Roy O'Valle Collection

Tarrant County Archives > Holdings > Named Collections > O > O'Valle, Roy

Biographical Note

Raul "Roy" Flores O'Valle was born in 1934 in San Antonio, Texas. As a child he enjoyed theatre, especially the neighborhood Christmas pageants, Las Posados and Los Pastores. After graduating from high school, O'Valle enlisted in the U. S. Air Force, and served in the U. S. northwest during the Korean War. After his service, he utilized the G. I. Bill to enroll at University of Houston, where he earned a bachelor's degree in drama and met his wife Violet. While there, he began his career in scenery design and construction, while also taking on acting, directing, costume design, and more. After graduation, he took on the role as the first Drama Director for the Ebbert L. Furr School, and worked with various theatre production companies.

O'Valle was accepted into the University of Washington graduate scene designer program in 1970, and went on to earn his master's degree. The couple moved back to Houston where O'Valle worked as a technical artist on the NASA Apollo Missions then became the first scene designer at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. O'Valle did free-lance work in Mississippi, and eventually the couple moved to Dallas/Fort Worth where he taught honors Spanish until retirement.

After the O'Valles both retired, they pursued a life-long dream to open a theatre company with a focus on bringing international plays to Fort Worth. Their theatre was called Pantagleize. It was a non-profit that opened in 2003. Roy died in 2005, and Violet kept the theatre running until 2014, when she downsized.

 

Black and white photo of an older man leaning down to point at a painting which is lying on the ground outdoors where a younger man is painting it.

Roy O'Valle teaching scene painting, Texas A&M University, 1978-1982

Scope and Contents

The Roy O'Valle Collection was donated to the Archives by Violet O'Valle, who wrote a short biography (included in the collection) from which the information above was taken. The majority of the collection are costume and set design paintings, stage and lighting plans, and slides of productions. Also included are playbills, photographs, documents, certificates, and awards. The date range for materials in this collection is 1955 to 2025, with the majority of materials dating from 1961 through 1984.

Materials in this collection consist of the following:

Documents

  • Biography of Roy O'Valle by Violet O'Valle, 2025
  • Curriculum vitae and recommendation letters for Roy O'Valle, 1982, undated
  • Clippings of reviews for productions, 1976, undated
    • Productions include: Man of La Mancha, Waiting for Godot, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Tartuffe, A Game of Chance, The Solid Gold Cadillac
  • Degrees and awards for Roy O'Valle including: Senior high school diploma, 1954; U. S. Air Force Air Training Command completion, Sheppard Air Force Base, 1955; Alpha Psi Omega Dramatic Fraternity membership, 1959; University of Houston Bachelor of Fine Arts diploma, 1965; University of Washington Master of Arts diploma, 1973; SETC Design Competition award, 1984; Certificate for Teaching Spanish, 1995; ASTP Honoree award, undated
  • Playbills for various productions, 1976-1981, undated
    • Productions include: Guys and Dolls, Equus, House of Bernarda Alba, Man of La Mancha, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Rimers of Eldritch, The Children's Hour, A Moon for the Misbegotten, The Importance of Being Earnest, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Waiting for Godot, Tartuffe, When You Comin' Back Red Ryders?, JP, The Threepenny Opera, Born Yesterday, A Game of Chance, The Apple Tree, LUV
  • Technical stage drawing for various productions, 1971-1981, undated
    • Productions include: As You Like It, Blithe Spirit, Celebration, Equus, The Importance of Being Earnest, JB, Man of La Mancha, The Rimers of Eldritch, Tartuffe, The Threepenny Opera, White Devil

Photographs and Slides

  • Photographs of Roy O'Valle and others, 1955-2005
  • Set and production slides, 1970s, undated
    • Productions include: Major Barbara, Das Rheingold, Riders to the Sea, Effect of Gamma Rays on Man in the Moon Marigolds, The Lesson, The White Devil, Hamlet, The Madman and the Nun, Blood Wedding, Man of La Mancha, Equus, Guys and Dolls, Waiting for Godot, The Importance of Being Earnest, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Tartuffe, The Rimers of Eldritch, Who's On First, Cave Dwellers, JB, Wanda June, The Only Jealousy of Emer, Rashomon, The Venetian Twins, Therese Raquin, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Scenes from American Life, Guys and Dolls, Marble Arch, Bernarda Alba, Unknown

Set Design Artwork

  • The Lesson set design, acrylic, Roy O'Valle, University of Houston, 1961-1965
  • Riders to the Sea set design, acrylic, Roy O'Valle, University of Houston, 1961-1965
  • Riders to the Sea set design model, mixed materials, Roy O'Valle, University of Houston, 1961-1965
  • Hamlet set design, acrylic, Roy O'Valle, University of Washington, 1970-1972
  • Major Barbara (Act I - III) set design (4), acrylic, Roy O'Valle, Showboat Theatre University of Washington, 1970-1972
  • Pygmalion Act I set design, acrylic, Roy O'Valle, Showboat Theatre University of Washington, 1970-1972
  • Six Characters in Search of an Author set design (2), Roy O'Valle, University of Washington, 1970-1972
  • The House of Bernarda Alba set design, acrylic, Roy O'Valle, Texas A&M University, 1976-1982
  • The Importance of Being Earnest set design, acrylic, Roy O'Valle, Rudder Theatre Texas A&M University, March 15, 1981
  • Man of La Mancha set design, acrylic, Roy O'Valle, Texas A&M University, July 30, 1976
  • The Rimers of Eldritch set design, acrylic, Roy O'Valle, Forum Theatre Texas A&M University, 1976-1982
  • The Taming of the Shrew set design, acrylic, Roy O'Valle, Southwestern College McCroy Theatre Memphis, Tennessee, 1984
  • LUV set design, acrylic, Roy O'Valle, University of Mississippi, undated
  • Rashomon set design, acrylic, Roy O'Valle, Theatre Suburbia Houston, Texas, undated
  • The Taming of the Shrew set design, acrylic, Roy O'Valle, Rhodes College Theatre Memphis, Tennessee, undated
  • The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man in the Moon Marigolds set design, acrylic, Roy O'Valle undated
  • South Pacific Act Curtain set design, acrylic, Roy O'Valle, undated
  • Set design for unknown production, Roy O'Valle, undated

Costume Design Artwork

  • Rashomon costume design for Machiko, Wigmaker, and Woodcutter, acrylic, Roy O'Valle, Theatre Suburbia Houston, Texas, 1967
  • The Only Jealousy of Emer costume design for 1st Musician, Cuchulain, Emer, and Woman of the Sidhe, acrylic, Roy O'Valle, Interscholastic League, 1969
  • Therese Raquin costume design for Camille, Grivet, Laurent, Madame Raquin, Michaud, Suzanne, Therese, and unknown character, acrylic, Roy O'Valle, University of Washington, 1972
  • The Diary of Adam and Eve from The Apple Tree costume design for Adam, , Eve, and Snake, acrylic, Roy O'Valle, TAMU Dinner Theatre, 1976-1982
  • The Lady or the Tiger from The Apple Tree costume design for Balladeer, King Arik ,The Lady, Sanjar, and Tiger Keeper, acrylic, Roy O'Valle, TAMU Dinner Theatre, 1976-1982
  • Man of La Mancha costume design for Antonia, Cervantes, Don Quixote, Muleteer, and Sancho Panza, acrylic, Roy O'Valle, Texas A&M University, 1976-1982
  • A Midsummer Night's Dream costume design for Bottom, Demetrius, Flute, Hippolyta, Lysander, Peter Quince, Philostrate, Snout, Snug, Starveling, and Theseus, acrylic, Roy O'Valle, Texas A&M University, 1976-1982
  • Passionella from The Apple Tree costume design for Ella, acrylic, Roy O'Valle, TAMU Dinner Theatre, 1976-1982
  • The Venetian Twins costume design for Balazoni, Pancrazio, Rosaura, Tonino, and Zanetto, acrylic, Roy O'Valle, TAMU Dinner Theatre, 1976-1982
  • Detective costume design for unknown production, pencil, Roy O'Valle, undated