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Alice Henson Ernst

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Alice Henson Ernst (September 3, 1880 – February 12, 1980) was an American playwright, professor and author. She conducted anthropological work among the Native Americans in Oregon. Ernst was also well-known for her history and research of pioneer theater in the northwest. Ernst taught English and drama at the University of Washington and the University of Oregon.

Biography

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Alice Henson was born in Washburne, Maine. She grew up as an only child in Port Angeles, Washington, where her mother ran a restaurant after her father, a shoemaker, left the family to pursue business in other parts of Washington.[1][2] She earned a bachelors of arts, magna cum laude, from the University of Washington (UW) in 1912, and then went on to receive her master's degree in 1913.[1] Further graduate work was completed at Radcliffe in 1919 and 1920,[2] and also at Yale University.[1]

Ernst met her husband, Rudolph H. Ernst, at UW.[2]

Career

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From 1920 to 1923 she was a professor at UW. She later became an English professor at the University of Oregon (UO)[3] from 1924 to 1950. She also taught drama at UO.[4] Between 1952 and 1953, she had a research grant at UO and also did freelance writing.[2] The grant allowed her to visit historic areas of Oregon.[5]

In 1936, she studied mask-making among the Native Americans in Klamath Falls.[6] She published her research on Native Americans and mask-making and rituals using the masks in a paper called "Masks of the Northwest Coast".[7] The La Grande Observer called her an authority on "northwest Indians".[8] The Wolf Ritual of the Northwest Coast (1948) was published using research from interviews of Native Americans in the northwest and on Vancouver Island.[2] She also displayed collections of masks she had obtained at UO.[9]

Ernst was also interested in "primitive theater" and wrote about early theater in the Pacific northwest in Trouping in the Oregon Country (1961).[1][2] The Eugene Register-Guard called her "a leading authority on the history of theater in the Northwest."[10]

Ernst was a member of Beta Sigma Phi,[11] and the Eugene chapter of the National League of American Pen Women (NLAPW).[12] She was also a charter member of the Eugene Very Little Theatre (VLT).[13]

Writings

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Ernst's first plays were written in at Radcliffe in George Pierce Baker's "47 Workshop".[5] She later wrote more while she attended the Yale School of Drama.[5]

Her play, Spring Sluicing (1927), won a first prize in a national Drama League of America contest in 1927.[14] Spring Sluicing takes place in the northwest and Alaska.[14] The play was performed in Portland in the fall of 1927.[14] Woman's clubs, like the Fortnightly Club of Eugene did readings of Spring Sluicing.[15] Spring Sluicing was published in Goin' Home, And Other Plays of the 1927 Contest (1929).[16] Later, it was published again in the collection, High Country (1935), which also contained other plays written by Ernst.[17] The Salt Lake Tribune wrote that Ernst's plays "possess strong dramatic power".[18]

She published "Dramatic Trails of the Northwest" in Theatre Arts Magazine in 1927.[4] In 1930, Theater Arts Magazine published her one-act play, The Valley of Lost Men.[19] Also in 1930, OU's Guild Theatre debuted her play, Afternoon of a Nymph.[20] Nymph described as a fantasy set in modern times.[21] In 1932, the Portland Civic Theatre performed Welcome Stranger.[20] Stranger is a "study of manners several thousand years ago and in this modern day," according to The Salt Lake Tribune.[21]

A performance of The Wooden Wife in 1936 by the Very Little Theatre (VLT) in Eugene included piano music written and performed by George Hopkins.[22] The Wooden Wife takes place in a Native American dwelling.[23] The play won first place at the Northwest Writers' Conference.[24]

In 1938, she published another collection of plays, Backstage in Xanadu, which included illustrations by Constance Cole.[20] The book included the plays Cloistered Calm, Welcome Stranger, Nightingale and Afternoon of a Nymph.[20] Cloistered Calm is a comedy about "underpaid professors", while Nightingale is a romance set in Bagdad.[21] She was again published in Theatre Arts Magazine in 1939, with an illustrated article called "Northwest Animal Dances".[25] Ernst's poetry appeared in the anthology, Mid-Country: Writings From the Heart of America (1945).[26] Her play, Way Out There, a "comic-drama", set in the Oregon of the 1800s, was performed at VLT in 1946.[27]

Ernst's history of theater in Oregon, Trouping in the Oregon Country (1961), was considered "enjoyable" by historian, Kenneth L. Holmes, of the Eugene Guard.[28] The book won first place from the Oregon Press Women (OPW).[29] The book was a culmination of a decade's worth of research.[5]

Publications

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  • The Valley of Lost Men. Evanston, Illinois: Row, Peterson. 1932. OCLC 4168581.
  • High Country: Four Plays From the Pacific Northwest. Portland, Oregon: Metropolitan Press. 1935. OCLC 3136109.
  • Backstage in Xanadu: A Book of Plays. Portland, Oregon: Binfords & Mort. 1938. OCLC 613145257.
  • The Wolf-ritual of the Northwest Coast. Eugene, Oregon: University of Oregon. 1952. OCLC 912647675.
  • Trouping in the Oregon Country: A History of Frontier Theatre. Portland, Oregon: Oregon Historical Society. 1961. OCLC 647632755.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Alice Henson Ernst papers, 1900-1976". Archives West. Orbis Cascade Alliance. Retrieved 2017-09-14.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Charnell, Grace (1970-11-08). "Alice Henson Ernst Makes Literary Mark". Port Angeles Evening News. p. 17. Retrieved 2017-09-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "To Honor Dr. Johnson". Morning Register. 1926-04-21. p. 6. Retrieved 2017-09-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b "Oregon Playwright On Visit to Campus". The Daily Tar Heel. 1928. p. 1. Retrieved 2017-09-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b c d Lundeen, Kay (1961-05-26). "Trouping in Oregon Recorded by Alice H. Ernst". The Eugene Guard. p. 11. Retrieved 2017-09-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "University Woman Studies Indians". The Evening Herald. 1936-05-23. p. 4. Retrieved 2017-09-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Speaker To Tell of Indian Rites". Daily Capital Journal. 1937-04-13. p. 10. Retrieved 2017-09-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Dramatics Club at High School to Stage Plays". La Grande Observer. 1936-12-05. p. 3. Retrieved 2017-09-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Indian Masks on Display at University". The Eugene Guard. 1960-02-19. p. 11. Retrieved 2017-09-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Exacting Hobby Is VLT -- One of Great Rewards". The Eugene Guard. 1954-03-28. p. 6. Retrieved 2017-09-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Beta Sigma Phis". Statesman Journal. 1955-05-08. p. 12. Retrieved 2017-09-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Eugene Pen Women Fete New Members at Coffee Today at E. R. Pilgrim Home". The Eugene Guard. 1955-02-20. p. 32. Retrieved 2017-09-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Charter Members of the Eugene Very Little Theatre mee in the lobby of the new theater". The Eugene Guard. 1950-11-26. p. 23. Retrieved 2017-09-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ a b c "Play Wins First Prize". Morning Register. 1927-07-03. p. 16. Retrieved 2017-09-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Fortnightly to Meet Thursday". The Eugene Guard. 1928-05-02. p. 6. Retrieved 2017-09-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Barker, Nettie Garmer (1929-04-18). "Book Chatter". Stanberry Headlight. p. 12. Retrieved 2017-09-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Plays to Be Published". Albany Democrat-Herald. 1935-05-02. p. 9. Retrieved 2017-09-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Northwest Region As Play Material". The Salt Lake Tribune. 1935-09-15. p. 100. Retrieved 2017-09-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Mrs Ernst Honored". The Eugene Guard. 1930-04-30. p. 3. Retrieved 2017-09-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ a b c d Sawyer (1938-05-29). "Mrs. Ernst' Book of Plays Reviewed by Miss Sawyer". The Eugene Guard. p. 12. Retrieved 2017-09-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ a b c "Four Plays That Read Well". The Salt Lake Tribune. 1938-08-14. p. 20. Retrieved 2017-09-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "Explorers!". The Eugene Guard. 1936-05-14. p. 1. Retrieved 2017-09-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ "Eugene Writer's Play VLT Feature". The Eugene Guard. 1936-05-16. p. 1. Retrieved 2017-09-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ "Eugene Writer's Play VLT Feature". The Eugene Guard. 1936-05-16. p. 6. Retrieved 2017-09-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ^ "Article Written By Mrs. Ernst in Theatre Arts". The Eugene Guard. 1939-08-29. p. 4. Retrieved 2017-09-13 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ "Alice Henson Ernst Poetry in Anthology". The Eugene Guard. 1945-06-07. p. 14. Retrieved 2017-09-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ^ "VLT Opens New Play Friday". The Eugene Guard. 1948-03-14. p. 32. Retrieved 2017-09-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ^ Holmes, Kenneth L. (1962-09-12). "Dramatic Entertainments and the Oregon Question". The Eugene Guard. p. 6. Retrieved 2017-09-14 – via Newspapers.com.
  29. ^ "Oregon Press Women Announce Awards". The Eugene Guard. 1962-04-09. p. 10. Retrieved 2017-09-14 – via Newspapers.com.
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