A Guide to the Showtimers Collection

A Guide to the Showtimers Collection

Showtimers, a nonprofit community theater organization, was founded in 1951 with Betty Ross Garretson, a speech and drama professor at Roanoke College, as its president. Its first home was at the Laboratory Theater, Roanoke College, Salem, Virginia. The organization also provided acting classes. By 1960 it was averaging paid admission of 1,000 persons at its performances. In 1963 musicals were added to its yearly slate of productions. In 1971 productions moved to a former church on McVitty Road, Roanoke, Virginia, which was renovated to suit the Showtimers’s needs. In late 1970s and early 1980s productions were stage at Olin Hall, Roanoke College; they later returned to a renovated and expanded facility on McVitty Road. The Footlighters were founded in 1952 and merged with the Showtimers after their 1953 season.
The bulk of the collection is comprised of show programs, from 1951 through 1993. Not all years are complete; few programs are available for 1968, 1969, 1970 and 1984 through 1993. Programs from The Footlighters 1953 productions are included in the collection. Three anniversary publications that include written histories and photographs of Showtimers productions are available for 1960 (10th Anniversary), 1975 (25th Anniversary), and 1990 (40th Anniversary). A financial report that documents Showtimers’s receipts and expenses, 1951-1959 is part of the collection.

Roanoke Public Libraries

No known restrictions. Virginia Room copy fees apply.

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