UT Playhouse

Student plays of the university were given the name UT Playhouse in 1936, as the Actors’ Workshop was reorganized and renamed. In 1939 faculty member Paul Soper was appointed director of the UT Playhouse, which became a part of the curriculum, preparing students for careers as performers, teachers, and stagecraft professionals. The first theatre courses were in 1940–41, in play production. In 1947 a small company was organized to give experience to students who did not appear in the annual series of three major plays. Called the UT Playhouse Studio Players, this group gave one-act plays in a large lecture hall in Ayres Hall and was directed by English Department faculty and graduate students.