The Janet Crawford Collection of Broadsides for Browning Dramatic Society Productions is arranged chronologically by the date of the production.
Accession No. TRI.2021.0021: Bruce Lavash, 2021 June
[identification of item], Janet Crawford Collection of Broadsides for Browning Dramatic Society Productions, SPEC.TRI.0082, Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute, Ohio State University
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Processed by: Ashleigh Minor, 2021 June; Finding aid written by: Ashleigh Minor, 2021 June
Janet Crawford (1893-1981) graduated with a bachelor's degree in English from Ohio State University in 1915. During her time at OSU, she also participated in the Browning Dramatic Society. After graduation, Crawford worked as a teacher and earned her master's degree from Columbia University in 1922. In 1926, she married Dr. William E. Cleland, a professor at Geneva College in Pennsylvania, and changed her name to Janet Crawford Cleland.
The Browning Dramatic Society was an all-female student organization at Ohio State University, originally formed as the Young Ladies' Literary Society in 1882. In 1884, the name was changed to the Browning Literary Society, in honor of English poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning. In order to help raise funds for the Society, members began performing dramatic productions, and by 1912, the name was changed to the Browning Dramatic Society and the focus of the group changed from literature to drama. Browning members performed primarily Shakespearean plays until the organization was disbanded in 1964.
The Janet Crawford Broadsides for Browning Dramatic Society Productions includes broadsides for three performances that Janet Crawford performed in as a member of the Browning Dramatic Society while she was attending Ohio State University. Each broadside includes a cast list and a list of music and dances performed, with the exception of "The Foresters," which only includes a cast list. Crawford played the role of Celia in the 1913 production of "As You Like It." In 1914, she was Titania in the Society's performance of "The Foresters." In "Romeo and Juliet," performed in 1915, Crawford played the character of Lady Capulet.