The evening times., 1899-11-03

with apparent unconcern. The cause OF
this, however. seems to be mystery to
him. and as both cause and effect are like
ly to be important in the development OIL
our dramatic history. it may be well to
look into the matter. The only reason
which Mr.. Archer is able to hit upon is
the presence of the matinee girl-the sales
woman. telephone. girl, or typewriter, who
Increases the revenue of the box Office quite
materially. and appears to be oblivious to
the peculiar qualities OF many sa'aoious
dramas
The matinee girl has something to do
with this phenomenon, and with the sue
cess of many plays which are not obje:-
tionable in any way unless for brain.ess-
ness; but she is not the only factor in the
case. The fact which Mr.. Archer has failed
TO discover is that our theatregoing pub
lie is inexperienced. II census could be
taken Of the average audience in our
smaller and perhaps in some OF our larger
cities. it would be found that at least half
Of the people present came Of parents who
did not know anything about plays Per-
haps third Of the people in such an aud
fence began to go to the theatre after
reaching maturity. minority of those
in the playhouse may have been familiar
with plays, operas, vaudeville. and bur-
lesque from early childhood. But this
minority is not enough to make public
opinion, and it Is influenced to a certain
extent by association with those who are
unfamiliar with the theatre.
This is a condition Of things not found
in Europe 1t is caused by two circum-
stances;u one, the prevalence of Puritani-
cal ideas among a majority OF the Amer
lean people during the first half Of the CEN
tury, the other. the pioneer life which
made it impossible for most country peo-
pie and dwelIers in small towns to go to the
theatre, even If they had wanted to. In
thousands3 ahd thousands of villages all
over tbs country you may find today that
only few families in each village, perhaps
only few persons. have ever seen really
good play. Most OF the inhabitants have
never seen any plays at all. The children
brought up in such country towns make up
a large part Of the population of our cities
Their judgment Of the drama has to be
formed after they come to the city. They
have everything to learn about dramatic
about the art of acting. about
the literary elements of play. The &C
tors art appeals directly to them. and
their judgment is rarely at fault on this
point. Almost any great actor can count
on the appreciation Of an American aud !
fence. This is one sign that We have . !
great dramatic future. The American aud
ience is responsive. But it has not as yet /,
been educated up to any sort of apprecia- |
ton of good plays 1t rarely pays any at |
tention to the construction OF the piece or
10 the name of the author. 1t is only half |
and much of its information is
haphazard. 1t is becoming educated in the
line of the drama as fast as it can, but Is
at present in the experimental stage. 1t
and what is risque; what may be tolerated
for the sake Of strong situation and what
should be condemned as inartistic. 1t
neither deliberately encourages bad play
nor condemns it outright 1t is locking at
The matter from all sides. BY and by,
when there is some recognized standard of
in the country, as there is now
in some of the older communities, this ten
tative encouragement will cease, and We
shall not have such mixed audiences as We
tave at present because people will know
what they want and where TO go for II.