New-York tribune., 1907-06-15
| |SMITH COLLEGE PLAY.
"Much ado about Nothing"
Chosen for Senior Dramatics.

Northampton Mass June IA (speciaD--This is
day Of great excitement and much hurrying 10 and
fro in the scholastic shades OF Smith College The
annual play. the opening and the chief
event Of the Smith commencement. is given to-day
It has been rather more looked forward this
year than usual. for II Is spring festivity that
bad weather cannot defeat. Having had most OF
their picnic parties wet-hlanketed and their piazza
fetes frozen out by the untoward season. the Smith
girls have naturally pinned their hopes to the an
nual drematcs which. fortunately. take place
under a protecting roof The relatives and friends
OF the seniors and the men invited to witness the
play excited over II as ara the young
actresses.
Much Ado About Nothing is tho play this year
the same one given by the class OF '9S when Miss
COrnelia Harter and Miss May Dillon took the parts
of Beatrice and Hero, To-day Miss Helen Read.
OF Des Moines. Iowa. is Beatrice. and Miss Ethel
G.. Curry. Of Cambridge IS Hero. For the last
three years the seniors have been repeating plays
given by former classes, Shakespeare neglected 10
write comedies enough to supply tho Smith seniors
with for every year, and his tragedies
they are too wise 10 attempt. There are other
paywrights OF course. but after trying two or
three OF them the girls decided that Shakespeare
the for them.
They are not amateur performances. these Smith
serious dramatlcs. The girls have had pretty
thorough training before they come to this hnal
test OF their acting power. All through their col
lege course they giving impromptu little house
plays and plays their club meetings. Only a
week Is allowed for the rehearsing OF these so OF
course not much is expected OF them After these
the larger house plays. given in tho students
building. Each house gives one every two or three
years, and spends some time on il. Besides these.
there are the Alpha and the Phi Kappa Psi plays.
which every year. The girls take all tho
management OF these plays themselves but
there is slight supervision Of the more am
bilious ones by the elocition department once IN
q while when money IS needed for some special
object, as the Allen recreation fund last year the
girls get UP purely money making play. and lay
themselves out to make II
But the annual senior play is a different matter;
The best actresses are selected for this and
they go at the preparation in no light spirit First
they master the meaning OF the play and every
line IN IT. Then under the elocution teacher. Miss
Peck, and a professional trainer. Alfred Young. OF
meaning They practise physical culture exercises
70 learn learn 70 walk well Iney have vocal exercises
and they rehearse and rehearse and rehearse.
The girls probably hear more about their sins OF
voice and gait and manner than they ever heard
before but not one OF them murmurs under the
criticism H g hurled at her She knows 1t is for tho
go2d OF the cast There is a system OF fines for
eenr99uehs az rehearsals which is another spur TO
mittees on dr2matics and. in fact the whole class
young actresses straight In the path of duty
LIS, II is three months now since the seniors began
things professonais are not required to do They
cry ana nave even rugged up the stage settings and
These senior plays are an old custom In the early
Srs they began giving modest little annual per
formances in what is now called the old gym
naslum Those early plays were generally farces
written by the girls themselves funny hits an the
ldCuIty ne uTSt class TO produce a regular play
was that Of 81 1t was also daring enough to hire
coach-a real actress-and IL paid her the extrav-
agant OF SIS
In 1889 the class essayed Sophocles's Electra p"
me second Greek play In the original ever given in
Spanish Gypsy followed but in 1895 the class
turned to Shakespt are, and except for one yenr
when Hindu drama was given, he has been their
standby since
The senior plays are not what could be called n
financial success. for the expenses are always so
heavy that there IS n scant surplus. II there are
any proceeds this year they will be turned into the
library fund.
rrlo
Pedro Sophie f. Wilds: Don John. Mary f. Hardy
Claudio, Helen V. Curtis; Benedick. Laura c. Gei-
des; Leonato. Isabel Brodcrick; Antonio, Julia NJ
Holder; Balthazar. Agatha F. Gruber; Borachlo
Steele Hamilton Conrade, Leola Sexton; Friar
Francis. Nettie strohbar; Dogberry. Esther Howe
Vcrges, Edna B. Wood Hero, Ethel c. Curry
inson. and Ursula. Marion Felt.