Friday, June 22, 2012

Sesquicentennial Stories: The Promise of UK #140

Charley's Aunt, 1915 Kentuckian

The Kernel April 3, 1925
The Strollers, officially organized in 1911, was a group of students who were interested in “dramatics.”  The group was founded by Paul L. Cocke and Ernest Becker, who were the first president and stage manager respectively.  Some of the early performances included Brown of Harvard, The Virginian, The Lost Paradise, The College Widow, Charley’s Aunt, Father and the Boys, The Lion and The Mouse, and Mice and Men.  In the 1920s, early in the first semester auditions would be held for student membership and appearance on Amateur Night, which was held on Halloween.  According the 1924-1925 UK Varsity Handbook, “the present policy is to select a number of one-act plays, of clean wholesome works of good writers, and have everyone present one of that number….  It is Stroller custom and tradition for plays to be cast and directed by Stroller members.  They have a club room in the building formerly occupied as the girl’s gym, but is now divided into workshops for mechanics employed by Superintendent of Buildings and Grounds, with rooms for student publications and Strollers occupying one end.” Over the years, the Strollers began performing in Lexington and around the state.

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