Groups of faculty and students had, from time to time, formed dramatic clubs and produced plays—the first as early as 1840. In 1875 UT cadets organized a dramatic association that included townspeople in its membership. The first theatrical production was for the benefit of Knoxville’s Industrial Home. In 1930 John Emperor and Argus Tresidder of the English Department coached, as an extracurricular effort, a group of students who presented several plays.
In 1939–40, the English Department began formally assisting the UT Playhouse, as the student dramatic society was called, by assigning Professor Paul Soper the responsibility for direction and production of the plays. In 1940–41 a one-year course in theatre was included in the English Department offerings, in which acting, stagecraft, and play interpreting and directing were offered. Plays were presented on campus at Tyson House and Ayres Hall and, from 1939 to 1945, in the auditorium of Tyson Junior High School. In 1945 a rental agreement allowed university plays to be presented at the Bijou Theatre.