The Washington Square Players was an independent, non-commercial theatre group founded in 1914 by Lawrence Langner, Edward Goodman, Philip Moeller, Lee Simonson, and others wanting to produce plays of artistic merit. The group was seminal in beginning the "little theatre" or "art theatre" movement in the U.S., attracting innovative theatre artists. Their first production opened at the Bandbox Theatre in 1915, later moving to the Comedy Theatre as the group became more successful. Katharine Cornell acted with them. Productions included works by Zoë Akins, Susan Glaspell, Maurice Maeterlinck, and Eugene O'Neill. The group ended in 1918, due to World War I and financial difficulties. Several members of the group went on to form the Theatre Guild. Original costume, set, backdrop, and poster designs (mostly color), and published plays for productions by the Washington Square Players, 1915-1918. Although many of the 69 designs are for unidentified productions, titles represented include Aglavaine and Selysette by Maurice Maeterlinck, adapted and translated by Ralph Roeder, with costume designs by Joseph Platt (J.B. Platt), 1916; The hero of Santa Maria by Kenneth Goodman and Ben Hecht, with costume designs by William Rienecke, ca. 1917; The death of Tintagiles by Maurice Maeterlinck, translated by Philip Moeller, with unsigned costume designs, 1917; The magical city by Zoë Akins, with unsigned set design, and White Studio photograph, 1916. Other designers repsesented are Elsie R. Brown, Muriel V. Sibell, Robert L. Lawson, and Robert Locker. Posters include Bushido by Takeda Izumo, 1916, and Plots and Playwrights (three short plays), Comedy Theatre, 1917 (poster by George C. Evans). There are also 5 drawings (4 are pencil and ink) by Clara Tice, including "an impression of the Dolly Sisters." Published playscripts include acting versions of Another way out (one-act play) by Lawrence Langner, and two copies of Trifles by Susan Glaspell; all were published as part of the Plays of the Washington Square Players series by Frank Shay in 1916, and are stamped "W.E. Pennington" on the title pages.
