Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-06-02
q. 3. SHAW ON AMArrun Acroas
Vents His Spleen on Their Theatricals
and Their Demands on Authors.

4 u
| and Their Demands on Authors.
| From the London Tribune.
| / have a strong grudge against clubs of
| amateur actors. because they habitually
| Insult the art they dabble In by assuming
| that Il is sin which can only be covered
| by charity. II IL quite a common thing for
| organizers of amateur performances to APP
| peal to the author. to forego his fees on the
| ground that the proceeds are to be given to
| some charitable institution. That is to say
popular author is asked to hand over some
| hundreds year to amateur societies to
| give to their pet charities, and that, too,
without the slightest guarantee that the
management of the performance will be
husnesslike enough to realize for the char
tiles the whole value of his contribution,
| or, indeed, any part of 1t at all. A more
unreasonable demand can hardly be imag-
| fned within the limits OF practicable hu-
| man audacity. Even professional Million
| aire philanthropists like Mr.. Carnegie and
| Mr.. Passmore Edwards reserve the right
to choose for themselves the objects of
| their endowment.
Besides. the charity of amateurs Is hardly
ever really charitable in its motive. 1t is
mere coat of whitewash for Indulgence
Wnicn is regarded as questionable, 10 not
| positively disreputable. 1t is also aduiter-
| ated by desire for the acquaintance of the
Tilted patrons and patronesses of charities.
And the economic effect OF the performance,
when the expenses leave any surplus, 10
simply to relieve the ratepayers of their
! social obligations by helping to keep hos
pitfalls out Of public hands and in private
ones. Why on earth should q playwright
DO expected to contribute to the rates OF
places he has never lived in7
what makes this additionally exasperat-
Ing is that while there is little difficulty In
raising vast sums of ransom and conscience
money from the rich In the form of char
liable subscriptions. II Is hard to get q
farthing for the starving art of the theater
either from public or private sources. II
all the money that has been wasted on
charities by amateur actors had been de-
voted to theatrical art by building UP local
dramatic societies with repertoires ward
robes and even theaters of their own not
only would dramatic art be much more de-
veloped than II is now In England but
other arts would have grown up round
the local theaters. Just think of what a
playhouse would mean TO a country town II
1t had Its own dressmakers. it's own tapes
Try weavers. its own armorers. its own em-
PROGRESSES and Its own dress designers
and painters and machnists. What is to
De said In defense of the stagestruck
stupidity and ignorance that Ia content
with basket OF soiled secondhand clothes
ana toy swords sent down by London
costumer and hired out for a night at
about treble the price the whole parcel of
RUBBISH would sell for in Houndsdtch7 Do
you expect me or any dramatic author to
be lenient in the matter of fees to people
who keep UP these nasty vulgar, ignorant
practlcesT Rather let us heap crushing
to death.
Almost all amateurs desire to initiate the
tneater rather than to act play. They
actually call their performances theatre
cals, ana are as proud of that illiterate
Insult as any genuine dramatic artist would
be outraged by It, They lose all their ordi-
nary decent instincts the moment they give
themselves UP to what they privately think
Y nj
who are morbidly particular about the
cut and fit of their coats and trousers walk
Ing on the stage in ludicruously misftting
TUNES from the costumers amateur rag
Dag. You see the amateur carrying a
tinsel-topped pantomime spear for the hire
OF which he has paid more than the local
blacksmith would have charged him for a
real spear. Women who would die rather
than be dowdy In church or at a garden
party face the footlights In costumes and
makeups which no self-respecting figure
in penny waxwork would tolerate Reach
me-down dresses. reach me-down scenery.
reach-me-down equipments are considered
GOOD enough for dramatic masterpieces
are positively preferred TO decent and beau
tiful things because they are SO much more
theatrical.
AS to plays. they. too. must be second
hand reach downs. Your amateurs don't
want to bring plays to a correct and NOV
ing representation for the sake of the life
they represent; they want 10 do Hawtrey's
part In this or Ellen Terry's part in that. or
ton the amateur Salvinis and buses and
Bernhardts and Coquelns. The enormous
and overwhelming advantage possessed by
amateurs-the advantage of being free from
commercial pressure and having unlimited
ume for Iehearsal-is the last one they
think Of using.
The commercial plays, which are the de-
sspair of actors. but which they must pro-
duce or starve, are the favorites of our
amateurs. They do out of sheer folly and
vulgarity what our real dramatic artists do
q nd ina
and charm to In the doing Richard Wag-
ner said that the music of the great mas
tiers is kept alive not by professional con-
certs and opera specula lions, but on the
cottage piano of the amateur. l wish I
could say as much for the amateur thea
ter. As cannot. l shall only beg your
amateur clubs to let my plays alone and
to assure them that as long as they per-
sist In their present ways the only part 1
shall play in the matter of fees is the part
of Shylock.