In each issue of Arches, Logger Lookback offers a peek into Puget Sound’s pictorial past.
It was December 1974, and while Tacoma may have been icy, the stage lights were hot! Campus members could shake off the chill at the Inside Theatre (now the Norton Clapp Theatre) while catching Peter Shaffer’s one-act farce Black Comedy, where darkness and full light are reversed for the cast. The show, which was glowingly reviewed in the university’s own Trail newspaper, featured the acting talents of Doug Newell ‘78, Ingrid Anderson ’78, Gary Richardson ’74, Steven Caldwell ’75, Dianne Simon ’75, Charles Richardson ’78, Genevieve Blais (formerly Roberta Blair) ’75, and Robert Martin ’75.
Puget Sound has a rich tradition in the performing arts dating back more than a century; in 1912, eager thespians put on a series of three farces, The Sleeping Car, A Woman Won’t, and Mrs. Oakley’s Telephone, in the school’s yet-unfinished gymnasium. The Theatre Arts program and its alumni received special recognition at the 2025 Summer Reunion Weekend.
Did you ever participate in a campus performance, either in front of an audience or behind the scenes? From singing to stage management to costume design, now’s your chance to tell us all about it — send your memories and photos to arches@pugetsound.edu!
