Nerdy Historian

This past week I finished my first major chapter of the dissertation. No doubt it will come back practically unrecognizable from all the markings (my adviser, Tom Postlewait, is an editor, and a very good one at that), but it feels good to have finished it and sent it away.

I spent a majority of Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday finishing the chapter, and all Friday morning revising it. As I searched and re-searched some of 100+ library books sitting in my office, I found myself slowly taking on the role of historian, and really enjoying it. I even had a few nerdy historian moments: at one point I jumped up out of my chair in victory because of a particular reference I found in a footnote (a footnote!) of a secondary book. Tell me, does this excite you as much as me:

On page 235 of J.T. Grein's biography, written by his wife Alice and edited by George Bernard Shaw, is a footnote referencing playbills from one season (probably early 1900's) of the Committee on German Theatre in London. Isn't that awesome?! They have playbills at the Theatre Museum and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London! Even the best scholars of the period only reference the Committee - they know little else about the plays, directors, actors, or critical reception. Sweet!

Ah... it feels great. Theatre historians have an added challenge, in that they're trying to recreate an event, and a fleeting one, at that. So we find ourselves relying on contemporary accounts (someone's journal, letters), reviews (from newspapers, magazines), or other histories (perhaps someone who lived closer to the event). So when we find little footnotes and casual references, we get excited and start jumping around our offices and when we convey that excitement to others, we usually get a "Oh, well... it's good that someone's researching that."

I like to think of it as unearthing information for future generations. And, well, in order to dig it up... can we say "research trip to London?"