Illinois Association of Teachers of English — Bulletin Vol. V, No. 7 Urban a, Illinois April.. 1, ,1913 Published every month except June, July, August, and September. Entered as second class matter May 22, 1909, at the postoffice at Urbana, Illinois, under the Act of July 16, 1894. Communications may be addressed to J. M. Clapp, Lake Forest, Chairman of the Executive Committee, or to H. G. Paul, Urbana. PROBLEMS OF THE HIGH SCHOOL PLAY The wide popularity of the school play is pretty clearly indicated in the fact that seventy per cent of our college freshmen have taken part in amateur dramatics. That teachers find many difficulties in selecting and producing these plays is equally clear from the dozens of letters that come to us every season. If we agree that dramatics can be made a really use- ful feature of school life, some practical suggestions may be of assistance to those who have not found the problem a simple one. We may as well admit that the school productions are generally regarded as pure recreation for all con- cerned — except the hard-working coach. The Senior Play is an exhibition, where the girls may display themselves at their prettiest and the boys show how gallant or funny they can make themselves. Even so, the little vanities of the actors may be over-ruled for good by a wise and sympathetic teacher. Indeed, the fact that the pupil’s ambitions are natural and spon- taneous means a fine opportunity for accomplishing ends not otherwise easily attained. Clear speech, ease of movement, and self-control, are graces that may be taught in almost any play. If the drama has even a lit- \ I The 2 tie claim to literary value tlie lessons may go much fleepor; ami they are noue-the less valuable becaush they are learned— or absorbed— freely and without drudgery. In choosing the play, then, there should be a double purpose. First of all, it must entertain; it must give unforced pleasure to the audience. But this is never inconsistent with the other aim, to give the actors something worth doing. A School Tradi- tion, for instance, may decree that the play be comic. It would be perhaps a cruel disappointment to present a sombre drama. But there are dozens of comedies which will entertain worthily ; and some farces, even, may justify themselves in production. If this principle of choice seems to put a prem- ium on mediocrity, I have not made myself clear. It is the only principle, I believe, which makes possible the consistent approach to an ideal. Apply it to some schools, and you would demand nothing less than annual productions of Shakespeare. But apply it elsewhere and you would have to admit that “The Col- lege Widow” might be a thoroughly wise choice, while “Midsummer Night’s Dream” would surely be a fool- ish- one. Who profits if the “Dream” is so played (or so received) that every scene suggests the buffoon- eries of Bottom’s actors? With the best intentions in the world, however, the teacher often finds the choice of play very difficult. The themes of nine plays in ten bar them for school use. Then, too, the choice is conditioned by all sorts of hard facts: the number of available boys and girls; their height, voice, and ability; the size of the stage; its scenery or the lack of it ; the expense of costumes ; tastes and prejudices of the community, and so on. “We want a play”, our correspondents write, “which will give us a chance to use all the members of the 3 class — four boys and twenty-nine girls.” Of course, there is only one way to get such a play, and that is to write it ; unless one selects a piece with four male char- acters and contrives to decorate the stage in certain scenes with the otherwise superfluous girls. The former method is really possible for many a clever teacher, but such an one needs no advice from us. The historical pageant, and the adaptation of stories or narrative poems, may furnish a way out ; and some- times a program of one-act plays solves the problem. In general, however, the safest way is to choose some- thing which will adequately bring out the ablest pupils, and then to exercise all possible ingenuity in introducing the others in the program. The old stand-bys are much more useful than is generally realized. Shakespeare, Goldsmith, and Sheridan cannot be carelessly counted out. “She Stoops to Conquer” and “The Rivals”, if at all well done, still overpeer the petty traffickers even in the thing which the young actors most crave, — the power to excite the right kind of laughter and applause. Clever pupils, ably directed, may thoroughly delight their friendly audiences in Shakespeare’s “A Mid- summer Night’s Dream”, “The Merchant of Venice”, “As You Like It”, or “Twelfth Night” ; or even in “The Taming of the Shrew”, “The Tempest”, or “Julius Caesar”. Good short plays may readily be adapted from scenes in others of the Shakespeare classics : for example, “The Night Before the Battle”, Henry V., Act IV, Scene I; or “ The Entrapping of Beatrice”, Much Ado About Nothing, Act III, Scene I. The standard plays, let me repeat, need marked ability in the coaching as well as in the acting; under the right conditions, however, they may be made as truly popu- lar in their appeal as one could wish. 4 In searching further, the catalogs of the play- publishers are helpful, tho one is likely to be confused by the multitude of pieces offered. Some of these lists, however, are arranged according to the number and sex of characters. The setting required and the time taken in representation are also shown, with something of the plot and nature of the play. Most of these offerings cost but fifteen cents each, so that one may select a dozen for examination at small expense. Unfortunately, the lists contain so much worthless stuff that this sort of blind choice is likely to waste time. The catalogs of the following firms, which will be mailed free on request, contain most of the avail- able published plays commonly given by amateurs: Walter H. Baker & Co., 5 Hamilton Place, Boston ; The Dramatic Publishing Co., Pontiac Bldg., Chicago; Samuel French, 28 W. 38th St., New York; Penn Publishing Co., 923 Arch St., Philadelphia; The Eld- ridge Entertainment House, Franklin, Ohio. A helpful list called “A Selected List of Plays for Amateurs” was privately published a few years ago, and information regarding it may be secured by writ- ing Miss E. A. McFadden, Cambridge, Mass. In Cambridge also, (41 Concord Ave.) is the “Agency for Unpublished Plays” which will furnish a valuable list of pieces which may be had in manuscript for the payment of a small royalty. The Stage Guild of Chi- cago prints interesting plays and pageants by T. W. Stevens and others. Many of the recent professional successes may be produced for a royalty of from $>25.00 to $50.00 ; for lists of these apply to one of the follow- ing agents: Alice Kauser, 1432 Broadway, New York; the DeMille Agency, Astor Theatre, New York; Selwyn & Co., 1402 Broadway, New York. This is the only method of securing such a play as, for example, Barrie’s “The Little Minister”, for which a royalty 5 of $50.00 is payable. Payment of the royalty due on a play is of course a serious moral as well as legal obli- gation, a fact which amateurs occasionally disregard. But most of the pieces advertised by firms mentioned in the preceding paragraph, may be produced without such payment. By way of further specific titles, I may mention some plays which have in one way or another proved successful at the University of Illinois and the local schools r 1 The Cricket on the Hearth For One Night Only Liberty Hall Nance Oldfield David Garrick Nephew or Uncle The College Politician The Palace of Truth The Honeymoon Our Boys ’Op-o’-me-Thumb The Hour Glass A Pot of Broth The Workhouse Ward The County Chairman Miss Civilization Marvelous Bentham Owin’ To Maggie The College Widow Maids and Matrons Giles Corey Pygmalion and Galatea Among others that seem to have proved pretty serviceable in one way and another, are these : The Rose of Plymouth Town The Private Secretary An American Citizen London Assurance Mice and Men Lend Me Five Shillings Caste The Prince Chap The Bishop’s Candlesticks Mr. Bob Cranford Nathan Hale The Romancers The Professor’s Love Story The Admirable Crichton A Royal Family Old Heidelberg The Man From Home Trelawney of the Wells The Knight of the Burning Pestle The Shoemaker’s Holiday A Message from Mars Tom Pinch Historical Pageant of Illinois The New Age But at best such lists only emphasize the scarcity of good dramas for school production. A few of the above deserve consideration on literary grounds, while others are highly artificial and theatrical. But at least iMost of these are listed in the catalogs mentioned above. c their themes are free from grossness and excessive sentimentality, they are reasonably “actable”, and each suggests some common type of audience which is sure to find it enjoyable. The discriminating teacher, furthermore, will try to keep in touch with the best of contemporary drama, acted and published. The bulletins of the Drama League of America may be readily secured, and the new plays and criticisms are annually listed in the Dramatic Index edited by Mr. Faxon and published by the Boston Book Company. In assigning parts, the all-important considera- tion is dramatic instinct. The valedictorian may not have a spark of it ; the class cut-up may have so little of it that he would prove anything but comic on the platform; and the shy fellow who has always seemed rather dull may surprise you by carrying off the lead- ing honors — if you discover hi m in time ! For nothing is more common than to find some minor part forging into prominence as rehearsals advance, through the development of unsuspected dramatic talent. Some- times, too, a pupil’s nature here first finds a way to express itself. On one occasion, for instance, when I was ready to assign the parts in a school play I saw that my choice of the “heroine” seemed both to puzzle and amuse the girl’s teachers. Not until the per- formance was over, however, and the girl had carried the play to success, did I learn that she had hitherto been considered an “impossible” sort of pupil. And as she was the making of the play, the play was really, in a way, the making of her. First, then, try to find out who among your candi- dates can break through their own shells and throw themselves into some other character; not in dialogue alone, but in gait, pose, laugh, facial expression. In- deed, a bit of pantomime may reveal more of one’s real 7 histrionic nature than a declamation. An imitation of some well-known “character”, or the reciting of a piece involving impersonation, may serve the purpose. The mere reading aloud of parts of the chosen play is unsatisfactory. But if a group can be made to laugh and strut and shout over the first reading of the play (when the parts are assigned almost at random) you may find the very freedom and effervescence of the moment revealing just the qualities you are seeking. Whatever the method, encourage informality; the candidate before being judged should be “worked up” to a point where he is as free as possible from self- consciousness. When you are sure you have tested the essential dramatic instinct of the pupils, ordinary principles of choice may determine the final allotment. If you have to choose between a gallant, temperamental Or- lando whose enunciation is bad, and a wooden youth of perfectly proper speech, remember that it is much easier to correct faulty speech than to supply the dramatic spirit. Apart from this special considera- tion, however, it is the same energetic, responsive, thinking boy or girl that you have always relied on, who will best repay your confidence now. Test the voice carefully, however, for two elements. It must have carrying power. And its quality should enable the speaker to suggest, or at least to avoid belying, the character assumed. This would seem unnecessary advice, but most of us have at some time been jarred by the healthy resonance in the tones of a tottering Aclam , or by the soft and kittenish purr of a Portia as she triumphs over the Jew. This sort of incon- gruity often comes about because personal appearance has been too strong a factor in the choice. Remember that face and figure are capable of amazing stage- alterations, while few amateurs can effectively alter 8 the voice. Test this for a moment with some candi- date, by shutting your eyes and letting the sound of the voice suggest the character possibilities. For the actual coaching of the piece, there are certain qualifications, such as tact and driving power, which should be called into play before one’s dra- matic instinct ( sine qua non ) may be given free rein with any assurance of success. Such things, of course, belong outside this discussion. But one other essen- tial I may specially emphasize — system. In the first place, system should be applied to the schedule of rehearsals. The exasperating “cut- ting” of rehearsals is sometimes due to neglect of this factor. Each pupil may be pledged in advance to keep certain rehearsal-dates free from engagements. A full-length play needs (in addition to individual coaching) from fifteen to twenty-five two-hour re- hearsals, extending over a period of from one to two months. For the play of average difficulty, the shorter period is better, as the degree of concentration and interest is likely to be greater. The coach must know, before the first rehearsal if not before assigning the parts, just how every detail of the play ought to go. In very few printed plays are the details of stage-management indicated. One should therefore make a “prompt-book”, as the professional producer does. This may be done by interleaving the copy, or by pasting the sheets from two copies in a scrap-book so as to leave a blank page opposite each page of the text. In this, one notes down the “prop- erties” and exact setting for each scene; also all im- portant actions and changes of position of every char- acter, opposite the proper lines, so as to show the pre- cise grouping and relation of persons at any particu- lar moment. This system is invaluable because each pupil comes to know with perfect definiteness the 9 “business” for which he is responsible in each scene; each thing is done the same way each time — a very necessary procedure, by the way, if the coach is to establish his authority securely. It is true that re- hearsals bring out awltard points and the actors may even suggest improvements on one’s preliminary plans ; but the system, tlio flexible, should be from the start as fully developed as may be. The director will further find it advisable to write large in the margins all such directions as “Bell rings”, “Ready for curtain”, “Horns in distance”, “Lights dimmed”, and the like. Then the prompter (if, 1 as often happens, he is “stage-manager” as well) is given timely warning to attend to the accessories as directed. Mr. Ben Greet is issuing, through Doubleday, Page and Company, an edition of Shakespeare, one play to a volume, in which these managerial directions are supplied, opposite the text, with admirable fulness and illuminating comment. Nothing more helpful has ever been done for amateurs. To illustrate: in “Julius Caesar”, near the opening of the third act, is Cassius’s line, “Casca, be sudden, for we fear pre- vention.” Opposite this is the following note: “All these speeches are spoken with haste and intensity in an undertone. Caesar is fully occupied talking with Decius, Lepidus, Popilius, and Publius. Antony keeps R, so that Trebonius can easily persuade him to go off R in consultation, about some official matter.” And beneath this is a diagram showing the precise grouping of the actors. The directions for staging the assassination are as follows: “This great last moment of Caesar’s must be slow, deliberate; he is literally dragged off the seat, staggers down C — a pause — he looks around and sees Brutus about to stab him; he opens his robe; Brutus practically embraces 10 him with his sword; Caesar covers his face with robe and falls. There is a dead pause while you count ten.” The director may not choose to accept the “busi- ness” of another, but in bis own way he must work out the details with equal fulness. Of course the greatest problem of all is how to teach the pupils to act. If the coach can assume the various characters in turn, responsive pupils will accomplish a great deal by imitation alone. In any case, much personal and inspirational work is de- manded. There are good schools for training actors, but I have never found a satisfactory hand-book on the art. Dramatic instinct and the observation of good acting are a reasonable equipment for the coach. Mr. Greet’s Shakespeare is full of wise and suggestive points. The phonograph, which now gives us records of many good speakers and actors, is an excellent sup- plement. And for action, pantomime, and gesture, the moving pictures now bring to one’s door the ablest in these arts. In fact, for one situated where good dra- matic performances are not to be seen, an excellent text-book on acting could be made by printing the axioms of the art, and then listing and analyzing the merits of the best phonograph records and cinemato- graph films. Add to these resources the rich photo- graphic records of professional productions , 1 and the mechanical aids to the study of acting assume consid- erable importance. It may be said that in the rehearsals, the study of character should come first, because all else depends upon it. Make your pupil see and feel the person to be portrayed, even before lie learns the lines; he is then much more likely to work out interpretive de- tails for himself. The development of individuality ij. Byron, the New York photographer, for example, issues a catalog listing scenes from hundreds of important productions. 11 in the student is in this respect highly important for his own good; but usually it takes firm dictation on the part of the coach to insure consistency and team- work. If the rehearsals are conducted with the right de- gree of vigor and system, the old bug-bear of “learning lines” will quickly pass. The memory is so much as- sisted by association that if the reading of the text is carried on at the first rehearsals with strenuous practice of the accompanying action, the lines almost “learn themselves”. Then if the laggards are prompt- ly and properly dealt with (the possibility of being dropped from the play is a powerful stimulus) pro- gress results. The interpretation of lines should be cleared up promptly, so that they are read in the same way throughout. One or two rehearsals may well be given to this work alone; and even then it is well to have the lines read with all the fulness and force of a final per- formance. An old hand-book says: “The two princi- pal rules for an actor are : 1st, Be perfect in your part, and, 2nd, Speak out.” Speak out! The untrained pupil simply has no conception of what this means. And so, from the first, spare no time or energy in coaxing or coercing the actors to make themselves heard. Until they seem to themselves to be shouting, they are not likely to be speaking loud enough. Deli- cacy of inflection and purity of enunciation — all the beautiful graces of speech — come to nothing without that super-normal carrying power, the sheer vocal energy needed to make an audience in the average hall hear without strain. If there are any general directions that amateurs need oftener than others, they are the following : 1. Learn to stand still. When no action is called for, keep the hands and feet completely in repose. 2. Keep 12 the head erect, and do not lower the eyes. 3. Speak toward the audience, hut do not appear to see them. 4. Make every line sound important. 5. When one “makes a point” or delivers a climactic speech, give the audience an extra moment to appreciate it before pro- ceeding. 6. When there is much laughter or applause for a speech, or an action, bide your time before pro- ceeding. 7. With the exceptions just noted, speak the first word of your line so promptly on the “cue” that no other word could possibly be edged in. 8. Study the remarkable power of suggestion in the simpler facial movements: the mere turning of the eyes, the smile, the sneer, the lifting of the brows, the froAvn, the dropping of the jaw; and depend upon them rather than upon the gesture for all but the more emotional effects. 9. Walk firmly; do not lounge or sidle. 10. Make all actions and gestures confident and vigor- ous. Finally, in answer to constant inquiries, a word as to the means of securing the accessories for a pro- duction. Through the Theatrical Merchants’ Associ- ation of Chicago one may find anything desired. I might mention also the firm of Funk and Company of Chicago, makers of wigs and make-up. The matter of make-up, by the way, is often a difficult one. A hand-book, like Fitz-Gerald’s (published by Samuel French) is helpful, but much practice is needed. If the treasury will permit, a performance will gain im- mensely by having a professional for this work. For although the amateur has so much difficulty in assum- ing a role, he may at least be made almost perfectly to “look the part”. T. H. Guild, University of Illinois. 39 THE NOVEMBER MEETING Arrangements for the seventh annual meeting of the Illinois Association of Teachers are practically complete. Those in charge of arranging the program have aimed to emphasize various phases of one very practical subject; they have also tried to avoid the error common in teachers’ meetings of crowding a program with so many numbers that no one paper or talk received thorough discussion. Many of the older members of our Association are thoroughly con- vinced that it is better to take up one subject and thrash it out thoroughly than to scatter our efforts over a large field. The meetings of the Association will be held as usual in the Moot Court Room of the Law Building of the Uni- versity of Illinois, on Friday, November the twenty-first. Morning Session, 9 to 12 Progress in English Teaching during the Past Year. W. W. Hat- tnld, Parker High School, Chicago. Repor of the Committee on the Experiment in Oral and Written Composition. Professor J. M. Clapp, Lake Forest College. Discussion, led by Professor E. C. Baldwin. Afternoon Session, 1 130 to 4 How Can We Improve Our Work in Oral Composition in the High School? Mr. C. H. Woolbert, University of Illinois. An Experiment in Making Every Teacher a Teacher of English. Miss Laura May Sedgwick, J. Sterling Morton High School, Clyde. General discussion h i by Principal F. D. Thomson, Springfield.