timulated by a
medal and testimonial of $85 given to the winner of the annual
University Contest by the Chicago alumni and by similar prizes to the
winners of the inter-collegiate contests and debates.

Interest in the drama on the part of the students was of comparatively
slow development, though in recent years it has come to be one of the
most conspicuous "student activities." While a "Shakespeare Club"
existed as early as 1860, the stage did not hold a particularly high
place in public regard in the University's earlier years, and good plays
were seldom seen in Ann Arbor. The celebrated actress, Mrs. Scott
Siddons, gave several recitals in the seventies, while a performance of
_Hamlet_, given in 1879 by Lawrence Barrett, was received with the
highest praise. His visit gave an impetus to dramatic affairs and led to
the organization of a Barrett Club which gave a performance of _Dollars
and Cents_ in 1880--the first recorded amateur dramatic performance in
the University. But it was not until two years later that the
University's dramatic history may be said to have begun with the two
Commencement plays, the _Adelphi_ of Terence, given in Latin under the
direction of Professor Charles M. Gayley, '74, and Racine's _Les
Plaideurs_, in French, under Assistant Professor Paul R. de Pont of the
Department of French.

From that time on interest in college dramatics steadily increased.
Professor de Pont, whose interest in student life never flagged, took a
leading part in the presentation of several plays, and one opera,
Gilbert and Sullivan's _Iolanthe_ (1883), by companies of students and
faculty members. Largely through his efforts a University Dramatic Club
was organized in 1885 and gave such plays as _A Scrap of Paper_ (1885)
and _The Memoirs of the Devil_ (1888), which "caused the student body to
sit up and take notice." Plays of this lighter character were all that
were attempted until 1890, when another Latin play, Plautus'
_Menaechmi_, was given so successfully under the direction of Professor
J.H. Drake, '85, that it was later presented in Chicago. This was the
last effort in classical drama until twenty-six years later, when the
_Menaechmi_ was repeated with great success in Hill Auditorium on March
30, 1916. This was followed in 1917 by Euripides' _Iphigenia Among the
Taurians_, given by the students in Greek, for which special music in
the ancient Greek modes was written by Dr. A.A. Stanley.

The old Dramatic