Yeaton Family papers

Professor of Theatre Arts Kelly Yeaton taught at Penn Sate University from 1947 until his retirement in 1979. His area of specialty was in the development and production of arena theatre. In addition to teaching, he has also been involved with theatrical production across the country, and has authored numerous articles and books. Born in Portland, Maine, Yeaton received his Bachelor's degree from Tufts University in 1932, and his Masters from the University of Washington at Seattle in 1938. His studies also took him to Fordham and the American Theater Wing of Bates College.

As an instructor at Penn State, Yeaton taught courses in theatre management, educational theatre, acting directing, center-staging, and radio drama. He was responsible for instituting general education requirements in arts, as well as supervising courses in theatre arts and film. Also, his accomplishments include creating Penn State's Centre Stage, and being Professor and head of the Experimental Theatre, a research and development branch of the Theatre and Film Department. Yeaton's areas of special interest and research included the process of rehearsals in acting and directing, and exploring concepts of the use of space. His interests in arena and experimental theatre involved him in many projects throughout the Northeast and into the Midwest. He directed and advised at numerous theatres including: the Erie Playhouse; the Little Theatre in Lafayette, Indiana; the Millbrook Playhouse in Mill Hall; the Mummers in St. Louis; the Ogunquit Playhouse in Ogunquit, Maine; the Standing Stone Playhouse in Petersburg. These interests are also reflected in numerous articles which appeared in trade journals such as Players Magazine and the standard reference book of theatre, John Gassner's Arena Theatre.

The 1953 edition of Gassner's Producing the Play includes the chapter Arena Production which was written and illustrated by Kelly Yeaton. Arena and experimental theatre were two of Yeaton's major interests, but a plethora of technical, methodological, psychological, and tangential information is present in the collection as well. Much of this information is contained in the correspondence files. Although a large portion of the correspondence is labeled personal, many of the letters are to or from people involved with theatre and contain information relevant to researchers of both theatre arts and Yeaton's professional career. samuel yeatonIn addition to his personal and professional papers, Kelly Yeaton also donated a collection of personal papers belonging to his brother Samuel.

Samuel S. Yeaton was born in Portland Maine, in 1907. After attending Bates College he joined the US Navy and attended the academy at Annapolis, MD. He graduated in 1930 and after various assignments in America, his active duty assignments took him to Shanghai, China. In 1935, Samuel Yeaton returned to America for active duty and further training. He served with the Fourth Marine Raider Battalion during the second World War, after which he returned to the United States, working in various jobs. Samuel S. Yeaton retired as a Lieutenant Colonel, USMC and later served as head of training in Maine's Civil Defense forces. Much of the materials of this subgroup pertain to Samuel's military career and his related interests. The latter include his involvement and research into small arms and competition shooting. He participated in many shooting competitions, both while in the military and as a civilian. Also of interest to him was hand-to-hand combat, including knife fighting. While serving in China, he researched and helped develop fighting techniques and a combat knife. This research was apparently done in conjunction with the Shanghai Police Department and its advisors, notably William Fairbairn, William Cassidy, and Samuel Moore.