From Clarksville to Memphis

A Bats drama club performance in 1915

An early drama club known as "The Bats" was organized in the spring of 1914 and existed until "The Pals" was organized. This is an image from the  U. S. Gordon Collection of a play, probably presented in "The Little Theatre" in which Gordon performed around 1915.

The Bats drama club was given a room on an upper floor of the Castle Building which they converted into a "portmanteau" theatre.  hte portmanteau theatre model was created by Stuart Walker and features simple, portable and collapsible scenery.

The Little Theatre at Southwestern Presbyterian University was located on an upper floor the Castle Building.

The Bats became the Pals Players in 1917 when the College was still located in Clarksville, Tennessee. The Pals continued to perform in the room in the Castle called "The Little Theatre".