| Summary: | In 1959 the St. James United Church Drama Group was created by Gwen Crowe
and Eileen Oliver. This group is now called The United Players of Vancouver; it resides
at The Jericho Arts Centre. Over the span of nearly forty years there have been many
changes. The group has altered its name three times and its main location twice; the
membership transforming it from a small group of friends to a semi-professional company
of some reputation. The purpose of this study is to document the history of this company
and its development into an important, innovative part of Vancouver's community theatre.
Material for the thesis was obtained primarily through archival files kept by The
United Players of Vancouver. Materials included handbills, programs, letters, minutes of
meetings, membership lists and accounts. Personal interviews of people involved in the
executive of the company along with newspaper clippings were important sources of
information. There were some difficulties associated with researching the formative years
of the company. The archival information is not available for the years 1959 to 1964 and
many of the original members have died or moved away. The majority of information has
therefore come from the recollections of Gwen Crowe, a founding member of the United
Players.
This thesis covers the general history of the United Players of Vancouver, the
role of this theatre within its community, and the possible future of the company as seen
by its members, especially Andree Karas, Artistic Director for the last thirteen years.
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