Theodore Viehman Papers

Theodore Albert Viehman (1889-1970), was a Carnegie Mellon alumn and a Pittsburgh native. Viehman served in the U.S. Army as a second lieutenant in World War I and graduated from Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1918 from the School of Applied Design within the newly formed Drama Department. After receiving his B.A., he continued his education earning a Master’s degree in 1922 and founded the Guild Players of Pittsburgh.

Viehman began directing and teaching under the mentorship of department founder Thomas Wood Stevens at Carnegie Tech until 1929. He continued to teach drama and folk dancing at many other universities throughout his life including the University of California at Berkeley’s Summer School (1919, 1920, and 1923), University of Toronto (1926), University of Michigan (1942), and the State University of Iowa (1949).

Theodore Viehman directed folk dances at the 1934 Chicago World’s Fair and was also involved in directing plays for the Pittsburgh Playhouse during the years 1942-1943. He was actively involved as a member of the National Theater Conference (NTC) which included the big names in the theater business and whose job it was to advocate and promote theater projects. From 1961 to 1964, Viehman served as President for the NTC, during which he restructured NTC membership qualification, created a board of trustees, and began a project to survey the changes in American theaters since WWI. Viehman also had membership in the American Education Theater Association, the American National Theater Academy, the Southwest Theater Conference, and the Players Club until his death in 1970.