Los Angeles herald., 1910-05-15

munerative occupations known. Thou
sands of budding young dramatists try
their hands-or typewriters-at sketch
building, but there are precious few of
the playlets written which are ever
produced As a matter of fact, there
are not more than half dozen or so
persons in the United States who have
mastered the trick-for 1t is a trick
of writing successful playlets for
vaudeville OF the precious few sketch
builders one is a resident of Los An
geles, and another will be one of those
who will make up the vaudeville bill
at the Orpheum theater the coming
week The former is Miss Ruth Com
fort Mitchell. whose 1.-THE Way to the
Heart" was presented at the Orpheum
by Julius Steger, one of the cleverest
and most exacting vaudevillians on
the stage today. Miss Mitchell's play
let is we'll remembered and will live
for many years for it has exceptional
merit
Will M Cressy is the other person
referred to. He has written something
like 11s sketches, every one of which
made fortune. Vaudeville playlets
are always in demand and bring from
$500 to $1000 sometimes more. If one
understands Just how to write the
sketch 1t may be done in day. If
not it could never be accomplished in
a lifetime.
1t is rather interesting to know,
since there are so many calls for play
let's and SO many failures written and
produced, just how the trick is turned.
Mr.. Cressy is the grand master Of the
sketch writing profession and his words
may be of value to those who have
an idea they wish to express in a
playlet.
I'm writing a playlet," said Mr..
Cressy, there are two rules to follow.
Write the last sentence Of the dialogue
first. Then work back a half dozen
speeches. You then have the denoue-
ment. If the end does not come like
the crack of whip. do it all over
again. If you haven't good ending
there's no use wasting your time on
the beginning.
THE second rule is to have three
subjects, all working towards the cli-
max, DuL OIL variety To SuS-
tain the interest of the audience. Six
minutes, as a rule, is as long as an
audience will listen to any topic OF
conversation. OF course, there are
other minor matters, such as opening
the playlet with action instead of dia-
logue, and the tucking of laugh in
every other line, with here and there a
light touch of pathos toward the end.
i've ideas of my own about sketches.
l think they ought to be like a glass
of soda water, all sparkle and evanes-
cent with a little bit of syrup at the
bottom. Too much syrup is worse than
too much SPARKLE / won't drag in a
line Just because it is funny unless
there is an excuse for it. l let the Sit
uation produce them.
Sketches are much harder than the
four-act play. In that you have the
first act to explain with the help of
the family lawyer; the second act to
work up to the third act; the third
act for the climax and the curtain
calls, and the fourth act to marry them
and have them live happily forever
after. There is never any curtain call
after the fourth. Everybody is put
ting on his hat and getting out. In
the sketch you've got to do all that In
twenty-five minutes. You have to ex-
plain, work up to your climax, and
you can't stop there to get your cur
tain calls, you have to go right on and
marry them.
big scream. You can't do that though
if you finish up your story. l always
try to give cheerful wind-up, other
wise it leaves the fellow that comes
after you In bad situation"
Mr.. Cressy Illustrated with the fate
of one of the best sketches he ever
saw, 1.-THE Tie That Binds" 1t is
the story of a young couple that have
decided to separate. Each starts In
hacking a trunk. and the situations
are funny. Then they come across
the little shoes of the baby that died,
and that unites them again Well,
that sketch spoilt every show 1t was
in You couldn't get a laugh out of
any audience after that, no matter
what you did. 1t got so no manager
would touch the sketch.
II will often create q condition in
the beginning" Mr.. Cressy continued
in exposition, land then go away from
it and come back at the end to wind
UP the sketch with it. It's like the
snapper on whip.
This is the service Of Bad Bill, who
was condition created only to be
killed to furnish the tag line of The
wyoming Whoop.
1--WE write just exactly opposite to
what you newspapermen do" Which
vaudevillain remark may explain many
bad sketches. They are written by
newspaper people.
"You write for the eye-we for the
tongue. Peter Piper picked a pepper
looks all right, but you can't say 1t.
You tell everything in the first head
line; we have to wait till the last line.
I'd rather have a poor sketch with a
good finish than a good one with a
bad finish. What do 1 care how the
horse starts-it's the finish l want" !"
AS an illustration of what he means
by the finish--the whip-cracking idea
Mr. Cressy gave a detailed account of
one of his most successful playlets en-
titled 1.-THE Village Lawyer" This
playlet is more or less familiar to Los
Angeles theatergoers for it has been
seen here. Here is what Mr.. Cressy
has to say about the playlet:
1.-The Village Lawyer is an old
bachelor. discovered in an old-fashioned
Office. He is saving up enough money
to buy a clarinet Just as he gets it
somebody always comes in with hard
luck story and he gives up his savings
This time he has saved up all but
twenty dollars and he has put the
money away in a safe place. A letter
comes from client inclosing twenty
dollar retaining fee. At last the clari-
net is a reality, and he has Just sealed
the letter ordering ii when a young
woman walks into his office. She Is
seeking a divorce and there is some
funny dialogue. But at last the lawyer
warns her from his own life. He saws
What II doesn't take a long time to malra