iiiil ill iiiiss; CHOOSING A PLAY By GERTRUDE E. JOHNSON CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY GIFT OF Prof. A. M. Druramond The original of tliis bool< is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924032394219 CHOOSING A PLAY CHOOSING A PLAY REVISED AND ENLARGED SUGGESTIONS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR THE DIRECTOR OF AMATEUR DRAMATICS BY GERTRUDE E. JOHNSON Assistant Pkofessou in the DEPAkTHEiTT of Spescb Education in the Unitersitt of Wisconsin Author of "Modern Literature for Oral Interpretation" NEW YORK THE CENTURY CO. 1920 /\f/7S>^^' Copyright, 1920, by The CtorroET Co. PREFACE In view of the fact that the magazine which printed even a list of one-act plays is instantly in great demand in that particular number, and also that constant calls were received asking for suggestions for a play, it seemed there might be a place for such hsts, bibliography, and sugges- tions as are here compiled. I knew from experi- ence, that, obvious as the lists seem, they were in great demand by many who have no time to give to the finding of material for amateur production. The sale of the first edition in less than a year assures me that it fills a need and I have, there- fore, enlarged it, adding material in various forms, bringing it all up to date with complete corrections so far as possible. In chapter six I have endeavored to gather together some of the. most helpful suggestions on acting, which have been given us by those who have succeeded, either as actors or directors. vi PREFACE There are several books and articles dealing di- rectly with problems of acting, but they are not generally available, and so these quotations may give helpful hints on various matters pertaining to this field. Exception will be taken by some to the nature of the lists, particularly to those of lower grades, on the ground that they are "trash." I hasten to agree to a certain extent, but let me add that they are the best of the lower grades, and so are some advance over much material that is being used every year in the smaller High Schools. Furthermore, while there has been a frequent publishing recently of books and articles touch- ing on all phases of dramatic activity, choice of plays, new movement, betterment of dramatics, pageantry, one-act plays, etc., very few, if any, have been of direct and unquestionable assistance to the smaller High Schools, whose number is legion. These schools stage several plays each year, and form a group which, to my mind, it is of vital importance to reach, if real advance in dramatics is to be made. PREFACE Vll It has been my desire, however, to make this book of some direct assistance to all grades of amateur production. It is obviously impossible for some time yet, to hope to have "Androcles and the Lion" or "How He Lied to Her Husband," produced in towns of fifteen hundred, with only a few of the number, perhaps, who know even the author. It is reported by Library Com- missions which attempt to help the situation by sending plays of the "better type," that these are returned with letters saying that they are not what is wanted, that the people would not under- stand them, and that there is no one among the teachers who could put them on. I have been in touch with one commission and so have these facts first hand. Is it not advisable, then, to suggest something that Avill be possible, both of produc- tion and understanding in such a community, than to refuse to send a lower grade of material than we, in our academic halls, think best? Obviously, there is dire need in the schools for someone trained in dramatic work as well as Eng- lish, for it is so often the teacher of English to viii PREFACE whose lot it falls to coach the play. For that matter, it may be the teacher of any other branch, from history on through chemistry, or animal husbandry, so little consideration is given to the importance of having some one trained for the work. This is due, of course, to the fact that dramatic activity is considered of extra curricular significance, and not of any definite educational importance. With teachers of some training placed in these schools, we might hope to help in establishing a better understanding of play values, as well as of producing possibilities. We could thus attack the problems of dramatic taste and activities in the place where they would reach the largest number of people, and tend to develop into one of the most potent factors in the "New Movement." Meanwhile, it has seemed to me, as I said at first, that some lists should be avail- able for even the smallest schools, which are go- ing to produce something, whether assisted in the choice or not. It is in the hope that the lists of lower grades will be of assistance to some of these schools, that they have been compiled. As op- PREFACE ix portunity offers I trust the standard of selection will be raised in all the smaller schools. I repeat — such opportunity will not come to any great extent, until our educational institutions, par- ticularly our higher ones, are interested in the problems involved in our dramatic taste and ac- tivities, as an educational matter, affecting very definitely the people, and so the State. These institutions should set the standards in this as in other studies. They should realize that these problems affect the life of the community very definitely — ^what affects the community affects the State. CONTENTS PART ONE— DISCUSSION CHAfTEB FAQE I The Theatee as an Educational Insti- tution 3 II Deamatic Production and the Educa- tional Curriculum 22 III Why the One-Act Plat? .... 48 IV Dramatics in the High School ... 55 V The Place of Pageantry in Community Life 69 VI Notes on Acting 83 VII Details of Coaching 94 VIII Material for Production .... 108 PART TWO— DIRECTORY LISTS AND BIBLIOGRAPHY I Addresses of Play Publishers and Brokers 119 II List of Plays (Graded) 123 Grade One 124 Geade Two 129 Grade Three . 131 Grade Four ........ 133 CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE III Cheistmas Plays 135 IV Plays foe Women Characteks . . . 137 V One Act Plays in Pamphlet Form . . 140 Grade One 140 Grade Two 144 VI One-Act Plays foe Male Characters . 146 VII Books of One-Act Plays 148 VIII Plays Possible for Out-Dooe Peoduc- TION 157 IX Plays foe Study and Scene Woek . . 159 X Books of Plays for Children . . . 161 XI Other Bibliographical Lists . . . 163 XII Magazines and Periodicals of Assist- ance 165 XIII Books and Articles on Pageantry . . 168 XIV Books and Articles on Dramatization IN School Woek 173 XV Books About the Theater and Acting 176 PART ONE DISCUSSION CHOOSING A PLAY CHAPTER I THE THEATER AS AN EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION The number of attacks against the American theater at the present time would seem to indicate glaring faults in our theatrical system. Prac- tically every book, every article, every lecture on the American theater decries it as a failure. Generally speaking, the charge is that the Ameri- can theater, steeped in commerciahsm as it is, does not fulfil its highest duty to society. The conditions and limitations which commerciahsm has imposed upon our theater are many and far- reaching. "The first application of the commercial sys- tem was an indication of progress, a benefit to the actor and to the production in general. It was organized as a means of successfully support- 4 CHOOSING A PLAY ing the drama. It raised the author and the player from penury, and raised the theater to a plane of a self-respecting profession." ^ "Com- petitive business among theatrical companies ought to be a stimulating thing. The trouble with the commercialized theater of today is that instead of supporting the drama, it has required the drama to support the system. Managers dis- covered that what had been a precarious trade of half-vagabondish players could, imder organiza- tion, be magnified to a tremendous business of purveying entertainment to the appetites of newly awakened millions." ^ As a result of this discovery, the American theatrical system has gone over entirely to "big business." Thirty years ago the great theatrical syndicate raised its portentous head in this country. Before that time the large cities scattered in different sections of the coimtry, St. Louis, for instance, San Fran- cisco, and Indianapolis, had their own inde- pendent producing theaters, which rivalled the things seen in New York, This independent 1 Dickinson, Thomas, "The Case of the American Drama," p. 94. Ubid. THE THEATER 5 competition was stifled by an appalling theatrical monopoly which started in New York, as a shrewdly organized booking company, to dis- distribute touring companies throughout the cities of the United States. This action placed the entire control of our theater system in the hands of less than twenty men, a few New York producing managers whose aims determined and still determine largely what shall pass as dramatic art in all centers throughout the country where people gather for illusionment;* As Sheldon Cheney puts it, "Unless these managers see fit to feed favored theaters with plays bearing the Broadway stamp of approval the whole country becomes a dramatic waste." * So centralized and concentrated has the control of the theater be- come in the hands of a few producers that the theater monopoly has been able to fill its own theaters all over the country at its own prices with warmed-over New York successes without fear of competition in any form. It has been able to set a uniform price for practically all its 3 Hopkins, Arthur, "How's Your Second Act?" p 19. * Cheney, Sheldon, Editorial, "The Road Town Problem." "The- ater Arts Magazine," December, 1917, p. 47. 6 CHOOSING A PLAY performances, cheap or expensive to produce, without regard for importance or worth/ It has been able to keep the same show running season after season reaping profits of hundreds of thou- sands of dollars. Under the monopoly system the gambling aspect of the theater business has developed. So profitable has centrahzation of theatrical control been found, that the exploiters have now become unwilling to keep going a pro- duction which brings them a profit of less than ten percent. "A play which does not realize this profit is discarded as a failure. Four failures out of five, then, must be paid for by the over- whelming profits of a single fifth production. Those plays which might earn two hundred dol- lars per week are killed off, therefore, to make room for other plays, frequently less worthy, that may earn a profit of two thousand per week. Big business demands that a play in order to earn the privilege of a continuance of its existence shall reap a profit of several hundred percent of the original investment. Any project which de- 5 Matthew, Brander, "What is the Matter with the Theater?" "Unpopular Review," January, 1917, p. 56. THE THEATER 7 mands a profit of more than ten percent is not business, but gambling." ® "And the profes- sional gambler," says Sheldon Cheney, "is the last person in the world to take a risk. So the Broad- way producer, afraid above all else to play the game in a new way, repeats himself year in and year out, and New York spills to the four corners of the country an unending stream of musical comedies and revues, and crook plays and society farces." ^ Thus the commercial theater has sub- ordinated all considerations of the drama to purely mercenary motives. A good play has come to mean a "successful" play, and a success- ful play to mean a play that earns enormous profits. The results of the capitalizing of enter- tainment have been deep-seated both as to society and art, and no phase of dramatic presentation has been unaffected.® It is well to ask ourselves what it is that we are expecting from' the theater and are not re- 8 Hamilton, Clayton, "The Non-Commercial Drama." "Book- man," May 1915, p. 276. 7 Collier, John, "The Theater of Tomorrow," "Survey," Jan. 1, 1916, p. 385. 8 Dickinson, Thomas, "The Case of the American Drama," p. 94. 8 CHOOSING A PLAY ceiving. How far ought the theater to be serv- iceable to civilization? What are the duties which we claim we have a right to demand from the theater? This statement may serve as a thesis for the fol- lowing discussion: The public has a right to de- mand of the theater, necessary and inevitable as it is, and powerful as are its possibilities for good or evil, a definite, conscious educational influence. In the first place we can not do without the theater. As an amusement, a form of relaxation and relief, it is a necessity. It meets a great hu- man need, satisfying natural curiosity, the crav- ing for excitement and the love of excursions into the world of imagination ; ® and allowing freedom from self-interest. The complexity of modern life, American life especially, taxes our supreme strength. For proper balance, for health of mind and body, we need relaxation. We need to let down and to let down often. America of all countries can not afford to neglect her institutions which provide relaxation. With the growth of 9 Curtis, Elnora Whitman, "The Dramatic Instinct in Educa- tion," p. 27. THE THEATER 9 the industrial classes and the growing tendency toward specialized labor, has come the danger of developing in our people a narrow precision and definiteness, an inclination to be over-practical, one-sided, and perhaps machine like. A great proportion of our population are office-workers and mechanics, the nature of whose work de- mands primarily concentrated attention to de- tails. These men need, above all, a form of relief and relaxation which will open up new channels of expression, something to broaden their con- ceptions, something to free them from tenseness. Mr. Patrick in his book "The Psychology of Re- laxation" says, "There must be large periods of relaxation from the high tension life of today. If they are not provided in the form of healthful and harmless sports there will be instability, fatigue, and social outbreaks." ^^ The frightful movie craze is a form of relief which our people as a nation have eagerly grasped in their desperate need for recreation, for some sort of change from the monotony and strain of the work-a-day world. Now the drama is able 10 Patrick, G. T. W.,'"The Psychology of Relaxation," p. 21. 10 CHOOSING A PLAY to afford a complete relaxation. It provides an outlet for pent-up emotions, giving rise to laughter and tears; it provides a generous reac- tion after strain or intense concentration; it breaks down inhibitions; it allows of self-forget- fulness. Even when the emotions aroused are unpleasant, the effect is often in the nature of re- lief rather than of strain, since the person in the audience is not personally related to the action. The sympathy and interest are with the heroine or hero ; the spectator's fear of the villain is, after all, only in behalf of these people in the story, and because the spectator at the play is not di- rectly and personally concerned with the action, he can share completely the experiences of the players without self-restraint, or self -conscious- ness. And there is relaxation in getting outside oneself. The people need amusement as they need work and food and sleep to keep them sane and healthy. The theater as an effective form of amusement, then, is a social necessity which can not be ignored. The people created it, out of their necessity to satisfy their impulses, to indulge THE THEATER 11 their leisure moments ; they always will maintain it, even when it is unworthy, out of their necessity. And the joy of the theater as a human necessity is that it educates while it amuses. It establishes a constructive leisure.^^ For it is in a man's leisure moments, when the bars are down, or, we may say, when he is off his guard, that he is most easily influenced, that his impulses are obeyed, that actions are stimulated, that impressions are made upon him. And the man at the theater does not know that he is being educated — there- fore he does not resent it.^^ He just sits in the audience and takes in his education, unknow- ingly, as easUy as he breathes. The efficacy of the theater's power lies in its irresistibility. Lit- tle children have a passion for a "show." News- boys stand in front of playhouses and beg to be taken in. Even vn^h the feeble-minded, the theater makes its appeal.^^ No religious disap- proval, no prudishness, no legal enactment, has 11 Burleigh, Constance, "The Community Theater," p. 113. 12 Stocking, Helen, "Social Theater and its Possibilities," "Over- land Monthly," April 1916, p. 368. 13 Collier, John, "The Theater of Tomorrow." "Survey," Janu- ary 7, 1916, p. 382. 12 CHOOSING A PLAY been able to eliminate it from society.^* The theater is inevitable. It appeals to all classes of people because it appeals to the senses. Human beings cannot resist the spectacle of a play, they cannot resist the sound of it, they cannot resist the story. And because everybody likes the theater, and never tires of it, the theater is demo- cratic as no other institution ever can be. It is universally appealing and therefore universally powerful. There are many sides to the theater as an edu- cational force. We shall not go into a discussion of its very obvious educational advantages. It is perhaps generally recognized ,that the theater gives us information, historical, for instance, in a form which we can keep longer than we can keep information gained in any other way. It is natural that the stage should teach more effec- tively than literature, for instance, because we can not forget what we have learned by watching events as they might really have happened, by hearing words as they might really have been spoken, and we are very likely to forget what we "Andrews, Charlton, "Drama of Today," p. 307. THE THEATER 13 have only read from a printed page. Education has come to include rather broad aspects, and the theater is unlimited in its possibilities for help. For one thing, in the theater lies the possibility of cultivating the taste of a nation. The theater is not only one art, but a combination of all the arts, the joint product of the efforts of all artists, musician, playwright, poet, composer, dancer, architect, sculptor, painter, and actor.^^ And the arts come in a pleasant form at the theater. The refining influence "gets over," therefore, easily, without a struggle, to an unconscious and receptive audience. The man who would not enter an art gallery on his life, will go to the theater, for the music perhaps, or, perhaps, for a favorite actor. He will see a stage picture which is good, which has esthetic value, and he will have gained something in the experience. Frequent enjoyment of beautiful harmonious stage setting will cultivate in him at least something of a taste for line and color and light. It works on the principle which governs our reading. Good books spoil bad ones for us. And so with the 15 Burleigh, Constance, "The Community Theater," p. 113. 14 CHOOSING A PLAY other arts. Served as they are in combination with each other we gladly accept a little of each, and while we are being pleasantly amused, we learn to appreciate. "In all great art," says Charlton Andrews, "there is an unmistakable and emphatic ethical significance. ... A growing popular taste for the stage means a growing popular appreciation of a potent means of helpful comment on life," ^' "Fine art," says Bernard Shaw, "is the subtlest, the most seductive, the most effective means of moral propagandism in the world, excepting only the example of personal conduct." " Oscar Wilde's theory is that life imitates art, and Archi- bald Henderson adds that "a comparison of the waning influence of the church with the wax- ing influence of the theater as a guide to conduct is a conspicuous verification of Wilde's suggestive theory." ^* Miss Jane Addams has made the following observation in connection with her so- cial experience, "In moments of moral crisis now, the great theater-going public turns to the say- is Andrews, Charlton, "The Drama of Today," p. 212. 17 Henderson, Archibald, "The Changing Drama," p. 14. 18 Ibid. p. 17. THE THEATER 15 ings of the hero who found himself in a similar plight. The sayings may not be profound, but they are at least applicable to conduct." ^* And Archibald Henderson comments again, "Indeed, we may go further and say that people of all classes in moment of emotional stress often un- consciously reproduce expression which they have heard their favorite heroes, heroines, and villains utter. Only a genius in the simple expression of elemental feeling, in a crucial situation is ca- pable of giving voice to natural feehngs as if he had never witnessed the work of dramatic or Ac- tive art." '"' Certainly we cannot ignore the in- fluence which the acted drama has upon our moral conduct especially in our youth. The most im- pressive lesson we can learn comes through per- sonal experience. Second only to that in effec- tiveness is living the experience in "make-be- lieve." Seeing and hearing the thing acted on the stage follows closely in significance. Miss Elnora Whitman Curtis in her book "The Dramatic Instinct in Education" cites several in- 19 Henderson, Archibald, "The Changing Drpma," p. 17. 20 Ibid. 16 CHOOSING A PLAY stances in which simple-hearted people have di- rectly admitted the moral inspiration which the theater has given them. One girl who had been vitally interested in Portia of "The Merchant of Venice," declared she wanted to be good now, " 'cause of her." It is easy to be indifferent to the statement we might read or hear, "The man who murders will be punished," but who can for- get a story he has seen impressively, grippingly acted in which a murderer suffers a terrible fate? When we consider how many of us go to the theater, and how often we go, and how closely associated the drama is with life, we can not deny that the theater will play a part in shaping the manners and morale of our people. In the words of Bernard Shaw, the theater forms "the mind and affections of men in such sort that whatso- ever they see done in show on the stage, they will presently be doing in earnest in the world, which is but a larger stage." ^^ Thus far we have con- sidered the theater as a public institution where people go to watch and listen. If we give it a 21 stocking, Helen, "The Social Theater and Its Possibilities." "Overland Monthly," April 1916, p. 272. THE THEATER 17 broader significance and consider the theater as all dramatic production, we find its greatest edu- cational influence, its highest developing power in the effect upon those people who participate in the acting, in amateur plays, in school plays, in "home talent shows" if you will. Amateur pro- duction is a force which can not be overestimated in the field of education. The large imitative factor in dramatic play of children makes it a rare educational instrument .^^ Dramatization in connection with education has offered an out- let for self-expression to young people, an oppor- tunity to break the fetters of self-consciousness, and to develop their dramatic instinct body, mind, and soul.^* Eleanor Robson in an article on "The Theater and Education" remarked, "There is no school like the school of experience. The playing of parts can be experience in living." ^* An article by Miss Helen Stocking, "The Social Theater and Its Possibilities," takes the same 22 Curtis, Elnora Whitman, "Dramatic Instinct in Education," p. 99. 23 Stocking, Helen, "The Social Theater and Its Possibilities." "Overland Monthly," April 1916, p. 268. 2* Robson, Eleanor, "Theater and Education." "Outlook," March 7, 1917, p. 412. 18 CHOOSING A PLAY point of view. Through dramatization. Miss Stocking contends, a child brought up in unfavor- able environment may receive conceptions or ideals of taste, of properly spoken English, house furnishings, dress, school reform, in a word, the Art of Living.''^ Participation in dramatic forms presents possibiUties for reforming and creating personalities.*^ For it is not what goes into the man that develops him; it is the thing which comes out, the thing which is responded to by expression. Miss Stocking has observed that there is real value in assigning to a timid child the role of a character of confidence and courage, in allowing him to assume the qualities he lacks. Out of the make-believe, something will remain in the child's personality. The bad boy finds that it is quite as interesting to direct his energy and emotional bent into deeds of chivalry and heroic deeds as into crime.*^ The children love the recreational exercise of their dramatic instincts, and there can be no doubt that grammar school 25 Cf. note 24, p. 270. 28 Stocking, Helen, "The Social Theater and Its Possibilities." "Overland Monthly," April 1916, p. 270. 2T 76id!., p. 268. THE THEATER 19 pupils are gripped with a stronger power than even the movies can exert.^* In a word, dramat- ization is one of the most effective means of vital education. But the effect of the theater bears a less tan- gible aspect. There is a certain influence which the drama exerts over the theater-going public and over the drama-acting public which is rather hard to define. There is a certain richness which the drama gives us in taking us now and then out of the commonplaceness and sordidness of our narrow experience. Mary Austin calls it one of the things which make up a "glamor-filled life." "The theater," she says, "is a form through which man expresses and expands his relation to the in- visible forces. It is normal for man to live in an atmosphere of glamor. Under shadow or gleam of ideals, the human soul has its home. All chil- dren live thus, so do all primitives, so did most societies through most of history. It is thru glamor that men find deliverance, and all high motives are mythopoetic motives. A glamor- 28Weller, Charles F., "A Children's Playhouse." "Survey," Feb. 19, 1916. 20 CHOOSING A PLAY filled life is a life of dramatized relationships and dramatic consciousness. Through the deliberate use of dramatic powers, ideals may be changed, the quality of conscious life may be changed, and ultimately, as a matter of course, the direction of a social movement may be changed." ^® Richard Mansfield once passionately said, "The stage is for poetry, for all the things some of us, lying on the grass, with our faces to the skylark, dream of on a summer day or on a moonlit evening; those things that come to us with a whiff of the balsam pine, or the touch of a soft hand, or the discovery of a withered flower. Poetry is in us always and will crop out in the most hardened of us, and where we should always see it, and where it will forever awaken all that was born good and beautiful in us, is upon the stage/' I have sketched briefly what the theater should be able to accomplish. As a necessary social force, as a perfect form of relaxation, it is in a position to teach more lessons to more people in a more attractive and stimulating way than is any 29 Collier, John, "The Theater of Tomorrow." "Survey," Jan. 7, 1916, p. 833. THE THEATER 21 other force. It is able to teach moral lessons more easily and more effectively than the chm-ch or the school, because its scope is unlimited, and because it reaches people when they are receptive and unrestrained, through the pleasing medium of story and music and spectacle. The theater is able also to cultivate artistic appreciation in a Bation, as well as to develop an understanding of history, language, good speech, of ideals. The theater ought to be our most efficacious civilizing and nationalizing agent. CHAPTER II DRAMATIC PRODUCTION AND THE EDUCATIONAL CURRICULUM "The theater is the most potent and direct means of strengthening human reason and en- lightening the whole nation. — Louis-Sebastian M. Mercier." Figures and deductions were collected from a questionnaire sent out in 1918 to some thirty of the leading colleges and universities of the coim- try — from California and Texas, to Maine and Virginia. Only co-educational institutions were addressed, and the larger proportion was state colleges or universities, as it seemed desirable to ascertain what the attitude of the people's institu- tions is toward dramatic activities. It was in the hope that more constructive attention and legisla- tion might be given to this important field and its proper educational function, that this question- 22 DRAMATIC PRODUCTION 23 naire was undertaken, and it is in the same hope that the results are here submitted. Following is a hst of the twelve questions asked, together with the letter which accompanied each set of questions. Replies were received from twenty-seven institutions, and the writer takes this opportunity to thank those who were kind enough to give full and helpful answers, and in some cases to send useful material. The Questionnaire Institution : Answered by : Title or position : 1. How many Dramatic Clubs for men? Women? M. & W.? 2. Which do you think the better policy in co-educational schools^ to have clubs co-educational or separate? 3. To what extent are clubs under faculty supervision and guidance? 4f. Do they give out-of-town performances? 5. Does the out-of-town performance offer advantages in added interest, training, receipts, assistance to communi- ties in the bettering of dramatics, sufficient to warrant urg- ing its allowance ? 6. Are productions made in University buildings or out- side ? 7. If outside, are clubs put under heavy financial burden in rental? 8. If given in University buildings, are the producing elements adequate, viz : 24 CHOOSING A PLAY a. Size of stage. b. Lighting. c. Scenery. 9. Are the producing elements adequate outside, as above, viz: a. Size of stage. b. Lighting. c. Scenery. 10. Do clubs do original writing or producing? 11. Is a special "coach" engaged from outside the uni- versity ? 12. If special coach is not secured, what faculty mem- ber has the work in charge? The letter read as follows : "I am conducting an investigation concerning dramatics as pursued in, and fostered by, various universities and colleges in the United States. May I engage your interest and assistance in the answering of the enclosed questions? "It is my belief that dramatic activities are given too little place in the regular work of our higher education institutions, and that they are considered entirely too much as an extra-curricular matter. As a result, too little en- couragement is given in the way of careful and competent direction, and adequate or even appropriate opportunity for rehearsal and production. "Anything you care to add in the way of a personal letter touching upon these questions, or on the matter as a whole, will be gratefully received and carefully considered. May we not hope to accomplish something for Dramatics through this questionnaire? "If you are interested in the results I shall be glad to DRAMATIC PRODUCTION 25 hear from you and to send you whatever material I have gathered." Tabulations from the replies gave the follow- ing results : No. 1 Number of clubs for men. 11 (5 musical comedy) 6 dramdtic Number of clubs for women 8 Number of co-ed. clubs 34 No. 2. The better policy. Co-educational , 2 Place for both No view Separate and co-operate Either Both work well Separate, never tried the other. •■ ■. No. S. Faculty Supervision. Censorship ■ 6 Advisory , 6 None at all 4 Assistance Supervision Indeterminate Guides Direct Guidance No. 4. Out of town performances. Yes 11 No 8 Through extension 3 At times 3 No answer 2 26 CHOOSING A PLAY No. 5. Does out of town pay? Yes 11 No 4 No answer 5 Except in money 2 Uncertain 5 No. 8. Producing conditions in college buildings. Excellent , 1 Good 5 Fair 3 Poor 12 No. 9. Producing elements outside college buildings. Excellent 2 Good 14 Fair 3 Poor 2 No. 7- Expense incurred in producing outside college buildings. On a per cent, basis 3 No answer 1 Under heavy expense 23 No. 10. Original writing. Yes 2 No 17 A Little 5 One act plays 2 Men's Musical Comedy 1 No. II. Special Coach. No 14 Yes ,. 5 At times , S Musical Comedy ^ S DRAMATIC PRODUCTION 27 No. 12. Department doing most of the directing if out- side coach is not engaged. Public Speaking 17 English 3 Anyone 3 No coaching 4 About half of those addressed expressed some interest in the effort of the questionnaire, sending helpful letters and data. Eight, only, cared to receive word of the results. A careful consideration of this data is disheart- ening, but, with the above facts before us, one need no longer wonder that Dramatics remain the most utterly extra curricular step-child, a thing to be conscientiously censored. Treated as a stranger, entirely outside the educational household, it is hardly to be supposed that much of constructive value may be expected from it. It is easy to see that the presenting opportuni- ties are utterly inadequate, and, apparently, there is little or no attempt to provide anything ade- quate. Students are obliged to depend upon a college audience, and they must meet the undue expense, which they are boimd to incur, produc- ing in outside facilities. Faculties object to the 28 CHOOSING A PLAY class of material presented, and yet, the students have no alternative but to present a class of ma- terial that will appeal to the average college group. Fifty-three clubs are reported in these twenty- seven schools. These are permitted to exist, but given no assistance to make them the constructive power in dramatic taste of which they are capable. Usually performances can be given only on week- end evenings, when even a student audience, of any size, or of a representative nature, is entirely a gamble, because competition of all week-end activities, of dances, parties, and the like, must be reckoned with. The question of the personnel of clubs has been raised in some places. In this connection it is interesting to note that thirty-four of the groups comprise both men and women, while of the eleven comprising men alone, five are musical comedy clubs, men taking the women's parts in more or less burlesque fashion. This leaves but six dramatic clubs for men alone, and eight for women. It is the opinion of twenty-one, who re- ply in very definite fashion, that the co-educa- DRAMATIC PRODUCTION 29 tional group offers the only constructive oppor- tunity. Administrators, who are adverse to even dis- cussing the potential influence for good which presentations taken from the state institutions to other towns might exercise on these communities, should be interested in the following figures. In seventeen of the twenty-seven colleges, out-of- town performances are not prohibited. This is exclusive of the musical-comedy clubs composed entirely of men. These clubs exist, apparently, for the sole purpose of taking out-of-town trips, and their value to other communities is never questioned, — even though the public is all but lost in a sea of hopelessly inane, and useless musical comedy slush. Walter Pritchard Eaton in a recent article on "The American Theater and Reconstruction," ^ says, "A majority of the American people — and I beUeve, if the figures could be ascertained, a stupendous majority — are, at the present time, utterly beyond the reach of any influence the drama might exert." The 1 Eaton, Walter Pritchard, "The American Theater and Recon- struction." "Theater Arts Magazine,'' Jan., 1919. 30 CHOOSING A PLAY drama has, in all ages, been a constructive force in the life of the people and nation where it flour- ished. It has yet to be proved that musical comedy has any right to existence on any similar basis. Perhaps the most interesting reports, from some points of view, were under the heading of faculty connections. In seven instances out of the twenty-seven, there is direct faculty guidance and assistance. Four say frankly there is none at all, six censor, and the advisory situation is really only another term for censorship. There are six of these, while the terminology used by the rest to explain whatever connection there is, is illuminating in itself. Most of the directing of this activity is in the hands of the department of Pubhc Speaking. The work is certainly public speaking, and I know of no other department which should be so interested in seeing dramatic activity assume its proper place in the educational curriculum. I submit, however, that a competent coach of debate, or a teacher of argumentation, is not necessarily competent to produce a play. Also, DRAMATIC PRODUCTION 31 I doubt if many such would feel the necessity of putting dramatic activity on a par with their debate work, much less, of seeing that it might have even more significance than that activity. In any case, the work of dramatics is being done successfully and correctly, with full authoritative backing, only by men and women whose interests are first and last in this field. For such depart- ments as have chairmen whose interests are else^ where primarily, an instructor of the proper cali- ber and training, who shall be paid a proper salary, and not be dependent on some portion of the proceeds of each given performance, would go far to better the situation. People really trained and fitted for this position are few, and, when found, can command and deserve a place on any faculty, and a salary worthy of their powers. Under such conditions, dramatic activity has been carried on. In the changes to be made in the administration of education, is it impossible to bring this activity into its rightful relation to the life of the educational institutions, and thus assist in making it a constructive force in the 32 CHOOSING A PLAY civic life of our communities? Mr. Eaton, whose article I have already quoted, says again, that in our reconstruction work dramatically, "we must strengthen all our independent (free of the trusts) playhouses everywhere, by making com- munities dramatically alive, by encouraging municipal recognition of the drama in practical form, by counteracting the dreadful blight of the movies wherever possible, especially through neighborhood playhouses and people's theaters and amateur groups and the schools. Every school should have, and some day will have, a stage and teach Shakespeare in action, to which end I believe the Drama League branches should seek everywhere to elect at least one member to the local school board." He adds, that today the trained capacity for dramatic judgment is non- existent, save in the two producing centers of this great country, New York, and in a much smaller way, Chicago. And still educational institutions have no place for educational work in dramatics ! It is clear to those, who give constructive thought to the matter of dramatic production, that in no one direction do state supported insti- DRAMATIC PRODUCTION 33 tutions owe a greater debt to the community and nation they serve, than in this very matter. The life of a nation, moral, social, artistic, even po- litical and economic, is not and cannot be separ- ated from its amusements. And yet, in these our great institutions of learning, save in some three or four instances, in the whole country, where are these problems attacked? What effort is made to establish taste and appreciation so that some- thing beside musical comedy and cheap thrillers may be appreciated? Is it no shame to these in- stitutions that, as a nation, we are almost without artistic taste in any direction, and are so rated by other nations ? "A national art consciousness, a national art unity is what is needed. Such a condition is at present impossible in America; and to the fact that it has been so long impossible I believe we can trace no little of our national indifference to vital drama, and our lack of a liv- ing relation to the theater. Further, so long as it remains impossible, I believe any attempt, or any hope, to make the drama serve national heeds in reconstruction will be vain. And by national needs in reconstruction I hold not the 34 CHOOSING A PLAY least to be a living contact with beauty, with things of the imagination, of the spirit, of the creative mind, with the great art works of other nations as well as our own, with things serious and abstract as well as frivolous and materialistic." I again quote Mr. Eaton. Courses are offered in our educational cur- ricula about the drama as a structure, and about dramatists. To what end? Academic to be sure, and the rest is silence- When the students, in such courses, have satisfactorily written their examination at the end of the course, all educa- tional (?) ends have been satisfied. Where is play- writing to be encouraged? Only in the offices of the syndicates? We find a great many people who object to the sort of plays produced, but when and where is the brand to be bettered? Such efforts, as are put forth, are again academic. Cannot we understand that this activity to be of any real value, must have a place in which to operate in actual experi- ment? Producers object to attempts which come to their hands, because they have exactly the mark they might be expected to have, never DRAMATIC PRODUCTION 35 having any foundation save good English struc- ture, and a theorized form. Students could be interested in the arduous task of perfecting them- selves in this form of writing, if only they could go clear through the activity of seeing their at- tempt have actual presentation with something like adequate production. Trusts are discussed, civic problems are labored over, economics in all sorts receive full attention in our accredited classes. What of the full and complete subsidization of our theaters, visited by all classes to see whatever fare the syndicate sets forth, at whatever price it chooses to fix? Our young men are sent out versed in business ideals along many lines, prepared to seek legislation, to do constructive civic work. Is this not a field worthy of their best labors? We are told that the class of students inter- ested in dramatics is not of the highest type ; that very often their grades are among the lowest, and that only a small number are interested anyway. If this be true, is there any likelihood that a larger and more important group can be inter- ested in this activity and its problems, so long 36 CHOOSING A PLAY as our college faculties and authorities refuse even to consider the subject of dramatic presenta- tion, in other than the hopelessly defaming light of the completely extj-a-curricula activity, giving it no constructive assistance in any particular? The past few years have seen an attempt, more wide spread and far reaching than any previous one, to effect a change in affairs dramatic in this country. The movement has not been confined to this country. Indeed, our attempt is largely due to inspiration from abroad. Greater gains have been made in other countries than in ours, because of national interest, legislation, and back- ing. Anything national in this direction in this country is to be hoped for in the reconstruction period. Hope springs eternal, and so I say, we may hope! Work of great importance has been done in France, in Germany, in Russia, and in England. To the cause in this country, men and women of the highest culture and training, col- lege men and women, have given and still are giving, their best thought and effort. Two things block them at every turn, an enormously wealthy syndicate with its bought and paid for DRAMATIC PRODUCTION 37 press "criticism," and a public with little taste for things artistic in any form. It is in this problem of the public that educational institutions, of every rank, should take a part, and a prominent one. Their opportunity is with that vast number which is to go out year after year to affect, to make, indeed, the standards of our communities in this as in other fields. Our theatrical purveyors of best paying goods, assure us that they produce what the public wants ! Surely we are lost already if this is true. But it is not. Which public does the syndicate refer to? Is there only one? "It is a mistake to say that the public demands what it shall have, since that presupposes some standard already fixed by the public, and up to now so far as its taste is concerned, the American public has not set up one requirement." ^ "The continental public has gone dramatically to school for several centuries; it is artistically grown up, reasonably mature. Ours has been left to shift aimlessly for its schooling, practically unprovided by our the- aters with formative disciphne in art, good taste, 2 Hopkins, Arthur, "How 's Your Second Act?" p. 19. 38 CHOOSING A PLAY or ideas, while it has spent its time crying for meaningless diversion, for which, for a consider- ation, it has been provided, ad nauseam, with the result that, like a spoiled child, it has lost all idea of what it is crying for." ^ These words, coming from men well known in the dramatic world must carry some weight on the question of audience. And in this connec- tion, in a recent number of the "Fortnightly Re- view," * we find a noted English actor and scholar touching upon the same points we are trying to emphasize. Reviewing this, the London corre- spondent of the "Christian Science Monitor" writes, in part, as follows: "We have established a vicious circle, within which the public are given, and again in turn are taught to ask for, work that can serve no better purpose than that of whil- ing away a leisure hour. "Now this condition of things dramatic must end. The moral forces that war has nurtured among the democracies of the world, will not permit an instrument, so potential for good as the sMacKaye, Percy, "The Playhouse and the Play," p. 166. * Eadie, Dennis, "What is the Matter with the Theater?" Fort- nightly Review, Nov. 1918. DRAMATIC PRODUCTION 39 drama, to be exploited solely for the benefit of men of affairs. Means for restoring the player's art to the place that Shakespeare rightly claimed for it — as a mirror of the best thought of the time — ^will certainly be fomid. What is to be the nature of those means, we do not yet know; but they may perhaps be intelhgently anticipated. Among the more obvious will be the establish- ment of state-endowed theaters and opera houses which, by encouraging a taste for sound drama well acted and simply produced at low prices, wiU compete strongly with the production of rich syn- dicates; and will encourage less wealthy actor- managers, and producers with ideals again to venture upon the presentation of drama of which they need not be ashamed. "But the vital determining means of dehver- ance from present conditions are to be sought and found deeper down in the national consciousness. Those interested in the theater as an institution with a larger purpose than idle entertainment on the one hand or mere money-making on the other — and they are more in number than is generally supposed — must encourage in every possible way 40 CHOOSING A PLAY — ^by presentation and production, by pen, by purse, by propaganda — ^the acceptance of a national drama, as an integral part of a wider national scheme of education." ® Here, it seems to me, is work worthy of the best eif orts of the best in educational curricula. Dra- matic presentation and the community are mutually dependent on each other ; dramatic pres- entation depending for its existence on the sup- port of the people, and for its standards upon the standards set by the people; and there must be created in the people a desire for what is good in the theater. To accomphsh this we should begin with the children in the elementary schools. How can we expect to bring up a generation which will evolve into an educated and discriminating audience, if we allow our children to believe that the height of dramatic excellence lies in western film dramas and Keystone comedies, and "lies and lies!" Children's theaters, supported by public funds, and participated in, and attended frequently, by 6 "Christian Science Monitor." "Dramatists of Coming Years." Jan. 28, 1919. DRAMATIC PRODUCTION 41 all the children in the city, will be of inestimable value in supporting the dramatic education in the schools. Such theaters are already operative in New York and in San Francisco. Between these two points there is yet considerable territory to be reached 1 Conceptions of the drama and of dramatic pro- duction in all its phases, gained by pupils of high school age, are likely to be the conceptions they will retain as standards. Secondary education, therefore, ought rightly to include possibilities for rather broad training in the field of dramatics. The principles of good production should be learned by experimentation, which should be car- ried on along extensive lines. Ideally, all the pupils would have a fair opportunity to work with the drama in its many phases, and so, in Mr. MacKaye's words, go "dramatically to school." The dramatic activity in our high schools under the present system, which allows only a small selected group to work intensively on an annual class or school play, is of very meager influence. Extensive participation in various productions will inevitably result in an interest in, and an un- 42 CHOOSING A PLAY derstanding of, dramatic values. I will not take time here to name the departments of the high schools, whose interest and assistance should be engaged in this activity. The object should be to destroy the old idea that only a few "gifted" actors and actresses in embryo, are the only peo- ple to be interested in, or to profit by, dramatic activities. I believe the high schools, far more than the higher institutions of learning, have realized the possibilities in this field, and as a whole have done much better work in organizing it to its best advantage. They have the greatest opportunity. They deal with the greatest number, and can go far to mould taste and spread knowledge in the community with which they come in close and direct contact. One serious matter should be brought to the attention of principals and those in charge of dra- matic production, i. e., the way in which the f imds from such production are disbursed. In several simimers' experience with teachers, I find when I ask what is the greatest hindrance to progress in the work of dramatics, they say that it is lack of DRAMATIC PRODUCTION 43 proper producing elements. They add, however, this need not be so, if only some portion of the income from productions might go into improve- ments. They say the students are eager and will- ing to work for such ends, as are the teachers themselves. The principal, however, has other ideas, and in far too many cases, we have subsi- dization of quite as heinous a sort as the syndicate evidences. The proceeds of athletics are turned back to athletics in great part, if only to pay the salary of the most competent director available. The money from a play on the other hand, may be appropriated for almost any school use, from a drinking f ovmtain to a printing press — ^with no voice given to those who have produced the same. Not that it is inappropriate to make this activity prove its use, in some measure, after this fashion, but that constructive interest cannot grow, nor the proper producing elements be increased, un- less a portion of the proceeds of every perform- ance be turned back to a fund for the betterment of dramatics, and imless more than one person shall decide how the money shall be distributed. But it is to the colleges and higher institutions 44 CHOOSING A PLAY we must look finally, if we are to have leaders in this field of endeavor. As the situation now stands, we have seen that the assistance rendered the dramatic condition of our country by our educational institutions is practically negligible. In general, the part the college courses and col- lege dramatic societies have played in the new movement, has been greatly exaggerated. Cer- tain narrow isolated phases of the drama and of production, studied by a small and unrepresenta- tive number of students, have been hailed and exalted as of great assistance in the field of dra- matic and theatrical improvement. To teach playwriting to thirty or forty students, or to pre- pare a few trained scenic artists is not to improve the general theatrical situation to any degree. Not until we can send out into the world a large number of college graduates with a broad under- standing of the whole comprehensive field of the- atrical production and its relation to the hfe of the nation, will we be rightly helping the situation Dramatic production in its broadest conception should be studied in our colleges and universities as other great social and economic problems are DRAMATIC PRODUCTION 45 studied, and academic credit should not be denied courses in such a vitally important and humanly necessary subject. When the dramatic education of our audiences is on its way, then will the Little Theater, the pageant, the local stock company, and other efforts to improve the forms of theatrical activity, come into their own. As a correlated activity, and as a secondary aid to public education, they will be invaluable in keeping the standards of dramatic production high. When the public is awakened to the realization of the necessity to improve a great human institution, like the theater, by creating within itself a unity of ideal and taste, then we need no longer worry about being imposed upon by the low standards of a theatrical syndicate. Without the toleration and support of the public, the commercialized theater will be unable to exist. The solution of the whole problem lies through one medium only — the edu- cation of the people. This, it seems to me, rests very much more in the hands of the educational authorities, than they have remotely conceived. It is time to ask their full consideration. The 46 CHOOSING A PLAY welfare of dramatic production in America is in the hands of the educational institutions. It is theirs to cherish or stifle, and the problem is second to none in its sociological aspects and importance. If, as directors of this work, we have failed to build as large as we should, if we have not fought as good a fight as we might, now is the time to make a new effort. Writers of plays are needed, trained directors are at a premium, artists, in line and color, have more opportunity than years of dramatic production have seen. Critics of real value in taste and vision, as well as sound dra- matic knowledge, who are unafraid of the syndicate, were never more in demand; even theater architecture is engaging the attention of the most competent builders. All this comes rightly under the head of dramatic ac- tivities. Literature on the subject, we have in a larger and more authoritative body than ever before. Surely the field warrants oiu* united and untiring efforts, to place dramatic produc- tion among the accredited subjects in any cur- riculum. Three things militate against the work. DRAMATIC PRODUCTION 47 First and always, inadequate producing possibili- ties; second, the lack of a regularly recognized faculty member, with rank and salary compar- able to any, to teach dramatics in courses that shall receive academic credit ; and third, freedom to work out the problems of this field without censorship ! Perhaps this evil would be removed if the second element were always present. Cer- tainly it should be. Let it not be overlooked by any one who reads this article, that it is as useless to attempt to carry on successful courses along any of these lines, with theory predominating, and with no adequate facilities for experimentation and complete pres- entation, as it is to teach painting without canvas and colors, or sculpture without chisel and marble. If our educational institutions are interested to better the standards of dramatic presentation in America, let an adequate place for that presenta- tion be provided in every such institution in the country. CHAPTER III WHY THE ONE-ACT PLAY? For all who are really interested to produce worth-while material the place and importance of the above named form of dramatic literature can- not be overlooked nor underestimated. The rise and activity of the Little Theaters has made possible the use of more material in one-act form than has been before feasible. One- act plays of a poorer sort have been used for a long time by clubs desiring the most trivial sort of entertainment, and as an act on the vaudeville stage, or as a curtain raiser. By far the greater part of all this material has been of an impossible sort, with no theme worth the naming, and less structiu'e. The material now available is of an entirely different sort and worthy to be classed as literature. Much of it indeed is from the pen of some of the ablest of writers of literature in 48 WHY THE ONE-ACT PLAY? 49 dramatic and other forms. Witness such names as Barrie, Shaw, Lady Gregory, Dunsany, Yeats, Synge, Chapin, Brighouse, Hausman, and many others abroad, while the names of Percy Mackaye, Susan Glaspell, Howard Brock, Ridgley Tor- rence, Ahce Gerstenberg, Eugene O'Neill and Hartley Manners are only a few of the writers who have produced valuable literature in this form in this country. College and University groups have been quick to see the advantages in the use of this form of the drama and much good has been accomphshed by their presentation of one-act plays. This writing and presentation has been encouraged largely, as I said, by the wider use of the form in this country, and more par- ticularly, perhaps, by the use of the one-act play in the best theaters of Europe. Mr. Lewis, Associate Professor of English in the University of Utah, author of "The Tech- nique of the One- Act Play," has the following to say in a recent bulletin sent out by that Univer- sity : "The one-act play is challenging our atten- tion whether we will or no. It is the most con- spicuous factor in present-day dramatic activity. 50 CHOOSING A PLAY It is not the three-act play that is foremost in these times; but it is the one-act form that is receiving the consideration of those interested in the drama. Theater managers in both Europe and America, stage designers the world over, actors, dramatists themselves, and likewise the professors in colleges and universities recognize its presence as a vital force. Professionals and amateurs alike are de- voting most zealous energies to both the writing and the producing of the shorter dramatic form." ^ While this is rather fulsome laudation of the place and importance of this form, it serves to show the sort of interest and attention being given to this matter of the one-act play. It is an interest and attention which should be fostered by all who care for the betterment of dramatic ac- tivity in the schools and on the legitimate stage. Doubtless there are objections to the use of this form as compared with longer plays, but it is also true that there is much to be said in favor of their use. It is not to be expected that a long theme will be developed, it is not desired. Indeed, the 1 "The One-Act Play In the Colleges and High Schools." Lewis, Extension Series, No. 2, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah. WHY THE ONE- ACT PLAY? 51 added intensity of treatment which is possible in the one-act play is one of its chief advantages. To quote again from Mr. Lewis' bulletin, "It must not be thought that because the one-act play deals with but one crisis or situation, it is weak and inconsequential; on the contrary, since only one event or situation can be emphasized, it fol- lows that the writer is obliged to choose the one determining crisis which makes or mars the su- preme struggle of a soul, the one great change or turning point or end of a life history. Such mo- ments are the really vital material for drama; nothing affords more wonderful opportunity for striking analysis, for emotional stress, for the sug- gestion of a whole character sketched in the act of meeting its test. To segregate a bit of signifi- cant experience and to present a finished picture of its aspects and effects; to dissect a motive so searchingly and skilfully that its very roots are laid bare; to detach a single figure from a dra- matic sequence and portray a sketch of its char- acter ; to bring a series of actions into clear light in a sudden and brief human crisis ; to tell a sig- nificant story briefly and with suggestion; to por- 52 CHOOSING A PLAY tray the humor of a person or an accident, or in a triCe, to reveal the touch of tragedy resting Uke the finger of fate on an experience or on a char- acter — these are some of the possibiUties of the one-act play when handled by a master drama- tist." I am well aware that smaller schools and towns are not accustomed to the program of one-act plays, and it will take a bit of management to have them accepted at first. It is worth the effort and the trial will, in most cases, convince you that the attempt was a distinct advance in your dra- matic activity. There are specific advantages which may be urged, and which will be at once appreciated. Usually the one-act play calls for a smaller royalty and this is a decided advantage to the small school which is ambitious to do some- thing better than of old. Again, more people can be fitted with better parts than is ever possible with one long play. That there is not the same value of sustained activity as in a longer part, I know, but not half the amateurs engaged in this activity are capable of attaining the same degree of success when called upon to sustain the situa- WHY THE ONE-ACT PLAY? 53 tion of their character for the space of three or more acts. At least, this requires amateurs of age, training and experience. A great variety is possible in a program of one-act plays. Fancy, comedy in all degrees, poetry, tragedy, and all shades of characterization are available. There is also a wide latitude in the matter of costume and stage settings. Again the literature of Russia, Grermany, France, England, Italy and Spain may be read and acted in this form. Many of the longer plays of these countries are impos- sible for amateur use because of the nature of the themes treated. Several of the foremost writers of literary merit in each of these countries are represented in the one-act play form. In a discussion of the values of the one-act play in Mr. Clayton Hamilton's "Studies in Stagecraft," he speaks in the highest terms of the desirabihty of the one-act play for amateurs. He says : "To encourage amateur acting is to prepare an audience for the keen appreciation of the pro- fessional theater; and any policy that meets the needs of amateurs should therefore be encour- aged." I urge that all directors of amateur dra- 54 CHOOSING A PLAY matics give one-act plays a thoroly fair considera- tion and trial. They will prove invaluable in many otherwise unsolvable situations. A glance at the lists which follow and which are by no means complete, wiU assure one of the amount of good material available in this form. The first list of over seventy books which contain only one-acts, comprises a group of over three himdred plays. The next list of plays of a very good sort, has over seventy, the other three lists comprise a hundred more, and brings the total to very nearly five hundred plays listed in these lists alone. I hope they may serve as a guide and an inspiration to the doing of better things. (See Part II, Sections V, VI, and VII for lists of one-act plays.) CHAPTER IV DRAMATICS IN THE HIGH SCHOOL (Under tay direction a questionnaire was sent in the spring of 1920 to 98 of the High Schools of Wisconsin, in towns of 3000 and over. The questions had to do with the grade of plays pro- duced in the past five years, with titles of plays, amount of royalty paid, conditions for producing, and who did the directing. Re- plies were tabulated and deductions and observations made from the data received by R. E. Holcombe.) That the question of bettering the situation of high school dramatics is of paramount importance to the high schools, is attested by the fact that three-quarters of the replies to this questionnaire contained requests for a copy of the results. The greatest problem which presents itself is, apparently, the choice of material. The prin- cipal of one of the largest High Schools, in an- swer to the inquiry as to the attitude of the prin- cipal toward this work, states very clearly the importance of the choice of material. "In reply to your letter asking my attitude toward dramatics in the high school, I am very 55 56 CHOOSING A PLAY glad to be able to express an opinion, since it must be only an opinion as we have no means at present of measuring the value that our dramatic work is to the school. However, from apparent results obtained, I would say that it is one of the most important of our activities. "We see the effect of our training on our pupils in that for foiu* or five years after they have left our school they apparently enjoy participation in the reproduction of good plays. They also enjoy listening to the reading and production of high grade work by other people. Our pupils have an appreciation of good things that they never would have had were it not for the excellence of the work done by our Dramatic Department. "I feel that our choice of plays is largely re- sponsible for this effect on our pupils. I cer- tainly condemn the spending of time and energy on cheap plays and trashy lines. I do not believe that the time of teachers or pupils should be given to such stuff. I do know that the work our pupils have done in producing the works of Shakespeare and other dramatists of high order more thankfully repays the time spent in their DRAMATICS 57 production. When I see other schools wasting their time on silly plays of no literary value and of no particular dramatic merit, it makes my heart ache. So I think that a dramatic depart- ment that gives attention to the production of the best things in literature is one of the strongest possibilities for good in the school; whereas, if the time of the dramatic department is given to trashy things, my opinion is that the work could be better left undone." Again and again, we find that in the smaller schools the choice of material is a matter which is given very little serious consideration. In this connection a nimiber of diflScult situations arise. Perhaps the person delegated to direct has once starred in "The Merchant of Venice, Up-to-date." Therefore, it is expedient that they pass down this valuable ( ?) play to posterity via the Senior Class. Or perhaps the principal "waylays" the director some noon to say that "so-and-so, son of the banker, influential with the school board, that is, — ah — er" — etc. — and the cast appears with the banker's son in the leading role — and, mind you, the play must be suited to show off 58 CHOOSING A PLAY "son" as a young Lochinvar even though he is naturally quite unfitted for so heroic a role. In the smaller towns it is too often the case that poor material is appreciated far beyond its worth because the end in view is that of showing off daughter "Bess." If Henry can stand out from the rest, even to say, "The carriage awaits," the fond parents are satisfied and the play is excel- lent. For this type of difficulty I can only say, "Make the best of it." You can work gradually out of it by a httle foresight and a generous amount of diplomacy always backed with knowledge such as a director should have. An exceedingly difficult situation to meet is the one voiced by those who say that better mate- rial would not be "the thing" for our town, "they just wouldn't stand for it. We have to give them what they want." This reaction seldom comes from those who have tried anything but this same trash year in, year out. "What the audience wants!" Breathes there an audience that knows what it wants? Ask typical theater goers what they want in theatrical amusement and then follow them to the theater and see what DRAMATICS 59 they applaud, — something exactly the opposite of that which they expressed a desire to see. The questionnaire paid special attention to this one matter, "What part has the audience in determining the choice of material to be used?" In a majority of cases the answer was, "None," though, it was suggested that in many of the smaller towns this is not the case. However, even in the smaller towns, it is within the director's power to steer in the direction of better material though that power is not absolute. The director has the opportunity of bringing the high school play out of the rut of the trashy, gushy play, with its babbling lines to something a little more worth while. By plays of the "bet- ter sort" I do not mean that one should jump froitn "The Blossoming of Mary Anne," to Mil ton's "Comus," or to any artistic fantasy of an aesthetic type, but that, at least, one should not go from one year's "Fascinating Fanny Brown" to a next year's "Treacherous Tillie Tompkins" con- tinuously. It is only by taking to the up-grade that we can ever hope to gain our goal in high school dramatics. 60 CHOOSING A PLAY The royalty element does, of course, influence the choice in a great many instances, and is an insurmountable barrier to many right thinking directors. The idea of its being impossible to pay any royalty, however, should be discouraged. Although a great many no-royalty plays may be suitable for high school production, it is true that the most desirable plays carry a royalty of from five dollars to fifty dollars. The plays carrying royalties of from five to fifteen dollars are, how- ever, the most desirable of these, since they are best suited to the ability of high school students, and to the conditions of staging on small stages. In many cases the management can well afford to pay for good material, but it does not like to — in fact, it almost insists upon a no-royalty play. In one instance, a principal told me that out of the play funds twenty-five dollars was gladly paid to decorate the hall for the dance to be held after the play, but that a play of no merit was chosen, instead of a worth-while piece, merely be- cause it was deemed impossible to pay a fifteen dollar royalty. Good material, though it may cost fifteen dollars, and necessitate volunteer DRAMATICS 61 work and contributions in the decoration of the hall, will result threefold in the effectiveness of the play over any other amount expended in the interests of the play. With the procuring of good material, a tangible, real and vital link in the educational value of this activity is being welded. With acceptable material chosen, the place and conditions of production must next be considered. In the smaller towns, the high schools must either present in the town opera house or hall, or in the high school, on the shelf called a stage. In the case of the opera house, the cast often is not allowed to rehearse on the stage, and in many instances the rental price is exorbitant. Too often it is true that the school does not make the best use of the resources available. The greatest mistake, on the smaller stages with inadequate equipment, is that of trying to be too literal. A few suggestive details, carefully worked out, wiU add much to the atmosphere of the play, while an attempt at realism will invariably fail because of inadequate means at hand. Pieces of 62 CHOOSING A PLAY tapestry hung here and there, on the burlap cur- tains, covering the back walls of the stage, with a rug thrown over a heavily built chair, furnished the suggestion of a room in a castle in a most effective school play, recently produced. The use of screens, curtains, or even a wall paper to cover some of the atrocious daubings called scenery, will do much to improve the situation in which you find yourself placed. As to the lighting, if it is decidedly poor, the ingenuity of the high school senior in that field is often of great assistance. Set a student at work upon the prob- lem, tell him exactly what you want — and the director should know what is wanted — and most desirable results may be attained. In all phases of production make the most of the means at hand. Some of the directors of dramatics complain that principals directly oppose the work on the ground that it takes time away from other work. Another situation, of which I was told by a pupil in the school in question, was this : The play, which the school had just staged, took up five weeks in preparation, the last three of which represented DRAMATICS 63 an entire loss of school work on the part of the cast and upset the school generally, so that, ac- cording to the principal, himself, the whole school might just as well have been excused. Now, here is a situation to be met. More criticism has been offered upon this point than on any other. Prin- cipals speak of the play as a necessary evil for they know, in a great many cases, that it is virtu- ally a "time out" proposition. The dramatic department can be made or broken right at this point. What is the solution? In one high school this footnote appears at the bottom of the announcement of the cast of each play: "I will insist upon a maintenance of high grades through- out the time taken up with the play. No excuse whatsoever will be issued on the grounds of your being in the play. I reserve the right to take any student from the cast and substitute in case of delinquency." There is the remedy for the difficulty and it has worked for eight years, with the result that faculty and principal cooperate with the department, for they recognize the educa- tional value of the activity. A director has the situation in his own hands to a great extent. 64 CHOOSING A PLAY and he should protect his position. No other edu- cational activity wastes the time of other studies, and so it should be with dramatic study. Place this activity on a par with the other studies, cease treating it as an "outside activity" and this com- plaint of lost time will be unnecessary. In order that the dramatic work of the high school may be taken out of the category of an "outside activity" in which it has been considered, it must first be brought into harmonious coopera- tion with the other educational activities of the school. Where the coach finds himself in dis- favor, he will do well to go over his work with that view in mind. Examples could be cited of high schools where dramatics was considered as an outside activity, and where now it is considered as a distinct factor in the educational curriculum. The change has been due almost entirely to the coach. When a school reaches such a point that the dramatic department is referred to as a source of added interest in English work, of the living out of the History lesson, of the vital- izing of other subjects even to Latin and Mathe- matics, and of adding a zest to the morale of the DRAMATICS 65 school, then the educational importance of its work will be recognized. And it is no insuper- able task for the director to overcome the difficul- ties of the present and rise to such a position. Directors are too often guilty of supposing their lot is a peculiar one and subject to no law or order of the school. What a fallacious assump- tion it is that one should say that since the play work is not done within school hours it cannot be classed with other school activities! Regardless of when the hours come, that time is as valuable and as vital in the training of any high school boy or girl, as any moment spent in the class room. The director has a great responsibility — that of fixing the attitude in which the work is held. A discipline comparable, as far as possible, to that of the History class room, maintained throughout rehearsal of the play, will tell in its effect upon the participants, in the new attitude with which they regard what they are doing. An insistence that they should know their lessons as well as if they were asked by the Latin teacher to recite what they had prepared, will inspire a respect and re- sponsibility for what they had formerly con- 66 CHOOSING A PLAY sidered an admirable opportunity for having a good time. To cooperate with the other depart- ments it is not only necessary that one should not steal his time nor hinder his work, though that is, of course, of signal importance, but furthermore that the dramatic teacher with foresight will seize every opportunity afforded in the way of mutual help in the work. Of late years, every text of educational psy- chology has laid great stress upon the educational value of the utilization of the play instinct. Edu- cators and psychologists have proved beyond question that play, directed, becomes education, and the need for this direction has at last been recognized in such movements as the Finlay- John- son dramatic method of teaching as well as in the organization of countless clubs throughout the United States, the "Mother's Clubs," "Parent's Leagues," "Associations for Child Study," the "Parent-Teachers' Associations," etc. Our edu- cators now realize that education in its truest sense lies in the development of self-expression, the freeing of the agents of expression in the individual. Old methods of formal, static educa- DRAMATICS 67 tion are being revised into a vital, living and breathing self-expression. Every means, which can with proper direction, bring about the most complete self-expression in wholesome channels should be promulgated during the period in which the pupil is attending high school. That means which oflfers the most complete schooling of the emotions as well as the most complete self-expres- sion is found in the high school play. At this time, the drama of the high school can be pre- sented to prepare the growing boy and girl for the drama of life. Reactions to conditions in dramatic play are preparations for reactions to conditions in later life. This preparation and adaptability is what we now understand real edu- cation to be. In all dramatic work the emphasis is not placed upon one element to the exclusion of others, but the aim is toward a full development. The powers of the mind are made keener, the bodily movements made to take on new distinction in ease and decision, the voice is made more pleasing, and the entire human mechanism coordinated into a harmonious whole. In this process the normali- 68 CHOOSING A PLAY ties are tested and the abnormalities shown up for immediate correction. The high school play offers in its educational uplift through a training of the vital physical powers, a preparation for citizenship which will help to free the individual, the group, and the nation from the tragedy of emotional repression. CHAPTER V THE PLACE OF PAGEANTKY IN COMMUNITY LIFE (Much of the work of the following chapter was done under my direction by Geo. H. Shalts, now of Southwest Texas State Normal College.) The interest in out-door production has grown very greatly in the past few years, and while there is a large portion of the country in which climatic conditions will not permit of very much out-door producing, still the interest has been keen. Many teachers and social workers have constructed tableaux, plays and pageants from local material, and although such exhibitions may be crude, they have the marked advantage of ap- pealing to the students and adults of the school and the community. The movement for organ- ized activity, dramatic and otherwise, in the com- munity made great strides forward during the war period when the value of such organization and such activity was fully demonstrated. The 70 CHOOSING A PLAY organizations which had charge of this work at that time are being estabhshed as permanent agencies for social betterment in recreation. So it seems that we should give some consideration, as directors, dramatic instructors, or whatever we may be called, to the place of pageantry in community life. "Our industrial system," writes William Mor- ris, "must provide as a first essential that the products of work shall be a joy to the worker who produces them as well as to the consumer who uses them." But how can such principles apply to the man whose daily work is, let us say, to take merely a typical example, that of turning out the twentieth part of a shoe, a gown or a chair? In the vocations of modem industry the divorce between joy and labor has become too absolute for them to be reconciled. Therefore increasing cry and protest for shorter hours of industrial labor. But to what end? The answer of the foresighted is — Art — the recreative labor of leisure. For by art, freed from industrialism, labor is again reconciled with joy. PAGEANTRY 71 The reorganization of leisure thus becomes stupendously important — ^the real goal of all the vast strivings of our momentous age, in which countless millions are battling desperately, often bUndly, to emancipate the deepest instinct of humanity — ^the need for happiness. Utterly divorced from art in their industrial labor, it is indeed no wonder that the people are slow to conceive art as their only salvation in leisure. Yet, tho they are slow to conceive this truth of themselves, they are very quick to respond to it when demonstrated by the leader- ship of artists. Their astonishing response to the introduction of public music and pageantry dur- ing the last ten years gives ample and auspicious promise for the regeneration of their leisure- No issue, political or industrial, before the pub- he today exceeds in immediate importance, or prophetic meaning, the problem of public recrea- tion. New as the voicing of this issue is in the nation, one may yet, with confidence, predict that it will soon rank among the foremost in the plat- forms of social and pohtical campaigns — and be recognized at the seat of government — for its 72 CHOOSING A PLAY need is as dire as the problems of industrialism which cause it. The use of a nation's leisure is the test of its civilization. Public amusement is a matter of public leisure. No more important consideration exists for a busy people than the matter of its leisure. Day in, day out, and all day long, the typical American is strenuously engaged in hard work — in what is technically called "acts of pro- duction." To what purpose? Presumably for happiness. But happiness — unless work be- comes an end, instead of a means to hfe — is a matter of consumption. In organized leisure certain significant facts are noted: First — organized amusement recog- nizes art, but debases it for private profit. This is true of our commercial theaters, vaudeville houses, moving picture shows, dance halls, etc. Secondly, our leisure where organized for educa- tion or religion, ignores art entirely, while seeking to uplift the public without it. This is true of our public schools, universities, churches, libraries. The notable exceptions are the playground asso- ciations, institutions for public music, and our PAGEANTRY 73 sporadic festivals and pageants. It is these ex- ceptions, though still in great minority, that con- stitute the vital elements of regeneration. Thus merchants and speculators prove themselves more deeply discerning of human nature than edu- cators and philanthropists. The former at least recognize the human craving for art, even while debasing it, and so achieve their own ends. The latter often fail to achieve their nobler ends by ignoring this universal fact. Obviously then, the people prefer art, however crude, to the lack of it, and desire it to the extent of paying money for it in preference to a free but artless public enterprise. That they shall come to prefer fine art to crude or depraved art may only be compassed by cultivating them at the very core of their public amusement. But such culti- vation on a large scale has proved to be incom- patible with private profit. Hence the need of organization of public leisure for public profit. Pageantry satisfies an elemental instinct for art, a popular demand for poetry. This instinct and this demand, like other human instincts and de- mands, are capable of being educated, refined. 74 CHOOSING A PLAY developed into a mighty agency of civilization. Art brings pleasure into life exactly in propor- tion as the people are sharers in the processes of its creation. Athletic games are almost the only recreation left in which great numbers of people actually join. In all other cases professionals are paid to furnish amusement. At the theater, in the concert hall, what is seen or heard is the work of specialists; the majority know nothing from actual experience of what they see and hear. It is this ignorance which has led a few artists to despise their public as incapable of properly un- derstanding art. It is true that most of the arts demand knowledge and skill in technique long and difficult to acquire, hence beyond the reach of a busy industrial population. There are few who can obtain the leisure necessary to learn some- thing of the creative side of painting, or sculpture, or even of music. But fortunately, this need not be true of pageantry. Its whole point lies in the fact that it is not and cannot be the work of a single individual. It is a cooperative art in which there is opportunity for aU to share according to the measure of their time and skill. PAGEANTRY 75 The opportunity to play has largely been taken away from us by organized amusements. We have been forced back into a listless, indifferent audience, instead of being allowed to become a part of the merry-makers themselves. Little by little we have come to feel that all merry-making must be done for us, by people hired to do it, and that all the part we need play in it is to applaud or to criticize. We have grown to think that it is undignified to express joy, that it is only fine and elegant to observe it quietly. Americans as a people have allowed others too long to furnish and commercialize their entertain- ment and their means of social, religious, and patriotic expression. Had the people themselves given voice to these higher emotions of their Uves they would have done much to elevate themselves above the dull routine of the life of our material- istic age. To achieve this end the pageant was developed. It aims to tap the wealth and genius of related arts and to encourage non-professional men and women to make their individual contribu- tions to the common store of talent, which shall find expression in the production of a living 76 CHOOSING A PLAY drama depicting the historical development of their own community or social group. The purpose of the pageant is primarily to educate, to revive or maintain a memory of the past. Historians have long desired a means by which the great mass of people may be made to pause now and then to reflect upon the past and upon the lives of those gone before, and who have laid the foundation for the prosperity and the greatness of the present. The great majority of people read little history. Yovmg America rushes forward, rudely pushing aside the irksome, detaining hand of the past as something of no moment, while around our gas ranges and steam radiators there is but little room to shelter our Lares and Penates. To the world at large the picture of the past will always be dim unless some way can be found of investing dry facts with life and interest so that the stage of history may be once more reconstructed. Humanity has ever been popularizing its history thru the work of the story teller, the bard, the poet, and the novelist, but these agencies have not been sufficient to touch vitally the hves of all the peo- PAGEANTRY 77 pie. Because of this the pageant, the drama of the people, is being hailed as an effective instru- ment which will assist materially in awakening a new interest in history and in creating a new civic interest. As the term "pageant" is now used, it means a dramatic representation of several scenes, either tableaux or miniature integral dramas which are unified by prologues. The real pageant is given out of doors, its spectators number thousands, genuine distance gives its beauty to the produc- tion, the stage is as vast as the eye can reach, and the production aims to reproduce actuality rather than illusion. The giving of a pageant is an act of veneration or of patriotism. At pres- ent it is done to honor town or hero and becomes a great civic rite. This ftinction of the modern pageant one would never wish to change. A play is continuous action on one theme; a pageant is interrupted action on related themes. A play has unities of time, place, or action, while the pageant dispenses with all of these. A play must be given on an indoor or outdoor stage, while the pageant aims to employ the entire landscape, or 78 CHOOSING A PLAY at least in its approaches and backgrounds. On the whole we may say that a pageant is a hybrid, bred between the procession and the play. The play is an indoor product, but the pageant should be an outdoor performance in which the place is the principal character, not the individual. While the primary piu-pose of the modem pageant, then, is to revive or maintain the memory of the past, it should be further used to arouse and promote civic healthfulness and pride. All of this is to be done by the cooperative effort of the entire community. Mr. John A. Gxmdlack, chairman of the executive committee that ar- ranged the Pageant and Masque of St. Louis in 1914, gave voice to the civic value of pageantry when he said, "Our one great hope that has moved us to assume the responsibilities and labor in- volved in this great undertaking is that out of the beauty of art will spring an aroused civic pride and love of home that will develop a sense of community obligation and mutual cooperation of such force as will sweep into being a new era in our municipal life." It is claimed that the public spirit aroused by the St. Louis pageant was re- PAGEANTRY 79 sponsible for the adopting by that city of a new charter against which the political powers of cor- ruption and graft had marshalled their strength. A pageant to be a success should be the work of the entire community. The people of the com- munity must want a pageant and it should be conceived and directed by local talent instead of professional showmen, for no group of people from the outside can come in and do the thing successfully. The true pageant will socialize the community and give a a cohesiveness to its life because it is an entertainment to which all can contribute. As a moral agent, the pageant has a strong value. To condense a century into two and one- half hours makes a rich lesson in social and polit- ical progress. Pageantry is the cleanest and most wholesome form of drama. The commun- ity is given an opportunity for self-expression. The criticisms directed against the theater are lacking against it. Ministers, teachers, and others who oppose the theater from moral con- viction, are vitally interested in the cultivation and success of the community drama. 80 CHOOSING A PLAY The pageant is possible for a community of any size. The small town furnishes the best soil for its growth ; because in it there are fewer distract- ing influences. Unity of feeling and action are therefore more easily acquired. Successful page- ants are given in large cities, but nevertheless it is impossible to bring about the personal responsi- bility and interest in the large city as in the village or town. 'No advertisement of a community is more legitimate and eflfectual than a splendidly organ- ized pageant. Artistic competition in pageantry between cities would stimulate industry, trade and education. To this end, a Master of Pageants should regularly be appointed to public service in each city. Such appointments would neces- sarily associate civic leaders with leaders in the fine arts, an association which would enlarge the horizon of both. However, it is not right to assimae that the highest social value of the pageant may be gained from a spirit of loyal cooperation. If the pa- geant is lacking either in artistic or dramatic qualities it is a failure, for the reason that such PAGEANTRY 81 a pageant does not establish a true standard. Weeks of preparation spent in doing something that is not a work of art leaves behind them only a falsq standard to show for effort expended. No slovenly or inartistic performance may be excused on the ground of the splendid spirit aroused thru the work, or by the fact that the people have had a chance to express themselves. Pageantry must set a high standard of produc- tion. It may be simple, but it must be weU done, or it cheats not only the audience but the per- formers. Last of all the pageant must leave with the people a definite sense of something new in their lives — some definite awakening and response to this new form of art, that stimulates the com- munity or individual with a desire for a more intimate expression in an art form. It may be the beautifying of the town, the formation of a local orchestra, classes in dancing, or organiza- tions for serious dramatic study. The establish- ment of a permanent pageant committee to carry on the spirit of the pageant from year to year is an excellent thing. The historical pageant, the 82 CHOOSING A PLAY celebration of Christmas, Thanksgiving, or local holidays, may offer the opportunity for the com- munity to give to these occasions a new and artis- tic form of commemoration, of such value that they may become occasions of widespread interest, and even give the town national importance, (See Part II, Section XIII, for books and articles on pageantry.) CHAPTER VI NOTES ON ACTING Since most of the acting done in the country is to be seen only in New York, it follows that to study the art first hand one must sojourn there for some time. Failing that, as the great mass of us have to, we may be so fortunate as to see good acting, once in a great while in some other large city, where the syndicate, the producer and actor finally agree to present. By far the greater part of this great country is left in outer darkness dramatically, and neither good nor bad acting is seen. Sad to relate, there is not so much wailing and gnashing of teeth in this same darkness as would be of some import, because the sop of the movies keeps us fed, at least, pacified. To know much about acting then, most of us must read about it. Unfortunately, again, there is n't much writ- ten about it save in the way of criticism of the 83 84 CHOOSING A PLAY latest Broadway production, which may or may not be of value to one who wishes to know about acting. I have gathered together from many sources, various actors and producers of repute and standing, the following notes and present them here in the hope that they may serve to give helpful illumination on some of the problems which humbler directors have to meet. Possibly they will help to answer some of the questions fre- quently asked by both the amateur actor as well as director. David Belasco "The five all-important factors of a good actor or actress are, ability, imagination, industry, patience and loyalty." "Great help may be gained from rehearsals, not only by going through your individual part, but by watching the training of all the others." "Through the eyes of a listener I can form a truer judgment of their emotional capacity and imaginative faculty than in any other way." "It is most important that the individuality of the actor, whatever be the character he is to inter- NOTES ON ACTING 85 pret, be preserved; for individuality is the essen- tial qualification of the great artist. So at the outset I suggest little to my people, in order to make them suggest more. I appeal to their imagination, emotion and intelligence, and draw from them all I can. When I can get no more from them, then I give them all there is in me. I coax and cajole, or bulldoze and torment, accord- ing to the actor's temperament." "The stage director cannot dispassionately ex- plain to his people how he wants them to act, and expect them to throw their whole soul and being into it. He must first, himself, definitely imagine every scene in which they appear, and then lead them up to it by working upon their intelhgence, imagination, and feehngs. But it is also true that no two can be taught ahke." E. H. SOTHEEN "Of the qualities necessary for the actor, I do not think there is any question but imagin3,tion stands first. Then comes intelligence to discover what is the thing to do; then to exercise one's emotion to try and define what one's behaviour 86 CHOOSING A PLAY would be under those imagined circumstances, and then to acquire the means wherewith to ex- press those emotions-^physique, the grace of mind and body which can be cultivated. Gret control of your means, especially the voice." Geoege Arliss "Conserve the more emphatic movements for the more emphatic situations, thus keeping the whole performance on a natural plane. It is a mistake to force the voice. Niceties of inflection are not possible if one constantly uses a heavy voice. Phrasing, too, is very important, to give variety and emphasis to the thought of the play. An arrested attitude tells of mental suspense more graphically than words possibly can." John W. Cope "To give a good performance you should be- lieve in your role, and think the lines at every rehearsal. You should elimirfate every unessen- tial movement of the hands and head, and avoid unnatural incessant facial expression, or as the actor calls it, 'mugging.' " NOTES ON ACTING 87 Granville Barker "The contributory things to the art of acting are not only things that should be studied by us ; they are things that should be studied by every person in the community. There is none of the grace of speech, of the grace of gesture, of the sensitiveness of the general education in expres- sion and understanding; there are none of those things which the actor has to learn which it would not be better for every single member of the com- munity to learn." "The art of producing is almost always the art of leaving well enough alone." Robert D. MacLean "Acting is a matter of sense rather than of mechanics. Mechanics are useless without some- thing to say. Talk sense." "Be direct in your methods to avoid being dif- fuse in interest. Directness means getting the gist of things. Walk and stand naturally. You must not move about or you will lose ground. That seems almost a paradox, but it is true. Do 88 CHOOSING A PLAY not forget that eyes play a large part in acting. A whole gamut of emotions may be expressed with eyes that have been trained to speak. Then, too, voice and gesture cannot be too smooth." Minnie Maddern Fiske "Great acting is a thing of the spirit; in its best estate a conveyance of certain abstract spiritual qualities, with the person of the actor as the medium." "Consider your voice; first, last and always your voice. It is the beginning and the end of acting. Train that until it responds to your thought and purpose with absolute precision. And next your imagination. After all, an actor is exactly as big as his imagination." "The ideal director must possess the ability to teach the young to act. The director's first task is to study the play in its spiritual significance. The director interprets the play. His first busi- ness is to guard the interest, to preserve the in- tegrity of the play. Any director worth his salt must be fit and willing to take oflp his coat and roll up his sleeves." NOTES ON ACTING 89 "Does the actor feel the grief he tries to pic- ture? It is diflferent with different players. I should say he feels an intense sympathy. The intense suffering he may feel in the earlier per- formances becomes a matter of memory. He remembers the method, the symbols, by which at first he gave it expression. He remembers the means, and relying on that memory, need not himself feel so keenly." "The essence of acting is the conveyance of truth through the medium of the actor's mind and person. The science of acting deals with the per- fecting of this medium. The great actors are the luminous ones. Be sure of this, the essence of acting is the expression of the abstract thing, courage, fear, despair, anguish, anger, pity, piety. The great roles are, in that sense, abstractions." Heney Miller "The most important part of the theater is the audience. It 's the third leg of the dramatic milking stool. The actor forms his conception of the part, he plays it as it is seen through his par- ticular temperament; but there is always his 90 CHOOSING A PLAY obligation to the audience. He can create a semblance of naturalness in the part, but not at the expense of being seen and heard. The actor's conception of a role is worth nothing until he gets it over to his audience. He is absorbed in a part but without ever forgetting the audience he is playing to." Joseph Jefferson "Feeling and imagination are above every- thing, but the study of gesture and elocution, if taken in homoeopathic doses and with great care, may be of service, but great effects can be pro- duced only by great feeling, and if the feeling be true and intense the gesture and elocution must obey it. It is safer, however, to study gesture and elocution than to study nothing. Elocution will at least assist one in articulation and this important adjunct is too often slighted on the stage." RicHAED Mansfield "You should speak good English. Very few people do. I am touching here, I think, upon NOTES ON ACTING 91 one of the greatest evils and most formidable troubles. It is here that careful teaching is necessary in the pronunciation of words and the use of the voice. It seems to me that anybody will succeed on the stage, in the church, or at the bar with a truly beautiful voice. Without it, it is hard to work a charm. Learn how to use your voice, not to abuse it; how to preserve it and re- serve it; where to place the voice; never force the voice or betray its limitations." Julia Marlowe "Success is intensity. Idleness is emptiness. Where it is, there the doors are thrown open, and failure troops in. "The stage will be found thoroly worth while to that person who is willing to devote to it as much attention and toil as is given by any skilled craftsman to any particular trade. But a tech- nical knowledge of other arts is distinctly help- ful to the actor." 92 CHOOSING A PLAY Louis Calvert "No matter how much we know about the art of acting, we must depend most of all upon our voice to express it to others." "Tones are most important, I think; and tones can be cultivated, indeed they may be said to be the result of cultivation in the case of most actors ; nature gave them the instrument on which they play, but she did not teach them how to play it." "Begin each word properly ; if we take care of the consonants the vowels will take care of them- selves." "Stage effects do not come by chance, they are the result of studied effort," "Unless there is a definite reason we should never move on another's speech." "After all, repose is what we should aim for. With gesturing, as with almost everything else, the less one does of it the better. Too many gestures are worse than too few. We should never make a big gestin-e where a little one will suffice. Thought should always precede our NOTES ON ACTING 93 gestures, they should always grow from some- thing inside." George Henry Lewis "After the management of the voice, actors most err in the management of the body: they mouth their sentences, and emphasize their gest- ures, in the eflFort to be effective, and in ignor- ance of the psychological conditions on which ef- fects depend." "Gestures, to be effective, must be significant, and to be significant they must be rare." "It is because few actors are sufficiently re- flective that good acting is so rare." "If the actor really feel, he cannot act; but he cannot act unless he feels." "What is called inspiration is the mere hap- hazard of carelessness or incompetence." "Actors learn their parts as singeris learn their songs. Every detail is deliberative, or has been deliberated." CHAPTER VII DETAILS OF COACHING The general details and discussion of the busi- ness-like organization, which makes for success in any dramatic undertaking, large or small, are admirably set forth in Mr. Taylor's book, and should be carefully considered by the amateur coach. In brief — be clear, concise, firm, and business-like in all the conduct and arrangements of any production. I. Casting the play. As to casting the play, the tryout system would seem to offer opportun- ity for the best decisions, all parties considered. It depends again on the individual situation. Often tryouts would be unnecessary and a waste of time, the coach being entirely able to make wise and just choice. If tryouts are used, the parts need not be memorized, and the reading should be done in the lines of the play which is to 94 DETAILS OF COACHING 95 be produced. If the coach has some training in such matters, and is acquainted with the group, decisions should be left entirely in his or her hands. The coach should be thoroly familiar with the play and be able to choose parts clearly and quickly, II. Rehearsing. (Consult Clark, chapters one, two and three, and Taylor, chapter four.) Usually in the average High School, it will not be deemed wise to put more than the minimum of time on a production, and so careful rehearsal ar- rangements should be made. Appropriate place and time should be chosen, and rehearsals fitted to suit the requirements of the regular school schedule. Prompt attendance on all rehearsals can then be demanded and obtained. Six to eight weeks should be sufficient for producing in any circxmastance, and in many cases less time should be sufficient. Five weeks should suffice in a majority of instances. Work of a concen- trated sort for a shorter period is more desirable than fewer rehearsals spread over a longer time. At least, this seems to be the opinion of a great many principals who have the adjustment of the 96 CHOOSING A PLAY entire school schedule in mind. If possible each member of the cast should have a complete copy of the play. In manuscript form this is impossi- ble, and so at the first and second rehearsals the cast should be made familiar with the play as a whole. The coach should always be clear in his own mind as to all points concerning the produc- tion, froin the choosing of the cast to the faU of the fimal curtain. Decision and clarity of 'p'dr- pose are of prime importance in coaching. I find much better results by working one act at a time until it is in fairly good condition, then tak- ing another, and so on, then returning to polish, point up and connect. Parts need not be letter perfect at the first rehearsal, but at a very early time thereafter the cast should be made to do without their lines in the act upon which they are working. They incline to hold to the printed lines much longer than is necessary, and should learn how soon they may trust their memories to serve them. I find rehearsals of two hours not too long. Try to avoid having them all in the evening. Eight hours or more a week should be allowed, full cast rehearsals, on a four or five DETAILS OF COACHING 97 week production. Few acts will run over thirty- five minutes at most, when they are in working shape, and an act of that length is likely to be the longest in the play. I refer more particu- larly to modern plays. Avoid remaining at work on the first act too long, space the time to be put on each act and adhere to the original plan. Frequently, one act of the three or four will be longer, possibly more difficult; often it Avill take longer on the first act simply because it is the first and the actors and coach have to get into the swing of the thing. Make allowances for these things in the rehearsal plans from the first and then go right along. One unaccustomed to the business is likely to spend too much time on details, or on one act that seems not to be quite right, and then suddenly realizes that the time is growing short. Difficult situations in the acts may be given special rehearsals, but, as a principle, avoid the special rehearsal, enough time has been planned for and as little more as possible should be used. Students who have been wisely chosen for the part in the cast usually will sense their lines quite 98 CHOOSING A PLAY clearly. Let them all work along for a time be- fore making many suggestions, and you will be saved from making many. Of course if a part is being wrongly interpreted you will not allow it to go on for any time at all, but don't keep suggest- ing on the lines, etc., for, as I have said, much will arrange itself if given time. When you are ready, clear up as many points as possible at once. Be clear about the stage business, entrances and exits, crosses, and other action almost from the first, and you will be surprised to find, that, given a clear knowledge of where they are to go and when, the cast as a whole falls into the swing of the lines and situations with a degree of ease and spontaneity greatly to be desired. III. Stage business and directions. Most plays contain fairly good directions, some are excellent in this regard. A coach who is really competent should be able to judge these directions at their true worth, appreciating why such crosses and movements are valuable — or the reverse. There are many, however, called upon to put on a play, who do not even know the meaning of the stage terminology, nor up stage from down stage. It DETAILS OF COACHING 99 is certainly their misfortune not to have had some opportunity to prepare themselves, in some de- gree, in this line of work. The two books to which I have referred will help such ones a great deal. A course in dramatic production in a col- lege or university would help infinitely more, — were such courses given. It may be necessary to change much of the business and directions, even lines, as the stage settings available may not conform to the play's original requirements. "Enter R. l" may have to be "Enter L. 1," in which case, much of the business of the entire act may have to be reversed. It is entirely possible to rearrange the business, only care must be taken to keep group values, crosses, positions, and all stage business in the same relations as was intended in the original arrangement. At each rehearsal set your stage with clear indica- tion of exits and entrances, and such pieces of furnitiu'e as are to be "practical." Insistence should be made in this detail. Work out the crosses and other business with care, but do not dwell too long on minor details. Many of these will take care of themselves before the act is fin- 100 CHOOSING A PLAY ished. Smooth up positions, etc., when the act has begun to move as a whole and the cast can feel its swing. "Business" should be referred to in terms of the stage even with the most ama- teurish group, hence the need again that the coach should know the terminology. Those who are to perform parts in any play should learn some of the fundamentals of good stage business ; such as management of exits and entrances; group- ings; standing; sitting; point lines; balance; ad- vanced foot, etc., etc. Chapter five in Mr. Tay- lor's book should be carefully perused by any un- trained coach, as it contains matter on the above topics which will be helpful. IV- Staging J scenery and lighting. It is here, perhaps, more than anywhere else, that knowl- edge of a definite sort is needed. So much is pos- sible now under all the above headings, that only knowledge gained from reading, practise or train- ing, or from all together, will be of real assistance. A helpful bibliography on these subjects is now available, a large, detailed, and valuable body of literature, such as has never before existed. Its existence is due largely to the new movement DETAILS OF COACHING 101 and its ideas now being demonstrated in many theaters throughout the United States. Direc- tors of dramatics, in whatever form, should acquaint themselves with as much of this liter- ature as possible. For the coach in the smallest schools, the two books already named, together with "Costumes and Scenery for Amateurs," by Constance D. Mackay, Henry Holt and Co., pub- lishers, will serve admirably. These books con- tain excellent cuts as well as good subj ect matter. A bibliography largely complete will be found in this book, and it is hoped that it may be of service to many who have not hitherto become acquainted with this literature. The old order is changing and "suggestion" is the new word. There are greater possibilities than ever before for smaller schools to produce, under the newer ideas of treat- ment. In too many instances, school and college audi- toriums and stages are sfill being constructed, apparently with little or no consideration for the important place dramatics should hold in the cur- riculum. As for seven out of every ten of the already existent auditoriums and stages, they are 102 CHOOSING A PLAY at once prohibitive of any successful achievement. Stages are too high, they are out of proportion to the rest of the room, audiences are seated so far to the left and right of the stage opening, that only about half of any gathering ever sees the stage at all. Room behind the proscenium open- ing to the right and left of the stage is vitally essential for any good use, while depth is of para- mount importance. It is almost too much to hope for space above the stage but even this should be insisted upon, and if a hard wood floor can be avoided, by all means let it. It is con- ceivable that scenery in some form will need to be attached to the floor now and again, a difficult matter on a resounding, slippery, hard wood floor- ing. If it be argued, as it will, that the stage has to be used for the commencement speaker, and who knows what other speakers, and any floor other than of hard wood will look unfit, remember there are such possibilities of covering as a rug, useful many times too, and the fact remains, you cannot attach to a hard wood floor. The stage is often extended in a semi-circular fashion into the auditorium in front of the lirie of the pros- DETAILS OF COACHING 103 cenium arch, why, it is hard to state, for it is a dead waste of much needed space. Plead to have that precious space put at the rear of the stage for depth and use. I have said, "suggestion is the new law," hut without depth for perspective the task of creating suggestive details is difficult. Avoid the use of the old painted sets, or if used, repaint them making them simpler, less ornate and vivid in color, using neutral colors both for interiors and exteriors. If there is an art depart- ment let it experiment. Use all your means at hand in every department in every possible way and added interest for the activity will result as well as better results in staging. Study the use of curtains for settings, canton flannel preferably, in greys or tans. If real advance is to be made the horrible painted atrocities of the average stage equipment must be subdued, — ^replaced. Few schools, even in large towns, have a proper lighting system for stage use. Indeed, if the stage as a place for dramatic presentations has been crippled by its structural impossibilities, it has been actually maimed by its lighting facilities. Lack of knowledge in this matter should no 104 CHOOSING A PLAY longer be an excuse for those who are building, for there has been much written on the subject in the past ten years. School-board, inform thyself. In brief, lighting should also be suggestive, soft not glaring, concealing as well as revealing. Foot-lights are glaring, soften them; if no dim- ming process is installed color the globes a pale amber and it will help somewhat. Study what lighting is for, think what light in reality does; use thought in the whole matter. Call a council, some student will be interested and capable of assisting with the electrical problems, some paid electrician may be. Find out about reflected light. Many homes have the latter, why not try it for your stage. "Foots" and "borders," the old stock in trade, are also out of date and the new word in lighting is suggestion. More ad- vance in stage production has recently been made in the department of lighting than in all the other departments put together, — find out about it. No school should be without at least two maga- zines which help to keep one in touch with the best things of the theater. "Theater Arts" magazine, 7 E. 42nd. St., New York, and "The Drama," DETAILS OF COACHING 105 59 E. Van Buren St., Chicago, 111. The April, 1920, number of the former will prove of great help if only for the one article, "Stage Machinery and Lighting Equipment." V. Make-up and costume. Excellent sugges- tions on the matter of make-up will be foimd in chapter six of Mr. Taylor's book, and in Appen- dix I, of Mr. Clark's book. Costume is dealt with by the latter author in chapter nine, and Miss Mackay's book on this subject already re- ferred to will give valuable assistance. In all costxmie plays care should be taken to make the costuming as authentic as possible. As for making-up, nothing but practice iinder direction will give one real expertness, but cer- tainly it is one of the elements which is horribly handled. It is capable of much improvement if one will give it a little study and some practise, and the average results in amateur productions would thus be greatly bettered. The best prac- tical book on the subject, a really good one, is "Making Up," by James Young, published by M. Witmark and Sons, 144 W. 37th St., New York City, $1.25. I would add this book to the list of 106 CHOOSING A PLAY three already mentioned, and call the four an absolute necessity for the untrained coach of amateur dramatics. Other books dealing with make-up are, a small pamphlet published by Charles Meyer, 26 and 28 Union Square, New York; "The Art of Theatrical Make Up," by Morton, a foreign publication obtainable at Brentano's, New York, I think, and costing $2.00. The latter is a rather pretentious affair and not very helpful for an amateur. It contains excel- lent cuts for study. "How to Make Up" Fitz- gerald, obtained from Samuel French, New York, for fifty cents, is another inexpensive af- fair, but it is my opinion that the first named book is by far the best of all these for all ordinary purposes. The M. Stein Cosmetic Co., New York, furnishes the best full line of make-up material obtainable at present, since foreign-made materials are not available. Leichner's make-up is the best when available. Charles Meyer, whose address is given above, also carries a full line of materials. Dramatics and dramatic production in all its elements and aspects, must receive more and wiser DETAILS OF COACHING 107 consideration. This consideration must come from educators in executive positions in our higher institutions, first and from teachers, par- ents, "coaches," dramatic directors, and from all those who are interested enough to wish to take part in any production. Only thus, can the con- ditions which confront us in this coimtry, in our theatrical bill of fare, ever be bettered. In all the "new movement" there is need for an audience capable of appreciating some of the attempts which are being made to better this situation. How is this audience to be trained, in any degree, if educational institutions continue their present attitude of indifference toward the matter of dra- matic production? CHAPTER VIII MATEEIAl. FOR PKODUCTION No one can do more than offer the most general suggestions upon the choice of a play, as every selection brings its own individual problems and complications. I suggest that one should consult chapter one of "How To Produce Amateur Plays," by Barret H. Clark, Little, Brown and Co., Boston, publishers, and chapter two of "Practical Stage Directing For Amateurs," by Emerson Taylor, E. P. Dutton and Co., New York, publishers. These references give advice which is invaluable. Mr. Clark says on page five of chapter one, that it is much more meritorious to produce a good play poorly, if need be, than a poor play well. With this statement I would certainly take issue. I should say it depends. My experience for a good many years leads me to think that the state- 108 MATERIAL FOR PRODUCTION 109 ment will bear discussion. Theoretically it may be true, but there are so many elements which enter into the case, that such a statement should not be made without qualification and considera- tion. Such consideration, I leave to those into whose hands this book may fall. . Good articles on the choice of a play will be found in the "Quarterly Journal of Speech Edu- cation" for October, 1915, and April, 1916. The "Journal" is published by the George Banta Pub- lishing Co., Menasha, Wis. Single copies are sixty cents. Other good articles appeared in the "English Journal" for December, 1917, and Feb- ruary, 1918. The "Journal" is published by the University of Chicago Press, and single copies cost thirty cents. Also in "The Drama," Febru- ary, 1920, published by The Drama League of America, 59 E. Van Buren St*, Chicago. After what has been said it would seem need- less to further urge, that, though the choice of play is sure to be a difficult matter, the person to whom this task falls should use his or her best effort to make that choice measure up to the very highest standard of which the circumstances will 110 CHOOSING A PLAY permit. The raising of the standard of dramatic production, from an educational standpoint, as well as the betterment of taste in this direction, are worthy ends for any teacher to work toward. A few of the more obvious considerations which should enter into the choosing of a play are here given. I. Who is producing. Age, training and abil- ity of the group. II. Nature of the audience. General; selected; young or old; cultiu-ed or otherwise. III. Ends desired. Dramatic training; liter- ary; entertainment (pleasure only) ; money (for the class treasury to pay a debt, for a benefit, etc.) . Too often the sure and easy way to make money is the play. It is not difficult to see how taste in selection wiU be affected when so definite a monetary situation is involved. This situation begins with the smallest High School production, and ends with the Broadway enterprises. This and the utterly impossible producing facilities, are among the chief elements hindering the better- ment of dramatics. IV. Producing considerations. Place of pro- MATERIAL FOR PRODUCTION 111 duction; its size, size and equipment of stage, as to lighting, scenery, etc. Some of the elements which might be consid- ered as constituting a good play are listed as follows. (Again let it be borne in mind that I have in view largely, in all my suggestions, the groups of untrained amateurs who will work for the most part under more or less untraiiled direc- tion. There are many clubs in the larger schools and colleges, which have been under excellent training and direction, and which are capable of a very high type of amateur work. As I have before remarked, it is to these groups and their directors, it seems to me, that most articles and books on these subjects are addressed.) I. The situations should be free from unduly emotional conditions. Such situations when in- troduced should be within the comprehension, if not the experience, of the young people who are to enact the parts. II. Royalty. A large royalty cannot usually be paid. Unfortunately play brokers who handle by far the largest amount, and the best of the available material, seem not at all inter- 112 CHOOSING A PLAY ested to assist amateurs by allowing them a special price. Twenty-five dollars is about the best that may be hoped for on plays in manuscript form, the only form of material handled by the brokers. This at once debars from use many desirable as well as possible things, the presentation of which could in no way injure the rentals or productions of the play by road or stock companies. I have been asked to be more explicit in this matter of royalty, but there is little further to be said. The conditions met are most baffling. Often, in my own experience I have found two firms offering the same play on their lists, one allowing me the use of the play for $25. where the other called for $40. for the same use. Also, there are printed plays which state on the open- ing pages a royalty of $10. the same play listed on the broker's lists at $25. These prices are for one performance always. I cannot explain these discrepancies nor have I found any one who can. I could cite many more similar instances and the situation is well known to all who have had much to do with amateur producing. Lists should always be compared and the printed copy MATERIAL FOR PRODUCTION 113 used whenever available. If it is possible to address the author, do so. A payment for the use of an author's work is only just and fair, but one would like to feel that there is a definite ar- rangement by which the author gets the same amount from all the various collections of the firms offering his play for use. I have also been asked to indicate which plays are available in manuscript only. This I cannot well do, as new plays are constantly being added to the printed lists from the manuscript list and any statement I might make would be true only for a short time at most. So far as possible I have given the publisher handling the play in printed form whenever it is so available. Bar- rie's plays, for instance, which have so long been available only in manuscript form, have now ap- peared in book form, and so with others. Any one who has the choosing of a play to do, must expect to expend some time in the matter, and part of it should be in scanning several lists care- fully to see if it appears on more than one, and then writing to see what arrangements can be made with the various firms. 114 CHOOSING A PLAY III. The play must have dramatic movement, or, be actable, not too "talky." Amateurs as a whole get very good results in plays with con- siderable characterization. The play should be as well worth while as possible in action, charac- terization and theme. IV. All questionable situations should be avoided. Study all that enters into the situation before you decide it is questionable. So much of the present-day drama has to do with sex situa- tions, or the eternal triangle, many plays have to be discarded at once. Principals and town's people often raise questions which seem (and are) unnecessary to the much harassed coach, who is led to wish that these people would do not only the choosing of the play, but also the entire coach- ing. The questions arising concerning morals of a play will be affected by the producing environ- ment of each individual hamlet, and must be solved by the parties concerned. Too much at- tention is often paid to "what the public will like" to the detriment of the choice of a play and this should not be tolerated. The whole standard of choice will be forever lowered if this MATERIAL FOR PRODUCTION 115 policy is to be followed. A trained person in charge of dramatics, well enough trained to be engaged like any other responsible instructor, should be the one who will best know what to produce. V. An author of ability and some literary value is desirable. VI. If historic plays, or plays of a period are given, as much accuracy as possible in settings and costume should be observed. On the whole this type of play requires a coach who knows what he is about, to achieve very admirable re- sults. VII. A balance in the acting values should be considered. Frequently, of course, students of marked ability appear and a play with a lead- ing part is desirable. As a principle, a balance in the parts is better. It is true again, that the proportion of plays is built about a leading char- acter, so it is not easy to avoid this situation. However, students should be given as even a chance as possible. PART TWO PIRECTORY" SECTION I ADDRESSES OF PLAY PUBLISHERS AND BROKERS As I stated in the preface, it has not been my purpose to do more than touch briefly upon the preceding details. To the trained director, the lists and bibliography which follow will be largely familiar. But let it be sadly remembered that a director, or "coach," with training, real prepara- tion to do work in dramatics, is the great excep- tion. To many, then, the following lists will be of assistance. The calls received every year in my department alone warrant this assertion. Is it too much to hope that some who have not been heretofore sufficiently impressed with the impor- tance of the administering of dramatics in an educational manner, may be interested to read at least a portion of the literature available? May we not hope further, that any one who may have 119 120 CHOOSING A PLAY "coaching" to do will find it practical to avail himself of as many of the reference books as possible? Directors and coaches should also avail them- selves of all possible material in the way of cata- logues and lists sent free, or at small cost. They furnish a great deal of valuable assistance. Most of the following companies will send their com- plete catalogues for the asking. The Drama League, Boston, charges twenty-five cents, and has a hst well worth it, Sanger and Jordan and the American Play Co. have very fine catalogues listing plays with casts complete. There is a small charge for these catalogues, one dollar or so, but they are of the greatest assistance. Dramatic Publishing Co., 542 S. Dearborn St., Chicago, 111. Samuel French & Co., 28 W. 38th St., New York City. Eldridge Entertainment House, Franklin, Ohio, and Den- ver, Colo. Dick & Fitzgerald, 10 Ann St., New York City. Walter H. Baker Pub. Co., 5 Hamilton Place, Boston, Mass. Penn Publishing Co., 923 Arch St., Philadelphia, Pa. Boston Drama League, 101 Tremont St., Room 705, Boston, Mass., R. J. Davis, Secretary. Drama League of America, 737 Marquette Bldg., Chicago, 111. PUBLISHERS AND BROKERS 121 From the following jBrms plays are obtainable in manuscript form only, largely plays calling for a royalty of at least $25., often $40. and $50. : Alice Kauser, 1432 Broadway, New York City. Sanger and Jordan, Times Bldg., 17th Floor, New York City. Eumsey Play Co., 152 W. 46th St., New York City. American Play Co., 451 Broadway, New York City. Shubert Theater Co., 1416 Broadway, New York City. Agency for Unpublished Plays, 41 Concord Ave., Cam- bridge, Mass. (Small royalties.) Publishers carrying a special line of plays in bound form: Brentano, Fifth Ave. & 27th St., New York City. The Sunwise Turn, 51 E. 44th St., New York City. Washington Sq. Book Shop, 17 W. 8th St., New York City. John W. Luce & Co., 212 Summer St., Boston, Mass. Lawrence Gomme, 2 E. 29th St., New York City. Drama League, 7 E. 42nd St., New York City. Mitchell Kennerly, 32 W. 58th St., New York City. Little, Brown & Co., Boston, Mass. Miscellaneous. In every large city there will be found a good costuming house. Suggestions upon these will meet only a limited number, as I am not acquainted with the many sections of the country. A few addresses are given below: 122 CHOOSING A PLAY Fritz Schoutz & Co., 58 W. Lake St., Chicago, III. (and Detroit) . Chicago Costume Co., 143 N. Dearborn St., Chicago, 111. Carnival Costume Co., Milwaukee, Wis. M. J. Clark Costume Co., St. Louis, Mo. Van Horn Costume Co., 10 S. 10th St., Philadelphia, Pa. Geo. Beck Costume Co., Cincinnati, O. Winona Costume Co., Minneapolis, Minn, (and Winona). The following firms furnish scenery and similar firms in many of the larger cities will be able to furnish settings : R. MacDonald, Scenic Studio, Bush Temple Theater, 800 N. Clark St., Chicago, 111. Guthman Scenic Studios, 1824 Loomis Place, Chicago, 111. Peltz & Carson Scenic Studios, 1507 N. Clark St., Chicago, 111. Stage & Studio Lighting Apparatus, Universal Stage Light- ing Co., 240 W. 50th St., New York City. SECTION II LIST OF PLAYS ARKANGED IN FOUR GRADES The following lists, it will be understood, are in no sense complete. They serve to give a body of material, arranged in four grades, that may save many hours of search for a play. The most difficult plays are listed in grade one. Nearly all the plays in this group carry a royalty of $25.00, $40.00, or $50.00. In few cases could they be obtained for less than the first named sum, though the author knows some instances where smaller royalty has been, accepted. For the reason of royalty, therefore, these plays are put in grade one as being difficult of obtaining. They are also, for the most part, more difficult in theme, characterization and settings. They are suitable for the better trained clubs which will produce vmder trained direction. Detailed descriptions 124 CHOOSING A PLAY of these, and all plays mentioned, will be found in the catalogues of the various publishers or brokers, already given. The abbreviations which have been used are explained below: A. P. Co American Play Co. S. & J Sanger and Jordan. Dr. P. Co Dramatic Publishing Co. E. E. Hs Eldridge Entertainment House. Bk Walter H. Baker and Co. Fr Samuel French and Co. D. & F Dick and Fitzgerald. Sh. ...". Shubert Co. P. P Penn Pub. Co. The order of arrangement has been, title, author, number of acts, number of interior and exterior sets, pubUsher, number of male and fe- male characters. Grade I Admirable Crichton, The, Barrie, 4 a., 3 in., 1 ex., S. & J., 6 m., 6 w. All of a Sudden Peggy, Denny, 3 a., 2 in., Fr. 5 m., 5 w. Amazons, The, Pinero, 3 a., 1 in., 1 ex., Bk., 7 m., 5 w. American Citizen, An, Ryley, 4 a., 3 ., 1 ex., Fr., 9 m., 5 w. Arms and the Man, Shaw, 3 a., 2 in., 1 ex., A. P. Co., 4 m., 3w. As the Leaves, Giacosa, 3 a., 3 in., A. P. Co., 5 m., 6 w. Alice-Sit-By-the-Fire. Barrie, 3 a., 2 in., 3 m., 6 w. Androcles and the Lion, Shaw, 3 a. (short) 1 in., 2 ex., Bren- tano, 10 m., 5 w. LIST OF PLAYS 125 Bachelor's Romance, A, Morton, 4 a., 3 in., Fr., 5 m., 4 w. Beau Brummel, Fitch, 4 a., S in., 1 ex., Fr., 1 1 m., 7 w. Big Idea, The, Thomas, 3 a., 2 in., S. & J., 7 m., 4 w. Barbara Freitchie, Fitch, 3 a., 2 in., 1 ex., Fr., 13 m., 6 w. Believe Me Xantippe, Ballard, 4 a., 2 in., 8 m., 2 w. Be Calm Camilla, Kummer, 2 a., 4 sc., 3 in., A. P. Co., 6 m., 3 w. Bernice, Glaspell, 3 a. (short) 1 in., 2 m., 3 w.. Theater Arts Mag., Oct. '19. Candida, Shaw, 3 a., 1 in., Brentano, 4 m., 2 w. Case of Rebellious Susan, The, Jones, 3 a., 3 in., Fr., 10 m., 4 w. Caught in the Rain, CoUier, 3 a., 2 in., 1 ex., S. & J., 12 m., 11 w. Climbers, The, Fitch, 4 a., 3 in., Fr., 12 m., 9 w. College Widow, The, Ade, 4 a., 1 in., 3 ex., S. & J., 15 m., 10 w. Cassilis Engagement, The, Hankin, 4 a., 3 in., 1 ex., Fr., 7 m., 7 w. Captain Kidd Jr., Young, 3 a., 1 in., 2 ex., A. P. Co., 7 m., 8 w. Cheating Cheaters, Marcin, 4 a., 3 in., S. & J., 9 m., 4 w. Disraeli, Parker, 4 a., 4 in., S. & J., 13 m., 6 w. Deirdre of The Sorrows, Synge, 3 a., 1 in., 1 ex.. Luce, 8 m., 3 w. Fanny's First Play, Shaw, 3 a., 2 in., Brentano, 5 m., 3 w. First Lady of the Land, Nirdlinger, 4 a., 3 in., Bk., 11 m., 8 w. Flower Shop, The, Wentworth, 3 a., 1 in.. Badger, 5 m., 5 w. Gypsy Trail, The, Housum, 3 a., 2 in., 1 ex., A. P. Co., 3 m., 4 w. Genius, The, DeMille, 3 a., 3 in., S. & J., 7 m., 5 w. Girl With the Green Eyes, The, Fitch, 4 a., 3 in., Fr., 6 m., 12 w. 126 CHOOSING A PLAY Going Some, Armstrong, 4 a., 1 in., 1 ex., S. & J., 12 m., 4 w. Green Stockings, Mason, S a., 2 in., Fr., 7 m., 5 w. Harlequinade, The, Barker, 4 a., 2 in., 2 ex., Brentano, 11 m., 2 w. Her Husband's Wife, Thomas, 3 a., 1 in., Fr., 3 m., 3 w. Her Own Way, Fitch, 4 a., 3 in., Fr., 6 m., 6 w. Honeymoon, The, Bennett, 3 a., 2 in., 1 ex., Doran Co., 6 m., 2 w. Hypocrites, The, Jones, 4 a., 3 in., A. P. Co., 8 m., 6w. Importance of Being Earnest, The, Wilde, 8 a., 2 in., 1 ex., Fr., 5 m., 4 w. Inconstant George, DeFleurs, 3 a., 3 in., S. & J., 7 m., 7 w. It Pays to Advertise, Megrue, 3 a., 2 in., A. P. Co., 6 m., 4 w. Jack Straw, Maugham, 3 a., 2 in.. Dr. P. Co., 8 m., 5 w. Janice Meredith, Ford, 4 a., 3 in., 1 ex., A. P. Co., 12 m., 5 w. Just Out of College, Ade, 3 a., 5 in., S. & J., 14 m., 12 w. Jesters, The, Zamacois, 4 a., 2 in., 2 ex., Brentano, 12 m., 2 w. Kindling, Kenyon, 3 a., 1 in., A. P. Co., 6 m., 6 w. Lady From Oklahoma, The, Jordan, 3 a., 3 in., A. P. Co., 6 m., 10 w. Lady Windermere's Fan, Wilde, 4 a., 3 in., A. P. Co., 7 m., 9 w. Liars, The, Jones, 4 a., 3 in., 1 ex., A. P. Co., 6 m., 6 w. Little Minister, The, Barrie, 4 a., 2 in., 2 ex., S. & J., 11 m., 5 w. Little Women, DeForrest, 4 a., 1 in., 1 ex., S. & J., 4 m., 6 w. Little Grey Lady, The, Pollock, 4 a., 2 in., 2 ex., Fr., 6 m., 5 W. LIST OF PLAYS 127 Lottery Man, The, R. J. Young, S a., 8 in., S. & J., 4 m., 5 w. Little Journey, A, Crothers, 3 sl., 1 in., 1 ex., S. & J., 9 m., 6 w. Marriage of Kitty, The, Lenox, 3 a., 2 in., Fr., 3 m., 3 w. Magda, Suderman, 4 a., 1 in., Fr., 4 m., 7 w. Magistrate, The, Pinero, 3 a., 3 in., Bk., 12 m., 4 w. Man From Home, The, Tarkington, 4 a., 2 in., 1 ex., S. & J., 11 m., 3 w. Man's World, A, Crothers, 4 a., 2 in.. Badger, 7 m., 1 w. Manoeuvres of Jane, The, Jones, 4 a., 4 in., Fr., 9 m., 1 1 w. Mary Jane's Pa, Ellis, 3 a., 2 in., 1 ex., S. & J., 13 m., 4 w. Mater, Mackaye, 3 a., 2 in., Macmillan, 3 m., 2 w. Merely Mary Ann, Zangwill, 4 a., 3 in., S. & J., 7 m., 10 w. Mice and Men, Ryley, 4 a., 3 in., 1 ex., Fr., 7 m., 5 w. Mrs. Dot, Maugham, 3 a., 2 in., S. & J., 7 m., 5 w. My Lady's Dress, Knoblauch, 3 a., 2 in., 1 ex., Doubleday, Page, 9 m., 12 w. My Wife, Morton, 4 a., 1 in., 1 ex., S. & J., 12 m., 6 w. Mob, The, Galsworthy, 4 a., 2 in., 1 ex., Brentano, 15 m., 6 w. Nathan Hale, Fitch, 4 a., 2 in., 2 ex., Bk., 15 m., 4 w. New Lady Bantock, The, or Fanny and the Servant Prob- lem, Jerome, 3 a., 1 in., Fr., 5 m., 6 w. New York Idea, The, Mitchell, 4 a., 3 in., Bk., 9 m., 5 w. Night Out, A. Robson, 3 a., 1 in., 1 ex., S. & G., 6 m., 5 w. Only Way, The Willis, 4 a., 2 in., 2 ex., A. P. Co., 22 m., 4 w. Passing of the Third Floor Back, The, Jerome, 3 a., 1 in., Fr., 6 m., 6 w. Piper, The, Peabody, 4 a., 2 in., 2 ex., Houghton Mifflin, 13 m., 6 w., 5 children. Pair of Sixes, A, Peple, 3 a., 2 in., Fr., 8 m., 4 w. 128 CHOOSING A PLAY Pomander Walk, Parker, 4 a., 2 in., 1 ex., S. & J., 10 m., 7 w. Pretty Sister of Jose, The, Burnett, 4 a., 4 ex., A. P. Co., 10 m., S w. Professor's Love Story, The, Barrie, 3 a., 2 in., 1 ex., S. & J., 7 m., 5 w. Prunella, Hausman, 3 a., 1 ex.. Dr. P. Co., 11 m., 7 w. Peg O' My Heart, Manners, 3 a., 1 in., Fr., 5 m., 4 w. Pigeon, The^ Galsworthy, 3 a., 1 in., 8 m., 2 w., Scribner. Quality Street, Barrie, 4 a., 3 in., S. & J., 9 m., 10 w. Road To Yesterday, The, Dix, 4 a., 3 in., 1 ex., S. & J., 7 m., 6 w. Rose of the Raneho, The, Belasco, 4 a., 2 in., 1 ex., S. & J., 6 m., 4 w. Rosemary, Parker, 4 a., 1 in., 1 ex^ S. & J., 6 m., 4 w. Return of the Prodigal, The, Hankin, 3 a., 2 in., 1 ex., Fr., 7 m., 5 w. Scarecrow, The, Mackaye, 4 a., 2 in., S. & J., 9 m., 6 w. Schoolmistress, The, Pinero, 3 a., S in., Bk., 9 m., 7 w. Servant In The House, The, Kenedy, 5 a., 1 in., S. & J., 5 m., 2 w. Shoemaker's Holiday, The, Dekker, Scribner, 17 m., 4 w. Smith, Maugham, 4 a., 2 in.. Dr. P. Co., 4 m., 4 w. Strongheart, DeMille, 4 a., 3 in., Fr., 17 m., 5 w. Stubbornness of Geraldine, The, Jones, 4 a., 3 in., 1 ex., Fr., 10 m., 12 w. Sweet Nell of Old Drury, Kester, 4 a., 4 in., S. & J., 14 m., 4 w. Successful Calamity, A, Eummer, 2 a., 4 sc, 2 in.^ A. P. Co., 8 m., 4 w. Talker, The, Fairfax, 3 a., 1 in., S. & J., 4 m., 5 w. Thompson, Hankin, 3 a., 1 in., Fr., S m., 5 w. Thousand Years Ago, A, MacKaye, 4 a., 5 in., 1 ex., j?r,, 9 m., 2 w. LIST OF PLAYS 129 Tom Pinch, Dickens, 3 or 5 a., 4 in., 1 ex., Bk., 15 m., 6 w. Trelawney of The Wells, Pinero, 4 a., S in.. Dr. P. Co., 14 m., 9 w. Two Mr. Wetherbys, The, Hankin, 3 a., 1 in., Fr., 3 m., 4 w. Tyranny of Tears, The, Chambers, S a., 1 in., 1 ex., Bk., 4 m., 3 w. We Are Seven, Gates, 3 a., 3 in., A. P. Co., 15 m., 4 w. When Bunty Pulls The Strings, Moffet, 3 a., 1 in., 1 ex., S. & J., 5 m., 5 w. Whitewashing Julia, Jones, 3 a., 2 in., 1 ex., A. P. Co., 6 m., 10 w. What Every Woman Knows, Barrie, 4 a., 3 in., 1 ex., A. P. Co., 10 m., 3 w. You Never Can Tell, Shaw, 4 a., 3 in., 1 ex., Brentano, 7 m., 5 w. Younger Generation, The, Houghton, 3 a., 1 in., Fr., 7 m., 4 w. Grade II At Cosy Corners, Short, 4 a., 2 in., 1 ex., A. P. Co., 5 m., 4 w. At Yale, Davis, 3 a., 1 in., 3 ex., Fr., 16 m., 4 w. All The Comforts Of Home, Gilette, 4 a., 1 in., D. & F., 6 or 10 m., 4 or 7 w. Anne Of Old Salem, Batchelder, 3 a., 2 in.. Dr. P. Co., 5 m., 8 w. Bar Haven, May, 3 a., 2 in., 1 ex., Bk., 6 m., 5 w. Beaucaire, Freeman, 3 a., 3 in., 1 ex., Bk., 14 m., 7 w. Brown Of Harvard, Young, 4 a., 2 in., 1 ex., Fr., 20 m., 4 w. Charley's Aunt, Thomas, 3 a., 2 in., 1 ex., Fr., 6 m., 4 w. 130 CHOOSING A PLAY Chinese Lantern, The, Hausman, 2 a., 1 in.. Dr. P. Co., 9 m., 2 w. College Politician, A, Weis, 3 a., Bk., 16 m., 5 w. Contrary Mary, Ellis, 3 a., 2 in., Fr., 7 m., 5 w. County Chairman, The, Ade, 4 a., 4 in., S. & J., 16 m., 5 w. Cousin £ate, Davies, 3 a., 2 in., Bk., 3 m., 4 w. District Attorney, The, Wilkens, 3 a., 2 in., Bk., 10 m., 6 w, Esmeralda, Burnett, 3 a., Fr., 6 m., 5 w. Facing The Music, Darnley, 3 a., 1 in., Fr., 5 m., 4 w. Her Own Money, Swan, 3 a., 1 in., 2 ex., Fr., 3 m., 4 w. Hurry, Hurry, Hurry, Arnold, 3 a., 1 in., Fr., 5 m., 4 w. In Good Old Colony Times, Sayward, 3 a., 2 in., Fr., 9 m., 4 w. In The Vanguard, Trask, 3 a., 1 in., 2 ex., Macmillan, 6 or 12 m., 5 or 10 w. Ingomar, Lovell, 5 a.. Dr. P. Co., 14 m., 5 w. (Greek) Let 's Get Married, Beach, 3 a., 1 in., Bk., 3 m., 5 w. Little Miss Cummin, Pryee, 3 a., 1 in., Fr., 4 m., 6 w. My Friend From India, Souchet, 3 a., 2 in., Fr., 7 m., 5 w. Mrs. Gorringe's Necklace, Davies, 4 a., 1 in., Bk., 6 m., 4 w. Mrs. Temple's Telegram, Wyatt, 3 a., 1 in., Fr., 5 m., 4 w. Miss Somebody Else, Short, 4 a., 1 in., Fr., 4 m., 10 w. Man Who Married A Dumb Wife, The, France, 2 a., 1 in.. Luce, 13 m., 4 w. Nest Egg, The, Caldwell, 3 a., 3 in., S. & J., 5 m., 5 w. New Boy, The, Law, 3 a., 1 in., Fr., 4 m., 3 w. Other Fellow, The, Home, 3 a., 2 in., Bk., 6 m., 4 w. Our Wives, Krafft, 3 a., 2 in., S. & J., 7 m., 4 w. Pair of Spectacles, A, Grundy, 3 a., 1 in., Fr., 8 m., 3 w. Pioneers, The, Oppenheim, 3 a., 1 ex., Huebsch, 5 m., 5 w. Private Secretary, The, Hawtrey, 3 a., 2 in., Fr., 9 m., 4 w. Quest For Happiness, The, Davis, 3 a., Fr., 12 m., 17 w. (Morality) LIST OF PLAYS 131 Rivals, The, Sheridan, 5 a., 2 in., 2 ex.. Dr. P. Co., 8 m., 4 w. Romancers, The, Rostand, 3 a., Bk., 5 m., 1 w. Rose O' Plymouth Town, A, Dix & Sutherland, 3 a., 2 in.. Dr., P. Co., 4 m., 4 w. Russian Honeymoon, A, Harrison, 3 a., 2 in.. Dr. P. Co., 4 m., 3 w. School For Scandal, The, Sheridan, 5 a., Bk., 12 m., 4 w. She Stoops To Conquer, Goldsmith, 5 a., Fr., 17 m., 4 w. Superior Miss Pellander, The, Bowkett, 3 a., 1 in., 1 ex., Fr., 2 m., 4 w. Sweet Lavender, Pinero, 3 a., 1 in., Bk., 7 m., 4 w. We Three, Crothers, 4 a., 1 in., 1 ex., S. & J., 7 m., 3 w. What Happened To Jones, Broadhurst, 3 a., 1 in., Fr., 7 m., 6 w. Why Smith Left Home, Broadhurst, 3 a., 3 in., Fr., 5 m., 7 w. Worsted Man, The, Bangs (Partly Musical), 1 m., 12 w., or all women. Gkade III Aaron Boggs Freshman, Hare, 3 a., 1 in., 1 ex., Dennison, 8 m., 8 w. Arrival Of Kitty, The, Swartout, 3 a., 1 in., Bk., 5 m., 4 w. / Bachelor Hall, Baker, S a., 1 in., Bk., 8 m., 4 w. Bess Goes To Etirope, Woodman, 3 a., 4 in., E. E. Hs., 5 m., 6 w. Between The Acts, Griffiths, 3 a., 1 in.. Shoemaker, 4 m., 3 w. Colonel's Maid, The, Dalrymple, 3 a., 2 in., Bk., 6 m., 3 w. Commencement Days, Mayo, 3 a., 2 in., 1 ex., Fr., 6 m., 9 w. 132 CHOOSING A PLAY ComradeSj Baker, 3 a., 1 in., Bk., 4 m., 3 w. Cricket On The Hearth, The, Smith, 8 a., 8 in., E. E. Hs., 6 m., 7 w. Cupid At Vassar, Davis, 4 a., 2 in., 1 ex., Fr., 4 m., 9 w. Daddy, Smith, 3 a., 2 in., Bk., 4 m., 4 w. Elopement Of Ellen, The, Warren, 3 a., 1 in., 1 ex., Bk., 4 m., 3 w. End Of The Rainbow, The, Barbee, 3 a., 8 in., Dennison, 6 ra., 14 w. Engaged By Wednesday, Owen, 8 a., 1 ex., Bk., 5 m., 11 w. Fifteenth Of January, The, Barbee, 8 a., 1 in., 1 ex., Den- nison, 11 m., 10 w. Galliger, Woodman, 3 a., 4 in., E. E. Hs., 4 m., 8 w. Highby Of Harvard, Townsend, 3 a., 2 in., 1 ex., Bk., 5 m., 4 w. His Excellency The Governor, Marshall, 3 a., 1 in,, Bk., 10 m., 3 w. Katy Did, Bridgham, 2 a., Bk., 4 m., 8 w. Love And Tea, See, 2 a., 1 in., Bk., 2 m., 6 w. Mishaps Of Minerva, The, Porter, 2 a., 1 in., Bk., 5 m., 8 w. Miss Hobbs, Jerome, 4 a., 2 in., Fr., 5 m., 4 w. Miss Molly, Gale, 2 a., 1 in., Fr., 8 m., 5 w. Mr. Bob, Baker, 2 a., 1 in., Bk., 3 m., 4 w. Mrs. Comptop's Manager, Osgood, 3 a., 2 in., Bk., 4 m., 7 w. One Of The Eight, Swartout, 4 a., 2 in., Bk., 10 m., 4 w. Professor, The, Wloodman, 3 a., Flanagan & Co., 5 m., 8 w. Revenge Of Shari Hot Su, The, Batchelder, 3 a., 1 in., 1 ex., Bk., 3 m., 4 w. Scrap Of Paper, A, Simpson, 3 a., Bk., 6 m., 6 w. Sentimental Sarahs, The, Hale, 3 a., 1 in., Bk., 5 m., 6 w. Strenuous Life, A, Tully, 8 a.. Bk., 9 m.. 5 w. LIST OF PLAYS 133 Sweet Girl Graduates, The, Woodman, 3 a., E. E. Hs., 7 m., 4 w. Sleeping Beauty, The, Du Bois, S a., 2 in., 4 m., 6 w., Fr. Team Work, Gallupe, 3 a., 1 in., 1 ex., Bk., 10 m., 5 w. Tommy's Wife, Warren, 3 a., 2 in., E. E. Hs., 3 m., 5 w. Two Strings To Her Bow, Harrison, 2 a., 1 in., 1 ex.. Dr. P. Co., 4 m., 2 w. Varsity Coach, The, 3 a., 1 in., 1 ex., Fr., 6 m., 6 w. Grade IV All A Mistake, Parker, 3 a., 1 in., 1 ex., E. E. Hs., 4 m., 4 w. Billy's Bungalow,Crane, 3 a., 1 in., Dick & Fitz, 5 m., 4 w. Blundering Billy, Wills, 3 a., 1 in.. Dr. P. Co., 4 m., 3 w. Box Of Monkeys, A, Furniss, 2 a., 1 in.. Dr. P. Co., 2 m., 3 w. Brother Josiah, Parker, 3 a., 1 in., 1 ex., Flanagan, 7 m., 4 w. Cheerful Liar, A, Eraser, 3 a., 3 in.. Dr. P. Co., 5 m., 3 w. Clover Farm, Patten, 3 a., Bk., 8 m., 3 w. (Easy). CoUege Chums, Wills, 3 a., 1 in., Flanagan, 9 m., 3 w. Dream That Came True, The, Barbee, 3 a., 3 in., E. E. Hs., 6 m., 13 w. Every Graduate, Blum, 3 a., 2 in., Fr., 10 m., 8 w. Freshman, The, Morris, 3 a., 1 in., 2 ex., Shoemaker, 7 m., 4 w. Great Catastrophe, The, Locke, 2 a., 1 in., Shoemaker, 4 m.j 3 w. Half Back Sandy, Swartout, 3 a., 1 in., 2 ex., Bk., 17 m., 2 w. Hicks At College, Dyar, 3 a., 3 in.. Dr. P. Co., 12 m., 9 w. His Model Wife, Bagg, 1 a., 1 in.. Shoemaker, 3 m., 7 w. 134 CHOOSING A PLAY His Word Of Honor^ Gott, 3 a., 2 in., 1 ex., Bk., 10 m., 5 w. Home Ties, Tubbs, 4> a., 1 in.. Shoemaker, 4 m., 5 w. Just For Fun, Crane, 3 a., 1 in., D. & F., 2 m., 4 w. Merchant Of Venice Up To Date, The, 4 a., 1 in., 3 ex., E. E. Hs., 9 m., 7 w. Mrs. Mainwaring's Management, Froome, 2 a., 1 in., Fr., 3 m., 4 w. Mrs. Bagg's Bargain Day, 2 a., 2 in., 4 m., 9 w. Perplexing Situation, A, Smith, 2 a., 1 in.. Shoemaker, 5 m., 5 w. Phylis's Inheritance, Bernard, 5 a., 3 in., 1 ex., D. & F., 6 m., 9 w. Toastmaster, The, Swartout, 3 a., 3 in.. Dr. P. Co., 12 m., 9 w. Tommy's Wife, Warren, 4 a., 1 in., Bk., 4 m., 5 w. Uncle, The, Byron, 3 a., 1 in., P. P. Co., 4 m., 4 w. Village Lawyer, The, Tubbs, 4 a., 2 in.. Shoemaker, 6 m., 5 w. What Became Of Parker, Hageman, 4 a., 2 in.. Dr. P. Co., 8 m., 4 w. SECTION III CHRISTMAS PLAYS Adam's Dream, Corbin, Alice Scribner, N. Y. Birds' Christmas Carol, The, Wiggin, Macmillan & Co. Bethlehem, Hausman, Macmillan & Co. Christmas Candles, Carter, Holt, N. Y. (A book of plays for Children) Christmas Chime, A, Cameron, Fr. Christmas Party, A, Merrington. (See Festival Plays) Christmas Once Again, Chapman. (See Neptune's Isle) Christmas Guest, A, MacKaye. (See House of the Heart) Christmas Tale, A, Boucher, Fr. Christmas Chimes, Hagar. (Adapted and dramatized from a story by an unknown author. "Popular Educator," Dec. 1911.) Dispensation, The Greene. (See Four Plays) Eager Heart, Buckton, Chappell & Co., N. Y. Evergreen Tree, The, MacKaye, Appleton, N. Y. Good King Wencelas, Rice, K. M., Worthington, Mass. Greatest Gift, The, Wells, "Ladies Home Journal," Dee. 1913. Jean Noel, Go we, Werner, N. Y. Lost Princess, The, Gutpill,, March & Co., Lebanon, O. Lost Prince, The, King Ithuriel, Hermits, Christmas in Leipsic, Chapman, Moffat Yard, N. Y. Little Town of Bethlehem, The, Trask. Masque of Christmas, A, MacKaye, Holt, N. Y. 135 136 CHOOSING A PLAY Nativity, The, Hyde. (In Poets and Dreamers, hy Lady Gregory.) On Christmas Eve, MacKaye. (See House of the Heart) Star of Bethlehem, The Green. (See Four Plays) Shadowed Star, The, Macmillan. (See Short Plays) Tree Everlasting, The, Porter, Journal of Education, Bos- ton, Nov., Dec. 1913. Through Christmas Bells, Greene. (See Four Plays) Why The Chimes Rang, McFadden, Fr. White Christmas, The, Hare. Book containing 6 Xmas plays, published by T. S. Dennison Co., Chicago, 111. Plays are for both children and adults. Contents : The White Christmas. Anita's Secret. Christmas With the Mulligans, The Wishing Man. A Christmas Carol. (Arranged from Dickens' Christ- mas Carol) Her Christmas Hat. SECTION IV PLAYS REQUIRING ONLY WOMEN OR WITH ALL CHARACTERS POSSIBLE FOR WOMEN The following plays are in one-act form unless otherwise stated. Those marked with a star are of a better type. There is so much demand for plays of this sort and so httle good material, it is hoped that the following list chosen from a large number may prove of assistance : At The Sign of the Silver Spoon, Finch, 4 ch.. Smart Set. At Breezy Point, Locke, 13 ch., 3 a., Bk. An Outsider, 14 ch., Bk. An Open Secret, 10 ch., 2 a., Bk. Burglar, The, Cameron, 5 ch. (In Comedies in Miniature.) Boosting Bridget, Gale, 7 ch., Fr. * Behind A Watteau Picture, Rogers, 12 ch., Bk. * Between The Soup & The Savory, Jennings, 3 ch., Fr. Chinese Dummy, A, Campbell, 6 ch., Bk. * Clinging Vine, The, Gale, 13 ch., Bk. Dress Rehearsal, Macmillan, 10 ch. (In More Short Plays.) * Endymion, Warren, 10 ch., 3 a., Bk. * Flower of The Yeddo, Mapes, 4 ch., Fr. Fighting Chance, A, Shoemaker, 1 1 ch., S a., Bk. 137 138 CHOOSING A PLAY Her First Assignment, Bridgham, 10 ch., Bk. Hannah Gives Notice, 4 ch., F. In Mendelasiaj Macmillan, 5 ch. (In More One Acts.) * Joint Owners in Spain, Alice Brown, 4 ch., Bk. * Lost Pleiad, The, Drasefield, 10 ch.. Sunwise Turn Book Shop. * Love & Tea, A. P. See, 8 ch., Bk. Miss Fearless & Co., Locke, 10 ch., 3 a., Bk. Maidens All Forlorn, Simms, 7 ch., 3 a., Bk. Mrs. Oakley's Telephone, Jennings, 4 ch., 2 a., Fr. * Manners & Modes, Cooke, 9 ch. (In Dramatic Epi- sodes.) Man in The Case, The, Packard, 6 ch., 3 a., Bk. Mennemen Inn, West, 17 ch., 3 a., Fr. * Mothers of Men, Wilde, 2 ch. (In The Unseen Host.) * Martha's Mourning, HoiFman, 3 ch. (In Representative One-Act Plays, Little, Brown Co.) * Miss Tassey, Baker, 5 ch., Fr. New Crusade, The, Gale, 12 ch., 2 a., Bk. Old Peabody Pew, The, Wiggin, 9 ch., 2 a., Fr. Oxford Affair, The, Cobb, 8 ch., 3 a.. Shoemaker. One On Dick, Bridgham, 6 ch., 3 a., Bk. * Pierrot of the Minute, The, Ernest Dawson, 2 ch., Bk. Piper's Pay, The, Cameron, 7 ch., Fr. Pledging of Polly, The, Lyon, 12 ch., 2 a., Bk. * Princess Kiku, The, Hutchinson, 9 ch., E. E. Hs. Rebellious Jane, Gale, 8 ch., 3 a., Bk. Reform, Cooke, 2 ch. (In Dramatic Episodes.) * Russian Honeymoon, A, Harrison, 6 ch., 3 a.. Dr. P. Co. * Revolt, The, E. P. Butler, 8 ch., E. E. Hs. Sylvia's Aunts, Waldo, 8 ch., 2 a., Bk. Sunbonnets, Campbell, 1 1 ch., 2 a., Bk. * Six Cups of Chocolate, Matthews, 6 ch., Harper Pub. Co. ♦Stronger, The, Strindberg, 2 ch., Fr. REQUIRING ONLY WOMEN 139 Three Chauffeurs, The, Chatterson, 17 ch., 2 a., Fr. Trouble At Satterlee's, The, Wilson, 7 ch.. Shoemaker. Truth About Jane, The, Thompson, 7 ch., Bk. Three Girls From School, West, 14 ch., 2 a., Fr. Truth The Mischief, Thompson, 6 ch.. Dr. P. Co. * Twig of Thorn, The, Warren, 13 ch., 2 a., Bk. * Turtle Dove, The, Alison, 7 ch. (Jn Six One Acts.) * Voices, Flexner, 2 ch. (In Representative One- Act Plays, Little Brown Co.) *WiIl O' The Wisp, 4 ch., Doris F. Holman. (In Repre- sentative One-Act Plays, Little Brown Co.) SECTION V ONE-ACT PLAYS IN PAMPHLET FORM Geade I This list contains much excellent material. The plays will cost in a few instances fifty or seventy-five cents, some but twenty-five cents. The number of characters ranges from three to ten, and the time from twenty minutes to one hour: Asaph, Bates, Drama, Mar. 1920. Another Way Out, Langer, Shay. Altruism, Glazer, Shay. At Slovsky's, Hawkridge, Harvard Workshop "47." At the Golden Goose, Lefevre, Fr. At The Shrine, Young, "Theater Arts Mag.," July, 1919. Bank Account, The, Brock. (In Plays of the Harvard Dr. Club, Brentano.) Bear, A, Tchekov, Fr. Behind A Watteau Picture, Rogers, Bk. Bishop's Candlesticks, The, McKinnell, Fr. Bird in Hand, Hausman, Fr. Birthday, The, Fulda, Fr. Bit of Love, A, Galsworthy, Fr. 140 PLAYS IN PAMPHLET FORM 141 Columbincj Arkell, Fr. Cathleen Ni Hoolihan, Yeats, Brentano. Chenerys, The, Unger, Fr. Culprit, The, Weil, "Smart Set." Coming of Fair Annie, The, Price, Fr. Comedy and Tragedy, Gilbert, Fr. Christening Robe, The, Estabrook, Bk. Clod, The, Beach. (In W. Sq. Plays, Doubleday, Page.) Campbell of Kilmhor, Ferguson, Fr. Constant Lover, The, Bankin, "Smart Set." Close the Book, Glaspell, Shay. Dear Little Wife, A, Guldlunn, Fr. Dad, M. Parry, Fr. Dumb and the Blind, The, Chapin, Fr. Dryad and the Deacon, The, Bates, Drama, Mar., 1920. Death and the Fool, Von Hofmansthal, Badger. Dark Lady of The Sonnets, The, Shaw, Fr. Dust of the Road, Goodman, Stage Guild. Dumb Cake, The, Morrison & Pryce, Fr. Dreamy Kid, The, O'Neill, "Theater Arts Mag.," Jan., 1920. Dregs, Spencer. (In Rep. One-Act Plays, Little Brown.) Enter the Hero, Helburn, Shay. Eight O'clock, St. John Ervine, Fr. Florist Shop, The, Hawkridge, "Boston Transcript." Fourteen, Gerstenberg, Dr. Feb., 1920. Fifth Commandment, The, Bierstadt, "Drama," June, 1920. Green Coat, The, DeMusset, Fr. Great Look, The, Faydon, Fr. Green Cockatoo, The, Schnitzler, Fr. Game of Chess, Goodman, Shay. Hero of Santa Maria, The, Goodman, Shay. How He Lied to Her Husband, Shaw, — Brentano. How The Vote Was Won, Hamilton, Dr. P. Co. Hour Glass, The, Yeats, Brentano. 142 CHOOSING A PLAY Hobson's Choice, Brighouse, Fr. Hattie, DePue. (In Eep. One- Act Plays, Little Brown.) Indian Summer, Meilhac, Fr. Interior, Maeterlinck, Fr. Introducing Nettie, Abe, "Boston Transcript." Jean Marie, Fleuriet, Fr. Little Heroes, Pinski, "Boston Transcript." Land of Heart's Desire, The, Yeats, Fr. Last Man In, The, Maxwell, Fr. Lonesome Like, Brighouse, Fr. Little Dream, The, Galsworthy, Fr. Lithuania, Brooke, "Boston Transcript." Little King, The, Bynner, Kennerly. Listening, Froome, "Ppet Lore." Last Straw, The, Crocker. (In Eep. One- Act Plays, Little, Brown.) Marriages Are Made in Heaven, Price, Fr. Maker of Men, A. Sutro, Fr. Mr. Sampson, Lee, Fr. Miss Civilization, Davies, Fr. Miss Maria, Deland, Fr. Man of Destiny, The, Shaw, Brentano. Maker of Dreams, The, Downs, Fr. Maid of France, The, Brighouse, Fr. Man in the Street, Parker, Fr. Make Believe Rackstraw, Fr. Marriage Proposal, A, Tchekoff, Fr. Monkey's Paw, The, Parker, Fr. Moondown, Pub. Shay. Miracle of St. Anthony, The, Maeterlinck, Fr. Moonshine, Hopkins, "Theater Arts Magazine." Maker of Magic, A, MacKaye, "Delineator," 1918. No Smoking, Benavente, "Dramatic Quarterly." Open Gate, The, Chamber, Fr. 'Op O' Me Thumb, Fenn & Pryce, Fr. PLAYS IN PAMPHLET FORM 143 Pot O' Broth, A, Yeats, Brentano. Plots and Playwrights, Massey, Shay. Price, The, Bargate, Fr. Price of Coal, The, Brighouse, Fr. Pretty Sabine Women, The, Andreyev, "Drama Magazine." Playgoers, Pinero, Fr. Phoenix, The, Irving, Fr. Q, Hawtrey, Fr. Quod Wrangle, The, Downs, Fr. Euby Red, Stratton, Dr. Feb. 1920. Riders To The Sea, Synge, Brentano. Rushlight, O'Shea, "Drama Quarterly." Rector, The, Crothers, Fr. Ryland, Stevens and Yerdman, Stage Guild & in Rep. One- Act Plays, Little Brown. Road House in Arden, A, Moeller, Shay. Street Singer, The, Echegaray, "Drama Quarterly." Snow Man, The, Haiisman, Fr. Scaring Off of Teddy Dawson, The, Brighouse, Fr. Suppressed Desires, Glaspell. (In Rep. One-Act Plays, Little Brown.) Silent Voice, The, Tadema, Scribners. Sintram of Skagerrak, Cowan. (In Rep. One-Act Plays, Little Brown.) Tinker's Wedding, The, Synge, Luce. Trifles, Glaspell, Shay. Tune of a Tune, A, Totheroh, Dr. Feb. 1920. Waterloo, Doyle, Fr. Wager, The, Giacosa, Fr. Why Cupid Came to Earl's Cote, Hamilton, Fr. Woman Intervenes, Manners, Fr. Wonder Hat, The, Hecht & Goodman. (In Rep. One-Act Plays, Little Brown.) Where But In America, WolflF. (In Rep. One-Act Plays, Little Brown.) 144. CHOOSING A PLAY Grade II The following list contains few plays which will cost over twenty-five cents, many only fifteen. Characters from three to ten, the time from fif- teen to forty minutes : All For Sweet Charity, Mathews, Warner. America Passes By, Andrews, Bk. At Sixes and Sevens, Morton, D. & F. Back of The Ballot, Middleton, Fr. Barbara, Jerome, Bk. Bone of Contention, The, McConnell, Bk. Case of Suspension, A, Wilson, P. P. Changeling, The, Jacobs, Fr. Comus, Milton, Bk. Cinders, Tinsley, Fr. Close Call, A, Irwin, Bk. Cup of Tea, A, Dr. P. Co. Cinderelline, Kiper, Dr. P. Co. Dress Rehearsal, A, Carroll, P. P. Food, DeMille, Fr. Gringore, Shirley, Dr. P. Co. Gloves, Cannon, "Theater Arts Mag.," Apr., 1920. Happy Pair, A, Smith, Bk. Lend Me Five Shillings, Morton, Shoem. Little Co-ed, The, Osborn, Bk. Mouse Trap, The, Howells, Harper Bros. My Wife's Bonnet, Morton, Fr. Ninth Waltz, The, Carton, Fr. Obstinate Family, The, Fr. Owin' to Maggie, Trent, Bk. Quits, Brown, Bk. PLAYS IN PAMPHLET FORM 145 Special Delivery, Henderson, Bk. Six to One, Mathews, Bk. St. Cecelia, Short, Fr. Sunset, Jerome, Fr. Silent System, The, Dreyfus, Bk. Successful Stratagem, A, Rice. Templeton Teapot, The, Strong, Bk. That Rascal Pat, Green, Bk. Winning of Fuji, The, Gray, Dr. P. Co. Wedding Dress, The, Rice. SECTION VI ONE-ACT PLAYS FOE MAT,K CHARACTERS Theee is very little material in the way of plays in two or three acts for all male characters. A list of plays of so much merit as these which follow should attract any who seek material for the work of men's clubs. These plays will be found, for the most part, in the books of one-act plays previously listed : Allison's Lad, Dix, 6 ch. (In "Allison's Lad.") Augustus In Search of A Father, 3 ch., Chapin, Fr. As Good as Gold, 7 ch. (Morality) Housman, Fr. Bit of Instruction, A, Sutherland, 2 ch. (In "Po' White Trash.") Bogie Man, The, Gregory, 2 ch. (In "New Comedies.") Bound East For Cardiff, O'Neill, 11 ch., Prov. Plays, Vol. 1. Brink of Silence, The, Galbraith, 4 ch. (In Rep. One- Act Plays, Little Brown.) Captain of the Gate, The, Dix, 6 ch. (In "Allison's Lad.") Dark of the Dawn, Dix, 4 ch. (In "Allison's Lad.") Funiculi, Funicula, Wellman, 3 ch. (In Rep. One-Act Plays, Little, Brown.) Game of Chess, A, Goodman, 4 ch.. Shay. 146 FOR MALE CHARACTERS 147 Gods of the Mountains, Dunsany, 11 ch. (In "Five Plays.") Glittering Gate, The, Dunsany, 2 ch. (In "Five Plays.") Gargoyle, The, Middleton, 3 ch. (In "Embers.") Ghost of Jerry Bundler, The, 7 ch., Fr. Hooligan, The, Gilbert, 4 ch., Scribner's. Hundredth Trick, The, Dix, 4 ch. (In "Allison's Lad.") Hunger, Pillot, 5 ch. (In Rep. One-Act Plays, Little Brown.) In the Ravine, P. Wilde, 2 ch. (In "The Unseen Host.") Introducing Nettie, Ade, 2 ch., "Boston Transcript." Medicine Show, The, Walker, 3 ch. (In "Portmanteau Plays.") Magnanimity, O'Brien, 6 ch. (In "Duty.") Moonshine, Hopkins, 2 ch., "Theater Arts Mag.," 1-'19. Night At An Inn, A, Dunsany, 7 ch., Fr. Outcast, Strindberg, 2 ch. (In "Three Plays.") Pariah, Strindberg, 2 ch., Fr. Pawns, P. Wilde, 6 ch. (In "The Unseen Host.") Pixy, The, Mrs. Havelock Ellis, 3 ch. (In "Love In Dan- ger.") Rising of the Moon, The, Gregory, 4 ch. (In "Seven Short Plays.") Rehearsal, The, Baring, 7 ch. (In "Diminutive Dramas.") Snare and the Fowler, The, Dix, 3 ch. (In "Allison's Lad.") Traitor, The, P. Wilde, 7 ch. (In "Dawn.") Unseen Host, The, P. Wilde, 3 ch. (In "The Unseen Host.") Valkyrie, The, P. Wilde, 2 ch. (In "The Unseen Host.") Way Out, A, Frost, 2 ch., "Seven Arts Magazine." Weakest Link, The, Dix, 4 ch. (In "Allison's Lad.") Zone Police, The, R. H. Davis, 4 ch., Fr. SECTION VII BOOKS OF ONE-ACT PLAYS The volumes starred are, in the author's opinion, of greatest general value, Ancey, George. Four Plays for Free Theater. Stewart & Kidd. The Fossils, The Serenade, Dupe, Francoise' Luck. Andreyev, Leonid. Five Plays. Scribner. The Life of Man, Caternia ivanovna. The Sabine Women, The Black Masters, Professor Staretgin. Aldis, Mary. Plays for Small Stages. Duffield, N. Y. The Drama Class of Tankaha, Nevada, Extreme Unction, The Letter, Temperament. Barker, Granville. Three Short Plays. Little, Brown & Co. Eococo, Vote by Ballot, Farewell to the Theater. *B8rrie, J. M. Echoes of War. Scribner. The Old Lady Shows Her Medals, The New Word, A Well Remem- bered Voice, Barbara's Wedding. *Barrie, J. M. Half Hours. Chas. Scribner, N. Y. Pan- taloon, Rosalind, Twelve Pound Look, The Will. Bennet, Arnold. Polite Farces. Farnley & Co., London. A Good Woman, A Question of Sex, The Stepmother. Brunner, Beatrice. Bits of Background. Alfred Knopf, N. Y. Over Age, The Spark of Life, Strangers. Making a Man. Cameron, Margaret. Comedies in Miniature. Doubleday 148 BOOKS OF ONE-ACT PLAYS 149 & Page, N. Y. Miss Doulton's Orchids, The Burglar^ The Kleptomaniac^ A Pipe of Peace, A Committee on Matrimony. Cannan, Gilbert. Four Plays. Brentano. James and John, Mary's Wedding, Miles Dixon, A Short Way with Authors. Cooke, Marjorie B. Dramatic Episodes. Dr. Pub. Co., Chicago. A Court Comedy, Manners and Modes, The Confessional, The Child in the House, Lady Betty's Burglar, Dinner with Complications, Reform, Success, The Lion and the Lady, When Love is Young. Contemporary Spanish Dramatists, C. A. Turrell, Badger, Boston. Contains 6 plays. DeMusset, Alfred. Barberine. Dr. Pub. Co., Chicago. Barberine, Fantasio, No Trifling with Love, A Door Must Be Either Open or Shut, A Caprice, One Cannot Think of Everything. *Dix, Beulah M. Allison's Lad. Holt, N. Y. Allison's Lad, Captain of the Gate, Dark of the Dawn, The Hundredth Trick, The Snare and the Fowler, The Weakest Link. Dreiser, Theodore. Plays of Natural and Supernatural. John Lane, N. Y. The Girl in the Coffin, The Blue Sphere, Laughing Gas, In the Dark, Spring Recital, Light in the Window, The Old Rag-picker. *Dunsany, Lord. Four Plays. John Luce, Boston. Tents of the Arabs, Laughter of the Gods, The Queen's Enemies, A Night at an Inn. *Dunsany, Lord. Five Plays. Little, Brown & Co., Bos- ton. Gods of the Mountains, The Golden Age, King Argimenes and the Unknown Warrior, The Glittering Gate, The Lost Silk Hat. Ellis, Mrs. Havelock. Love in Danger. Houghton Miif- lin. The Subjection of Kezia, The Pixy, The Mothers. 150 CHOOSING A PLAY Enander, Hilda. Three Plays. Richard Badger. In the Light of the Stone, The Man Who Did Not. Under- stand, Western Like. Ervine, St. John. Four Irish Plays. Maunsel, London. The Magnanimous Lover, The Orangeman, The Crit- ics, Mixed Marriage. *Fitzmaurice, George. Five Plays. Little, Brown & Co., Boston. The Country Dressmaker, The Moonlighter, The Pie Dish, The Magic Glasses, The Dandy Dolls (Irish). Guild, Thatcher. The Power of God. U. 111. Press. Class of '56, The Higher Good, The Portrait. Giacosa, Guiseppe. Sacred Ground. Mitchell Kennerley. Falling Leaves, Sacred Ground, The Stronger. Goldoni, Carlo. Four Comedies. A. C. McClurg. A Curious Mishap, The Beneficent Bear, The Fan, The Spendthrift. Goodman, Kenneth S. Quick Curtains. Stage Guild, Chi- cago. Dust of the Road, A Game of Chess, Barbara, Ephraim and the Winged Bear, Back of the Yards, The Dancing DoUs, A Man Can Only Do His Best. *Graham, Bertna N. Spoiling the Broth. Samuel French, N. Y. Spoiling the Broth, The Rose with a Thorn, The Land of the Free, The Little Red Fox, Pitch and Toss, Oh, the Press. Green, Clay M. Four Plays. George Doran & Co. The Dispensation, The Star of Bethlehem, The Awakening of Barbizon, Through Christmas Bells. Gregory, Lady Augusta. New Comedies. Putnam, N. Y. Coats, The Full Moon, MacDonough's Wife, The Bogie Man, Daemer's Gold. *Gregory, Lady Augusta. Seven Short Plays. Putnam, N. Y. The Workhouse Ward, The Rising of the BOOKS OF ONE-ACT PLAYS 151 Moon, The Jackdaw, Spreading the News, Hyacinth Halvey, The Traveling Man, The Gaol Gate. *Houghton, Stanley G. Five One-Act Plays. Samuel French, N. Y. The Dear Departed, Fancy Free, The Fifth Commandment, The Master of the House, Phipps. *Harvard Plays, Vol. 1. Brentano, N. Y. Three Pills in a Bottle, The Good Men Do, Two Crooks and a Lady, Free Speech. Harvard Plays, Vol. 2. Garafelia's Husband, The Harbor of Lost Ships, The Scales and the Sword, The Four Flushers. *Hay, Ian. The Crimson Cocoanut. Baker, Boston. A Late Delivery, The Crimson Cocoanut, The Missing Card. Jex, John. Passion Playlets. Cornhill Co., Detroit. Violet Souls, The Nest, Mr. Willoughly Calls, The Unnecessary Atom. *Jennings, Gertrude. Four One-Act Plays. French. The Rest Cure, The Pros and Cons, Acid Drops, Between the Soup and the Savory. Jones, Henry A. The Theater of Ideas. George Doran, N. Y. The Goal, Her Tongue, Grace Mary. *Kreymborg, Alfred. Plays for Poet Mimes. Sunwise Turn, N. Y. When William Nods, Jack's House, Lima Beans, Blue and Green, Manikin and Minikin, People Who Die. *Mackay, Constance D. The Beau of Bath. Henry Holt, N. Y. The Beau of Bath, The Silver Lining, Ashes of Roses, Gretna Green, Council Retained, Prince of Court Painters. *Mackay, Constance D. The Forest Princess. Henry Holt, N Y. Forest Princess, The Gift of Time, Con- servation, Pomona, The Sun Goddess. 152 CHOOSING A PLAY *MacKaye, Percy. Yankee Fantasies. Duffield & Co., N. Y. The Antick Chuck, GettysJ)urg, Sam Average, The Cat Boat. *Manners, J. Hartley. Happiness. Dodd, Mead & Co., N. Y. Happiness, It's Just as Well, The Day of Dupes. *Marks, Janet. Three Welsh Plays. Little, Brown & Co. The Merry Merry Cuckoo, The Deacon's Hat, The Welsh Honeymoon. *Merrington, Marguerite. Festival Plays. DufBeld & Co., N. Y. Father Time and His Children, TertuUa's Gar- den, Seven Sleepers of Ephesos, Princess Moss Rose, The Testing of Sir Gawayne, A Christmas Party. Middleton, George. Embers. Henry Holt & Co., N. Y. Embers, The Failures, The Gargoyle, In His House, Madonna, The Man Masterful. Middleton, George. Tradition. Henry Holt & Co., N. Y. The Cheat of Pity, On Bail, Their Wife, Waiting, Tradition, Mothers. Middleton, George. Possession. Henry Holt & Co., N. Y. Possession, The Groove, The Black Tie, A Good Woman, Circles, The Unborn. Middleton, George. Masks. Henry Holt & Co. Tides, Jim's Beast, The Reason, Among the Lions, The House. Morley, Malcolm. Told By The Gate. Gorham Press, Boston. Told By The Gate, The Masterpiece, Recol- lections, The Cosher, Beauty versus the Beast, A Motor Mishap. I *MacMillan, Mary. Short Plays. Stewart & Kidd, Cin- cinnati. The Shadowed Star, The Ring, The Rose, Luck, Entr' Acts, A Fan and Two Candle-sticks, A Woman's A Woman for A' That, A Modern Masque, The Futurists, The Gate of Wishes. MacMillan, Mary. More Short Plays. Stewart & Kidd, BOOKS OF ONE-ACT PLAYS 153 Cincinnati. His Second Girl, At the Church Door, Honey, The Dress Rehearsal of Hamlet, The Pioneers, In Mendelesia, The Dryad. Moeller, Phillip. Five Somewhat Historical Plays. Al- fred Knopf, N. Y. Helena's Husband, A Roadhouse in Arden, Sisters of Susannah, The Little Supper, Pokey, Burlesques. Morningside Plays. Pub. Frank Shay, N. Y. Hattie, One a Day, Markheim, The Home of the Free. Nirdlingler, Chas. Four Short Plays. Mitchell Ken- nerley. Big Kate, Look After Louise, The Real Peo- ple, Are n't They Wonders ? / O'Neill, Eugene. The Moon of the Caribbees. Boni & Liveright, N. Y. Bound East For CardiiT, The Long Voyage Home, He, In the Zone, Where the Cross is Made, The Rope. O'Brien, Seumas. Duty (Irish). Little, Brown Co., Bos- ton. 'Duty, Jurisprudence, Magnanimity, Match- makers, Retribution. Oliver, Margaret Scott. Six One-Act Plays. Richard Badger, Boston. The Hand of the Prophet, Children of Grenada, The Turtle Dove, This Youth, Gentlemen, The Striker, Murdering Selina. Pinski, David. Six Plays of the Yiddish Theater. John Luce. Abigail, Forgotten Souls, She Must Marry a Doctor, Winter, In the Dark, The Sinner. Phillips, Stephen. Lyrics and Dramas. John Lane, N. Y. The King, The Adversary, Nero's Mother. *Provincetown Plays. Frank Shay, 137 Macdougal St., N. Y. Vol. 1 Bound East For CardiiF, The Game, King Arthur's Socks. Vol. 111., The Two Sons, Lima Beans, Before Breakfast. Paine, Ursula. Plays of Democracy. Harper & Co. The Vision of Columbus, At the Gate of Peace, The 154 CHOOSING A PLAY Golden Star, The Highway of the King, The Con- version of Mrs. Slacker, The Hardships of Valley Forge. Reely, Mary K. Daily Bread. H. W. Wilson Co., N. Y. The Lean Years, A Window to the South. Representative One-Oct Plays. Mayorga. Little, Brown & Co., Boston. (Contains 24 of the best plays in this form together with bibliography. A most valuable book.) Schnitzler, Arthur. Comedies of Words. Stewart & Kidd. The Hour of Recognition, The Big Scene, The Festival of Bacchus, Helpniate, Literature. Sinclair, Upton. Plays of protest. Mitchell Kennerley. The Machine, The Nature Woman, The Second Story Man, Princess Hagen. Stevens, Thomas W. and Goodman, K. S. Masques of East and West. Lawrence Gomme, N. Y. The Daimio's Head, Masque of Montezuma, Csesar's Gods, Rainald and the Red Wolf, Masque of Quetzal's Bowl. Sudermann, Hermann. Morituri. Scribner, N. Y. Teja, Fritzchen, The Eternal Masculine. Sudermann, Hermann. Roses. Scribner, N. Y. The Far Away Princess, The Last Visit, Margot, Streaks of Light. Sutherland, Evelyn G. Po' White Trash. Duffield & Co., N. Y. Po' White Trash, In Far Bohemia, The End of the Way, A Comedie Royall, A Bit of Instruction, A Song at the Castle, Rohan the Silent, At the Bara- cade, Galatea of the Toyshop. *Sutro, Alfred. Five Little Plays. Brentano, N. Y. The Bracelet, The Man in the Stalls, The Man on the Kerb, A Marriage Has Been Arranged. Tagore, Rabindranath. Sacrifice and other Plays. Mac- millan & Co. Sacrifice, The King & Queen, Molini, Sanyasi. BOOKS OF ONE-ACT PLAYS 155 Torrence, Ridgely. Plays for a Negro Theater. Macmil- lan & Co. Granny Maumee, The Rider of Dreams, Simon the Cyrenean. Wallser, Stuart. More Portmanteau Plays. Stewart & Kidd, Cincinnati, O. The Lady of the Weeping Wil- low Tree, The Very Naked Boy, Jonathan Makes a Wish. *Walker, Stuart. Portmanteau Plays. Stewart & Kidd, Cincinnati. The Trimplet, The Six Who Passed, Nevertheless, The Medicine Show. Wilde, Percival. Confessional. Henry Holt, N. Y. Con- fessional, The Villain in the Piece, According to Dar- win, The Question of Morality, The Beautiful Story. *Wilde, Percival. The Unseen Host and Other Plays. Little, Brown & Co. The Unseen Host, Mothers of Men, Pawns, In the Ravine, Valkyrie. *Wilde, Percival. Dawn. Henry Holt, N. Y. Dawn, The Noble Lord, The Traitor, Playing With Fire, The Finger of God. *Washington Square Plays. Doubleday & Page, N. Y. Overtones, The Clod, Eugenically Speaking, Helena's HusBand. Watts, Mary S. Three Short Plays, MacMillan, N. Y. An Ancient Dance, Civilization, The Wearin' of the Green. ♦Wisconsin Plays. Vol. 1. W. B. Huebsch, N. Y. Neighbors, In Hospital, Glory of the Morning. Wisconsin Plays. Vol. 11. W. B. Huebsch, N. Y. The Feast of the Holy Innocents, On the Pier, The Shadow, We Live Again. *Yeats, Wm. B. The Hour Glass. Macmillan, N. Y. The Hour Glass, Cathleen ni Hoolihan, A Plot of Broth. 156 CHOOSING A PLAY One-act plays from various countries may be found as follows : Modern Icelandic Plays, American Scandinavian Founda- tion Society, N. Y. The Treasurers (Yiddish), David Pihski, Huebsch, N. Y. Plays from the Russian. Ostrosky. Scribner. Four Plays from the Spanish. Benavente. Scribner. Five One-Act Plays from the Spanish appeared in the "Drama Quarterly," for May, 1915. Five Russian Plays. E. P. Dutton, N. Y. SECTION VIII PLAYS POSSIBLE FOR OUTDOOR PRODUCTION Antick, The, MacKaye. (In "Y.ankee Fantasies.") Arrow Maker, The, Austin, Duffield & Co., N. Y. Beyond the Gate, Crandall, Fr. Chaplet of Pan, Rice & Stevens, Stage Guild, Chicago, 1527 Railway Exchange Building. Comus, Milton, Music Prof. Lewis, Tuft's College. Columbine, Arkell, Fr. Chuck, MacKaye. (In "Yankee Fantasies.") Canterbury Pilgrims, The, MacKaye, Brentano. Chinese Lantern, The, Hauseman, Dr. P. Co. Demeter and Persephone, Stevens, Music by Colburn, Drama League, Chicago. Dryad and the Deacon, The, Bates, Drama, Mar. 1920. Engaged by Wednesday, Owen, Bk. Endymion, Warren, Bk. Edge of the Wood, The, Roof, Dr. Feb. 1920. Four Masques For Out-of-Doors, Carman & King, Bren- tano. Foresters, The, Tennyson, Music by Arthur Sullivan. Falcon, The, Tennyson. Forest Princess, The, MacKaye. (In "The Forest Prin- cess.") Good of the Wood, The, Gireaudeau, "Drama," June, 1920. Gold, Myrtle, Music by Stewart. Glory of the Morning, Leonard. (In "Wisconsin Plays.") Heart of Pierrot, The, Scott, Dr. 2-'20 — (cliildren). 167 158 CHOOSING A PLAY King Rene's Daughter, Herz, Bk. Lost, A Chaperone, Maulsby, Bk. Lost Pleiad, The, Drasefield, Sunwise Turn. Masque of Conservation, A, Mackay. (In "The Forest Princess.") Masque of Pomona, The, MacKaye. (In "The Forest Prin- cess.") Meadow Gold (children). University of Wisconsin exten- sion. Poor John, Sierra, trans. Underhill, Dr. Feb. 1920. Prunella, Hausman, Dr. P. Co. Pandora, Longfellow (possible for children). Pioneers, The, Mackay. (In "The Forest Princess.") Pierrot of the Minute, The, Dowson, Mosher. Pioneers, The, Oppenheim, Huebsch. Queen's Hour, The, McCauley, Drama, June, 1920. Quay of Magic Things, The, Mosher, Dr. Feb., 1920. Red Cap, Keyes, Bk. (possible for children). Robin of Sherwood, Yale Press. Radisson, Long, Holt. Romancers, The, Rostand, Fr. Sanctuary, The (Bird Masque), MacKaye, Stokes. Sweethearts, Gilbert, D. & F. Sun Goddess, The, MacKaye. (In "The Forest Princess.") Sakoontala (Hindu) translation Williams, Dodd, Mead. Shepherd, The, Dargan. Sherwood, Noyes. Sleeping Beauty, Dubois, Brentano (possible for children). Three Chauffeurs, The (girls), Chatterton, Fr. Tune of a Tune, A, Totheroh, "Drama," Feb., 1920. "Woods of Ida" Masque of 40 years before fall of Troy, Dargan, "Century," Aug., 1907. Well of the Saints, The, Synge. Shakespeare's plays and the plays of the Greeks. SECTION IX PLAYS FOR STUDY AND SCENE WOEK Barrie, J. M. What Every Woman Knows. Bennett, Arnold The Honeymoon, The Great Adventure, Milestones. Browning, Robert. In a Balcony. Burnett, Frances H. The Dawn of a Tomorrow, Esmer- alda. Galsworthy, John. The Pigeon, Strife, Justice, The Little Dream. Hauptman, Gerhart. The Sunken Bell, Hannele. Hausman, Robert. Prunella. Ibsen, Hendrik. The Doll's House, Pillars of Society, Brand, Rosmersholm. Jerome, J. K. The Passing of the Third Floor Back. Kennedy, Charles R. The Winter Feast, The Servant in the House. Knoblauch, Edward. The Faun, My Lady's Dress. Long, John L. Madam Butterfly. MacKaye, Percy. Mater, The Scarecrow, Jean D'Arc, Tomorrow, A Thousand Years Ago. Masefield, John. Nan. , Materlinck, Maurice. Pelleas and Melisande, The Blue B^rd, Monna Vanna, Sister Beatrice, The Betrothal. MofFat, Graham. Bunty Pulls the Strings. Moody, William V. The Great Divide, The Faith Healer. Parker, Louis N. Disraeli, Pomander Walk. 159 160 CHOOSING A PLAY Peabody, Josephine P. The Piper. Phillips, Stephen. Herod, Ulysses, Paolo and Francesca. Pinero, Arthur W. Sweet Lavender. Bostand, Edmund. The Princess Faraway, Chantecleer, L'Aiglon, The Romancers, Cyrano De Bergerac. Shaw, Bernard. Csesar and Cleopatra, Fanny's First Play, You Never Can Tell, Candida, Androcles and the Lion. Suderman, Hermann. Magda, The Faraway Princess, Roses. Synge, J. M. Riders to the Sea. Tarkington, Booth. Monsieur Beaucaire. Thomas, Augustus. The Witching Hour, As a Man Thinks. Wentworth, Marion C. The Flower Shop, War Brides. Yeats, William B. The Land of Heart's Desire, The Hour Glass, The Pot of Broth. Zamacois, Miguel. The Jesters. Zangwill, Israel. Merely Mary Ann.' SECTION X * r BOOKS OF PLAYS FOR CHILDREN Colonial Plays in School, Educational Pub. Co. Dramatic Festivals, Craig, Putnam. Dramatic Header, Gardner, Educational Pub. Co. Dramatic Sketches for Grades, Boone, Dramatic Pub. Co., Chicago. Dramatization, Simons & Orr, Scott, Foresman & Co. Dramatizations, Frances E. Clark, "Popular Educator," Oct., 1911. Dramatic Reader, Wood, Longmans, Green, N. Y. Dramatizations of School Classics, Lazelle, Educational Pub. Co. 'Everybody and Other Plays, Anderson, Shakespeare Press, .; N. Y. Four Plays For Children, Sidgwick, Small, Maynard, Boston. Festival Plays, Merrington, DufEeld, N. Y. Folk Festivals, Needham, Huebsch, N. Y. . Harper's Book of Little Plays, Barnum, Harper, N. Y. Historical Plays for Children, Birr, Macmillan & Co., N. y. House of the Heart, The, MacKaye, Holt. Contents: The Silver Thread, The Forest Princess. How to Produce Children's Plays, MacKaye, Holt, N. Y. Holiday Plays, Merrington, Duffield & Co., N. Y. Historical Plays of Colonial Days, Tucker, L. E. Longmans, Green, N. Y. 161 \ 162 CHOOSING A PLAY Little Plays from American History, Walker, Holt, N. Y. Little Dramas for Primary Grades, Skinner & Lawrence, American Bk. Co. Land of Make-Believe, The, Gardener, Educational Pub. Co., Chicago, 111. Little Plays for Little Players, Hagar, "Primary Educa- tion," Jan., 1912. Neptune's Isle, Chapman, Moffat, Yard, N. Y. Plays for School Children, Lutkenhaus, The Century Co., N. Y. Patriotic Plays and Pageants, Mackay, Holt. » Patriotic Pageants of Today, Thorpe and Kimball, Holt, V N. Y. ♦» Plays of the Pioneers, MacKaye, Harper & BiOcb-} N. Y. Short Plays About Famous Authors, Frank, Holt, N. Y. Short Plays from Dickens, Browne, Scribner, N. Y. School-room Plays and Exercises, Allen, Educational Pub. Co., Boston and N. Y. Story Plays for Little Ones, Maguire, Educational Pub. Co., Boston and N. Y. •, St. Nicholas Book of Plays, The Century Co. *Tales and Plays of Eobin Hood, Skinner, American Bk. Co. SECTION XI Other bibliographical lists of plays may be found as follows : Actable One-Act Plays, Chicago Public Library. Bibliography of Published Plays Available in English, World Drama Prompters, La JoUa, Cal. Chandler, In "Aspects of Modem Drama." Cheney, In "The Art Theater." Clapp, Plays for Amateurs, Drama League, Chicago, 111. Clark, In "How to Produce Amateur Plays." Dickinson, In "The Insurgent Theater." Drama League Calendar, Oct. 1, 1918, N. Y. Drama League, Boston, Mass., Selective List of Plays for Amateurs. Dramatic Index, available in most libraries, edited by F. W. Faxon, Boston, publishes a complete list of plays writ- ten and produced from year to year. "English Journal," Sept., 1919, Plays for the Time (before the Armistice). "English Journal," Mar., 1918, Some Continental Plays for Amateurs. "English Journal," Feb., 1918, Better High School Plays. "Education," Vol. 4, p. 372, 1918, One- Act Plays for Schools and Colleges. French, New York, Guide to Selecting Plays. Lewis, In "The Technique of the One-Act Play." r Lewis, In Extension Series No. 2, U. of Utah. 163 164 CHOOSING A PLAY McFadden, E. A., 113 Lake View Ave., Cambridge, Mass., Selected List of Plays for Amateurs. MacKaye, In "The Little Theater in the United States." "Public Speaking Eeview," Nov., 1912, Plays for High Schools and Colleges. (Magazine may be obtained from Hinds & Noble, N. Y.). "Quarterly Journal of Speech Education," Oct., 1915, Fifty One-Act Plays. "Quarterly Journal of Speech Education," July, 1916, High School Plays. "Quarterly Journal of Speech Education," Oct., 1918, One- Act Plays for Schools and Colleges. Riley, In "Drama League Monthly," Feb., 1918, The One- Act Play-Study Course. Swartout, Summit, N. J., List "One Hundred and One Good Plays. Stratton, 4477 Pershing Ave., St. Louis, Mo., "One Hun- dred Plays Suitable for Amateurs." SECTION XII MAGAZINES AND PERIODICALS OF ASSISTANCE There are many magazines and periodicals which furnish a large amount of information and assistance for all those working in dramatic lines, and these should be perused with care by all who have to do any great amount of directing. If possible, the school library should have one or more of these available, certainly the town library can furnish them. "The Drama," a monthly re- view published by the Drama League of America, has in the past year changed its policy and is a much more helpful source for the director than ever before. It is published in Chicago, 59 E. Van Buren Street. "The Theater Arts Maga- zine," published in New York, is one of the great- est helps and inspirations to the worker in dra- matics, and deals entirely with matters dramatic. "Poetry" and "Poet Lore" frequently publish 165 166 CHOOSING A PLAY plays and other helpful suggestions. "Current Opinion" publishes each month an excerpt from one of the leading New York plays, and it is so complete an excerpt as to make a knowledge of the play as a whole quite adequate. It is of the greatest value in helping one to keep in touch with the yearly productions. "The Christian Science Monitor" has a very good theatrical page in each Tuesday edition and other good reviews are found in the New York "Times," "Sun" and "Post," as well as in the "Boston Transcript." It is necessary to keep in touch with a large number of periodicals if one wishes to be well informed in matters of dramatic interest. The "North American Review," "The Book- man," the "American Magazine," "The Century Magazine" and even "Munsey's" and "The Sat- urday Evening Post" frequently have articles of vital interest, to say nothing of magazines which we usually rank much lower. If one can have access to "The Fortnightly Re- view," published in England, much more desir- able and interesting material will be available. MAGAZINES 167 Again I urge directors to be alive to their duties by much reading, we have too long taken amateur dramatics too easily ourselves and so can expect little else from those to whom we administer them. SECTION XIII BOOKS AND ARTICLES ON PAGEANTEY Books Burleigh. Community Drama, Little, Brown, Boston. Bates, E. W. Pageants and Pageantry, New York, Ginn &Co. Beegle, Crawford. Community Drama and Pageantry, Yale University Press. Cheney, S. The Open Air Theater, Kennerley, N. Y. Craig, A. A. T. The Dramatic Festival, Kennerley, N. Y. Chubb, P. Festivals and Plays, Harper & Co., N. Y. Davol, Ralph. Handbook of American Pageantry, Taun- ton, Mass. Hatcher, O. L. A Book for Shakespeare Plays and Page- ants, New York. Mackay, C. D. Patriotic Plays and Pageants, New York, Henry Holt. Mackay, C. D. Patriotic Drama in Your Town, Holt, N. Y. MacKaye, P. W. The Civic Theater, New York. MacKaye, P. W. The Play House and the Play, Mac- millan & Co., N. Y. Needham, Mrs. Mary M. Folk Festivals, Their Growth and How to Give Them, New York. BOLLETINS AND PaMPHLETJS Bulletins of the American Pageant Association, Mary Porter Beegle, Secretary, Barnard College, New York, 168 BOOKS ON PAGEANTRY 169 Bulletins of the Indiana Historical Commission^ State House, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1915. Bulletin of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, Bulle- tin of Information No. 84, July, 1916. Articles The list was prepared from material furnished by the United States Bureau of Education, from "Sources of Information on Play and Recreation" (New York, Russell Sage Foundation, 1915) and from other sources. American Historical Pageants. "Independent," 63: 166- 67, July 18, 1907. Baker, G. P. What the Pageant Can Do for the Town, "Ladies' Home Journal," 31:44, April, 1914, Bland, Henry M. California May Fete, "Overland Monthly," 1, n.s. 52: 248-49, September, 1908. lUus. Chessire, J. K. C. Bethlehem Tableaux, New York, E. P. Dutton, 1913, 102 pp., lUus. Clark, Lotta A. Pageants and Local History, "History Teachers' Magazine," V., 287. Coleman, A. I. du Pont. Oxford Pageant, "Bookman," 25:349-51, June, 1907. Columbus Day. Fitchburg (Mass.) Normal School, "Jour- nal of Education," 74: 238-39, 244, September 7, 1911, Illus. Coburn, Frederick W. The Educational Pageant at Bos- ton, "School Journal," 76: 52-53, October, 1908, Illus. Corbin, A. M., and Fisher, E. V. Making of a Festival, "Playground," 5:355-60, January, 1912. Dickinson, T. H. The Pageant, History, Structure and . Uses, The Play Book, September, 1914. Dye, Charity. The Historical Pageant in the Schools, "Atlantic Educational Journal," 6: 90,. 207-10, No- vember, 1910; February, 1911, Illus. 170 CHOOSING A PLAY The Dramatizing of History Material, "Indiana Uni- versity Bulletin/' 13: No. 10, p. 20, September, 1915. Foster, Paul Pinkerton. Reviving the Elizabethan Page- ant, "World Today," 15: 827-33, August, 1908, lUus. Farnsworth, Charles F. Festival Course at Dartmouth, "Independent," 73: 371-74, August 15, 1912. Farwell, A. Pageant and Masque at St. Louis — A People's Drama on a National Scale, "American Review of Re- views," 50:187-93, August, 1914, lUus. Festivals, "Atlantic Educational Journal," a monthly de- partment conducted by Prof. P. W. Dykema, Balti- more, Md. Historical Pageant at Warwick, England, "Review of Re- views," 34: 201-202, August, 1906, lUus. Hudson-Fulton Celebration, Children's Festivals, "Play- ground," 3: 1-10, November, 1909, Illus. Johnson, Martyn. Chicago's Renaissance, "Putnam's Magazine," 6:41-47, April, 1909. Langdon, William Chauncey. The Deerfield Pageant (Deerfield, Mass., July 14, 15, 16, 1910), "Play- ground," 4: 417-28, March, 1911, Illus. The Pageant of the Perfect City, "Playground," 5:2-17, April, 1911, Illus. Philadelphia Historical Pageant, "Survey," 29: 215-18, No- vember 23, 1912. Suggestions for the celebration of the Fourth of July by means of pageantry . . . with an article and notes on the music by Arthur Farwell, New York, Division of Recreation of the Russell Sage Foundation, 1912, 56 pp., 8. Pageant of Meridan, N. H., "American City," 10:355-61, April, 1914. Pageant of St. Johnsbury, "American City," 8:481-87, May, 1913. BOOKS ON PAGEANTRY 171 Kochj F. H. Amateur Values in Pageantry, Quarterly Journal of Speech Education, Oct., 1915. Koch, F. H. Creative Instinct in Play-Making, "English Journal," May, 1920. Lincoln, Jeannette E. C. Festival Book, New York, A. S. Barnes & Co., 1912, 74 pp. Lord, Katherine. Pageant of the Evolution of Industry, "Playground," 5: 407-410, March, 1912. Mackay, C. D. Out-of-Doors Dramatics and How to Pre- pare for Them, "Ladies' Home World," May, 1915. MacKaye, Percy. St. Louis — A Civic Masque, New York, Doubleday, Page, 1914, 99 pp. MacTavish, Newton. Our Three Hundredth Birthday, "Canadian Magazine," SI : 386-401, September, 1908, lUus. Maercklein, Brudette Crane. Historic Pageants and Spec- tacles enacted at Hartford during the great bridge fete, "New England Magazine," n.s. S9: 426-33, December, 1908, Illus. Mero, E. B. Value of Holidays in the Building of Citizen- ship, "American City," p: 354-367, October, 1913. McReynolds, George. The Centennial Pageant for In- diana — Suggestions for its performance, "Indiana Magazine of History," September, 1915. Needham, Mary Master. Folk Festivals: Their Growth and How to Give Them, New York, Huebsch, 1912, 244 pp. Oberholtzer, Ellis Paxson. Historical Pageant, "History Teachers' Magazine," 1:167-68, April, 1910. Old Quebec's Tercentenary Pictures, "World Today," 15: 679-84, July, 1908. Pearson, Alvick A. Tournament of Roses, "Overland Monthly," n.s. 40: 97-112, February, 1907, Illus. 172 CHOOSING A PLAY Philadelphia's Pageant, 1912, "Outlook," 103:89-91, January, 1913. Schauifler, Robert H. Our American Holidays, New York, MofFatt, Yard & Co. "Spectator" (pseud.) Scenes at Quebec, "Outlook," 89 : 885- 92, August 22, 1908. Stevens, Thomas W., and Goodman, Kenneth S. Pageant for Independence Day, Chicago, State Guild. Stevens, Thomas Wood. The Pageant as a School Exer- cise, "School Arts Book," 11 : 1003-11, June, 1912. Stewart, Jane A. Philadelphia's Birthday, "School Jour- nal," 76:101-102, November, 1908. Taintor, J. F. An Historical Pageant in a Small College Town, "Playground," 4: 357-63, February, 1911, lUus. Eipon, Wisconsin, June 14, 1910. Rural Pageant, Ripon, Wis., "Playground," 7:240-256, September, 1913. Thobum, Helen. Pageantry in Country Places, "Rural Manhood," 4:323-327, November, 1913. Turnbull, George. English Historical Pageants, "World's Work," 15:9659-74, December, 1907, Illus. Wade, H. T. What the Pageant Does for Local History, "American Review of Reviews," September, 1913. Wright, W. H. California Historical Pageant, "Inde- pendent," 72: 1090-93, May 23, 1912. SECTION XIV; BOOKS AND ARTICLES ON DRAMATIZATION IN SCHOOL WORK Abbott, Allan. A High School Course in Drama, "English Journal," 2:93-98, February, 1913. Barney, Mabel I. The Dramatic Instinct in the Elemen- tary School, including the Pilgrim Play, "Teachers' College Record," 8: 118-26, May, 1907. The College Play— What is Being Done With It and What Can Be Done With It, "Public Speaking Review," 3:5-11, May, 1913. ^ Carter, Elsie H. Christmas Candles, New York, Henry Holt & Co., 1915. Clapp, John M. Plays for Amateurs, Drama League of America, 1915, 44 pp. Cone, Adelia W. The Value of Dramatics in the Secondary School, "Ohio Educational Monthly," 61 : 462-64, Sep- tember, 1912. Craig, Anne Throop. The Development of a Dramatic Element in Education, "Pedagogical Seminary," 15: 75-81, March, 1908. Curtis, Eleanora W. Dramatic Instinct in Education, New York, Houghton, MifSin, 1914, 245 pp. Dorey, J. Milnor. A School Course in Dramatics, "Eng- lish Journal," 1:425-30, September, 1912. Dramatization a Factor in School Education, "School and Home Education," 29: 13-22, September, 1909. 173 174 CHOOSING A PLAY Dryer, Mabel Elizabeth. The Making of a Play, "Ele- mentary School Teacher," 8:423-36, April, 1908. Finlay-Johnson, Harriet. The Dramatic Method of Teach- ing, London, J. Nisbet & Co., 256 pp., lUus. 12. Fleming, Martha. The Making of a Play, "Elementary School Teacher," 8:15-23, September, 1907. Fry, Emma S. Education Dramatics, New York, MofFat, Yard, 1913, 69 pp. Guide and Index to Plays, Festivals and Masques, compiled by Association of Neighborhood Workers, New York, Harper's, 1913, 44 pp. Guild, Thacher H. Suggestions for the High School Play, "English Journal," 2:637-46, December, 1913. Reprinted from the April "Bulletin of the Illinois As- sociation of Teachers of English." ^ Gives a list of some plays which have proved success- ful at the University of Illinois and the local schools. Hall, Jennie. Some Plans of Dramatic Representation in Primary Grades, "Elementary School Teacher," 4: 566-78, April, 1904. Heniger, A. M. H. Drama's Value for Children, "Good Housekeepipg," 56:636-647, November, 1913, lUus. Herr, Charlotte B. The Value of Dramatic Work in the Teaching of English, "Journal of Education," 67:95- 97, January 23, 1908. Johnson, Dramatic Method of Teaching, Ginn & Co. MacClintock, Porter Lander. Drama. In His Literature in the Elementary School, Chicago, University of Chi- cago Press, 1907, pp. 212-28. Mackay, Clarence D'Arcy. Costumes and Scenery for Amateurs, New York, Henry Holt, 1915. How to Produce Children's Plays, New York, Henry Holt, 1915, 151 pp. BOOKS ON DRAMATIZATION 175 Oglevay, Kate. Plays for Children, Drama League of America, 1915, 15 pp. O'Shea, Michael Vincent. The Dramatization of School Work, "Outlook," 89:93-94, May, 1908. Payne, Bertha. Dramatic Play in the Kindergarten, "Elementary School Teacher," 4: 588-93, April, 1904. Purcell, Helen Elizabeth. Children's Dramatic Interest and How This May Be Utilized in Education, "Ele- mentary School Teacher," 7:510-18, May, 1907. Scherz, T. J. How Dramatization of Stories Helps in Teaching Modern Languages, "Francis W. Parker's School Yearbook," 4: 147-153, June, 1915. Smith, John Talbot. The College Drama, "Catholic Edu- cational Review," 7:315-24, April, 1914. The Drama in the School, "Catholic Educational Re- view," 4: 364-71, October, 1912. Specimen School Dramas, "Catholic Educational Re- view," 4:398-408, November, 1912. Spaulding, Alice Howard. The Drama and the Public Schools, "Pittsburgh School Bulletin," 6:1468-71, 1497-1501, November, December, 1912. Welch, John S. Dramatization. In His Literature in the School — Aims, Methods, and Interpretations, New York (etc.). Silver, Burdett & Company (1910), pp. 69-63. Woodbury, Sarah E. Dramatization in the Grammar Grades, Los Angeles, Baumgardt Publishing Co., 1909, 49 pp., Illus. 12. SECTION XV BOOKS ABOUT THE THEATER AND ACTING Actors and the Art of Acting, Lewes, Henry Holt & Co. American Dramatist, Moses, Little, Brown & Co. American Stage Today, Eaton, Small, Maynard & Co. Appreciation of the Drama, Caffin, Baker, Taylor Co. Art Theater, The, Cheney, Alfred Knopf. Aspects of Modern Drama, Chandler, Macmillan & Co. Case of the American Drama, Dickinson, Houghton, Mifflin Co. Changing Drama, The, Henderson, Henry Holt & Co. Civic Theater, The, MacKaye, Mitchell Kennerley. Community Theater, The, Burleigh, Little, Brown & Co. Costumes and Scenery for Amateurs, Mackay, Henry Holt & Co. Drama of Today, The, Andrews, J. B. Lippincott. Dramatic Values, Montague, Macmillan & Co. Dramatic Technique, Baker, Houghton, Mifflin Co. Essays on Modern Dramatists, Phelps, Macmillan & Co. Future of the Theater, The, Palmer, G. Bell & Sons. How to Produce Amateur Plays, Clark, Little, Brown & Co. How to See a Play, Burton, Macmillan & Co. How's Your Second Act? Hopkins, Phillip Goodman, N. Y. Iconoclasts, Huneker, Chas. Scribner Co. Insurgent Theater, The, Dickinson, W. B. Huebsch & Co. Little Theater in the United States, Mackay, Henry Holt &Co. Masques or Faces, Archer, Longmans, Green Co. Modern Drama, Lewisohn, W. B. Huebsch. 176 BOOKS ABOUT THE THEATER 177 New American Drama, The, Burton, Thos. Crowell. New Movement in the Theater, The, Cheney, Mitchell Kennerley. New Spirit in Drama and Art, The, Carter, Mitchell Kennerley. On Acting, Matthews, Chas. Scribner. Open Air Theater, The, Cheney, Mitchell Kennerley. On the Art of the Theater, Craig, Brown's Bank, Chicago. Patriotic Drama in Your Town, Mackay, Henry Holt & Co. People's Theater, The, EoUand, Henry Holt & Co. Playhouse and the Play, The, MacKaye, MacmUlan & Co. Play Making, Archer, Small, Maynard & Co. Play of Today, The, Hunt, John Lane Co. Play Production in America, Krows, Henry Holt & Co. Plays and Players, Eaton, Stewart, Kidd & Co. Practical Stage Directing for Amateurs, Taylor, E. P. Dutton & Co. Principles of Drama Therapy, Austin, Frank Shay, N. Y. Problems of the Actor, Calvert, Henry Holt & Co. Problems of the Playwright, Hamilton, Henry Holt & Co. Eomance of the American Theater, Crawford, Little, Brown & Co. Studies in Stagecraft, Hamilton, Henry Holt & Co. Study of The Drama, Matthews, Chas. Scribner & Co. Technique of the Drama, Baker, Houghton, Mifflin. Technique of The Drama, Price, Brentano, N. Y. Theater of Today, The, Moderwell, John Lane & Co. Theater of Max Reinhardt, The, Carter, Mitchell Kenner- ley. Theory of the Theater, The, Hamilton, Henry Holt & Co. Towards a New Theater, Craig, E. P. Dutton & Co. Training for the Stage, Hornblow, J. B. Lippincott. Technique of the One-Act Play, Lewis, John Luce & Co. Twentieth Century Theater, The, Phelps, Macmillan & Co. THE END Cornell University Library Z5781 .J67 1920 Choosini olin 3 1924 032 394 219 ^^^^^^^^^