this written record. Finally, Triangle's extensive archives in Princeton's Mudd Library include playbills, musical scores, scripts, reviews, photographs, business correspondence, tour itineraries, scrapbooks, recordings, and much more. Beginnings The Triangle Club archives begin in 1883 with a production of the Princeton College Dramatic Association; during the next five years the Association presented a number of plays. In keeping with the practice of British and American all-male institutions at the time, women's roles were played by men. Entr'acte music, provided by the Instrumental or Banjo Clubs, consisted of popular dance tunes or operatic excerpts. Student theatricals were performed for the benefit of financially ailing athletic associations, and the sporadic activity of the Dramatic Association can be explained by the fluctuating fortunes of the sports teams. In 1891 the Dramatic Association joined forces with the University Glee Club to present Po-ca-hon-tas, the first show in the Triangle tradition of musicals written and produced by students. According to a New York review, the reworked John Brougham play featured "new topical songs and local hits" and was well received, both on campus and in a Trenton performance. But the faculty vetoed a proposed New York performance, and over the years, students and administrators would often be at odds over theatrical activities. Nevertheless, the Association visited Trenton once again the following year with Katharine, a Shakespearean spoof marking the first appearance of Booth Tarkington 1893 in the Triangle records. The 1893 production, The Honorable Julius Caesar, was again a reworking of Shakespeare. Tarkington, a senior and president of the Dramatic Association, was prominent as both co-author of the book and as actor in the role of Cassius. The show was so successful that it was repeated the following year, with several significant changes. Most importantly, the Princeton University Dramatic Association had been renamed the Triangle Club of Princeton. According to a preview in The New York Times, "several specialties will be introduced, such as tumbling, acrobatic feats, and dancing" and "James E. Wilson of Frohman's company... will coach the club regularly four times a week." If Wilson did indeed coach, the club had its first professional director in its very first show under the name "Triangle." Early growth Financial problems caused Club members to curtail expenses in 1895. Neither the February production, Who's Who, nor the May offering, Snowball, were written by students, and both had relatively small casts. The following year the Club turned