The Norfolk Virginian. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 186?-189?, 1895-08-25

oiu 'huo cuinot Wrlte the plays fof
which have orders, or that 1 do more
work than it would be possible for one
man to accomplish. was very much
grieved when l saw that such things
had been printed in America. The
fact is this: For years l have hired
clerks TO do some Of the routine work
OF data gathering. II would have been
absurd for me not to have done So Do
you expect banker to go out and
make his collections in person? Ever
since l have had money enough have
had some of this work done for me. As
long us live 1 shall continue to save
myself rs much of the disagreed bic
routine as possible. That is all the help
have ever permitted anyone else to give
me on my plays, except, of course,
where ! have written plays in cola bo-
ration with other writer's. That is all
the help | ever shall have on any play,
unless the piece is announced on the
bills as the joint work of another man
and myself.
But | have driftcd from my sub
JccJ, tOid you now 1 built the fOunda-
ton for my house Then the struc-
turc itself goes up in this way: Sup
pose that have selected my plot and
my data from that cabinet" He waved
his hand toward that wonderful piece
of furniture as if it contained unlimited
plots and facts enough TO keep the
stage full for the next century
Then set TO work to map out what
may be called the situations. This is
done on very few sheets of foolscnp
paper. 1t is perhaps the slowest and
hardest part of the work OF play build
ing. 1t sometimes takes Inc n long
time. When this is once done, ] send
it to my copyist, and he straightcns out
all the corrections, all the ernsurcs, and
makes it legibc. l make great many
corrections on this first draft, and
sometimes they SO defacc my manu-
script that can scarcely read it my
self. When he returns the copy to me.
clean and FREQ, however, know what
/ have done. Then I take that copy
and go over it again. By the time
have finished with it, it is generally
MS badly marked up Us the first one was
when it left my hands. ! send il to the
copyist again. l have not, up to this
point written line of dialogue Two
or three months may very likely clupse
before tho play passes this stage When
ut last have completed this first draft
to my satisfaction-and when it is fin.
ishcd every situation, every argument,
almost every piece of stage business, is
carefully and completely outlined i
begin on the dialogue That is com
parativcly easy. lave built the frame
work of my house on the foundation
which the data and general scheme
provided, and it merely remains for me
to put the boards on. Or, better vet.
adopt that wonderful new construction
which America follows in her vastly
high buildings. flash the framework
to the very roof before | Law n brick.
The walls are not hard to build in then"
Sardou is now siXtyfolir years old
He does not look quite as old as that.
but still there are wrinkles in his face
and his thin Moving hair has many
traces of white in il. But younger ewes
never looked out of twenty -fivc-vcar.
old hend. No younger tongue ever told
good stories and discussed the drama
with an American newspaper man. No
younger step ever glidcd over Partisan
carpet Ill haste TO illustrate Il point.
Ills face is As expressive as are his ges.
lures.
Ills relations toward America arc nc.
cnliar and pleasant They may be said
to have begun when he met an Amer
lean girl in Paris and found in her the
basis of comedy which he called
Uncle sam" This play was most
good -naturcd, and in every sense free
from oifcnSc, but the French govern
mcnt. probably because of some petty
intrigue, iutcrdictcd its performance in
Parls on the ground that to caricaturc
the manners of the people of friendly
power might be unpicasautly cons trucd
But an enterprising American manager
who had seen rehearsal OF the play.
recognized the absurditv Of the theory
that America is not big enough 70 take
joke, and bought it for production IN
the very country which the French of.
fcials claimed to he afraid of offend.
ing. He brought it ont in New Yorl,
and 1t made an immense success. This.
of course, settled the question of il,
giving oifcnse, and it was promptly
produced in Paris. Itsuccccdcd as well
there as it had in the United States.
'Thcrnidor, NJ Sar,lou's other inter.
dictcd play, it will he remembered, wo.
also performed in the United States
after it had been stopped in France
Miss Elsie De Wolff was the plucl,y
actress to give il TO New York. ard
while it was not II play over which the
United States could become enthusi.
astic, it was still 4 pleasant thing TO