Loften Mitchell papers
Scope and Contents
The Loften Mitchell papers include playscripts, reviews, production notes, lecture notes, correspondence, and memorabilia. There are also collected scripts, magazines and journals relating to Black theater, and promotional materials. Within the correspondence authored and recieved by Mitchell, there is business correspondence relating to funding the Playwrights' Program, funding Mitchell's musicals and plays, and other financial matters.
The 2019 accession donated by Deanna Fix France contains playscripts, lyrics, personal correspondence, promotional materials, theater programs, a poster for Mitchell's musical Tell Pharaoh, and a t-shirt from his musical A Gypsy Girl.
Dates
- Creation: 1938 - 1988
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research use and has no known restrictions.
Biographical Note
James Loften Mitchell (1919–2001), known as Loften Mitchell, was an American playwright and theatre historian who was part of the Black American theatre movement of the 1960s. He was a Professor in the Department of Theater and the Department of African-American Studies at the State University of New York at Binghamton, from 1971-1985. While at Binghamton University, he also reestablished the Playwrights' Program.
He attended the City College of New York, later recieving a scholarship to attend Talladega College, where he graduated with honors in 1943. Mitchell also attended Columbia University as a graduate student, studying playwriting. He later wrote his first book Black Drama: The Story of the American Negro in the Theater based on his childhood experiences in Harlem, which was published in 1967. In 1976 he was nominated for a Tony Award for his work Bubbling Brown Sugar, and wrote musicals such as Tell Pharaoh and Ballad for Bimshire.
Mitchell relocated to Queens, New York sometime before his death in 2001.
A full biography can be found on Wikipedia.
Extent
4.5 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
James Loften Mitchell (1919–2001) was an American playwright and theatre historian who was part of the black American theatre movement of the 1960s. He was a Professor in the Department of Theater and the Department of African-American Studies, at the State University of New York at Binghamton, from 1971-1985. The Loften Mitchell papers includes playscripts, reviews, production notes, lecture notes, personal and business correspondence, and memorabilia.
Arrangement
The collection is divided into 8 series.
Series:
- Film, theater, and television playscripts
- Writings
- Correspondence
- Biographical materials
- Business materials
- Collected scripts, screenplays, and Black theater writings
- Carver, musical scores
- Accession 2019-519 Deanna Fix France collection of Loften Mitchell materials
Custodial History
Mitchell donated his papers to the University Libraries between 1980 and 1985. More materials for the collection were donated to the University Libraries in 2019 by Deanna Fix France.
Processing Information
The Loften Mitchell Collection was first organized by Richard Gannon, Associate Librarian, and Lisa Solo, a student intern. The original finding aid was completed by Ms. Solo in 1987. The entire collection was reorganized, and the finding aid revised and edited by Beth Turcy Kilmarx, Assistant for Special Collections and Preservation, in 1995.
The 2019 accession was added to the collection and the description updated by Emma Connolly, Student Assistant for Special Collections, in 2023.
Cultural context
Genre / Form
Topical
- Title
- Guide to the Loften Mitchell papers
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Beth Turcy Kilmarx (Assistant for Special Collections and Preservation) and Emma Connolly (Student Assistant)
- Date
- 2023
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- 2022-05-27: Minor revisions to the collection-level notes made, most notably to add the donation dates.
- 2023-12-20: Added accession
Repository Details
Part of the Binghamton University Libraries Special Collections Repository