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RMTA History through the eyes of Harold Oaks

In 2002, at the Gemini Restaurant in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, Mr. Harold Oaks and Ms. Pamela Mencher met to talk about the history of the Rocky Mountain Theatre Association. At this time, Harold turned over his collection of papers and publications that now reside in the RMTA Archives at Western State College in Gunnison, Colorado. This essay relates the highlights of their conversation and some of the information found in his papers.

When Harold was a student at Brigham Young University (BYU) from 1954 to 1961, the RMTA was then still an off-shoot of the Western Speech Association. As the young men had come back to the United States from serving overseas in World War II, they returned to their home states and took advantage of the G.I. Bill to help pay for their college educations. At this time, many of the college and university institutions in the Western States didn’t have programs of study in the performing arts. These returning GI’s caused a great influx of students in the colleges and universities and as a consequence created a need for specialization in training in the performing arts. Many theatre training programs were created in the Western States to meet this need.

Harold eventually served as President of RMTA from 1970 to 1971, and returned to the Board to serve from 1979 through 1986. Harold’s friend, Fred Adams, also was very active in RMTA both as a Board member and general participant. Fred went to Cedar City in 1961 and eventually founded the Utah Shakespeare festival shortly thereafter. During these early years of the RMTA many of the graduating GI’s were hired by the fledgling training programs as faculty. The RMTA served as a networking entity for students and fellow professionals to meet once a year to share ideas and to formalize curriculum. Harold said that this annual contact reinforced what the colleagues were teaching in the classroom and also strengthened the quality of the educational practices in the Rocky Mountain region through this interchange of professional and collegial feedback.

Harold also mentioned many people who were “movers and shakers” in RMTA and who had also served in many different positions on the Board of Directors. These include Bill Robinson (Mesa State College), Xan Johnson (University of Utah), Doug Cook (Chair of Pennsylvania State Theatre), Dr. John Elzey of Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, Joseph Fitch of Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana, (Mr. Fitch served as President and past President of RMTA from 1966 – 1970, and unfortunately committed suicide in 1973.) The list goes on to name Ronald Willis served as President in 1969 – 1970, Rory Scanlon, now Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences at Brigham Young University in Provo, who served as Utah Representative and then RMTA President, Keith Engar of the University of Utah, Ed Stafford of Otero Jr. College in Trinidad, Colorado, Sid Perkes (served as President in 1980 – 1982), Gladys Crane of the University of Wyoming (served as University Representative and RMTA President), Rita Kotter of Boulder, Colorado (served as Treasurer and Secondary School Representative), Tony Mannen and Fran Turner of the College of Southern Idaho, Alan Blomquist of Idaho State University in Pocatello, Fred Willeckie of Twin Falls, Idaho, Bruce Jacobsen of Montana State University (served as President from 1978 – 1980), Frank Jacobson served as President from 1975-1978), Dr. Richard Knaub from the University of Colorado – Boulder (served as President from 1971 – 1973) Don Malmgren served as President in 1975-76, and Billy Smith of Western Wyoming College, who joined the RMTA Board in 1982. Many of these people listed also served for numerous years on the RMTA Board.

Other interesting highlights include:

- The first Curtain Call was published in 1967 with Richard Knaub serving as the first Editor.

• In 1972, the adjudications for the Regional Showcase Competitions were finally allowed to be held in the “home” theatre of the institution that produced it. Prior to this, the productions would have to travel to the Host site months before the Conference was held in order to be considered for a Regional Showcase Performance.
  
• UTA (Utah Theatre Association) was patterned after RMTA practices and was created by RMTA members in 1976.
• The RMTA Resolutions were first formally created by the RMTA Board in 1978 and have been presented at every conference (except 2007) since then to publicly thank those who volunteered their time and resources in putting together the current festival.
• Offering a Dance Concert at the conference was first discussed in 1976 and later implemented in the early 1990’s.
• The first summer stock auditions were held in 1977.
• RMUSITT and RMTA first started joining conference efforts in 1978.
• Reader’s Theatre productions were a regular staple of the RMTC conference in the 1960’s and early ‘70’s.
• Weber State University hosted the RMTC in 1965.
• The RMTA competitions and Awards were instated in 1971.
• The first commemorative button appeared at Festivention 1982.

The last story that Harold told had to do with one of the on-going circumstances for anyone who participates in RMTA activities. He talked about many, many road trips he took around the Rocky Mountain region in attending the (RMTC) Conferences. He said that no matter where the conference was held, people had to cross mountain ranges, often during inclement weather, to get there. He described what it was like driving the narrow (no shoulder) two – lane roads, BEFORE THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE INTERSTATES.

The U.S. Interstate Highway project was first instituted under President Eisenhower in the 1950’s and wasn’t completed until the late 1970’s. Harold recounted an especially bad snowstorm that impeded travel and described the 1959 tank-like car that he was driving in 1963; complete with tiny windshield wipers that couldn’t clear the heavy snow as fast as it was falling, the narrow tires trying to grip the sheet ice on the road, and the car heater not able to defrost the windows. He said that he had to continually scrape the ice off the inside of the windows and wrap his face in a scarf so he could stick his head out the side window in order to see the road and drive at roughly 5 miles an hour. Harold finished by saying that people involved in the RMTA in those days thought it was important enough to attend the annual gathering that no amount of weather, car problems or work conflicts would stop them.