Dora Adele Shoemaker (August 13, 1873 – March 16, 1962) was an American educator, poet, and playwright.

Biography

Shoemaker was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, August 13, 1873. Her parents were Rachel H. Shoemaker and Jacob V. Shoemaker, founders of the

National School of Elocution and Oratory National School of Elocution and Oratory (later, Shoemaker School of Speech and Drama) was an American school for speech arts, focused on rhetoric and elocution. It was established by Jacob and Rachel H. Shoemaker in Philadelphia, 1873. Attentio ...

, Philadelphia. Dora's brother, Frank W. Shoemaker, was the head of the Penn Publishing Company. She was educated at Friends Select School and the National School of Elocution and Oratory (Bachelor of Elocution and Master of Oratory, 1915), with further specialized instruction at the University of Pennsylvania. She received a master's degree at Marywood College (now Marywood University ( Scranton, Pennsylvania). From 1915, Shoemaker served as principal of the National School of Elocution and Oratory. Renamed the Shoemaker School of Speech and Drama, its course offerings included journalism and radio technique. Shoemaker headed the school until the late 1930s. She was also a teacher at Marywood College, St. John's Catholic Junto (Philadelphia), and Neff Dramatic School (Philadelphia). She was the author of ''Out O'Doors'' (poetry book), ''A Patron of Art'' (play, 1776) and ''A Fighting chance'' (play). She lectured on literary subjects and elocution. Dora Adele Shoemaker died at her home in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, March 16, 1962.

Selected works

Plays

* ''A Patron of Art'' (1776) * ''A Fighting Chance, Or, For the Blue Or the Gray: A Play in Three Acts'' (1900)
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* ''The Girls of 1776: A Drama in Three Acts '' (1905)
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Poetry books

* ''Out O'Doors''

References

External links

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"Happy Birthday to – - Dora Adele Shoemaker". ''The Philadelphia Inquirer''. 13 August 1938. p. 8. {{DEFAULTSORT:Shoemaker, Dora Adele 1873 births 1962 deaths Writers from Philadelphia 19th-century American dramatists and playwrights 19th-century American poets 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American poets 19th-century American women writers 20th-century American women writers American women dramatists and playwrights American women poets American school principals Friends Select School alumni Educators from Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania alumni Marywood University alumni