Tufts was the first in New England to have a Department of Drama and Speech when Marston Doc Balch established the program in 1940. A professor on the Hill for 35 years, Balch had an impact both on and off campus. One of his former students, Elizabeth Bottomley Noyce (J' 52), even donated The Marston S. Balch Arena Theatre in 1983 in his honor.
During his time at Tufts from 1935 to 1966, Balch directed and produced approximately 100 plays, many of which he personally translated from French and presented in the United States for the first time. During his time at Tufts, Balch published at least 40 scholarly articles, 60 articles for the Tufts theater publication Prologue and six books.
According to Sol Gittleman, the Alice and Nathan Gantcher University Professor of Judaic Studies and former provost, Balch was stylish as well as worldly.
"He was the best-dressed, most dapper and stylish member of [the] faculty ... [with his] great mustache, terrific waistcoats [and] elegant[ly] spoken English. Never a dandy; always the polished man of the world," Gittleman said.
Before arriving at Tufts and making a name for Tufts theater, Balch graduated from Kalamazoo College in Michigan with a degree in English in 1923, and received a Master of Arts in 1925 and a Ph.D. in 1931 from Harvard University. During this time, Balch taught English at Williams College and served as the theatrical director.
Soon after receiving his Ph.D., Balch came to Tufts in 1934 as an assistant professor of English. The following year, he became the director of Drama, according to the Anne Sauers Concise Encyclopedia of Tufts History.
"[Balch] inspired generations of students and faculty, teaching them that theater without intellect and compassion is inevitably theater without artistry and humanity," Sauer wrote.
Balch's excitement for theater was further shown when he became executive director of the Tufts College Theater, as well as the advisor of Tufts Pen, Paint and Pretzels (3Ps) in 1935. As advisor to this student-run performance group, Balch became part of the oldest student organization on campus, founded in 1910.
According to current President of the 3Ps, senior Cole Von Glahn, Balch's legacy lives on in the group to this day.
"[Balch] was all about providing opportunities for artistic development, and that is still the driving force behind 3Ps," Glahn said.
Perhaps one of Balch's greatest accomplishments during his time at Tufts was the establishment of the Department of Drama and Speech in 1940, for which he served as chairman for 26 years, according to Sauer.
According to Fletcher Professor of Oratory and Director of Graduate Studies in Drama Laurence Senelick, Balch ran the department as a one-man show, something he attributed to the departments small number of faculty at the time. Despite this hurdle, Senelick said that Balch's devotion to the department and his students helped legitimize the drama department in the eyes of the university.
Senelick described how the theater scene used to be on Tufts campus. Back in Balch's day, there was one theater and everyone would come to one event, Senelick said. He explained that going to an event through the department used to be more of a community outing, while now the drama scene is more splintered with a lot of different groups. Under Balch's leadership, Tufts put on shows that were, for the most part, serious, not farces, Senelick added.
Balch temporarily left Tufts during World War II to serve as chief of the French Press and Radio Analysis Section of the United States Information Service and as chief of the Cultural Relations Sections under the Department of State. Balch received three honors for his time in France from the French Republic, including a medal and honorary membership in the Association des Professeurs de Langues Vivantes, the Médaille de la Reconnaissance fran?aise and the Croix de Chavalier de la Légion d'Honneur, more commonly known as the Legion of Honour. He returned to Tufts in 1947.
Balch served outside of Tufts in other ways as well. He extended his interest in drama off the Hill and became involved in the National Council of Arts in America in addition to serving as the executive secretary for the National Theatre Conference from 1961 to 1968.
Drama, however, was not Balch's only interest. He was the first university presenter at Tufts, serving between 1957 and 1969; the chairman of the Arts and Sciences Faculty Committee on Academic Awards and the Fletcher professor of oratory before retiring in 1971.
Balch's legacy lives on in the donation of his books to the drama department, helping create a library for graduate drama students. According to Burnim, who was Balch's successor as chairman of the Department of Drama and who wrote about Balch after his passing in 1987, Balch's legacy was also more personal.
"He earned for the Tufts University Theater a reputation for quality, integrity and variety in which it still basks," Burnim wrote. "For all of his achievements and honors, [Balch] remained a modest and sweet man ... No teacher ever kept in such constant and devoted contact with his former students, writing and phoning, encouraging them on to their aspirations, comforting them in their disappointments."
More from The Tufts Daily
