Los Angeles herald., 1906-01-14
Players and Ethics

NJ Naturally no class takes the
" stage and It's work more serious
ly than the players themselves,
and no matter how frivolous or foolish
an actor may appear 1t is certain that
Gown in his heart he is deeply inter-
ested in the ethical side of his profess
sion.
Harry Mestayer's endeavors to pro-
mote an appreciation of Ibsen in Los
angeles are notable in this respect.
There is no question but what so good
Juvenile man as he has proven him
self to be could command a greater
salary than he can hope to make in
his present ventures. He understands
also that 1bsen's plays can never make
the popular appeal necessary to the
building of a great future for him
self.
But Mr.. Mestayer believes In the
mission of the stage. To him the the
ater has a purpose in the scheme Of
things and it Is evidently his aim to
place that purpose as high as ne pos
sibly can, according to his light.
In December Mrs. Fiske addressed
the Ethical society of Harvard univers-
1ty upon this phase of dramatic en-
deavor. No actor of modern times has
had more opportunity to observe at
close range the purely ethical side OF
the profession than Mrs. Fiske. and
none has exhibited a higher concep-
ton of what Is due to both the public
and her fellow professionals than She
Her subject was, "The Ethics of the
Stage" Among other things she said:
1T seems superfuous to set out to
find an excuse for the theater. There
are few instincts in the human animal
more definite or more clearly marked
than the dramatic instinct
AN institution that has grown from
human impulse must be related closely
to every ethical idea. We know that
for almost three thousand years the
play in one form or another has been
a factor in educating and delighting
the world. Ever since man has been
able to give voice to his impulses in
song or to linn on fiat surfaces his
ideas or to make images of his concep-
tions-ever since melody. drawing or
painting, sculpture and living language
have been known-drama, embodying
them all, has been an inspiration to the
world. What could have taken the
place of the theater il it never had ex-
listed?
In the great cities, it is true, there
are found audiences for plays which
shame the stage as we'll as those who
patronize them; but the discrimin-
ating class, made up of persons whose
taste sets standards after the chaos of
crazy dramatic miscellany has been
resolved into constituents, is the class
that the theater must rely upon at all
times to keep 1t within the bounds of
sanity. one great play, like the leaven
of holy writ, may serve to save the
theater for any season that may an
pear to be given over to the world. the
flesh and the devil. And thus the the
ater survives, because always IL may
be found to project something on the
side of ethics
There is fact, however-an amaz-
ing fact to me-that remains to he ex-
piained Why do so many intelligent
people go to the theater like children
who want pink sticks of candy? Thou
sands of people of taste, who do not
cumber their book shelves with the
cheaper and more vulgar sorts of lit
erature who have an intelligent nm
derstanding of painting and music. are
very children, If no harsher term may
i'm good or bad in plays or acting"
The Philadelphia Public Ledger re-
Gently printed expressions from promi-
nent players on the same subject,
Mr. Mansfield writes on the topic as
follows:
II certainly think a serious purpose
is very desirable if the play is a seri-
Gus play and even under the guise of
humor, and especially satire, a serious
purpose may be served. 1t would be
q pity indeed IL the stage We're given
over entirely to skittles, but even skit-
ties serve serious purpose, being ex-
cellent for the arms and the legs and
the lungs
Kyrle Belew, whose seriousness of
purpose is admitted. has this to say:
The question whether a play should
he written with an ethical purpose
opens up the discussion as TO the posi-