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The Arcadians was a dramatic club at the University of Virginia from 1904[1] to 1909-1910. Succeeding the VVV Club, the Arcadians was the first dramatic club at the University.

The Arcadians competed with the Virginia Glee Club for members, since both required musical talent, and may have contributed to the several fallow seasons of the Glee Club in the years 1906 to 1910. In fact, the transition of the Arcadians from light comedy, such as Nevil Henshaw's The Visiting Girl, to musicals may have contributed to the club's extinction, as the latter were more expensive to produce. Bruce writes:

The fifth opera performed by the club was entitled Turvyland. This was the composition of a student of the law department; its first appearance took place in Cabell Hall; but the expense which it entailed was so heavy that no money was left to be carried over

to the following year. Such a comedy required the vigilant service of an expert coach; and the number of actors indispensable was so great, and the equipment in costume and scenery so voluminous, that the costs, on these various scores, ate up all the pecuniary profit. In consequence, no play was offered in 1910-11. This fact led to the revival of the Glee Club...[2]

Legacy[]

After the bankruptcy of the Arcadians, there was a resurgence of student interest in other musical forms. The Glee Club 1910-1911 season was the direct result of the bankruptcy of the Arcadians. It would not be until the 1920s and 1930s that a new dramatic club, the Virginia Players, would be founded.

Members[]

This is a listing of members as of the 1909-1910 Arcadians season, as published in the Turvyland score. For a full listing of Glee Club members who were in the Arcadians, see Category:Arcadians members.

The officers in the 1909–1910 season were E.D. Cameron, president; Richard Tunstall, vice-president; and John Minor Blackford, secretary and treasurer.

John Minor Blackford, Richard Tunstall, M.H. Murphy, Phillip Williams, R.W. Carrington, A.G.A. Balz, R.S. Brown, J.C. Warner, Alexander MacDonald, L.J. Smith, Bodley Booker, P.N. Clarke Jr., E.D. Cameron, Cecil Stevens, Jean Irvine, M.R. Faville, C.H. Sutton, D.A. Hughes, Edwin N. Moore, W.B. Harrison, Andrew Hampton, Beverly F. Hall, S. Maxwell, W.F. Carter Jr.

References[]

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