‘Smothered’ in
sibling silliness
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I'ridav. Mav 2. IftHli
Arts and Kntnrtninmnnt
Oregon Daily Emerald
A century-long performance
♦ ♦ ♦
Wv 4ilard Hall; one of the oldest buildings on cam
pus. celebrates its one-hundredth birthday today.
Homo of the speech, telecommunications and
theater departments, the structure is named after
Henry Villard.. one of the University's founding
fathers. ;• • ° „•
The anniversary celebration will be com
memorated by a nostalgic theatrical revue directed
by Horace Robinson, professor emeritus of theater
and director emeritus of University Theatre. Perfor
mances are scheduled at 8 p.m. in Villard Hall’s
Robinson Theatre, home of University Theatre.
Robinson Theatre, named after Horace, was built on
to the front of Villard Hall in the late t?*4()s.
Robinson, who began teaching and directing
theater at the University in 1933. has never really
retired. He maintains an office in Villard Hull, where
some 3.000 volumes look down on visitors from the
west wall and awards and honoraria cover the north.
On the south wall, a large heraldic crest from a pro
duction by Robinson of "The Royal Hunt of the
Sun" hangs imposingly.
JLVnbinson's eyes sparkled as he spoke, and the
supple quality of his voice belied his 76 years. He
enjoys talking about the "old days." and about the
development of theater at the University.
"We are actually an area of study in the speech
department," Robinson explained. "There were just
two of us in the theater area in 1933; Mrs. Ottilie
Seybolt was the head of the area, and principal
director, and I was her scene designer and techni
cian. and remained so for about the first 13 yoars.
"I was teaching what was then a full load of
courses — four courses — as well as doing the
theater work. The theater department was very
popular, but obviously, it was understaffed, but we
did the usual number of prescribed courses, as well
as six full-length productions every year.
"The department was in Johnson Hall.. .which
also housed the theater, when 1 started. There was
some storage space I had some things in under this
building (Villard). but I really had very little associa
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tion with Villard Mall at that time.’'
Jf\obinson became head of the theater department
and director of University Theatre in 1946.
"Mrs. Seybolt continued to work under me; she
passed away a number of years ago. I assume, and I
think the records assume that I took over her posi
tion’In 1946. but it wasn't a very official act, so no
one really knows for sure." he said. °
Robinson said that the Villard Mall Centennial
Dramatic Revue would not include any of the pro
ductions he had directed.
Story by William Homans
"We're going further back than that. We will be
doing historical material from the turn of the cen
tury: a production of a scene from The Lady of
Lyons.' which was the first scene ever done on the
campus — in 1H76.. the year that the University
was founded.
"They were not allowed to do plays on the cam
pus. but they were allowed to read aloud many very
fine pieces of English literature. Plays were 'ver
bolen There was a very strong Victorian ethic on
the University of Oregon campus. There were four
professors on the campus at first, and three of them
had originally ‘been ministers."
Robinson has helped commemorate other
centennials. Me helped direct Eugene’s Oregon Trail
Pageants from the 1930s through the '50s. a period
when much of the West observed frequent centen
nial celebrations. Robinson's production company
did historical pageants in various cities, involving
the local people, and always involving the local
history,
jThe theater department has evolved from 1933.
when Robinson and Seybolt alone comprised the
department faculty, to today with seven professors,
plus two full-time administrative employees.
Asked about his personal achievements in
University Theatre, Kobinson modestly
stated,“That's a hard question, because things that
are important to me might not be important to the
public in general. I’m very proud of the fact that I
have done a great number of so-called manuscript
plays, giving them their premiere. I have directed
opera, musical comedies. I have commissioned the
composition of music and ballet, and so on. I’d like
to feel that the contribution is a very diversified
one."
Robinson said that University Theatre was the
major theatre in Oregon when he arrived on campus
in 1933; Ashland's Shakespearean Festival would
not arrive for another two years.
“We were the best theatre the state had. and ap
pealed primarily, though I would not say purposely,
to adult community audiences. Now we serve more
particularly the student who's on the campus,"
Robinson said.
He spoke of the sacrifices he and his colleagues
have made to make theater a success in Eugene.
"The theater activity — the producing of plays,
etcetera, has been over and above a standard
teaching load on the part of the faculty.
“They teach the same number of courses that
another department's faculty does, and in addition
to that, they'll make all the scenery, make all the
costumes, direct all the plays, collect all the tickets,
and so forth, out of a personal sense of affection and
sense of responsibiltv to a growing theatre. Those
people often dedicated all their waking hours to the
theatre, and gave up a lot of things as a
consequence."
Robinson explained the plays which will be pro
duced during the Villard Hall centennial. "Besides
Lady of Lyons,’ there will be a repeat of our recent
performance of 'The Rivals’ — not the whole play,
just a scene. This was the fifth full-length play to be
performed on the IJofO campus, in 1907.
"We will also see a dance by (mother of modern
dance) Isadora Duncan, which at that time was con
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