Evening star., 1914-08-09
BOY ACTORS AND THE DRAMA
BY ARTHUR POLLOCK
MOT long ago newspaper contained the


MOT long ago newspaper contained the
~ headline, "Colege Actors Compete
with Professionals, evidently having the
idea that it was chronicling great novelty.
Of course the competition OF boy actors
causes the professional actor Of today not
the least uneasiness; but even if it did, there
would even then be nothing in the nature
of a novelty about the fact. Boys competed
with professionals in Shakespeare S time, and
so discomforting was it to the professionals
producing his plays that they had to retire
to the provinces or play to empty seats.
But there was even time in the history
of the English drama when newspaper
had it not been that the newspaper itself
was then "distnct novelty might have
been justified in describing as novel the fact
that professionals were depriving boy actors
of their occupation-the exact reverse OF
what today passes as very strange pro-
cedure Boys as actors of the drama are
very old; older, in fact, than the profes-
sionals. Moreover, the drama is deeply in
their debt; for they have had great effect
upon the course of it's development.
AS far back as the year ITO schoolboys
were acting in England. In that year, in
the town of Dunstable, a schoolmaster
named Godfrey wrote for his boys the first
known play of a new type thereafter often
initiated. 1t was what was called Saint
Play and Geoffrey's drama, very appro-
priately, concerned Saint Catharine, the
patron saint of school children. From that
time school plays were numerous and popu--
lar. Not later than 1862 Nicholas Udall
produced "Roister Doister,' a drama that
earned him the title of the Father of English
Comedy. 1t was written for schoolboys.
"Gammer Gurton's Needle, q play of great
historical importance, probably written by
William Stevenson about 1859, was college
comedy produced at Cambridge.
During the sixteenth century most OF the
playwrights- playwrights then were
gradually molding the drama into an ef-
fective form-were writing their plays tor
companies of choir boys. John Haywood
at one time trained choir boys and wrote his
plays specially for them to act. He IS the
author of many Moral Interludes, a form of
dramatic composition that helped to fit the
drama in general for the presentation OF
such practical ideas as the plays of today
are full Of 1t is recorded that in 1888 he
earned forty shilings for playing an inter
lude with his children before Princess Mary.
John Lyly, from whom Shakespeare
learned much, and by whom the English
language has been considerably enriched,
wrote many of his plays for the choir boys
of Saint Paul's and the Chapel Royal. With
these two companies OF boys acting became
a profession about the end of the sixteenth
century.
1t was these children who in 1860 rented
the Black Friars Theater, and by their
capable performance there lured all Shake
speare's patrons from the Globe For them
Ben Jonson wrote most of his plays. Among
them was very clever little fellow of twelve
years, who withgreat success played old mems
parts. The children's recent performances
of "Disraeli' and Grumpy therefore, can
hardly be said to constitute novelty.
Plays of the period were made to fit these
boy actors, and even in the dramas of
Shakespeare may be found evidences Of
their great influence. From the ranks Of
these juveniles also the acting profession
gained many an accomplished actor whose
training was much more thorough than any
young actor Of today can hope to get.