Rhode Island Feminist Theater (Mss. Gr. 158)

Series 1. Scripts
Box 1-3, Folder 1-37
The Script Series contains original and revised scripts as well as technical scripts and notes used for local productions and tours. Twelve original scripts and seven others were produced locally and throughout the country. Also included are scripts from the Playwrights Premier Series, a program added to the season when the theatre was restructured in 1982. The goal of this program was to produce three to five plays, chosen from a nationwide search, that would be presented locally by volunteer actors. The scripts in this series represent RIFT's focus on difficult and unrecognized social problems, addressing issues like domestic violence and women in the workplace.

Series 2. Publicity
Box 4-5, Folder 1-46
This series consists of material used to promote the group and its work and is targeted at three distinct groups: the public, the media and organizations who might be interested in hiring RIFT. Material given directly to the public includes brochures, playbills and newsletters. Material given to the media includes press releases, brochures and advertisement mock-ups. Material given to organizations who might hire RIFT includes brochures, reviews of the plays available for bookings and the names of original RIFT scripts available for purchase. Also included is material used to assess the success of promotion and the success of the group, such as one project analysis report, two folders of newspaper clippings and feedback from the audience. Large items are stored in the oversized box or cabinet drawer as indicated. Much of the materials are arranged as they relate to a specific play and are arranged the way they were received by Special Collections in February 2002.

Series 3. Research
Box 6-7, Folder 1-13
This series includes research materials used for individual plays that were produced by RIFT, research for topics that might make good plays, and research on political and social issues that address the goals of RIFT. Also included is literature about feminist organizations, and feminist theatres and artists who addressed feminist issues. The Readers Committee play evaluations show the process used by RIFT in assessing a play that might be a good candidate for production.

Series 4. Administration
Box 8-10, Folder 1-35
The Administration series contains basic organizational information about the operations of RIFT as a business. Included are the articles of incorporation, tax exempt status forms, by-laws, board of directors' list and RIFT's mission statement. The majority of this series is made up of correspondence and contracts, which reflects the organizations active touring schedule and provides a sense of the day to day operations of the theatre. However, the series lacks financial information about the overall operations of the theatre, such as salaries, a publicity budget and production costs. No complete budget was included in the collection when it was submitted. Information important to the dissolution of the company can be found in the closing announcement and staff issues folders.

Series 5. Audio and Video Tapes
Box 11-12, Folder 1-15
This series consists of reel to reel audio recordings from various play productions. Also included are two cassette recordings, 17 slides and two video recordings of the productions "Anne Hutchinson" (professionally recorded) and "Strength of the Stone" (VHS). Items are reel to reel audio unless otherwise noted.