New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-06-04

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tai calbcr. not at all in the SENSE YOU might
have taken from what | have already written
What mean is this: The same things tina, fun
da,ncntlllv will appeal to the emotions Of fifteen
vcar-od Zoe Ba,z will appeal fundamentally 60
the emotions Of the average audience That is
one Of the reasons. incidentally, that clean plays
always win ont in the long rum That Is the rca-
SON incidentally. that al the audience and his
wife love a dash Of mclodrama. That IS the ro1-
son an audience likes TO hear The stars pangloi
Banner" likes speed in dancing, likes easy un-
prctcntiols Hitting airs. Ask Your son or daugh-
fer about il, And then. after YOU have stopped
launching your incrcIulitv. stand in front OF the
nantclpiecc, look in the glass, and ask yourself!
Mind YOU nv dear reader, ! am not talking oil lbscn
or art am talking merely Of popular theatrical enter
anrcnt or if uuibbcrs protest what is known by that
br,sc What qocs with Zoe Blaz will 90 with his dai
for Iocs dad. after all, is only Joe grown up. NJ tins
point | hear YOU say TO yourself wv ell thcf why 10.
work around from the other end; Why not take Joe $
father as a criterion, instead OF Joe: answer, II "oul
not be 50 safe What pcascs Iocs father might not aI-
WAYS please Joe And what might please Iocs father
might not please Iocs fathers brother. No, II would
not be SAFE The other way OF figuring IS lar ana away
the better.
IN almost every article have read on the subject
of the thcatcr audience there has been io OIL 'k
about psychology. That is the one reason WHY am
writing this article. There is about as lnuch dceP PSy
choogy TO thcatcr audience as there 10 uSN'' ~
Rem Davis appcs OF course YOU can call anything you
want ~psvchologv" 1t sounds big and learned But
the only trouble in the case OF thcatcr audience mat
IS not So Psychology is defined (via the lcN'pooh)
as the science OF mental processes. obviously "S all
audience is most frequently made up OF human beings
i is only fair to presume that certain mental processes
have some relation TO and with II.
But nv point is this: The word "lSychoioHi Is uSu-
,, n,nnlovcd rs a scientific cloak, as something pre-
tcntous, to cothc LOT Of simple everyday, p'' 81"
f,cts |, IS like calling a polar bear IHdIdSSa'""
,;,;yus which is all right according to strc' lhtc
ro,a,ion Of the dictionary, but IS somewhat CONFUSING
- the everyday man. There is the trouble 100 ABOUT
confusing oneself Psychology, in IT'S pufcH S'i'H'"c
sense has little place in an analysis oi 'lc ~
fer audience and. if am wrong in this assumption
shall have TO confess that have not eariicd
and honestly al the wealth that the uhl'SH
n,,r1i has handed me in return for the amusement
,',. hancd ONT 70 il, In the language OF Shorty Me
Cabe. then, Nix on psychology and mo INC '"''S
IBEGAN studying the characteristics OF inc American
/ ,loator audience when | was a KID oil hitcen. Al
tina, time was plavnq violin in theater orchestra
IN Providence. Rhode Island. | was IN the habit OF
learning the selections by heart at nome 80 Ui''
sh,,id mo, have 70 look at the notes and so could
nlav and at the same time keep my eye
on the people in the orchestra seats
What did | learn? learned that the
!: !. !. !: ! !: !.
audiences liked just what iked'
~ And Toe Batz was born then ana there.
II ~ As a violin player was pretty poor
~ nroposi,ion. believe me! But Kept md
ding away, and made enough noise to fool
- the orchestra leader; al c''' io"s enough
80, he lff..r, 4