History of Theatre at FAMU
For more than 100 years, Florida
A&M University has served the citizens of the
State of Florida and the nation through its provision of preeminent educational
programs that served as building blocks for a legacy of academic excellence with caring. At the dawn of the 21st
Century, FAMU, “Florida’s Opportunity
University,” remains committed to meeting the needs and challenges of future
generations. Under distinguished presidential leadership, beginning with Thomas DeSaille Tucker (1887-1901) and presently
ending with Interim University President Castell Vaughn Bryant (2005-Present), the University has attained elite status within
its realm of American postsecondary education.
Similarly, the discipline of theatre has a long and distinguished history on the highest hill in Florida’s
Capital City and owes much to the persons
and departments directly involved. As early as 1913, a production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth
Night was produced on campus. Informal production continued until the 1930-31 academic year when a “Dramatic Association”
was organized under the direction of the Department of English. Professors Joseph H. Langhorne, Isaac Fisher, and M. A. Lee
along with the Reverend A. P. Turner were instrumental in its development. Interest in the dramatic arts quickly grew. Three
separate dramatic groups were established: the Famcee Players under L. B. F. Clarke; the Little Theatre Guild under M. R.
Kyler; and the Dramatic Class under the Reverend Turner. There are also documents indicating the existence of a Foot-Lite
Theatre Guild during this time period.
In 1936 Professor Charles Winter Wood was hired to work in the Department of Dramatics and in 1937 was, in essence,
named the University’s first "unofficial" Director of Theatre. Professor James D. Brown was the second
to serve in this capacity. As World War II came to a close and thousands of African Americans became first-generation collegians,
S. Randolph Edmonds, through his position as Chair of the Department of Speech and Drama (1947-1969), established
the historic Playmakers Guild and guided the discipline of Theatre at FAMU to national and international prominence. Professor
Irene Colbert Edmonds established the remarkable FAMU Creative Children’s
Theatre in 1948 and led it until 1960 when increasing work requirements prevented its continuation. The Edmonds,
as husband and wife, formed a unique partnership and built a preeminent theatre program among historically black colleges
or universities. As the social upheaval of the 1960s reached its climax, Ronald O. Davis was named the Director of Theatre
in 1969, marking the first time this title was used in an official capacity. Dr. Davis also served the University as
Chair of the Department of Visual Arts, Humanities and Theatre from 1990-1996. Under his leadership, the discipline of
theatre persevered and survived trying times and began operating under a new name, the Essential
Theatre. Serving for 30 years, Dr. Davis has the longest tenure of any Director of Theatre.
Now, Valencia E. Matthews serves as FAMU’s Director of Theatre as well as an Assistant Dean of the
College Arts & Sciences. In honor of Mrs. Edmonds' pioneering work in children's theatre at FAMU, Dr. Matthews has
reinstated the children’s theatre and named the organization the Irene C. Edmonds Youth Theatre.
