George Pierce Baker
Encyclopedia
George Pierce Baker was an American
educator in the field of drama
.
Baker graduated in the Harvard University
class of 1887, and taught in the English Department at Harvard from 1888 until 1924. He started his "47 workshop" class in playwrighting in 1905. He was instrumental in creating the Harvard Theatre Collection at Harvard University Library
. In 1908 he began the Harvard Dramatic Club, acting as its sponsor, and in 1912 he founded Workshop 47 to provide a forum for the performance of plays developed within his English 47 class. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
in 1914. Unable to persuade Harvard to offer a degree in playwrighting, he moved to Yale University
in 1925, where he helped found the Yale School of Drama
. He remained there until his retirement in 1933.
Baker was also selected to teach a seminar whose unconfirmed title was "Shakespeare" or "the English drama" at the Sorbonne
University (Paris, France) in 1908.
Among those he taught in his playwriting class were George Abbott
, Philip Barry
, S.N. Behrman, Hallie Flanagan
, Sidney Howard
, Stanley McCandless
, Eugene O'Neill
, Edward Sheldon
, Maurine Dallas Watkins
, and Thomas Wolfe
. His Dramatic Technique (1919) offered a codification in English of the principles of the well-made play
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
educator in the field of drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
.
Baker graduated in the Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
class of 1887, and taught in the English Department at Harvard from 1888 until 1924. He started his "47 workshop" class in playwrighting in 1905. He was instrumental in creating the Harvard Theatre Collection at Harvard University Library
Harvard University Library
The Harvard University Library system comprises about 90 libraries, with more than 16 million volumes. It is the oldest library system in the United States, the largest academic and the largest private library system in the world...
. In 1908 he began the Harvard Dramatic Club, acting as its sponsor, and in 1912 he founded Workshop 47 to provide a forum for the performance of plays developed within his English 47 class. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
in 1914. Unable to persuade Harvard to offer a degree in playwrighting, he moved to Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
in 1925, where he helped found the Yale School of Drama
Yale School of Drama
The Yale School of Drama is a graduate professional school of Yale University providing training in every discipline of the theatre: acting, design , directing, dramaturgy and dramatic criticism, playwriting, stage management, sound design, technical design and production, and theater...
. He remained there until his retirement in 1933.
Baker was also selected to teach a seminar whose unconfirmed title was "Shakespeare" or "the English drama" at the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
University (Paris, France) in 1908.
Among those he taught in his playwriting class were George Abbott
George Abbott
George Francis Abbott was an American theater producer and director, playwright, screenwriter, and film director and producer whose career spanned more than nine decades.-Early years:...
, Philip Barry
Philip Barry
Philip James Quinn Barry was an American playwright born in Rochester, New York.-Early life:Philip Barry was born on June 18, 1896 in Rochester, New York to James Corbett Barry and Mary Agnes Quinn Barry. James would die from appendicitis a year after Philip's birth, and his father's marble and...
, S.N. Behrman, Hallie Flanagan
Hallie Flanagan
Hallie Flanagan was an American theatrical producer and director, playwright, and author, best known as director of the Federal Theatre Project, a part of the Works Progress Administration .-Background:...
, Sidney Howard
Sidney Howard
Sidney Coe Howard was an American playwright and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1925 and a posthumous Academy Award in 1940 for the screenplay for Gone with the Wind.-Early life:...
, Stanley McCandless
Stanley McCandless
Stanley McCandless is considered to be the father of modern lighting design. He paved the way for future lighting designers by playing a role in all aspects of theatrical lighting, from the engineering of lighting instruments to consultant work, and of course designing realized theatrical...
, Eugene O'Neill
Eugene O'Neill
Eugene Gladstone O'Neill was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into American drama techniques of realism earlier associated with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish...
, Edward Sheldon
Edward Sheldon
Edward Brewster Sheldon was an American dramatist. His plays include Salvation Nell and Romance , which was made into a motion picture with Greta Garbo....
, Maurine Dallas Watkins
Maurine Dallas Watkins
Maurine Dallas Watkins was an American journalist and playwright.She was born in Louisville, Kentucky, and attended Crawfordsville High School, followed by five colleges...
, and Thomas Wolfe
Thomas Wolfe
Thomas Clayton Wolfe was a major American novelist of the early 20th century.Wolfe wrote four lengthy novels, plus many short stories, dramatic works and novellas. He is known for mixing highly original, poetic, rhapsodic, and impressionistic prose with autobiographical writing...
. His Dramatic Technique (1919) offered a codification in English of the principles of the well-made play
Well-made play
The well-made play is a genre of drama from the 19th century that Eugène Scribe first codified and that Victorien Sardou developed. By the mid-19th century, it had entered into common use as a derogatory term...
.
External links
- Audio recording of Baker's 1920 play The Pilgrim Spirit at LostPlays.com
- Dramatic Technique at the Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...