St. Landry democrat., 1890-09-20
My Success as a PLAYWRIGHT

IVY SgsEsss as Playwright.
1t all happened at the hotel whers W,
were spending the summer. The ladies O.
the place were very much interested ii
some local charitable institution, and be-
cause it gave them something to do, the
young people decided to have dramatic
enter tainment If there is anything in the
world calculated to distress sensitive
mind it is amateur theatricals, but because
| happened to be dramatic critic on q
city paper, the instigators of the conspiracy
did not credit me with having a sensitive
mind, and appointed me master of cere-
monitles, and put all the hard work on my
shoulders.
| will pass over all the early stages,
spent in rehear5als and sorrow. and 90 at
once to the business" as the phrase is.
You probably have never seen the play,
because l wrote it myself, and probably
never will, but for fine dramatic effect /
challenge sardou to produce it's equal.
There was crescendo movement all
through, and the climax was reached when
the heroine deliberately and with malice
aforethought, declines the hero and con-
fesses love for the villain 1t is q work
of art, even If l do write it myself, for
being, as have said, dramatic critic, l
am in position to state. | will narrate
the events of that evening in their proper
sequence.
The dining room of the hotel, which
was given up for the occasion, was crowd
ed to suffocstion. and the audience were
kept in a state of alarm before the rising
of the curtain by the advent of couple of
bats. At length the curtain rose, and the
audience forgot the bats and the perform
ers their lines, but the prompter soon set
them straight, and the first act went off
as merrlly as manageable belle. At the
close of the second ect the hero and tbs
heroine were discovered alone. The play
ran in this wise
Hero-My own. (Silence on the pa1t of
heroine.)
My own. Continued silence on the
stage; great applause in the audience)
l might remark, en- PEASANT, that the |
heroine in real life dearly sdored the hero, |
whose real name was Peter but somehow |
or another there seemed to be a crablike |
retrograde movement on the part of Peter
in the matrimonial line. Peters stage
name was Reginald.
To continue
Hero-My own. Sigh from the heroine
followed by silence
Hero Tin desperation)-I have long
y, |
and now | come to cast myself at Beautv's
feet, and ask of her the love of true and
trusting woman. prolonged applause.)
| was standing in the flies directly oppo-
site to the heroine, and saw her eyes fixed
On the ceiling in rapt way. She did not
speak her lines as she should have done,
out continued her gaze above, and after
moment the hero went on:
wilt thou marry me2' Continued
yaze by heroine, who evidently imagined
he scene to be really
Hero-Wilt thou marry me7 (Applause.)
Prompter-No (Heroine silent)
Prompter-NO (Audience laughs)
Hero getting nervous) wilt thou marry
ne2
Heroine Suddenly awaking from her day
ream)-Oh, Pete. yes Company behind
Genes roars) :
Now VII Vt could do but sing the curtain
own and then get mad2 The play was
poiled, knocked endwise, so to speak, at
be critical moment when she Dug bit to
ave refused him instead of being so aw-
ully worldly commonplace. =.
But as that was the end of that act, the
artain had to come down anyhow, and
le company gave another act without any
lpport from me, and finished amid wild
1thusiasm.
They killed the villain, killed my play .
nd had lots Of fun among themselves, !,
I'D the audience took it all in. But the :.
ardest blow was afterward, when lady .
me up to me and said: %
"Oh, that play of yours was perfectly =,
slicious; and so full of surprises -partic 4
arly the last act =,
And that is why l have never written .
lother plsy.-Hauel Scott Mines in Puck.