The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1913-03-13


sffs ies osklnspl aIl rtil
5troag, GlenmoEe ISaFis Edna sntels
leorge Nathaps and Walter Prichars
Eaton. /
NOT until the" KipdliRg Association s.g
vas well under way did J. " oah
on and the Irwin brothers alll foEpei
itudents4 at the Stanford University
,allfornta, remember that they had ar
Id, acquaintance in Charles Kenyon
he. author. lie had acted with Their
a a student drama, appearing as tn
,ergecuted hero in Seven Dobbert
down. lutid, burlesaue; melolran;
which had a college run. Billy EEtggh an
Chris Bradley, we're the author qa
?oth cherished ambitions TO be play
arights. Bradley is now o lawyer il
oklahoma and Erb is a mil man u
Nevada and California. while the IN
Considered leading man has lived t.
rite "Kindllng" which. proves that Fl
he twig is belt the tree IS dl IA
Kenyon scratched off his agat pr.
.ucabie play in the Lambs, New Yorl
4 oue.act vaudeville piece called 9TH
operator" This had an i1termitten
!
success. During that visit, he saw i:
newspaper a news story, written b:
scton Davies. as the public has sine.
earned, about a woman who was a
anged for theft, aud whose HUSBAND
volunteered to serve her time. He Gu
out and slipped It between The co!
RS OF a magazine. When later b
opened the magazine to find the CHI
ing his eye fellupon an article abou
he Trinity teneMents. The two fac
umpcd together in his mind, an.
Kindling" took shape. He wrote tn
play during an actors enforced idle
ness and,hc visited New York to pee
lie it.
Mrs. Flskc was almost persuaded
but she decldedagainst It in the end
.erahps the atmosphere was too lik
hat OF salvation Nell" and she pr
''erred to vary her work. The Ne'
rheater also tottered for a time, o.
he- edge OF, decision with the same r
jult. Kenyon went back TO Californi
where he did newspaper work for :
while.
Just then Margaret Ellington. abou
return 10 the stage, heard Of thi
Jay. Mr.. Bowes, Miss Illingtol's hu
band and manager, received It, do.
jared old manuscript, just as he wa
.oaving for. Portland. He read 1t, o,
the train. At Portland he. telcgraphe.
an acceptance and an offer for an Of
ion on Kenyons, future work Mis-.
llington tried, II, first in stock in Lo
Angeles. Henry Miller came to Sc
lie performance He was tremendou.
y Interested, but he hadhi crittcismi
There should bG.three acts instead
.our,o he said. Your second act ca
be told in, dialogue during the, thirt
And it is. too narrowing. now. You ca,
.uggest some. OF The, thugs that your
.olling now, in, meeting. Send you
playwright to me. and we'll tinker.
For. two weeks Kenyon, travelled tn,
one.night. stands Of California. wit
Miller while he, revised "Kindling.
Finally Miller said, "You have it rigl
now, except for the plain clothes maj,
You've a great chance there If you e.,
pand the character, Kenyon knel
Intimately. w. ], Rprns7 he needs, n l.
Introduction, Burns was the detecttv.
who worked up, the evidence in tn,
graft cases. Kenyon Intervene
Burns, who filled him with the il,
formation on the ways Of q real d.
,cctlve. And 50 finally "ktndllng" al
sumed its present form. II its aptho.
lily seems little composite, that
only because this story is . frank pr
soutation of the history Of the, pla!
plays are not written taey are T.
written" and most dramatic work
are not merely CoIlaborations, they ar
recollaborations. A recent Broadwa:
success had six authors-7but tina
would be telling, The real point is tn
credit for the play as it stands belong
to Kenyon, plus u little expert, an
that in its present form 1t is writer
as a playwright in the "Kindllng Assc
clutlon" puts 1t, like the work Of
man who has been building plays TO
20 years.