Stover Theatre
Stover Theatre
History
Location
Current
Season
Photo Gallery
Stover Theatre Digital Archive
Supporting Cast
Theta Alpha
Phi/Florida Alpha Chapter
Contact
History
Although plays have been presented
at Stetson University since 1896, the first regular and complete season
took definite shape in 1906 in a program under the direction of
Professor A.L.L. Suhrie. Since that time, and especially with the
addition of Dr. Irving Stover to the faculty in 1908, over 700
productions have taken place, with student and sometimes community
participation. These include several dozen Shakespeare productions, a
significant number of original and/or presently unknown plays
(including some by former Stetson President Lincoln Hulley), as well as
other plays of more topical or educational interest.
Stover Theatre was completed in November
1930. Built at the persistent suggestion of Dr. Stover and through the
fund-raising efforts of former Stetson president Dr. Hulley, it enjoyed a reputation as the first university building raised
specifically for the purpose of theatre production in Florida, and
possibly in the South. The building was originally known as the Little
Theatre, and in 1938 was re-named after Dr. Irving Stover at the behest
of his students, who passionately advocated the change in his honor.
This was the first time a building at Stetson had been named for an
active member of the faculty.
After 82 years of theatre production and
after several renovations, the building was finally demolished in the
summer of 2012 as part of the Campus Master Plan.
The legacy of Dr. Stover
Dr. Stover was a prominent figure in the educational
theatre in the South, participating frequently in the Chautauqua
circuit and maintaining active memberships in innumerable community,
educational, and professional organizations. Among these, he helped
found the National Theatre Honorary Theta Alpha Phi, as well as the
Florida Speech Association (currently the Florida Communication
Association). By all accounts, Dr. Stover was a much-beloved teacher
and devoted to the advancement of the theatre profession. We continue
to honor his
legacy by example, through our academic program and production season,
now taking place in the "Second Stage"facility in the Museum of Florida
Art on Woodland Blvd. across the street from the Stetson campus.
The Stover Theatre Digital Archive
The
Stetson library is currently cataloguing and digitally processing
over one hundred years of photos, playbills, newspaper clippings, Theta
Alpha Phi scrapbooks, and other original materials. These archive
materials are being made accessible on the web as they are processed.
Friends of Stover/Stover Theatre Supporting
Cast
Friends of Stover (formerly, Stover Theatre Supporting Cast) is a membership
group of patrons comprising alumni, parents, students, and neighbors
who recognize that financial support is the key to the success of
Stetson’s Theatre Program. Financial assistance enables the faculty,
students, and overall program to remain competitive with theatre
departments of other universities.
Stetson Theatre Arts' "Second Stage" Box Office
386-822-8700
Dr. Julie Schmitt, Program Director
Theatre Arts
Dept. of Creative Arts
Stetson University
421 N. Woodland Blvd., Unit 8375
DeLand, FL 32723
386-822-7525
jschmitt at stetson.edu
Please address
praise, scorn, and other comments concerning the design of this and
other departmental web pages to Ken McCoy
Updated August 30, 2012