A1992-030:
At this point the collection's records are largely limited to the theatre seasons from 1973-1974 to 1981-1982. This period includes the eight seasons during which the organization was known as the Manitoba Theatre Workshop and its first season operating as the Prairie Theatre Exchange.
The administrative and production files have been grouped together by season. In certain cases, events that generated a number of files were given their own separate series. These include the 1977 Summer Theatre Project, the 1979 Playwright Search and the 1980 and 1981 Drama Festivals.
The files in the seasonal series document the various activities undertaken by the Manitoba Theatre Workshop, including its theatre classes, educational outreach programmes, school tours, TV productions and the provincial drama festivals. Most of the seasonal series also contain files of press releases and press clippings as well as other promotional material. The many files dealing with grant applications and various aspects of fundraising are evidence of the Workshop's constant struggle to stay afloat financially.
Production files dealing with individual shows are arranged chronologically at the end of each seasonal series. These files contain equity contracts, production and rehearsal schedules, correspondence, programs, promotional material and, in some cases, the script. Most of the major productions produced or hosted by MTW/PTE during its first nine years of existence are represented but the holdings are not exhaustive. For a complete list of productions, the researcher is advised to consult Peter Spencer's 1983 thesis "The History and Contribution of the Manitoba Theatre Workshop/Prairie Theatre Exchange".
Miscellaneous and cumulative files that could not easily be placed into a seasonal series are grouped together near the end. The final series is a collection of scripts representing the productions staged by Prairie Theatre Exchange. The title "script" is somewhat misleading since most of these files also contain programs, rehearsal schedules, production notes, blocking diagrams and other related documents. The scripts themselves are usually extensively annotated.
A2002-034:
The collection includes records of the Prairie Theatre Exchange (known as the Manitoba Theatre Workshop until 1981) encompassing theatre seasons from 1973 to 2001, particularly those of the 1980s and early 1990s. Included are administrative papers, such as minutes, correspondence, legal and financial records, as well as publicity material, newspaper articles, show programs and posters, production scripts, notes, schedules, plans, drawings and set designs. The photograph collection consists of 91 photographs, 3 contact sheets, 1 slide, and 43 negative strips. The tape collection consists of 14 audio tapes. The electronic media series consists of 10 computer diskettes.
Administrative and production files have been grouped together by season. These files document the various activities undertaken by PTE/MTW, including its theatre classes, educational outreach programmes and school tours. Most of the seasonal series contain files of Board of Directors minutes, correspondence, finances, press releases and press clippings as well as other promotional material. Production files dealing with the season's shows (mainstage and touring productions) are arranged chronologically at the end of each seasonal series. Records in these files include programs, schedules, promotional material and reviews.
Miscellaneous and cumulative files that could not easily be placed into a seasonal series are grouped together. These include files which continunue over multiple seasons, regarding PTE/MTW buildings, tours and activities, as well as reference materials and a large group of subject-files (accumulated by PTE) regarding the organization's "early history".
The third series consists of records from the prompt books of PTE's Stage Managers (and sometimes Assistant Stage Managers). These contain rehearsal schedules, production notes, blocking diagrams and annotated scripts, show reports, tour itineraries, notes regarding set, costume, sound and lighting cues, as well as other related documents.