The sun., 1903-08-30
FINE MARKET FOR GOOD PLAYS.
BAD ONES by THE MTLEFON,
CLEVER ONES SCARCE.
And IT'S Mighty Hard for the Unknown
Dramatlst to Peddle uHls Wares-1nter-
estins Views OF q P'ay wright and Man-
aver on Two Sides or This subject.


The two stock company theatres that have
prospered for four years In this city have
closed their doors for the last time as theatres
| of this kind, and will hereafter betlevoted
| to another Use. II ia rumored that two
other homes Of stock companies will offer
their patrons vaudeville next season. The
number of stock companies in the other
cities OF the country will be considerably
reduced next year
The cause of this sudden decline in what
| was looked upon as a prosperous branch
| OF the theatrical business is the sudden end
! Of the supply Of plays. From every stock
| company manager there comes the cry for
| them. They need a new one every week.
Once or twice in their experience the New
| York stock theatres have tried to present
| a play for two weeks, but the experiment
was not successful Business fell off so much
In the second week that 1t was plain the
patrons Of these theatres wanted a change.
To keep up this policy for forty weeks of
the year a great many plays were needed.
And 1t Is not easy to select from the old
repertoire forty interesting plays every
year. For the last two seasons the mana
gers Of these theatres have been compelled
to produce dramas practically new that
had been laid aside after seasons use.
These pieces solved the perplexing question
OF a new play, but the manager made less
money because he was compelled to pay
large royalties-at least 10 per cent. of his
receipts in most cases These newer plays
were out OF tho question in theatres charg
ing low prices.
The supply Of old plays was exhausted
ard the stock managers, realizing that the
game was about played out, retired before
they lost all they had earned in the years in
which the revival of pieces like "The Wife,"
/, "The Charity Ball" and EAST Lynne at
tracted the public.
The managers who are willing TO pay
royalties, and high ones at that. also have to
shut up shop or come dangerously near it
sometimes because they, too, are unable TO
get plays enough.
ave have the actors and we have the
theatres" almost any iirst-cass manager
will say, "and we have the capital to spend
anything necessary 10 get hold of the right
kind of plays to employ our actors and fill
our theatres. We want the plays and are
willing to pay any price for them.'
They all say this because they know that
the play is after all the most important
thing In their business and that without
good ones nothing will avail, They will pay
liberal royalties. They will take as many
acceptable dramas as can be written. And
like the stock company managers, they will
want them all by few writer's of vogue
Nevertheless. moro persons write plays
than attempt any other kind of work that
might he called literary One manager re-
Gently said that the inhabitants of heT nited
States numbered about 10000 OCO mostly
playwrights. His experience had led him
TO that conclusion. Ii is certain that men
and women think they are capable of writing
play who would never have the same
confidence about n novel or any other similar
occupation.
The great profits Of the dramatists who
have met with success Ia Of course, the
bait that alures. The earnings of Clyde
Fitch are enough, for instance, to upset the
equilibrium OF any person who has ever
been able to write anything, and especially
of any person who has been professional
writer.
Mr. Fitch has become a rich man in less
than ten years, Ii is easy to see how that
his plays do not make money enough 10
enrich the managers who produce them.
The Fitch plays do not draw large audiences
outside of New York and several of the
larger CITIES. But if one Is acted for forty
weeks to an average of 900 wcck-
which, would be considered poor business
the authors return would bc $500 q week or
$l2 900 season. Several plays bringing
in this amount produce great income.
When they are very successful and yield
much more, il can he seen how soon the
successful playwright may grow rich.
II seems a wonder, with the manager
clamorins for plays and so many persons
who can hold a pen writing plays, that the
| supply should still be 30 inadequate. But
it is fact that the managers are put to their
wits cnas at times to get plays worth pro-
ducing.
A SUN reporter talked tho other day with
dramatist who had hlst begun to make
name for himself and manager who has
TO his credit the renown Of having pro-
duced number OF American plays. The
drnmatist gave his side OF the story first:
Il am familiar with the managers as
sertion that they read all plays by authors
they know, or have them read. he said,
"bllt am quite certain that in n number of
cases even this much notice is not taken
Of manuscript submitted for approval.
The unknQwn playwright, however tai
tIllP'l llt llItN ne, SlUllNlN no 'ldI''' WIN
the manager Even if his play s Il work Of
genius and he Is unknown, no manager
will want il
I've not accomplished much, but two
Of my plays We're successful and l have
two for next year. After the first one WAS
acted had "A letter from a weil-known star
asking me about a play had sent him two
years before. He was very much in need
of one at that time, but he saw no merit in
mine. Two other men to whom | had sent
the same play and got it promptly back
also wrote asking to read It again l he'd
BEEN lucky enough in the meantime to sell
itso it was out ~ their reach | have four
written and l expect TO dispose of them all
without any trouble, so great il the demand
once n writer has had q real success.
al remember the case of one dramatist
who wrote n strong play of American life
that was offered 10 every manager OF inn
portanCe in New York and refused. Ii
was then produced by an outside firm
For four years it earned large sums for
| its owners and was the most noted sue
cess of the year in which il was given
SIhen the managers to whom the play had
been offered merely remarked in he wise
managerial fashion that thev could see
nothing in it to have made a great success.
But one Of them regretted the loss Of he
play so much that he signed a contract
with the author by which he WAS to have
an option on all that he wrote for the next
Ave years. For this privilege the author was
to receive a retainer Of $4,000 a year. And
tlp first thing hp wus N Nyrita tnI,ut hn N