Lawrence history through the archives:
Anniversaries of Peabody Hall of Music and the Music-Drama Center
Julia Stringfellow
Issue date: 11/6/09 Section: Features
When the Music-Drama Center opened, it also contained an experimental, black-box theater. This theater was dedicated as the F. Theodore Cloak Experimental Theatre in 1973. Cloak taught Theatre Arts at Lawrence from 1929 to 1969 and went on to serve as director of both the Freshman Studies program and the London Centre in the 1970s.
Cloak is the founding father of the Lawrence Theatre Arts Department; he directed over 80 plays and taught thousands of aspiring actors and playwrights during his time at Lawrence. Cloak also founded Attic Theatre in 1950, a local community theater group that initially met in the attic of his home and continues to be active to this day. The photograph included in this article shows Cloak directing a group of students while construction on the Music-Drama Center is taking place in the background.
Thousands of musicians and actors have practiced, taught or attended class in the Music-Drama Center in its past 50 years. The building is well on its way to providing a rich history to celebrate when it reaches its centennial in 2059.
Cloak is the founding father of the Lawrence Theatre Arts Department; he directed over 80 plays and taught thousands of aspiring actors and playwrights during his time at Lawrence. Cloak also founded Attic Theatre in 1950, a local community theater group that initially met in the attic of his home and continues to be active to this day. The photograph included in this article shows Cloak directing a group of students while construction on the Music-Drama Center is taking place in the background.
Thousands of musicians and actors have practiced, taught or attended class in the Music-Drama Center in its past 50 years. The building is well on its way to providing a rich history to celebrate when it reaches its centennial in 2059.
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