The San Francisco call., 1897-08-15

Francis Powers has staked out a claim
for himself in an almost unprospscted
field of play-writing. His own particulal
little Klondike is the impressionist field
He throws scenes and dramatis persona
on the canvas and expects the audience to
enter into the thoughts and feelings that
animated him when be wrote the play
The impressionist field is not new to art
musicians and painters have exploited il
thoroughly. Most of us have heard melo-
maniacs VOW that a true disciple would
know the whole story Of the devil and Dr.
Faustus from merely hearing a perform
ance of Berlioz' "Damnation of Faust
/ once knew a fervid impressionist who
would never go to a concert where Rubin
STEMS Ocean" symphony was to be per-
formed, because it made him seasck.
The impressionist painter is generally a
gentleman of very enthusiastic habits,
who considers it rank vandalism to expect
pictures to be reproductions of nature.
"Oh, very beautiful" 3" you remark admir-
ingly, when you visit his studio and he
puts his latest canvas on the easel. You
wonder internally whether the view rep
resents purple COW basking in a yellow
coFntield, or whether the vivid dash of
crimson is meant for the sun setting in
a haze OF golden glory. "Taken-eh-off
this coast?" you ask tentatively. "What
matters it where the picture was taken?"
replies the i'm pressionist painter, in tone
of voice that shows you have fallen 80 per
cent IN his estimation by the sordld ques-
tion. The picture is meant to convey
the idea of peace-plenty-th rich glow
of early autumn. This is no mere photo
graphic reproduction of so many miles OF
water and cubic Yards of cloud. ["Ah, it
is not a cow" you think in parentheses.
The picture conveys an i'm pression-peace
plenty. l don't care what you call the
mere view, so long as you get the right
ion-peace-plenty. Now do you
catch the idea? Yes, people generally do
when it is explained to them"
Francis Powers has undertaken to pros
pect the mp1essionist field dramatically,
and his First Born" assayed richly. He
knew his Chinatown, and the audiences
knew il too, and were interested in seeing
the quaint quarter put on the stage 40 WV
idly and p.cturesquely, But, alasi alas !!
in the words of a cynical tirst-nighter
Francis Powers "bit off more than he
could chew" when he undertook to treat
Turkey and Greece from an mpressionist
standpoint. He does not know Turkey
and Greece so well as he knows China
town. What inform ration he does possess
on the subject is apparently junble Of
ancient Greek history, the "a ra bian
Nights" and news of the late war, col
ored by American editorial comment. II
the author of an impressionist work does
not know exactly where he is at the audi
ence can scarcely get the right impression.
San Francisco audiences care about as
much for Greek politics as Francis Powers
seems to know about them. His play is
the blind leading the blind, and ever since
scriptural days that has always resulted
in disaster.
People famous for reading between the
lines say that the authors dream in
'Turk Meets Greek" was to make his au-
dlences enter into the poetry OF tha late
war. to kindle them into enthusiasm for
Greece, with its glorious memories, and
make Californians ready to cry:
woke they not, the brave the Free
To guard their own Thermopyl@
Other wis seacres say that the author in
tended to give picturesque impression
the sort OF thing that would MAKE
people remark, "By the beard OF the
prophet, is this Siam boul that l see be-
fore meP" The truth is that Francis
Powers alone knows what impression he
intended to convey-and he won't tell.
That is the worst of impressionist art.
What is purple cow to you may be
sunset to me. and third person may see
all sorts of transcend entail meanings hid
den from the common or garden imagina-
ton.
Powers care in withholding from pre-
mature publication the plot OF Turk
Meets Greek" is explained now-little
cares he for such sordid detail az mere
plot. For an impressionist dramatlst to
rely On plot for effect would be as bad as
for an impressionist painter TO rely Tor
fame on a mere reproduction of nature.
But the worst of it is that dramatisi
has to reckon with the common or garden
imagination and not with people capable
Of discovering hidden meanings, The