Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1898-06-30
HOW TO WRITE A PLAY.
David Belasco Talks Instructively Of the
Art of the Dramatist,

~ U
David Belasco Talks Instructively Of the
Art of the Dramatist.
"What constitutes a financially
and popularity successful play 4" was
question asked of David Belasco,
and he replied: "First of all, it must
be congenial to the sympathies of
the human mind, especially as re-
CARDS the master passion-love; Sec
ondly, it must have strong and novel
situations, brought about in natural
and simple ways; thirdly, the plot
should not require deep or difficult
analysis, by which the audience may
be wearied and puzzled with think
ing, thereby losing the thread of
the story; fourthly, the language
of the characters should be plain,
direct and easy to understand, and
the incidents, whether comic or
tragic, should drop in as nearly as
possible as they might happen in
real life. A perfect play is condensed
reality"
Glow do you write your plays
do you dictate them or use pena''
"Those parts of my plays" re-
sponded Mr.. Belasco, (which re-
quire study, such as reference to
science, music or art, I write my
self. But when get to the more
human side-when the villain and
the heroine and the hero, and per-
haps the soubrette, are hard at work
making dramatic history, then
prefer to dictate. My thoughts travel
| fast then. I become the character l
am creating, act the part from be-
ginning to end, I feel every emo
ton, I swear, I curse, I cry and
laugh by turns, and all this time
/ am debating as fast as the ste
nographer can take my words. Of
course have my spells of work,
when can do more work in three
days than 1 can manage at another
time in month"
Then madeshim sit bolt upright
by firing the following question at
him: "Who in your opinion is the
best American dramatic writer Of
serious parts2' After few mo-
ments' thought he regained his COM
posture and replied: 'You have asked
me question which would be ex-
tremely difficult to answer without
hurting somebody's feelings. The
accepted leaders of the American
drama are all men of education and
talent, or they could not be accepted
as leaders. They write as experts,
not as apprentices, and each has his
own peculiar manner of treatment.
You cannot make comparison among
Bronson Howard, William Gillette,
Augustus Thomas, Paul Potter,
franklin Fyles and various others,
including our women playwrights.
Writing a play is far more difficult
than any one imagines, and the
playwright has to master his trade,
just as does the shoemaker and the
carpenter
wherein do American play
wrights differ from English, French
and German authors9"
"They differ little from their Brit
ish brethren save in being untram-
meled by dramatic censorship. The
public is their censor, and suf6-
GENTLY severe one. The fact that
American plays are transferred I'M
altered to the London stage and are
there received as to the manner
born proves their family likeness.
The Germans differ from the Amer
leans by looking less to the events
than to the theories, to action than
to disquisition, to reality than to
idealism; also in treating of polit-
ical and social questions in didac-
tic style which the American more
patient brain would not endure. The
American playwright differs from
the French in the looseness of con
Observation-Disclosures in dialogue.
especially in the length and diffu-
siveness of speeches and in the reti-
cence due to the distaste of the pub
lie for suggestive illusions foreign
to the temper of the American peo-
pie, which the Puritan element still
continues to influence. In my opin-
ion dramatic writing has gained in
simplicity and directness, but lost
in purely literary quality. When
people want to enjoy fine writing,
they seek it nowadays in books, not
plays"
"What is the best ingredient of a
good playi"
"Of the hundred ingredients that
go to make up perfect play SO are
love. Stage pictures make the hun
dredth. New York Telegraph.
The Man OF Moderate Means.
L.