Collections / Common Glory / Inventory of Collection / Actors / Directors / Presidents / Playwright
Althea Hunt
William and Mary's legendary theater director, Althea Hunt, directed The Common Glory in the first three seasons of production. Her career at the College spanned thirty-five years. A native of Conneaut, Ohio and a resident of Virginia for over fifty years, Miss Hunt received a B.A. from Allegheny College and an M.A. from Radcliffe. She came to the College in 1926 after President J. A.C. Chandler asked her to teach English, public speaking, and play acting.
Miss Hunt was director of the William and Mary Theater from 1926 to 1957. She retired from the College faculty in 1961 and was awarded the rank of Professor Emeritus of Fine Arts. She died in 1971 at the age of 80.
Howard Scammon
Howard Scammon, William and Mary's second legendary theater director, worked for the Jamestown Corporation from the first performance of The Common Glory in 1947 to its last performance in 1976. From 1947 to 1951, Professor Scammon was assistant director of The Common Glory. In 1951, following the departure of former director Althea Hunt, Scammon became director and held the post until the very end. A professor in the Theater and Speech Department from 1948 to 1976, Scammon's association with William and Mary Theatre goes back to 1929, when he entered the College as a student. There, he took a play production course under Miss Hunt.
After graduating from the College, Scammon taught English for two years at private schools in New England, served in the Army, and received a Masters degree in theater from Northwestern University. In 1948, William and Mary Theatre Director Althea Hunt asked Scammon to come back to the College and teach speech, as well as assist her with theater.
After taking over principal directorial duties from Miss Hunt in 1957, Scammon went on to direct nearly every William and Mary Theater production in Phi Beta Kappa Memorial Hall from 1957 to 1976. In 1976, he retired from William and Mary and was named Professor Emeritus. Now in his eighties, Professor Scammon appears on campus periodically and continues to receive volumes of letters from former students and Common Glory actors.
Roger Sherman
A charter member of The Common Glory production staff and General Manager of the Jamestown Corporation for a number of years, Roger Sherman came to The Common Glory after studying at Yale Univerity and teaching at Lawrence College in Apleton, Wisconsin. In 1957, Mr. Sherman became General Manager of the corporation.