Katharine "Kate" Thatcher Clugston (1892,

Whitley County, Indiana Whitley County is a rural county in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 36,825. Whitley County is the 49th most populous county in Indiana. The county seat (and only incorporated city) is Columb ...

– 1985,

Chebeague Island, Maine Chebeague Island is located in Casco Bay, an bay, open bay of the Gulf of Maine. It was originally used as a fishing ground by Abenaki Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Native Americans. Also known as Great Chebeague (pronounced "sha-big") Isl ...

) was a playwright, poet, and English teacher.

Biography

After graduating from high school in Indiana, Kate Clugston went to

Wells College Wells College was a private liberal arts college in Aurora, New York, a village in the Finger Lakes region of the state. From its founding in 1868 until it became coeducational in 2005, Wells was a women's college. The college maintained acad ...

, where she received her bachelor's degree in 1914. She then studied at

Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that was founded in 1879. In 1999, it was fully incorporated into Harvard Colle ...

and at the

Yale School of Drama The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University is a graduate professional school of Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1924 as the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, the school provides training in ...

under

George Pierce Baker George Pierce Baker (April 4, 1866 – January 6, 1935) was a professor of English at Harvard University, Harvard and Yale University, Yale and author of ''Dramatic Technique'', a codification of the principles of drama. Biography Baker graduated ...

. Her play ''Finished'' was produced at New Haven to excellent reviews but failed, after eight performances, in New York under the title ''These Days''. In November 1928 her play ''These Days'', which was the Broadway debut of

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress whose Katharine Hepburn on screen and stage, career as a Golden Age of Hollywood, Hollywood leading lady spanned six decades. She was known for her headstrong ...

in a supporting role, failed in New York but eventually served as part of the basis of the screenplay for the 1934 film ''Finishing School''. In the academic year 1931–1932 she studied abroad with the support of a Guggenheim Fellowship. Her play ''The Head of the Family'' was adapted for the 1934 film ''The Last Gentleman'' starring

George Arliss George Arliss (born Augustus George Andrews; 10 April 1868 – 5 February 1946) was an English actor, author, playwright, and filmmaker who found success in the United States. He was the first British actor to win an Academy Award – which he ...

and

Charlotte Henry Charlotte Virginia Henry (March 3, 1914 – April 11, 1980) was an American actress who is best remembered for her roles in ''Alice in Wonderland'' (1933) and '' Babes in Toyland'' (1934). She also starred in the Frank Buck serial '' Jun ...

. Clugston was the head of the play bureau in the

Federal Theatre Project The Federal Theatre Project (FTP; 1935–1939) was a theatre program established during the Great Depression as part of the New Deal to fund live artistic performances and entertainment programs in the United States. It was one of five Federal ...

and wrote the report ''Reorganization of the Play Bureau'' in 1936. She established Wells College's department of Public Relations and served as its director from 1944 to 1947. She taught English until her retirement to her home on Chebeague Island, Maine. As a memorial tribute, Wells College established the Kate Clugston Class of 1914 Prize in Theatre.College Prizes, Wells College
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clugston, Kate 1892 births 1985 deaths 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights People from Whitley County, Indiana Wells College alumni Federal Theatre Project people