This article examines how the Rockefeller Foundation funded theatrical initiatives in developing countries: the Philippines and Nigeria. Using visualization software, in this case the open source application Gephi, we demonstrate how personal and institutional networks underpinned the cultural, specifically, theatrical development strategy of the foundation. It discusses the principles underpinning historical network analysis and analyzes two case studies, Severino Montano’s Arena Theatre in Manila, and the establishment of a School of Drama at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

Keywords: historical network analysis; visualization software; Gephi; Rockefeller Foundation; University of Ibadan; Severino Montano; Arena Theatre; Theatre in the Round; Cultural Cold War