In the American “melting pot” the Slovene immigrants sensed a need for a collective identification. The theatre was one of the possibilities for defining their position towards the main stream of the American culture. The first drama performance goes back to the year 1900 when the Cleveland choral society “Sava” staged a play. They were followed by societies in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Illinois and elsewhere. In the twenties of the 20th century some theatres reached an enviable level, particularly the theatres “Ivan Cankar” and “Anton Verovšek” in Cleveland.V ameriškem »melting potu« so slovenski priseljenci začutili potrebo po skupinski identifikacij. Gledališče je bilo eno od možnosti za določanje svojega položaja nasproti glavnemu toku ameriške kulture. Prve dramske predstave segajo v leto 1900, ko je Clevelandsko pevsko društvo »Sava« uprizorilo igro. Njim so sledila društva v Pensilvaniji, Wisconsinu, Illinoisu in drugje. V dvajsetih letih 20. stoletja so nekatera gledališča dosegla zavidljivo raven, zlasti gledališči »Ivan Cankar« in »Anton Verovšek« v Clevelandu
