The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1895-04-22
vICTORIEN SARDoU.

was produced at the Odeon in Paris It
enjoys the distinction of having been
treated more severely than any play ever
produced in the French capital.
In 1858 he married Mile. do Brecourt,
who was a warm personal friend of De-
jazet the famous actress. AT the house of
Dejazet Sardou met Vanderbuch, who had
written several plays for the actress, and
with him he elaborated on play called
"Premieres Armes de Figaro, the leading
part in which was "contrived'' for De-
jazet, who at once accepted it, The ao-
tress, being out of an engagement, leased
a theater, which she called Theatre De-
jazet, where, in 1859, the play was pro-
ducod and succeeded Since that time
Sardou has been almost perpetually in the
playhouse
Between 1860 and 1864 Sardou wrote 90
plays and paid the price of his haste with
many failure. But between 1865 and
1871 he sensibly produced but seven, and
three of those are still accounted among
his best One of these was LA Patrie,
the forerunner of his later historical efforts
and still considered by many as a model
of his style and a literary achievement far
above most of his plays. LA Patrie" was
not the success over here that it should
have BEEN
Sardou's method of making plays is one
that can be easily studied. If one reads
his prefaces, he will find that the method
SO visible in the plays themselves is DELHI
crate, but he will find, too, that Sardou
recognizes that, first of all, a man to be a
good playmaker must be born with the
dramatic instinct, as poet must be with
the poetic
Onna II, hoe NJ oh 1
himself in the marvellous faculty which he
has for setting dramatic picture on the
stage, and that was in his historical drama,
La Haine," by men like Dumas consid-
cred his masterpiece and which failed be-
cause it was quito smothered in staging
and lost sight of behind it's own splendid
attire.
In the preface of "La Haine' Sardou
first told the world how he conceived and
worked out play. 1.-THE process is in
variable" he said "It never appeared
otherwise than as sort of philosophic
equation from which the unknown guam
tity Is to be discovered. AS soon as it is
fairly set before me this problem possesses
and gives me no peace until have worked
out the formula. In Patrie' this is the
question that was put to me: What is the
greatest sacrifice man can make for the
,lovo of his country? And the answer once
found the play followed of it's own ac-
cord"
That was written many years ago and
before Sardou worked out his greatest sue
cess, and while in no way may his formula
have changed he has certainly developed it
greatly. His first movo is still to think
out situation in which woman would
appear effective, to imagine her under the
influence of some telling emotion suitable
for dramatic presentation. His next is to
conceive some incident that would permit
of her being in that situation and giving
vent to the desired emotion or some COM
plication of emotions that appear to him
worth an actress labor to portray. Almost
without exception it will be noted that in
developing the play he takes his place by
the woman and works from that point.
.Almost universally 1t is the woman s char
facter that develops with the plot of the
play men, like the setting, being but
background for her acting or the impulses
fthat bring about the required dramatic
YEN tion which is expected to sorely move
fho audience In the selection of his emo
ton Sardou has wonderfully fertile i'm
agination, and it must be owned that he is
fairly just to the feminine character and
fairly wise in regard to it's complex charms
and its capacity for mixture of good and
evil. In the selection of the causes to lead
up to his climaxes, all Of which are thought
out before tho story, and often before the
characters are selected, he has an almost
eufullible instinct ia Paqn-d - shat will