Buck Roberts papers, 1935-1979
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Summary
- Creator:
- Roberts, Buck
- Abstract:
- Papers of playwright and actor Charles “Buck” Roberts from Durham, N.C. The collection consists of scripts authored by Roberts, photographs of productions, scrapbooks from his youth, and programs and press releases from performances.
- Extent:
- 7.0 Linear Feet
- Language:
- Materials in English
- Collection ID:
- RL.11331
Background
- Scope and content:
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The collection is divided into scripts, publicity, and scrapbooks. All scripts are authored by Buck Roberts. Many have hand-written edits and multiple drafts. Titles include: The Dukes, A Lost Day is Hard to Find, The Lost Peace (or Last Peace), and Tomorrow and Today. Most scripts are undated. Publicity photos, programs, and clippings are for productions involving or produced by Roberts while he was a member of various groups. Press kits for The Dukes are included as are photos of productions and actors. The scrapbooks range from his childhood years to his documentation of seasons of Triangle Theater which Roberts founded and directed.
- Biographical / historical:
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Roberts was active while a student at Duke University and in many Triangle (Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill) theater groups: East Durham Community Players, Durham Theater Guild, Duke University Singing and Dancing Choruses, Duke Players, Hoof 'n' Horn, Carolina Playmakers (the precursor to the PlayMakers Repertory Company), Carriage House Theater, Allied Arts Follies, Durham Star Professional Playhouse, and the New Triangle Players (the original name for the Triangle Repertory Theater).
Roberts first organized the Durham Star Playhouse in the late 1950s. He founded the Triangle Summer Theater in 1963 which became a professional theater the next year and then blossomed in to the Triangle Repertory Theater.
Many of the clippings and one of the scrapbooks concern the Triangle Repertory Theater, where many of Roberts’ plays were produced. Roberts co-directed this theater along with Wesley Van Tassel and attempted to establish it as a permanent professional theater in Durham, N.C. in 1964 and 1965.
Perhaps Roberts’ most famous play is The Dukes, produced in 1964. The play concerns the collaboration between James Buchanan Duke and Dr. William Preston Few which resulted in the creation of Duke University. The script begins with several pages of historical background regarding the time period (early to mid 1920s).
- Acquisition information:
- The Buck Roberts Papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a gift in 1965, 1966, and 1980.
- Processing information:
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Processed by Lucy VanderKamp, November 2016.
Accessions described in this collection guide: 1965-0023, 1965-0025, 1965-0112, 1965-0190, 1966-0039, 1980.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Subjects
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Contents
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- Restrictions:
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Collection is open for research.
Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.
All or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. The library may require up to 48 hours to retrieve these materials for research use.
Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.
- Terms of access:
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The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
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- Preferred citation:
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[Identification of item], Buck Roberts Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.