Oral history interview with Edith F. Essex

Collection

Identifier: SR 9536

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This oral history interview with Edith F. Essex was conducted by Charles Digregorio at the Oregon Historical Society in Portland, Oregon, on January 25, 1977, as part of the oral history program at the society's research library. Henry C. C. Stevens was also present. A transcript is available.

In this interview, Essex discusses her involvement as an actor with the Portland Civic Theatre beginning around 1939. She talks about writing and directing children’s plays, and about teaching children to act. She talks about her acting method, about plays she acted in or directed, and about actors she worked with, including Frank Branch Riley.

Dates

1977 January 25

Creator

Essex, Edith F. (Edith Frances), 1899-1989 (Interviewee, Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Joint copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society and the estate of Edith F. Essex. Use is allowed according to the following statement: In Copyright – Non-Commercial Use Permitted, https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-NC/1.0/

Biographical note

Edith Frances Essex, nee Stephenson, was born in Walla Walla, Washington, in 1899. Before 1910, she moved with her family to Portland, Oregon. She later studied drama at the University of Washington in Seattle, and at a university in North Dakota. She then returned to Oregon and taught high school students in Gresham. In 1925, she and James Alma Ormandy were married; they later had two children. Around 1939, she began acting at the Portland Civic Theatre. She also wrote plays for children. James A. Ormandy died in 1958, and in 1967, Essex remarried to Freeman Essex. She died in 1989.

Sources: Vital records on Ancestry.com; information provided by Essex in her interview.

Extent

0.1 Cubic Feet (1 audiocassette (1 hr., 3 min., 10 sec.) + transcript (29 pages))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Oral history interview with Edith F. Essex conducted by Charles Digregorio on January 25, 1977. Essex discusses her involvement with the Portland Civic Theatre.