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BiographyErrol Hill was born on August 5, 1921 in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, West Indies. He received his dramatic training in England, receiving his Graduate Diploma from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, London, in 1951. After a stint as announcer and actor for the B.B.C., Hill returned home and from 1953-1958, worked as a Tutor in Drama and Radio at the University of the West Indies. After receiving fellowships from the Rockefeller Foundation and the Theatre Guild of America, Hill earned a BA from Yale University in 1962, as well as an MFA in Playwriting, returning to the University of the West Indies as a Tutor in the Creative Arts. He published his first full-length play, Man Better Man, in 1964. In 1968, after earning his DFA from Yale (1966), and after stints of teaching drama at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and Richmond College, CUNY, Hill became an Associate Professor of Drama at Dartmouth College. He acted as an advisor to the Afro-American Society, taught Black Theatre courses, served as Affirmative Action officer from 1973-1975, and for many years was a Freshman Advisor. In 1976, Hill was appointed John D. Willard Professor of Drama and Oratory. In addition to his teaching duties at Dartmouth, Professor Hill was active in several professional organizations. He was elected chairman of the American Theatre Association's Black Theatre Project in 1970, edited its Bulletin of Black Theatre from 1971-1975, and was a member of ATA's College of Fellows. He was given the Barnard Hewitt Award for Outstanding Research in Theatre History in 1985. Professor Hill was also a member of the American Society for Theatre Research, the Black Theatre Network, the New England Theatre Conference, which awarded him a Regional Citation in 1980, the Caribbean Studies Association, and other professional theatre organizations. Over the course of his career, Professor Hill published articles, plays, essays, monographs and books. His published plays include Man Better Man (1964), Dance Bongo (1966), and Strictly Matrimony (1971), and he also edited several volumes of Black and Caribbean plays, as well as authoring many articles on Caribbean drama. Major books include The Trinidad Carnival: Mandate for a National Theatre (1972), Shakespeare in Sable: A History of Black Shakespearean Actors (1984), and The Jamaican Stage 1655-1900: Profile of a Colonial Theatre (1992). Professor Hill retired from Dartmouth College in 1989; in 1991, he received the Presidential Medal for Outstanding Leadership and Achievement from the College. Errol Hill died in Hanover on September 16, 2003. Scope and Contents of CollectionThe oral history interview of Errol Hill is comprised of audiocassette recordings and an indexed transcript of the recordings. The interview was conducted by Jane L. Carroll during September 1996. The entire interview runs for approximately two hours and includes the memories of Professor Hill and his wife, Grace Hill, of the climate for Black people living in Hanover and working at Dartmouth in 1968. They speak of Presidents Kemeny and McLaughlin and the events that took place during their administrations, the implementation of the College's Affirmative Action Plan, Professor Hill's work as head of the Drama Department and the many productions he put on in the Hopkins Center. Access RestrictionsFirst half unrestricted; second half closed until 2012. Use RestrictionsUnrestricted. Preferred CitationRauner DOH-12; Rauner Special Collections Library, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH. |
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