The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-03-28
'fof. Guthrie Discusses
 American Drama,
MEL UENcE ON PEOPLE
 IS MOST IMPORTANT
ramas of Present Day Are
 '"Rotten." /
VIII Never Hear Truly Great Play Until we Have Truly Great Audfences."-Must There fore Support only the
 Best.

That the drama is the greatest of the merican arts, that 1t Is the most im- ortant of all the arts in its influence ! the people, and that the only way
 attain . really great drama is to ,hcate ,hs;a the people up to it. was the ie Girls High School last night.
 Prof. Guthrie emphasized the point rat to develop the drama, the greatest 'rm of which Is the tragedy, Is for .e G people to support only the very ow tawdry. and incomplete and un. tisfying that may be. He argued nat by only supporting the best ramas the people can make all drama stter and better because the manag- $ and play -wrights have to satisfy opular demapd. He said that no rama can be any better than the est in It's audiences, and that no anna should be as baseand vile as the orst in its audiences. He said that any of the dramas of the present day ,nded to be in the latter class, and lat there is only oneNword to describe ich plays. and that is the good old nglo-Saxon word rotten.
 To begin with, Prof. Guthrie said lat thae drama was the most impor- mt of the arts in that 1t affected more seply the greatest number of people. e said that he had rather have the ian to be more than sixty Theodore oosevelts" Prof. Guthrie said, in art.
 There is a world which is far more nportant to us than the world of . le world of spiritual volition This orld of flats must be made just as lbstantial as the world of facts.
 Painting Important.
 Painting is a most important art |. it's influence upon our lives. You ever see anything of any great i'm prtance in this world about you un- ss an artist has seen if for you first. oetry is different from painting in lat 1t suggests only mental vision of ,ings. and makes them more actual you than as if you had actually seen lem in the flesh. Poetry makes us ave an emotional response to things | accord with their intellectual values. understand great poetry we have , have imagination. From poetry you ct a clearer idea of things that you ave already experienced or seen. iusic Is an art that cannot impose an irs different individuals to various ioughts, and emotions.
 Drama is essentially poetry. To the petry is added great deal from the le, color scheme and architectural citing and tke dance
 Here Prof. Guthrie caused ripple [ laughter when he explained that by le ''dance'' he did not mean the ] 'contemptible that one blushes to iention them in public. He wanted } know what there Is in the waltz nd other round dances except some hing "stupidly voluptuous". He con '.There are great many people tho are prejudiced against the drama eeause They say that rsa,c,oms Some Of Tbers 1t is something bad in everything that Is hman. and If you were actuated en- rely by that reason in everything. lives that you would die. We will ut that aside as a most ridiculous req Sn.
 Stay Away. /.
 But there are two sorts of people ho hs ih9ald rse sort sray should ag s away ause they are so lost to honest cu-- osity that they cannot get any real hjoyment out of it. The second sort lat they Can get the fiutterins of an: el's wings by the mere snapping of leir fingers. If you can get a nut sapsn9 srns of o anEees se nsef Mss tSe s drama e ilmly and quietly stay away.
 ITO those persons however. wno
 you have not such an interest you lould stay away. Drama makes the ndtons ,,s of ,ssa gsai fs lire aad aea the to
 Most of you think that drama bout a naughty subject is naughty rama, and that a drama about a fs@s sGas ius5f1s s5iSs that you vii a ss lit that a goody-g -goody play. good lay without a. naughtiness in it. ould bore yu, you to death. Hit .Goodg- teresting. 'Naughty-naughties' are ost interesting. The great purpose ]. the drama is to present the ideal yysrsseiy by ygr,a nsgs,tives; srousea another pple of laughter by remarking upon low silly" it Is to say ''I love you: !" e was bringing out the point that in ave no words adequate to express 1T thoughts. Then he went on to low that the drama taught wisdom trough folly. virtue through vice. etc. .agedies and comedies which teach trough great stupidities and great ever eyer saw or heard of was called he Sign of the Cross,' to which the irsons and ministers in my town took eir susdayseno9a caassss tSa; tbsv was dis The morality of a play depends oon what 1t does for us-the stuff of hitch it is made-not upon the set-
 Aim of Tragedy.
 tragedy, the highest form of the the rama presents the .ooS courage tBe Of man heavy burdens, great griefs. crimes nd crushing fate. It forces. upon our finds the infinite vitality of our race nat is capable Of great crimes and reat goodnesses, would a,t,,rs rather .Sesa be a etty goodnesses that belittle true yir- re-"
 Here Prof. Guthrie began and traced rieffy the history of the drama from ie timee of its birth in ancient Hellas own to Ibsen. He showed how owl, 1t le god who was eternahy striving sanss the T,tans VsTy of Hsdey sonbocles ns edipus Tyrannus, Aedipus Rex and ntigone taught that we should not idge others by their deeds. but by hat they will to do-"just as we judge arselves."
 Tn discussing King Lear." which he