New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-09-07
MMU REALISM x M " S f Nj F. n s II
BELASCO ON REALISM
A New Drama for a Generation
of Thinkers.

cause every one is thlhhlllS 'o-No''
David Belasco in the current nunloei Vi
"Tbe Theatre Magazine. the eleineh'a'
moments OF crisis in nature are the saii'o'
but the emotions have changed ther ioii
Happiness and grief no longer eNPleee
themselves in the same form OF theatriCa'
ilusion. We have grown up we must
treat our emotions with more dignity and
resnect because we have better knowl-
edge of the truth.
There are really few stage secrets OF
to-day. They have mostly all been told
and therefore my studio, which was once
a place of illusion perhaps, has become
study room: for the theatre demands
transcript of life. not an adaptation.
Stage pictures must have the substance
and the spirit Of reality. for men and
women have gone beyond the superficial
expression of feeling. The words OF a
play are fewer as they are IN life. The
drama of to-day must be straight TO the
truth. unadorned. The limitations of the
artists. the actor and actress, are the only
hindrance TO the realism OF the future.
This. TO me, is the mystery of all mys-
teries.
Why should there be a sudden obst-
macy Of artistic perception, why any final
effort Of the eternal soul in this life?
There is scarcely an actor or an actress
known to fame. scarcely u distinguished
contributor to the literature OF the thea
tire Of my day, who has not shared the
secrets of my studio. l can hear their
voices feel the thrill Of their power and
genius as did those generations Of thea
TRIGGERS over whom they reigned. And
then suddenly something has gone wrong;
the light of their souls is growing dim;
the lie Of tragedy or comedy has grown
weak in them; their artistic career stops.
There still remain the few primary
colors of which all drama is painted, but
the skill of mixing these colors has in
creased. The whole scheme of play writ
ing has changed as the world has grown
younger.
we speak of the past as old-fash-
toned The present is youth, the past Is
old age. 1t has always been so. In all
the years I have spent in active work
the theatre has always set a new task
for the producer. Stage traditions were
good enough for a while till the audi
ences outgrew them, and then began the
conflict between the old theatre and the
new.
The essence Of success in theatrical
production, I have always believed, lies
in its surprises. All lives have their
moments Of importance. and they are
the thrills--the dynamic emotion. Why
they happen and how they come about
is realistic drama. With an accumulat-
ed knowledge of what should not be done
in the theatre. have always found
more than I could use OF things that
could be done. The province of htera-
ture is entirely outside the province OF
the theatre. OF course, can speak only
of my own dramatic views, with which
some have differed
Il believe in the play that deals with
life in its moments of importance, In
crisis Of emotion. 1t is strange that lire
in its most prosaic moods IL always eN-
posed to them. Emotional feeling comes
unexpected, swiftly. with an after erect
that startles US with some new wisdom
We have learned something we never
dreamed of in some unexpected emotional
experience These were things which |
tried to apply to my productions. To
meet the progress of current psychology
rather than adapt the meaning OF cur
rent events has been my chief industry.
81 knew that the heart Of the wanton
had all the humanity Of all women, but
that her life was obviously full or ORA
matte contrast. She was an heroic figure.
She was an heroic figure TO the crowd
that looked on and followed the sur
prises of her emotional experiences. l
knew that in most womens lives the hor-
ror of temptation had been secretly
fought. and that they would understand
the thrill Of the wanton's dramatic con-
fct.
Then. too, I knew that most women
are spiritually redeemed. and that mere
was material for a suggestion or the
beauty Of a soul that had been dragged
through the mud-triumphantly restored
IN the peace that passeth all understand
ing.
Long before these two plays in when
I had visualized these facts had made
their success. long before the production
of The Heart of Maryland my dra-
matte purpose had broken away from
stage tradition. My productions were
modern pictures Of modern life. My aim
has always been 10 find the dramatic ma
terial of the future, even if it led me 70
the edge of a rainbow. 1t has often done
this. for intuition is master one must
not dsobey.
Nearly everything l have selected for
dramatic production has been chosen
under the spell OF intuition An instinct
for the theme that is uppermost in the
worlds progress is no credit to the indi-
vidual. because it is gift. realized
long ago that an era Of new dramatic
material would surely arrive. felt that
before long we Of the theatre would reach
ur and touch the rainbow Of human as
pirations at their best. at the Intangible
line that divides the natural from the
a