autobiography of Theresa Helburn. Boston: Little, Brown 1960.
External links
- Theresa Helburn Theater Collection at Bryn Mawr College
- Frank, Glenda. "Theresa Helburn." Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia. 1 March 2009. Jewish Women's Archive. January 5, 2010