Martin F. Gerrish

Tenure:

1961 - 1964*

Education:

(1955) A.B., University of Maine, Orono, ME

(1959) B.F.A., M.F.A., University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

_{* Tenured to the Theater Department; retired in 1986.}

1963
Source: Migma 63-64: A Yearbook and Photographic Directory of the Grossmont College Staff. La Mesa, CA: Grossmont Junior College / Monte Vista High School, 1964. p9.
1986
Source: The Gallery: A 25th Anniversary Photographic Directory of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community Faculty, Administration, and Staff. El Cajon, CA: Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District, 1987. p42.

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Background and Bio

Between 1955 and 1960, Martin F. Gerris earned a B.A. and an M.F.A. in Theater and Literature. Afterward, he settled with his family in the Fresno area, where he taught an directed theater on a shoestring budget for Reedley College. The next year, he was hired by the Grossmont College District to put his skills to work in the English Department while he was building the foundation for Grossmont College’s Theater Department.

During the first three years the College was in operation, the College hired instructors who could teach in multiple disciplines. Gerrish taught courses for, both, the Speech and Communication Department and the English Department. His specialty as a literature instructor was, of course, the great dramatists, for which Gerrish taught English 70: Readings From Shakespeare, a 2-unit Monday night course. By 1964, however, Grossmont College open its new El Cajon campus, and Gerrish began dedicating his tenure and his efforts to building what would become his legacy, the Grossmont College Theatre Department.

With the expansion of the English Department between 1962 and 1965, other tenured English instructors would eventually assume responsibility for teaching Shakespeare and literary drama, and Gerrish would ensconce himself into his role as the first official Chair of the Grossmont College Theater Department.

In 1986, Gerrish brought his 25 years of service to Grossmont College District to an end so that he could turn his full-time attention to his Lakeside-based theater company, Octad-One Productions.

He passed away in 2004.

Sources

Desert Yearbook Class of 1955. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona, 1955.
"Martin Gerrish." Obituary. GCCCD Grapevine 14.2 (July 2004).
"Martin Gerrish/Octad-One Productions." Theatre Preview. KPBS On Air Magazine September 1990. On-line.
"Grossmont College Programs 4 Plays." Alpine Echo 16 August 1962: p5.
Williams, Jack. "Martin Gerrish." Obituary. San Diego Union-Tribune (San Diego, CA) 24 March 2004. On-line.
"Gerrish, Martin." Migma 63-64: A Yearbook and Photographic Directory of the Grossmont College Staff. La Mesa, CA: Grossmont Junior College / Monte Vista High School, 1964. p9.
_____.The Gallery: A 35th Anniversary Photographic Directory of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community Faculty, Administration, and Staff. El Cajon, CA: Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District, 1996. p42.

Hiring Lineage

Grossmont Junior College District, 1961 Charter Hires:

James K. Bell 1961-1963
Chester H. Palmer 1961-1965
Martin Gerrish 1961-1964* (*tenured to Theater Dept. 1964-1996)
George M. Washington 1961-1965* (*tenured to Foreign Languages Dept. 1965-1976)
Ray Reynolds 1961-1968* (*tenured to Journalism Dept. 1968-1983)
Charline Lamons 1961-1983 (Chair 1963-1966; 1968-1969)
Robert W. Danielson 1961-1986 (Chair 1961-1963; 1967-1969)

Last Updated: 12/21/2018

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Martin F. Gerrish

Tenure:

Education:

* Tenured to the Theater Department; retired in 1986.

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_{* Tenured to the Theater Department; retired in 1986.}