Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1907-07-13

, handsome young leading men playing
this part3
u keep a whole batch of these letters
from self-made playwI1ghts TO their
manager as M argument and reason
10 show why am not unfair in prefer
ring to accept plays from established
dramatists who, whatever their faults
will furnish me with a play that, tech
nically speaking, is at least play
These two letters" the manager
went on as he dug into the plgeonhole
again. are most characteristic Of n
certain type OF playwright Here's Elk
hibit A:
81 know or course you must be over
~helmed with plays, and being OF
kindly nature l do not want to add 10
your burden. At the same time, II
ann not asking too much. should very
highly appreciate your opinion OF my
| manuscript. OF course, / suppose the
ultimate decision Of my play vii. be
! the waste basket, but ! hope you may
| see some merit and be able to secure
| sale for II. or course. should only
want a frst-clasg actor to produce my
play. so do not send 1t to any but
/ the best people. Perhaps my play as
| IL Is a first effort, may not have great
| merit, but you Will be the best Judge
| OF that. Please give me your FRANK
| opinion.
| Now said the manager. II knew
| exactly what would happen, for II you
want to know what this type of author
| really thinks of his play just tell him II
| Is no good. His mpdesty vanishcs at
! the same time that his desire for a
| frank opinion disappears, and you will
| be utterly scorned as victim of pref
| udlce and as believer of famous
| names. None the less in this particular
| instance thought really would write
| frankly TO see II this gentleman were
All exception to. the general rule. !
| l,, s.,Stt, ,,lsaN
was absolutely impracticable and use
less for production. Promptly this re-
| ply came back:
Thank YOU very much for your
| candid opinion. ! am sorry IT is not
| more favorable, even though | do not
| agree with you. Whatever it's faults,
| It Is far better play than one of Pin
eros which I saw yesterday. But then
| l am not Pinero.'
Another frequent manifestation on
the part of the dramatic aspirants is
that of fear lest the manager will steal
their idea, This belief is usually COM
| bined with an exaggerated sense of the
value of the play and Is probably nat
| ural development of II. They are all so
| painfully ignorant OF the fact that most
of their work no one could possibly
want to steal. Yet I have found that II
produce a play where two people fall
| In love, are then separated through
somebody's machination and are later
reunited, / am likely to receive several
letters saying that my production has
been deliberately stolen from tfFse
authors plays Sometimes they even go
into court to prove their claim. and
| / honestly think that they believe their
own contention. ridiculous as it may APP
| pear. Take these two letters:
| "' DO assure me that no one Will be
allowed to see my play whom You do
not know thoroughly and cannot trust
absolutely
Under no circumstances will / per-
nit the manuscript to so out of my pos
session until satisfactory guarantee is
In sight I do not intend to needlessly
sacrifice my Ideas, labor of hand and
brain for 10 years for song and sing
that song myself
"And as the woman who wrote this
last letter lived In Los Angeles, and
as she would not permit the manuscript
10 go out OF her possession, I am not
quite sure as to how she expected 10
sell the play TO me-
Then there was another man" the
manager continued, who wrote me
| but what's the use? | could go on
talking for n week about the unreason-
ahleness and impossibility of these nov
Ice playwrights. DO you honestly blame
| me for constantly feeling discouraged
as well as bored? You hear lot about
the injustice of the managers treat
| IuFIit VI pidyNIlsnls, Out you near very
little of what the dramatists do to the
managers. Yet we go on searching for
the one good play that may lie concealed
| In this mountain of mediocrity, and if,
dazed and disappointed at the useless
trash. we sometimes miss n valuable
property instead OF everyone's critics.
Ing us for our bad judgment | think
VIC ought to be praised for the many
, rlays we do manage to keep from the
public.
IT'S hard. difficult. ungrateful prop
csitlon." concluded the manager as he
dramatically swept three manuscripts
into the waste basket and then rang
! fer the Office boy to pick them up again.