Evening star., 1900-12-15

uscript. He began to read. He read we'll
He had much enthusiasm and a good
Hold on, said Mr. G., suddenly inter-
rupting him Have you got a moon in
this piece?' pause-with BARLEY some
what perturbed.
Why" he faltered
THE last moon made a big hit in our
theater." sapiently replied Mr. G.
With the sudden instinct of self-preserva-
ton, Bartley's quick mind instantly con-
tr1Ved to nave one of his coming scenes
take place al midnight instead Of MONDAY,
and answered Yes. We can have moon
all right" l.
Go on" observed Mr. G., shifting his
cigar to the other side of his mouth with a
show of additional interest
For half hour Mr.. Campbell read on.
The play was in four acts He finished the
second act. At TINS juncture the partner of
M Ct mis- brother I'M art, Mr.. B.-came
into the box office. Instantly Mr. G. sprang
up with great sense of relief.
hartley, ne cried, slapping the author
encouragingly on the shoulder read the
Nfhe first two acts were bully" And he
walked out of the office with a sense of
having done his share of the work as be-
came good and dutiful partner.
A Neat RetOrt.
Steele Mackaye was one day in converse
ton with Maurice BARRYMORE. the we'll
known leading man, and. additionally, a
man of great wit and adroitness. and Mr.
Mackaye' with the authority of one who
mad given grave study to his art. under
tcok 10 crlticise Mr. Barrymore's gifts as
an actor in the following words:
My dear Barry what you need before
you become truly great artist is some
deep sorrow and disappointment
Mr.. barrymore was silent and apparently
impressed Tor few moments, and then
said, grayely:
Write me a play"
When the laugh had subsidized. attendant
upon the OBVIOUS inference. the dramatist
conplmented The actor OF his wit and re-
turned to his original premises His own
sorrows and disappointments had taught
MIN his profession, as 1t has taught the
best of US; and heart interest . that ono
uesldefatum that is demanded of us who
write tor the theater. is obtained too often
only by the coming of ones own grief
Choosing n Theme.
There are great many things to con-
sleer In the writing of play, but the most
vital Is the selection of a theme. The mar
ket value. prima facie, lies In the theme
II Is astonishing low few subjects lend
themselves to the writing of marketable
pay. knowledge of construction can be
acquired, and it is interesting to note the
various methods of construction employed
by dlHerent recognized dramatists: but the
cieVerest construction in the world will not
dIaW the pubic to see play that does not
deai with subject that appeals to it.
MS SUBJECT Is often of the most primitive
nature and illustrates the premises with
which set Out-that nothing is ripe for the
stage until 1t has been exploited in every
other form of literature. If I were to take
to manager two plays. one the very acme
OF craftsmaniike skill. but dealing with an
unfamiliar subject, and the other loosely
thrown together. based on premises grant
able by the public and within the inteIli-
gtnce of the most ordinary. he would not
hesitate moment in choosing the latter
Remarkable Plot.
Oh course. in the many years of my life
which 1 have devoted to supplying material
OF various kinds and descriptions to the
tteaters, l have been approached by men
VINO wish to try their hand at playwritins
with requests to collaborate. AS 1 am al
ways in search of the elusive, marketabe
theme | give a willing ear to those who
come. 1t is singular what strange ideas
the inexperienced have as to the material
OF which plays can be made. year ag1
an enthusiastic young writer called on me
and brought with him what he called a
scenario. 1t was not scenario In the ex
set sense Of the word, for 1t was not laid
| out in scenes and characters; but 1t was q
| whimsical tumble from which 1 extracted
the following story:
married woman visits her dentist She
is young and beautiful. The dentist falls
in love with her. He fills her teeth He
fills them with gold. In the magnanimity Y
of hts passion he fills them free of charge
Always with gold. One day as he is bend
ing over her whispering burning words Ia
her and still filing her with gold, the
husband enters. There is scene of alarm
and panic. The husband seizes his wife
by the hair. drags the gold filing from her
teeth AND throws 1T at the feet of the in
famous dentist, crying: 4 owe you moth,
ing
| am still struggling with that theme and
ri fnp hny to lob ET.r;x -
the task of convincing the new drama tis.
that he must not take himself too seriously