47 WORKSHOP

The famous extracurricular laboratory to foster the writing of new plays was an offshoot of ProfessorGeorge PierceBaker's English 47 class at Harvard University. After initiating the study of plays as literature at Radcliffe and Harvard, Baker encouraged his students to write their own plays, and the workshop allowed them to experiment with the transfer from page to stage. Among those who took his courses were George Abbott, Sidney Howard, Eugene O'Neill, Philip Barry, andEdward Sheldon. Sheldon'sSalvation Nellbecame the first play from the workshop to be produced professionally whenMinnie Maddern Fiskestaged it in 1908.

See alsocollege and university theatre.