The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-01-05
WORK THAT PAYS.
Mrs. Ryley and Miss stone Are Drawing
Handsome Incomes From PLAYS.

Mrs. Ryley and Miss stone Are Drawing
Handsome Incomes From Plays.
Play-writing is a profitable profession
and one in the benefits of which women
are coming 10 take their share. 1t re-
quires answering effort and large al
lowance of patience to win success in
writing for the stage, but the artistic
and financial returns are we'll worth wait
ing and striving for. This is the unani-
NOUS verdict of the women who recently
have made admirable additions to dra-
matte literature.
/ One must hope and study and never
cease from endeavoring, says Miss Mary
| Stone, whose dramatization of "A Social
| Highwayman" has given her a familiar
! name with the theater- going public.
To write good play you must have
/ professional knowledge of the stage, adds
Mrs. Madeline Lucette Rvley, author of
! that phenomenal little comedy, "Christo-
! pher Jr." These two clever pen women
agree on another important point, namely,
/ that twelve months hard work is not a
bit too much effort to put into a play
whether it be a tragedy or comedy, and
quite as emphatically do both of them de-
| clare that the production of 4 play need
not be the result of inspiration. Every
morning, whether moved by the desire or
no, Mrs. Ryley goes like well regulated
|
so many hours. she painstakingly and per-
slstently composes, until stern discipline
prevails over rebellious brains that settle
at last to the task in hand and the happy
faculty and interest is gained.
my own method" explains Miss Stone,
sis simple enough. Alter IL O'Clock in
the evening | get at my desk from then
until 3o'clock in the morning, and am
busy getting up what you may call in
spiration. and writing steadily. | never
set pen to paper, however, until act,
scenes and the major portion of the
dialogue is mapped out clearly in my mind,
and, though I've not had any personal
connection with the theater, l have
always, since my earliest youth, studied
plays and stage methods as faithfully as
an actress from my orchestra chair.
THAT knowledge" continued Miss
Stone, sis simply indispensable and |
practiced first at dramatizing the stories
l found in books, which is at once
very difficult and seemingly easy work.
After abundant and fruitless writing
l failed to hit the mark until with a play
made from Stanley Weyman's House of
the Wolf [ earned the notice of we'll
known actor, and "A Social Highwayman'
was put into my hand for adaptation.
Now | am at work on a comedy of Ameri-
can life in plot and treatment all my own,
and though it has taken years of course,
to work up this far in the profession once
the Succe sSful vein Is reached the return is
the richest and readiest woman can earn.
Once on the stage and attracting good
audiences ones play literally becomes a
little automatic money machine, earning
its authors income weekly at the rate of 5
per cent on the receipts in way the most
popular book can never do"
1t required five years of waiting, re-
writing. disappointment and renewed
hopes alternating for Mrs. Ryley to per-
suade her manager that christopher Jr.'
was at length worth public approval. The
five years had been preceded by many
others OF rather fruitless pen work, and
by all the laws governing human nature
this seemingly would-be dramatist ought
long ago to have relInquished her am
billions; but since the placing of Christ
opher j" have come fiattering offers from
actors and managers to contract for plays.
Already an elaborate historical drama of
Richard Savage's life and comedy of
American society have been arranged for
production by Mr.. Goodwin, and Mrs.
| Ryley agrees with Miss Stone that the
woman is yet to appear who will write
great tragedy, though the highest fame
and golden fortune await her arrival
| Cleveland Leader