Los Angeles herald., 1909-03-07
In the Spotlight

GORGE BROADHURST, author or
eT 1.-THE Dollar Mark to be given it's
VI first performance at the Belasco
theater tomorrow night, has simple
formula for the production of play.
The first ingredient is about twelve
years of work and study. Then you
take a long chance on getting your play
produced, and another long chance on
finding cast which can play it. Mr..
Broadhurst modestly refrained from
mentioning one of the most important
ingredients of his own plays-brains.
When you talk to him, you are con-
scious of this factor first of all-keen,
alert penetrating mentality. Given
these stock gredients-capacity for
work. brains and success in the ele-
ment of chance-Mr. Broadhurst makes
il clear that almost any simple, unas-
Stunning person can turn out a play.
1.-The Man of the Hour is probably
Mr.. Broadhursts most successful play,
although "Wildhre,' in which Miss Lii
liam Russell is now starring, bids fair
to equal it in the record of business.
1.-THE Man of the Hour" is a play OF
modern business life. and like this
dramatist's other plays, is character
lied by a Photographic representation
of real, living characters. The Dollar
Mark" is regarded by Mr.. Broadhurst
as even stronger than "The Man of the
Hour"
Il have followed in it," he said, 'the
few infallible laws of technique which
[ have learned in my experience in
writing more than twenty plays, but
whether the characters will really live
I, dot inc Win
is put on the stage. | think 1t is built
strictly according to modern stand
ards, inasmuch as the solution of the
difficult problems is not left to be ac-
oomplished entirely in the closing ell
max l believe there are natural divis-
ion lines in piece which are as apt TO
be found in the first act as the last.
and | do not think it necessary to close
a scene with virtue in the ascendant.
although it seems to be violation or
the popular idea to allow the villain
even the temporary triumph of closing
the scene with his purposes accom-
plished.
However, 1 do not regard the tech
nioue as all-important in the making of
a play. 1t is perhaps a bromidiom to
say that the first necessity is to have
an idea that is worth while, but the
more experience you have as play
wright the more you are convinced of
playgoing public is far more intelligent
than many tyroesque reviewers are in
clined to give it credit for and 1t Is
becoming yearly more difficult for ORA
matists to succeed with the banalltles
which cluttered the American stage un-
til the new crop of stimulating ana
thought producing plays appeared.
what do | regard as the greatest
pleasure in producing a play? Well
of course if it is the first play and you
have peddled it diligently for long
while, the mere satisfaction of having
it produced is considerable, ana the
pleasure of drawing down the royalties
is more than considerable. But the
keenest pleasure I have ever expert
enced in seeing one of my plays pro-
duced is to see an actor get more out
of a part than / put into it. This has
happened in four of my pieces. Tom
Wise did this in The Last Chapter
Macklin ArbuckIe in Why Smith Left
Home and Mrs. Yeamans in the same
play. All of these actors not only
sounded the depths of the characters
deeper than I had done it myself but
gave them unexpected sidelights that
actually seemed to add something to
my own personality. | do not know
whether this is the rule with play
wrights, but with me it is the thing
/ watch for with the keenest anticipa-
ton when l watch the first perform
ances of one of my plays"
Mr. Broadhurst is English, having
been born and reared in Staffordshire.
His parents hoped that he would enter
the ministry, and in Difference to their
wishes he entered the archbishop's con-
test for theological students winning
the prize in knowledge of the prayer
book and church doctrine. After this
Mr. Rroadhurst concluded that bust
ness offered a more attractive field for
his abilities and went to America,