The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-10-26
Troubles of a
Playwright Are
Very Numerous
Failures So Many That Successful
Writer'S Refuse to Risk . Chance
Even Gifted Few Have Their
Ill Luck.

Among the many stories hat are
told Of David Relasco Is that Of a
would-be playwright who beseized the
manager with letters regarding a great
American drama which he had COM
pleted. says the New York Sun. After
that q reading would be according his
work.
He sent the manuscript and then
began to call. telephone. write and
make himself generally objectionable
in his scathing and highly satirical
communications. The fact was that
Belasco was away and the play was
going through the usual course Of a
reading together with hundreds Of
others.
In the meantime Mr.. Belasco had
arrived and seen the play and heard
the reports on 1t. which were anything
the line Of the celebrated Shinn dra-
ma, Bertha. the Prune Hater's
Daughter: or More Sinned Against
than Usual" The manager replied
briefly:
My Dear Mr.. Brown: Yes. I have
read your play.
Oh - Mr.. Brown! Very truly
yours, David Belasco.
There Ia no frenzy like that Of the
young playwright scorned. The hand
OF late Is always against him, he be-
teves: the managers conspire to keep
him from his own. the agents steal
his ideas. the whole world is In league
to overthrow him. He hates every
body who has yer had a production
and his own areer as a decent citizen
and seller of neckties or boots, maybe,
is completely spoiled by his failure as
a stage writer. The disappointments
Of play writing r so we'll known
that many novelists, offered big sums
for a play, have refused to undertake
the work.
Injured by Sudden Success.
On the other hand the sudden sue
cesses that have come to some Of the
younger writer's in recent seasons have
added to the playing writing fever.
Winchell Smiths Fortune Hunter"
Rupert Hughes' Excuse Me-"
Brownies "Everywoman." Eugene
Walters. The Eeasiest Way" William
de Miles The Woman" have inspir-
ed the ambition of would be dramat-
lists. Another similar case was that of
walton Nell" for Mrs. Fiske.
Many of the plays hat do get a pro-
auction and Immediately meet with
failure are SC palpably bad that it is
hard to understand how experienced,
shrewd men ave allowed them to get
to the footlights. Some Of the plays
that go about the country, skilifuIly
press agented. are financial failures
from the very first.
Literary Fitness Not q Test.
The fact that a man may be inn
mensely successful as a writer of nov
els or magazine stories. is no guaran-
tee that his work as q play builder
VIII be anything but a fiat failure.
Literary fitness is sometimes more of
a handicap than otherwise. Carpen-
tering Is the word which best explains
the process OF play construction.
Is n Of the few writer's who made q
successful debut as q. playwright.
Since then he had a couple of fail
ures.
why don't you write a. play?" ask
ed an actress Of the late David Crab
am Phillips.
II have too many other WAYS Of
breaking my heart!" he replied, with
q bitterness which suggested that he
had already experimental in the mat
ter.
And heart breaking about expresses
the situation wich confronts the writ
or when he strays from the comnara.
lively. quiet fields Of magazine work
and Journalism to the stormy battle
ground Of playmaking. For the writ
ing OF a play. even a good play, is but
one small step in the task of obtain
ing a reading for it: Of placing 1t with
a manager, and after that, Of getting
a production. Then its fate is decid-
ed by the box Office public.
Playwriting and producing have be.
NnYnA q tn
cept with the gifted few whose nam.
the theater-going public follows in
these matters. And even they num-
Der their failures now and then.