Evalyn Ann Thomas (1861 – March 27, 1950) was an American arts educator and theatre professional. She taught at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

, from 1917 to 1938, during its transition from a normal school to a branch of the University of California system. She was known for her elaborate annual productions of Greek dramas on campus.

Early life and education

Thomas was born in

Buchanan County, Missouri Buchanan County is located in the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 84,793. Its county seat is St. Joseph. When originally formed in 1838, the county was named Roberts County, after settler Hiram ...

, one of the thirteen children of Robert Martin Bean Thomas and Mary Anne Ewart Thomas. Her mother died in 1871. Thomas attended the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

, and earned a diploma from the Emerson School of Oratory in Boston in 1903. She received a Bachelor of Literary Interpretation degree from Emerson in 1920.

Career

Thomas taught dramatic literature at Ellensburg Teachers College in Washington from 1904 to 1910. She toured in England from 1911 to 1912 giving dramatic readings. She moved to Los Angeles by the end of 1912, and continued giving recitals there. She was especially known for her costumed performances as

Electra Electra, also spelt Elektra (; ; ), is one of the most popular Greek mythology, mythological characters in tragedies.Evans (1970), p. 79 She is the main character in two Greek tragedies, ''Electra (Sophocles play), Electra'' by Sophocles and ''Ele ...

. Thomas taught at the

California State Normal School San Jose State University, San José State University traces back to 1857 when the institution operated as a normal school for the San Francisco Unified School District, San Francisco public school system. It grew in size and scope until May 2, 1862 ...

from 1917 to 1919. From 1919 to 1938, Thomas taught English and directed theatre programs at the University of California, Los Angeles, during its first years as a branch of the University of California. She produced an annual Greek drama with elaborate productions and large casts, including ''

Antigone ANTIGONE (Algorithms for coNTinuous / Integer Global Optimization of Nonlinear Equations), is a deterministic global optimization solver for general Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Programs (MINLP). History ANTIGONE is an evolution of GloMIQO, a global ...

'' in 1917, '' Ajax of Sophocles'' in 1927, '' Hippolytus'' in 1928, and ''

Oedipus Rex ''Oedipus Rex'', also known by its Greek title, ''Oedipus Tyrannus'' (, ), or ''Oedipus the King'', is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles. While some scholars have argued that the play was first performed , this is highly uncertain. Originally, to ...

'' in 1938.Andy Kelly
"English Beginnings at UCLA: From Junior College to Graduate Department"
(April 22, 2019). In August 1924, she directed an "ambitious" production of ''Oedipus Rex'' in front of the Stanford Museum.

Personal life and legacy

Thomas died in 1950, at her home in Westwood, in her late eighties. "Her amazing vitality, her salient force of character, her vigor of address, her lively and sometimes slightly grim humor, made her both a memorable colleague and a memorable teacher," according to a tribute essay published in 1957.Carey, F.M., Carhart, M.S., and Longueil, E.
"Evalyn Anne Thomas, English: Los Angeles"
''In Memoriam'' (1957): 177-179. UCLA has an Evalyn Thomas Memorial Scholarship Fund, named in her memory in 1946, to benefit incoming freshmen and transfer students.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Evalyn 1861 births 1950 deaths University of Missouri alumni University of California, Los Angeles faculty American educators People from Buchanan County, Missouri Central Washington University faculty Emerson College alumni