Jump to content

Emma Dunning Banks

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(1887)
(signature)
Photo from Original Recitations, 1890

Emma Dunning Banks (stage name Dorothy Crane; 1856–1931)[1] was an American actress, dramatic reader, teacher, and writer.[2]

Biography[edit]

Banks graduated from the National School of Elocution and Oratory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.[3] In 1883, she won a large gold and silver medal at the city's Academy of Music. She also studied privately for four years under New York City and Boston teachers.[4]

Her notable performances included the "Curse Scene" from Leah the Forsaken and the Malediction of Medea. In 1904, in the Bridgeport Opera House, she produced two of W. S. Gilbert's most successful comedies, Engaged and Pygmalion and Galatea, which the press praised.[4] Eugenia Williamson Hume was a pupil.[5]

She was also the author of Banks's Recitations with Lesson-Talks. Some of her articles appeared in The Voice, while the British press reprinted some of her original recitations.[2]

Her husband was Edgar Granville Banks.[6]

Banks was at her New York City address on Saturdays but otherwise made her home in Bridgeport, Connecticut,[7] where she died April 8, 1931.[1]

Selected works[edit]

  • Emma Dunning Bank's Original Recitations: With Lesson-talks, 1890 (text)
  • Flossie Lane's Marriage, 1890 (text)
  • One Thanksgiving Day Out West, 1908 (text)
  • Flying Jim's Last Leap, 1908 (text)

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "BANKS Emma Dunning". The Billboard. 43. R.S. Littleford, Jr., W.D. Littleford: 64. 2 May 1931. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b The Masqueraders: Or, Game of Dominoes. E.S. Werner. 1905. p. 2. Retrieved 3 May 2024. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ^ "The Odd Fellows concert". The Berkshire County Eagle. 1 October 1885. p. 2. Retrieved 3 May 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b Wilbor, Elsie M. (1887). "Emma Dunning Banks, by B.E." Werner's Directory of Elocutionists, Readers, Lecturers and Other Public Instructors and Entertainers ... E.S. Werner: 273. Retrieved 3 May 2024. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  5. ^ National Speech Arts Association (1898). Proceedings ... The Association. p. 185. Retrieved 2 May 2024. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  6. ^ "Horace B. Banks". The Newtown Bee. 29 May 1891. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  7. ^ Wilbor, Elsie M. (1890). Delsarte Recitation Book and Directory. E.S. Werner. p. 315. Retrieved 3 May 2024. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.