Evalyn Ann Thomas (1861[1] – March 27, 1950) was an American arts educator and theatre professional. She taught at the University of California, Los Angeles, from 1917 to 1938, during its transition from a normal school to a branch of the University of California system. She was known for her elaborate annual productions of Greek dramas on campus.
Evalyn Thomas | |
|---|---|
 Evalyn Thomas, from a 1928 publication | |
| Born | Evalyn Anne Thomas 1861 Buchanan County, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | March 27, 1950 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Theatre professional, arts educator |
| Relatives | 1 |
Early life and education
editThomas was born in Buchanan County, Missouri, one of the thirteen children of Robert Martin Bean Thomas and Mary Anne Ewart Thomas. Her mother died in 1871. Thomas attended the University of Missouri, and earned a diploma from the Emerson School of Oratory in Boston in 1903.[2] She received a Bachelor of Literary Interpretation degree from Emerson in 1920.[3]
Career
editThomas taught dramatic literature at Ellensburg Teachers College in Washington from 1904 to 1910. She toured in England from 1911 to 1912 giving dramatic readings. She moved to Los Angeles by the end of 1912, and continued giving recitals there.[4][5] She was especially known for her costumed performances as Electra.[2][6][7]
Thomas taught at the California State Normal School from 1917 to 1919. From 1919 to 1938, Thomas taught English and directed theatre programs at the University of California, Los Angeles, during its first years as a branch of the University of California. She produced an annual Greek drama with elaborate productions and large casts,[8] including Antigone in 1917,[9] Ajax of Sophocles in 1927,[10] Hippolytus in 1928,[11] and Oedipus Rex in 1938.[9] In August 1924, she directed an "ambitious" production of Oedipus Rex in front of the Stanford Museum.[12]
Personal life and legacy
editThomas died in 1950, at her home in Westwood, in her late eighties.[13][14] "Her amazing vitality, her salient force of character, her vigor of address, her lively and sometimes slightly grim humor, made her both a memorable colleague and a memorable teacher," according to a tribute essay published in 1957.[3] UCLA has an Evalyn Thomas Memorial Scholarship Fund, named in her memory in 1946, to benefit incoming freshmen and transfer students.[15]
References
edit- ^ Thomas's birth year is given variously across sources; her gravestone gives 1861, and that appears accurate or nearly so: She appeared in the 1870 census as a ten-year-old; she does not appear in her family's home in the 1860 census. (via Ancestry,com)
- ^ a b "Will Present 'Electra'". Columbia Herald-Statesman. 1911-05-19. p. 9. Retrieved 2024-09-05 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Carey, F.M., Carhart, M.S., and Longueil, E., "Evalyn Anne Thomas, English: Los Angeles" In Memoriam (1957): 177-179.
- ^ "Evening of Much Charm Given by Reader; Large Company Entertained by Miss Evalyn Thomas". Press-Telegram. 1913-01-03. p. 9. Retrieved 2024-09-04 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Pleasing Entertainment". Imperial Valley Press. 1913-01-08. p. 4. Retrieved 2024-09-04 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Electra, 'Tigress Woman'". Columbia Daily Tribune. 1911-05-16. p. 4. Retrieved 2024-09-05 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Society item". The Tacoma Daily Ledger. 1913-05-13. p. 7. Retrieved 2024-09-05 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Dundjerski, Marina (October 1, 2002). "Coming Home". UCLA. Retrieved 2024-09-04.
- ^ a b Andy Kelly, "English Beginnings at UCLA: From Junior College to Graduate Department" (April 22, 2019).
- ^ "Ajax of Sophocles". Bulletin of the Los Angeles City Teachers Club. 16 (10): 36. May 16, 1927.
- ^ "Notes from the Los Angeles Campus". California Monthly. 21 (8): 484. April 1928.
- ^ "'Oedipus Rex' Ready for Presentation Before Facade of Stanford Museum Tonight". The Peninsula Times Tribune. 1924-08-15. p. 4. Retrieved 2024-09-04 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "U.C.L.A. Greet Drama Expert Dies; Rites at Forest Lawn Tomorrow". Evening Vanguard. 1950-03-29. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-09-04 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Funeral Rites Tomorrow for Evalyn Thomas". Los Angeles Evening Citizen News. 1950-03-29. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-09-04 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Evalyn Thomas Memorial Alumni Scholarship". University of California-Los Angeles Scholarships. Retrieved 2024-09-04.