Fonds
Initially named The Putnam Club, the St. Matthias Boys' Dramatic Club was founded in 1922. This group of teenage boys used the dramatic arts to raise funds for charitable works. Since only boys could join, they had to play both the male and female roles.
With the support of Westmount's mayor, Peter William McLagan, this amateur theatre troupe presented approximately one play a year from 1922 to 1930, first in the Victoria Jubilee Hall until 1924, then in the new Victoria Hall as of 1925 (since the old building was destroyed by fire). Although the group performed primarily in Westmount, some performances were also staged elsewhere in Montreal, like Point St. Charles and Rosemount, and in other cities, like Longueuil, Shawinigan and Quebec City. The list of plays produced by the club includes Beauty and the Jacobin (1923), A Scene in Bagdad (1923), The Masterpiece (1923), Getting Acquainted with Madge (1924), The Conjurer (1924), The Treasure Hunters or The Tiger Earl (1925), French Leave (1925), Adam’s Apple (1926), The Bride (1927), The Cinderella Man (1928) – cancelled due to illness –, Tons of Money (1929) and The Dover Road (1930). Each performance was usually followed by a dance, also organized by the troupe.
Briefly renamed The Westmount Boys' Dramatic Club, in 1927 the group adopted the name The Westmount Thespians. By this time, most of the members were undergraduates at McGill University. In fact, they made legendary humorist Stephen Leacock (1869-1944), a professor in McGill's Department of Economics and Political Science, an honorary president of their theatre troupe.
The Westmount Thespians was an extremely well organized club. Members were designated either active or honorary and remained so for life or until they voluntarily resigned. In 1931, its executive committee decided to put an end to the group's theatrical productions and take a new direction. Although the troupe continued to organize charity dances until 1933, it became more of a social club where the same friends would get together for bowling, bridge, dinner parties, picnics, ski weekends, etc. To commemorate the anniversaries of the troupe's founding, the Thespians would plan formal reunion activities or trips. In its new vocation, the club maintained its committed membership, committee meetings and fundraising activities long enough to celebrate its 60th anniversary in 1982.
Scope and Content
The Westmount Thespians Fonds focusses on the activities of this amateur club, which took place in the Montreal area, primarily during the 1920s and 1930s. It chronicles the group's interest in the dramatic arts, for both recreational and charitable purposes.
The fonds contains governing documents, minute books and membership lists that provide information on the amateur troupe's administrative structure as well as the selection of plays produced and relations among the members and with the community. Correspondence documents the members' concerns and discussions regarding the logistics of social and theatrical activities, as well as diverging opinions as to the club's very foundations. For example, in a letter dated July 1932, John McNaughton reproaches the executive committee for the fact that meetings tend to be purely social occasions. He proposes that their evenings focus instead on discussions of timely political, economic and social issues. In a note from October 1937, Wilson Becket expresses his fear that allowing women to attend the club's get-togethers will weaken the bonds of friendship among the members. The lack of action taken regarding these two requests suggests that most members agreed with the club's new mission, that is, having members and their families socialize together. In addition, the fonds documents the members’ special activities and various celebrations, as illustrated in a brochure produced for the club's 25th anniversary in 1947. There are also accounting records and financial statements that offer a clearer picture of how The Westmount Thespians operated their budget and spent their funds.
Ticket stubs, programs, and letters about booking performance halls document the organization of the troupe's shows. In addition, the fonds contains several theatre scripts, illustrating the group's predilection for comedies and British authors, such as Alan Alexander (A. A.) Milne (creator of Winnie-the-Pooh). Other information about the plays produced by The Westmount Thespians can be found in an impressive illustrated scrapbook, which contains some of the troupe's governing documents, the first membership list, ticket stubs and programs from the plays presented, props lists, lighting plans, dance cards, photographs of the actors in costume, press clippings and correspondence. Fake mustaches (made from human hair), used notably by Montague (Monty) Willis as part of his stage costumes, are also preserved in this document.
Finally, the fonds includes a collection of photographs depicting the members at annual get-togethers and on a visit to Shawinigan.
Classification Scheme
P751 The
Westmount Thespians
P751/A Administrative Management
P751/A1 Governing documents
P751/A2 Club members
P751/A3 Executive committee
P751/B Management of Financial
Resources
P751/B1 Accounting records
P751/B2 Financial statements
P751/C Theatrical Productions
P751/C1 Programs and ticket
stubs
P751/C2 Scripts
P751/C3 Performance logistics
P751/C4 Philanthropic
involvement
P751/D Social Life
P751/D1 Social activities and
celebrations
P751/D2 Relations among members
P751/D3 Personal achievements
of members
P751/E Illustrated Works
P751/F Photographs
Source of title proper: Based on the creator of the fonds.
Physical description: The iconographic documents are made up of 20 photographs and 1 negative.
Physical condition: Some documents in the fonds are fragile and/or torn.
Immediate source of acquisition: This fonds was donated by Mark W. Gallop. His grandfather, Montague (Monty) Willis, and his grandfather's twin brother, Selwyn Willis, were both founding members of The Westmount Thespians theatre troupe. In 1955, his grandmother, Lorna Willis, became the first female president of the executive committee. The archives produced by the club remained the property of its members until 2000, the year that Doug Hamilton, the group's last president, died. The documents were then given to Mark W. Gallop, who in turn donated them to the McCord Museum in 2012.
Language: The documents are in English.
Last update: January 31, 2019
Information about the objects in our collection is updated to reflect new research findings. If you have any information to share regarding this object, please email reference.mccord@mccord-stewart.ca.Information about rights and reproductions is available here.
This project is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Azrieli Foundation and Canadian Heritage.