The main stage in Scales is now called the Harold C. Tedford Main Stage in honor of the now retired theatre professor and former department chair.
Tedford, originally from Arkansas, received his Ph.D. from Louisiana State University and joined the Wake Forest faculty in 1965 as the theatre director.
During his tenure, he persuaded Jo Mielziner and Donald Oneslager, “two of the most prominent theatre designers in the nation [at the time],” to be consultants on the new fine arts center.
On Saturday night, before the performance there was a dedication ceremony to christen the main stage in Dr. Tedford’s honor. The Master of Ceremony was the humorous and energetic Michael Baron (’92), who was also the director of the evening’s production.
After a few words from Baron, Provost Rogan Kersh shared a brief history of theater at Wake Forest.
Other speakers of the evening included Dr. Edwin Wilson and the three daughters of Dr. Tedford – Beth Tedford (’85), Rosalind Tedford (’90, MA ’94) and Vivian Tedford (’83).
This year’s musical was chosen specifically for Tedford as it was his favorite musical of all time. The entire production was directed, trained, choreographed, musically directed and sound designed by Wake Forest alumni.
After the show, the audience went to a reception to further celebrate Dr. Tedford’s great honor and reflect on the success Wake Forest’s Theatre Department has had over the decades.
