Edwin Semenza, a native of Reno, was born in 1910. He grew up in a family that came to the West at the beginning of this century; they were influential in ranching and business. He attended local schools and the University of Nevada. His interest in the theater caused him to become involved in many aspects of the profession in western Nevada. Semenza spent many years as a part-time member of the University of Nevada faculty; taught at Susanville, California; saw wartime service; served on the Reno City Council; and has been since 1954 a successful executive in an insurance company.

Most significantly, however, Semenza was the director and guiding force of the Reno Little Theater from its beginning in 1935 to his retirement from the directorship in 1970. Reno's national reputation does not depend on its cultural activities, yet the Reno Little Theater is probably the most vital and durable cultural institution in Reno's history. Semenza recalls the enthusiasm and dedication of the relatively small groups that kept the project alive and the wide support the theater has enjoyed in the community. The theater group has included hundreds of local citizens, with widely varying backgrounds and interests.

Semenza designed sets, pounded nails, repaired the furnace, mopped up after floods in the basement, helped with makeup, checked on the box office, and checked at night to see that the lights were turned off. He did this for thirty-five years and retained both his tolerance and his sense of humor. The anecdotes and the section of the account called "To Be a Director of Plays" are a practical textbook for anyone interested in being a good community theater director.

In this oral history, Semenza provides anecdotes related to almost every production for thirty-five years, and he remembers intimately hundreds of people connected with the theater. His reminiscences illuminate an interesting period in the development of Reno, describe the growth of one of Reno's most important cultural institutions, and contribute significantly to an understanding of the little theater movement in America and the practical problems the movement faces.