The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1911-02-09


-s.Ss3 to produce centere2! about
49, the characters and the story
that he had to tell with the accom-
panying prcachment, He had a re
markable sense OF characterization for
a man SO young. and this bad fire.
ouently led him into subtle literary
phrases which evoked the praise of
people for whose opinion he really had
no particular regard. but who had all
the judicial quality which comes from
having been well g~rounded-or appar-
emily grounded-in what are called In
collegiate circles the fundamentals
And this had once led the young man
to say sharply at an after dinner
spread of o~ratory-a sphere In which
be shOne with diStinction-that the
trouble with the fundamentals of the
collegiate education was that they so
frequently made Of the Fundamentals
Of life Il sor of crust, II necessary
meringue That had to be accepted IN
order to giId ones true knowledge.
Read as he was in the dramatic
literature of the day and familiar as
he was with all the naturaiistic and
propagandist theories of the intluen-
tial men OF the modern stage, he bad
"A deep feeling that the whole thing
was all wrong and that. while it was
splendid as "A protest, it was auaemic
in its %preachment. The red blood of
romance seemed to him more warrant
ed To cure the Ills that obSesSed the
naturalist. though he had frequently
to repeat in the numerous %controvcr.
sizes in which he engaged that ne
knew that much that had passed ~
romance was purely ignorance, also
that the naturalist had done n great
deal to check those tendencies that ted
a Lucia to 90 mad TO dance music
or Il nation to sing NEARER. My God.
to Thee" to a descending musical
phrase or a hero in the throcs Of Il
third act to stand out in the middle of
a crowded thOroughfare and tell hi.
troubles and secrets. while villainy
eve careless. stalks by to drop con.
venieptly "the papers" where they are
most needed.
In this his fourth written play and
the first to be produced iIolcomb had
come nearer to a drama with a thesis
than he had ever expected to come
There was still a satisfying glow OF
romance over ii when the play was
accepted. but little by little, protest as
hn r,inbt bn ,,n, aIJ;.D1 10 ,,nI~
changes that made his work the very
opposite Of his intention.
Dora had appeared at rehearsal
promptly on Tuesday, and this fact,
coupled with her apparent happiness,
Draced Holcomb for what was already
suggestions for changes in the cast
but the management had its own not
particularly high minded reasons 70;
infiicting on him absolutely incompe-
tent people. and, to make matters
worse. Ludlow. who had been his
friend. seemed to take a special de
light in thwarting him and letting the
performance down frequently. Play.
ing opposite TO Dora as he did, the
lending man seemed to get particular
pleasure OF; Of annoying HoIcomb by
being just IA shade too familiar with
the young lady. Despite all this, the
rehearsals moved fairly rapidly, and
they were ready for production tire,
weeks after they had started 70 add
to Holcomb'S troubles. however. it had
been decided against his better judg
ment and fervcnt p%icadiugs to open
flat" In New York city.
lie had been an actor long enough tc
know that at least three or four per
fOrmances outside of the m|etropoli.
were necessary for an adequate pres
entation Of a play, at least on the
part of the actors. Only those whC
have come in intimate contact with
the spectacle can appreciate the over
wrought and hysterical attitude that
the average actor takes toward his
first appearance in New York. Fol
some reason the majority Of the man
ayers encourage this high strung at
titude. explaining their belief in il by
the statement that the actor gives q
better performance when he Is in q
hysterical condition than when he i,
calm. Actors themselves have zone So
Var as to say that an actor who has
all his self possession on th" frs
night is not endowed with genius.
(To be c~ontiruedl