Philadelphia’s Theatre of Living Arts
Earl Sweatshirt and the Alchemist took to Philadelphia’s TLA as part of their Voir Dire Tour. Guests included Black Noi$e and MIKE.
Series IIb focuses on fundraising efforts and includes donation receipts, mailing lists, solicitation letters, and event brochures. The rest of the documentation is primarily administrative, with information on the establishing officers and staff members and various planning documents.
History
While TLA is best known today as a popular concert venue on South Street, the theatre originally operated as a regional playhouse. This collection includes the organizational records from that time period and gives insight into the efforts to establish TLA, gain community support and membership, and produce artistic plays.
Series I. Administrative Records
This series spans 1952 to 1971 with bulk dates from 1964 to 1970. It contains articles of incorporation, by-laws, a charter of accountability, Board of Directors meeting minutes and schedules, press releases, establishment photographs, mailing lists and labels, clippings, correspondence, and actor and staff information and contracts.
These records give researchers insight into the initial development of TLA, the struggles to establish it within the Philadelphia area, and the struggles the theatre faced to remain relevant as funding issues arose. They also provide valuable documentation of the early careers of some well-known actors, including Danny DeVito, Morgan Freeman, Judd Hirsch, and Sally Kirkland.
Performances
The Theatre of Living Arts (often referred to as “The TLA”) began as a single-screen cinema, showing art films and foreign movies. In the 1970s, it became known for hosting a weekly midnight screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, encouraging audiences to dress up and return week after week.
During its six years of operation, the TLA also produced plays. The well-represented documentation in this subseries includes play scripts and drafts, production photographs, correspondence about the production process, actor and staff information and contracts, advertising and publicity materials, and programs and playbill mockups.
Tonight, The TLA was host to a sold out crowd eager to see the Markus King Band perform their brand of rock at this 1,000 person capacity venue. Opening acts Hariz and football player turned musician Blake Proehl warmed up the audience with their original music and some covers. When it was time for the main event, the crowd went wild.
Events
For many years the Theatre of Living Arts, or TLA for short, served as a movie theatre, showing art films and even a weekly midnight screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. It has since become Philadelphia’s premier concert venue, welcoming up and coming artists from all genres to rock the 1,000 seat capacity space almost every night of the week.
Located on South Street, the TLA is a small events space with a traditional marquee to display your event’s name in bright lights. The TLA is a perfect venue for hosting private concerts, weddings or receptions.
Series II, Administrative documents from 1964 to 1971 primarily focus on financial records, including box office reports; daily and weekly expenses for the many productions that were held in the theatre; subscription campaigns where patrons would purchase season tickets; ticket vouchers and exchanges; survey forms; and other budgeting records. The subseries also includes correspondence, actor and staff information and contracts, and documentation of other events.
Staff
Patrick Sherlock is a Fairmount resident who works to support Philadelphia’s growth as an equitable and accessible city. His current work involves assisting neighborhoods with their strategic plans and neighborhood plan implementation. He has also worked as a project and partnership manager for local community organizations. He enjoys running the city’s trails and parks, coaching ultimate Frisbee and watching Philadelphia sports.
Running the clinical side of PAH’s South Street clinic are reassigned nurses from PAH’s infusion center, emergency department, med-surg and behavioral health units, as well as pharmacists and nursing students from Villanova, Drexel, Rutgers, Holy Family University, and the Community College of Philadelphia. Additionally, 65 rotating volunteers, including neighbors, members of the local business community, and people connected to PAH’s South Street office, help to streamline registration and direct traffic. The TLA’s unusual location makes for an incredibly busy environment. But Melchiore’s team is handling it like a pro. The clinic has already administered more than 20,000 doses of the vaccine to area residents.