August 26th marks Women’s Equality Day, and in that spirit, our blog will delve into the papers of Professor Gladys Margaret Crane, a woman of many interests and talents. She was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on August 8, 1928. Crane attended high school and college in Washington, going on to receive a master’s degree in rhetoric and public address in 1955 from Northwestern University. She then graduated from Indiana University in 1968 with a Ph.D. in theatre. Her dissertation was titled “The Characterization of the Comic Women Characters of George Bernard Shaw.”
As she worked her way through her degrees she taught in various high schools and colleges, eventually becoming an assistant professor of theatre at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. She studied acting at the Herbert Berghof Studio in New York.
In 1969 she was hired by the University of Wyoming, where she spent 24 years in the theater department. As a professor, she received praise from her students who described her as “a fantastic teacher” and “well read, entertaining and insightful.” Crane was Head of the Department of Theatre and Dance from 1987 to 1992. Much of her academic published work was related to George Bernard Shaw.
She also directed five of George Bernard Shaw’s plays at UW, along with more than thirty plays by other playwrights.
Crane was active in university life, serving as a UW Faculty Senator and on both the Women’s Studies Committee and the University Tenure and Promotion Committee. She took an interest in helping students, both undergraduate and graduate and was a faculty advisor. In 1991, the Cap and Gown Chapter of the Mortar Board recognized her for exceptional contribution to UW and service to the students.
Crane retired from UW as Professor Emeritus of Theatre in 1993. She went on to attend Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, where she received a Master of Theological Studies degree in 1995. She returned to the University of Wyoming where she was a Professor in Religion and Drama for the Department of English and later in the Department of Religious Studies. The classes she taught included Feminist Christian Theology, Feminist Christian Thought, Gender and Religion and Drama and Religion. Among Crane’s papers was this description of “What is a Feminist?”
Crane defined feminist theology as “thinking about God that considers female human experience as significant a source for systematic reflection as male human experience.” She was beloved by the students in her religion courses. They appreciated her ability to facilitate classroom discussions around sometimes controversial topics. Crane’s later in life academic interests were feminist theology, women’s spirituality and religion and drama.
She received a Kennedy Center Gold Medallion for contribution to theatre in 1990. The Rocky Mountain Theatre Association gave her a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993. She was recognized by the Wyoming governor in 1994 with the Governor’s Award for contribution to the arts in the state of Wyoming. He cited her “tireless commitment to her teaching … and unflagging professional dedication to theatre and the promotion of theatre in Wyoming, the region and the nation.”
Beginning in 1997, UW hosted an annual Gladys Crane Mountain Plains Film Festival. The festival brought films and filmmakers from around the U.S. to Laramie. Crane was actively involved in selecting films for the festival. They included Academy Award winning documentaries and films that had debuted at international festivals in Europe. The festival films portrayed everything from queer experiences in Mommy Queerest to African American migration from the South to the North at the end of the 19th century in Daughters of the Dust.
In 2000, the Crane Studio, a 4,000 square foot rehearsal hall named for Professor Emerita Crane, opened in the UW Fine Arts building. Funds for the construction came from an anonymous donor.
Crane’s interests extended beyond academics. She took two bicycle tours of Europe – one in the summer of 1952 and again in the summer of 1960. Crane spent a sabbatical in London and attended the conferences of the International Society for Humor Studies. She played the saxophone, enjoyed downhill skiing, and served as president of the League of Women Voters of Wyoming. She even had a bit part in the Paramount Pictures film A New Leaf in 1971. Crane was also an active member of Laramie’s Trinity Lutheran Church, where she sang in the choir and taught Sunday School. She passed away in Laramie on October 18, 2018.
The Gladys Margaret Crane papers at the American Heritage Center consist of 41 boxes, including many of her teaching materials and dozens of scripts as well as documents associated with the League of Women Voters.
Post contributed by AHC Writer Kathryn Billington.
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