David Gaard Theatrical Works
Coll2008-072
Finding aid prepared by Michael C. Oliveira
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives
909 West Adams Boulevard
Los Angeles, California, 90007
(213) 741-0094
askone@ONEarchives.org
© 2008
Title: David Gaard theatrical works
Identifier/Call Number: Coll2008-072
Contributing Institution:
ONE National Gay & Lesbian Archives
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
5.0 linear feet.
Date (inclusive): circa 1966-2007
Abstract: Scripts and screenplays of original theatrical works and adaptations for the stage and screen by David Gaard, alone and in
collaboration with others, together with some production and performance materials, including contracts, set designs, e-mails,
schedules, flyers, postcards, programs, and reviews.
General Physical Description note:
3 records boxes, 1 archives half-carton, and 1 oversized box.
creator:
Gaard, David, 1945-2012
Access
The collection is open to researchers. There are no access restrictions.
Publication Rights
Researchers wishing to publish materials must obtain permission in writing from ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives as the
physical owner. Researchers must also obtain clearance from the holder(s) of any copyrights in the materials. Note that ONE
National Gay and Lesbian Archives can grant copyright clearance only for those materials for which we hold the copyright.
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain copyright clearance for all other materials directly from the copyright
holder(s).
Preferred Citation
Box #, folder #, David Gaard theatrical Works, Coll2008-072, ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives, Los Angeles, California.
Acquisition Information
Gift of David Gaard per deeds of gift dated December 29, 2001, February 22, 2005, and November 20, 2007.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Michael C. Oliveira, December 2008.
Processing this collection has been funded by a generous grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
Biography
David Gaard was born April 4, 1945, in Duluth, Minnesota. He graduated from high school early, just after his 16th birthday.
He attended the University of Minnesota; however his participation in Vietnam War protests, a role in a university theater
production, and an active social life left little time for his studies. In the autumn, he left school and stayed in Minneapolis,
obtaining a role in a community theater production. When the show closed, he convinced his parents of his need to "find himself",
and with their blessings he left for Los Angeles.
He found a number of positions through the California State Employment Office, including one with a Hollywood casting agency.
Gaard also found bit parts in various stage productions through Minnesotan connections. His work and social life continued
to leave little time to complete projects; after leaving a group sales position, Gaard returned to writing. For three months,
he focused on writing through each afternoon, allowing time in the evening for his social life. By early 1967, he had completed
his first play,
Lee Foster. After receiving positive feedback from friends, he relocated to New York City to sell his play.
In the city he found a "dark and depressing studio apartment in the bowels of Hells Kitchen", a job, and within a month met
his future partner, M. Sanford Kaplan, a married graduate anthropology student at New York University. While Kaplan sought
to overcome his ambivalence about his future, Gaard returned to writing. By the autumn of 1968, Gaard had completed the play,
And Puppy Dog Tails, and he and Kaplan were living together. The play previewed in September, only months after the Stonewall riots, and ran
successfully through January 1970 in New York, and through that summer in San Francisco. The following year, Bill Murray played
a part in a Chicago production.
Off-Off Broadway, with its understanding of the counter culture of which Gaard and Kaplan were a part, was booming. Gaard
continued writing and Kaplan continued his graduate work, including a trip to Bali in the early 1970s. They arranged to meet
in Nepal; during the trip Gaard purchased a script for Sun Yu's play
The Women's Representative. He adapted the play and it was performed in New York. This changed the fortunes of Mr. Sun and led to Gaard's trip to the
People's Republic of China a decade later.
In New York City, Gaard's works were been performed at The Old Reliable and The Extension; he adapted works for Richard Schechner's
Performance Group and was a founding member of the Nighthouse Company. In 1975, Gaard and Kaplan left New York for Northern
California. With the advent of AIDS, "the whimsical world of
And Puppy Dog Tails had turned into a vicious frightening mad dog". They sold their telecom business, relocated to Woodstock, New York, and Gaard
returned to writing in the early 1990s.
In 1994, the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers (SSDC) selected one of his plays for a reading of new works at
Lincoln Center. In the following years Gaard worked with avant-garde troupes such as GAil GAtes et al, Gorilla Repertory Theatre
Company, The International WOW, and New York Fringe Festival. The New Jersey Public Library selected his play,
Made for Each Other, for their AIDS awareness series in 1996; however, library officials closed the play during the opening night intermission.
Gaard continued with several success productions at the HERE Arts Center. He garnered the Audience Favorite Award for his
production of
All's Well That Ends Well at the 2000 New York Fringe Festival. Gaard lived in New York, New York with his life companion of 45 years, until his death
in March 2012.
Scope and Content of Collection
The collection contains original and adapted works of playwright David Gaard, written alone and in collaboration with others,
including his long-term partner, M. Sanford Kaplan. The materials include proposals, treatments, drafts, scripts, and screenplays
for developed and undeveloped projects. The production project files contain a variety of production and promotional documentation,
including scripts, set designs, e-mails, schedules, flyers, postcards, programs, and reviews. The collection consists of three
series (1) Original Works, (2) Adaptations and Productions, and (3) Personal and Miscellaneous.
Index
Bausch, Richard, 1945-
Brecht, Bertold, 1898-1956
Carroll, Lewis, 1832-1898
Cummins, Robert
Ionesco, Eugene, 1909-1994
Kaplan, M. Sanford
Kingsley, Sidney, 1906-1995
Lentsch, Bill
Muldowney, Dominic, 1952-
Peterson, John
Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616
Sophocles, 496 BCE-406 BCE
Swenson, Swen, 1932-
Weill, Kurt, 1900-1950
Yu, Sun, 1900-
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Gay dramatists
Gay theater
Screenplays
Scripts (documents)
Stage adaptations
Treatments (documents)
Original Works Series 1:
circa 1966-2004
Physical Description:
67.0 folders.
Series Scope and Content
The Original Works Series consists of works for stage and/or screen written by Gaard, alone or in collaboration with his partner,
M. Sanford Kaplan. The series consists of proposals, treatments, and production and promotional materials, including scripts,
set designs, schedules, flyers, postcards, programs, and reviews. The plays are organized alphabetically title. Gaard's first
completed play,
Lee Foster was performed as
The Acme Novelty Company; another early Gaard play,
Swing to the Right was performed as
The Day They Gave Babies Away.
About Bernard Carlton
1999
Physical Description:
6.0 folders.
Box-folder 1 : 1-5
Early script with notes, revised scripts, promotion materials, and reviews
1999
Physical Description:
5.0 folders.
Box-folder 5 : 1 (Oversize)
Promotional materials and reviews
1999
Box-folder 1 : 6
The Acme Novelty Co., Script
1971
Box-folder 1 : 7-8
And Puppy Dog Tails, Scripts and promotional materials
1974-1975
Physical Description:
2.0 folders.
Box-folder 1 : 9
As Tears Go By, Script
1999
Befriending Beau
2000-2002
Physical Description:
3.0 folders.
Box-folder 1 : 10-12
Scripts, screenplay, production and promotional materials, and reviews
2000-2002
Physical Description:
2.0 folders.
Box-folder 5 : 2 (Oversize)
Promotional materials, ticket sale reports, and reviews
2000
Box-folder 1 : 13
Cocaine Before Chapel, Early script
circa 1985
Box-folder 1 : 14
The Day They Gave Babies Away, Revised Script
circa 1973
Box-folder 1 : 15-16
eXs, Script, promotional materials, and reviews
2001
Physical Description:
2.0 folders.
Box-folder 1 : 17
The Fabulous Ten O'Clock Scholar, Scripts
1999-2003
Box-folder 1 : 19-20
Flash!!, Scripts by David Gaard and M. Sanford Kaplan
1997
Physical Description:
2.0 folders.
Box-folder 1 : 21-22
Fog Over Frisco, Synopsis, sample dialogue, screenplay
1995
Physical Description:
2.0 folders.
Box-folder 1 : 23-24
The Ghost of Sergeant Pepper, Synopsis, outline of screenplay and novel, and three sample chapters
1994
Physical Description:
2.0 folders.
Box-folder 1 : 25
Gramercy Park Dot Com, Project outline
circa 1997
Box-folder 1 : 26-28
High Crimes and Treason, Synopsis and scripts
1995-2002
Physical Description:
3.0 folders.
Box-folder 2 : 1
Hook, Line, and Sinker, Screenplay rough draft
1998
Box-folder 2 : 32
Later Than Spring, Rough draft and script
1994
Box-folder 2 : 2
Lee Foster, Script
circa 1966
Made for Each Other
1996-1998
Physical Description:
6.0 folders.
Box-folder 2 : 3-6
Scripts, production materials, and reviews
1996-1998
Physical Description:
4.0 folders.
Box-folder 5 : 3 (Oversize)
Box-folder 4 : 1
Photographs - Publicity Stills
1997
Box-folder 2 : 7-8
Made for Each Other, Screenplay by David Gaard and M. Sanford Kaplan
1998
Physical Description:
2.0 folders.
Box-folder 2 : 9-10
The Marilyn Project, Script
1974, 2004
Box-folder 2 : 11
Mother's Day, Treatment by David Gaard and M. Sanford Kaplan
1999
Power Strokes
1999-2001
Physical Description:
4.0 folders.
Box-folder 2 : 12-13
Working script, production and promotional materials, and reviews
1999-2001
Physical Description:
2.0 folders.
Box-folder 5 : 4 (Oversize)
Ticket sale reports and reviews
2000
Box-folder 4 : 2
Photographs - Casting Headshots
1999-2000
Box-folder 2 : 14
Praire Light, Script
circa 1982
Box-folder 2 : 15-17
The Sailor, Home from the Sea, Script, production and promotional materials, and reviews
1999-2000
Physical Description:
3.0 folders.
Box-folder 2 : 18-20
Shadow Boy, Script
2001
Physical Description:
3.0 folders.
Sheets
1997-1998
Physical Description:
5.0 folders.
Box-folder 2 : 21-24
Production and promotional materials and draft and revised scripts by David Gaard and M. SanfordKaplan
1997-1998
Physical Description:
4.0 folders.
Box-folder 5 : 5 (Oversize)
Box-folder 2 : 25
Something Evil, Synopsis rough draft
circa 1995
Box-folder 2 : 26
Steve Adams and the the Curse of the Vindictive Heart, Cast List
circa 1973
Box-folder 2 : 27
Swing to the Right, Script
1969
Box-folder 2 : 28
The Talent for Deception, Script, production proposal, and synopsis
circa 1995
Box-folder 1 : 18
The Ten O'Clock Scholar (working title), Script rough draft
1999
Box-folder 2 : 29
Thursday's Child, Rough draft
circa 1995
Box-folder 2 : 30-31
Young and Deadly, Script
1998-1999
Physical Description:
2.0 folders.
Adaptations and Productions Series 2:
1973-circa 2005
Physical Description:
27.0 folders.
Series Scope and Content
The Adaptations and Productions Series consists of theatrical works and screenplays adapted, directed, or produced by Gaard.
The series consists of proposals, treatments, along with production and promotional materials such as scripts, set designs,
schedules, flyers, programs, and reviews. The plays are organized alphabetically by performance title.
Box-folder 3 : 1
Alice in Wonderland, by Lewis Caroll, produced by M. Sanford Kaplan and David Gaard, Script
1997
All's Well That Ends Well, by William Shakespeare, conceived and adapted by David Gaard
2000
Physical Description:
5.0 folders.
Box-folder 3 : 2-5
Treatment, script, production and promotional materials, and reviews
2000
Physical Description:
4.0 folders.
Box-folder 5 : 6 (Oversize)
Promotional material and reviews
2000
Antigone, by Sophocles, adapted by David Gaard and M. Sanford Kaplan
1996
Physical Description:
2.0 folders.
Box-folder 3 : 6
Modellbuch for a mixed media production
1996
Box-folder 5 : 7 (Oversize)
Box-folder 3 : 7
The Battle for Brennan Street, from a story by Robert Cummins, by David Gaard and M. Sanford Kaplan, Screen treatment
circa 1985
Dead End, by Sidney Kingsley, directed by David Gaard
2001
Physical Description:
3.0 folders.
Box-folder 3 : 8-9
Script and promotional materials
2001
Physical Description:
2.0 folders.
Box-folder 5 : 8 (Oversize)
Box-folder 3 : 10
The Flowroom, by John Peterson, directed by David Gaard, Production and promotional materials
1999
Box-folder 3 : 11
It's Enough to Make you Sick, 3 plays directed by David Gaard and Bill Lentsch, Flyer
1973
Box-folder 3 : 12-13
The Killer, by Eugene Ionesco, directed by David Gaard, Proposal, script, and production and promotional materials
2001
Physical Description:
2.0 folders.
Box-folder 3 : 14
The Last Good Time, based on a novel by Richard Bausch, play by David Gaard, Script
1987
Box-folder 3 : 15
A Midsummer Night's Dream, by William Shakespeare, produced by M. Sanford Kaplan and David Gaard, Program
1997
Box-folder 3 : 16
Mother Courage, by Bertold Brecht, translated by Ralph Manheim, edited by David Gaard and Richard Schechner, Script
1974
Box-folder 3 : 17
Much Ado About Nothing, by William Shakespeare, Proposal by David Gaard
circa 2005
Two Gentlemen of Verona, by William Shakespeare
2001
Physical Description:
4.0 folders.
Box-folder 3 : 18-20
Treatment for an environmental production, conceived and directed by David Gaard
2001
Physical Description:
3.0 folders.
Box-folder 5 : 9
Promotional material and reviews
2001
Box-folder 3 : 21-22
Wars, Whores, and Tin Pan Alley, text by Bertold Brecht, music by Kurt Weill and Dominic Muldowney, conceived and adapted by David Gaard and Swen Swenson,
Scripts and programs
1986
Physical Description:
2.0 folders.
Box-folder 3 : 23
The Women's Representativeby Sun Yu, adapted by David Gaard, Script
1973
Personal and Miscellaneous Series 3:
1994-2007
Physical Description:
9.0 folders.
Series Scope and Content
The Personal and Miscellaneous Series consists of various biographical and miscellaneous materials relating to Gaard's personal
and professional life. The biographical information consists of autobiographical notes written for performances and to document
the materials in his collection; it also includes Gaard’s personal recollection of the production of the
PRIDE Newsletter, forerunner of the
Advocate. The Clippings file consists of newspaper clipping which may have been considered for concept development. The Correspondence
File includes e-mail and letters not directly related to a work, other performance programs, and loose performance materials.
The GAle GAtes et al. file documents several performances of the company. The spiral bound notebooks includes various incomplete
titled works and acts, including
A Sky Full of Moon,
The Ghost of Sergeant Pepper,
Those are Revolting Queens.,
Dakota Visitor,
About Leonard Carrington, and
Midnight in Marrakech.
Box-folder 3 : 24
Biographical information
1999-2007
Box-folder 5 : 10 (Oversize)
Box-folder 5 : 11 (Oversize)
Fringe Festival programs and newspapers
1997-2001
Box-folder 3 : 26
GAle et GAtes et al.
1996
Box-folder 3 : 27-29
Spiral Bound notebooks
circa 1990-circa 1997
Physical Description:
3.0 folders.
Box-folder 4 : 3
Photographs and a slide from an unknown performance
circa 1998
