The evening times., 1899-11-08
HOW DRAMAT1srs WORK.

|
HOW DRAMATIsTs WORK.
The Dimcult Task Of Making = Pop
ulnr Play.
(Fron The Ladies Home Journal)
How do dramatists write plays? In almost
| as many ways as there are dramatists.
| In one respect, however, their methods
hardly ever differ. They first make an
| outline of the plot. characters and episodes.
That is called a scenario. Sometimes it
| goes into minute details. Anyway, II
shapes and forms his entire play. By this
time he has studied the possibilities OF
his theme and decided what his characters
| shall dc. He has learned by experience
| that his work is more difficult than that OF
| the novelist. He must not describe things,
but present them. He may resort to mar
rative only at the risk of losing the at
| tention of an audience play OF words
and not Of deeds is like the proyerbial
! garden full of weeds" The personages
will not amount to much II they merely
! talk. They must show their traits, mo-
tives. and intentions in action. The soliio-
| guy is therefore. not in favor with the
modern playwright. These conditions i'm
| pose long and hard labor upon even the
| geniuses among writers for the stage.
| More time and thought are often spent
on a scenario than in writing out the play.
! 1t may be said that a drama of The first
class is a good years task
The playwright must keep his charac-
| tiers plainly before him all the while. 1t is
essential that he shall know where they are.
whether active or idle. Whenever they
stir it should mean something. An indefi-
mite movement may spoil the effect which
he intends to make. The audience sees
quite as much as it hears. One OF our we'll
known authors sets small puppets on min
iature stage and moves them about In no
other way can he keep the situations clear
ly in mind while devisng and developing
them. Another man OF equal renown needs
no such signs or tokens. The scene in ev-
cry detail is vivid to him without any aids.
Others make notes or diagrams. Still others
use whatever small things happen TO be at
hand An old jackknife and a
pair OF scissors were the hero
and heroine OF certain ia
nous drama during aid the time that ii was
being written. One expert in stagecraft.
who happens TO be also a devotee Of chess,
works out the action on chess board. He
fancies that he is helped in that way TO
solve the problems Of his plot. He opposes
his forces of good and evil, plays them
against each other. and wins final victories
IOE tHe Tight -NOE-cLss -Nol II IL
cIitates his work. His fancy requires in
citemsnt.
At the other extreme may be mentioned
man who never has TO make so much as
dot OF paper to assist his memory as &c
the action. He has his troubles of another
kind. He is compelled to guard himself
against confusion and inconsistencies in the
various interests Of the play in hand. He
makes diagrams of them, showing their
starts and stops. rises and falls. contacts
and separations. Thus he sees their proper
tions, and builds them up or pulls them
down to suit their relative importance. This
diagram becomes an elaborate chart as
work progresses. 1t is clear to him, If 10
nobody else. 1t guides him in keeping his
principal characters dominant and his minor
ones subordinate. BY means of il he moves
everything toward that climax which every
successful drama must reach.
What the actors do, besides speaking
the words of play.ais called the f-busi-
ness" The old-fashioned way was to in
sert that word in the copy at points where
special action was required. The particu-
lars were given at the rehearsals. Nova
DAYS the author Is more explicit in his
manuscript. He prescribes the movements
that each character shall make! Nothing
Is left to chance. nor to the actors choice
When he is to sit and when to stand,
where he is to go and how long to stay,
what feeling he is to show when silent.
what degree of emotion he is to express
when speaking-all these directions are set
down. Some authors tell, also, how the
parsonage should look A paragraph de-
scribes each individual much as novelist
does it. though. very briefly and concisely.
This IS frequently extended to the color
Of a woman's eyes and hair. She must be
tall or short. slim or stout, pretty or ugly,
as best serves the purpose. In short, the
writer of stage fiction tries. hard Ito have
his characters look and behave exactly
as he wishes them to. His design may be
carried out. That depends, He may be
eminent and obdurate enough to have his
own way. In that case his contracts stip-
ulate that not SO much as word shall be
changed without his CONSENT The man
ner Of the acting. also. must be obedient
to his orders:o He also may be able to
dictate the time when the play shall be
presented. and the theatre, too. The Sc
lection Of actors, may require, his approval
and his authority may extend to rehearsals.
But, as a rule, lit lis not go. sometimes
the buyer of the manuscript Is free to do
just as he pleases with it. He has the
right to adapt tito any purpose and to
any extent. Plays written quite seriously
have before noMybeenturned into hilarious
farces merely by exaggerating them. The
longest lived of the frivolously" gay spec
tacular pieces in this country. the very
name of which became a trade mark for
gaudy show. was originally an ambitious
composition In blank verse.
--..-i=-.z - -. ~ -.tr
Several City Lots Conveyed.
deed was put on record. TODAY nv