The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1914-08-09
Greatest Game Of Chance in World
Is Shutting Cards to A11use Public
Fortunes Staked to Win a
Laugh That May Mean Sue
cess or Failure for Pro-
Queer.
By GARDNER MACK.

lne PUBIC. Amusement Is lIlt DlAiS
form of stimulant known to science
that cannot be administered hypo-
dermically Nourishment for the ma
terial things that go to put life and
energy into person can be forced
into the body by means of the needle.
But there is no chance for the risi-
bilities to be aroused or that tired
feeling TO be shaken off by COM
plete reaction or relaxation of the
nerve centers except through the
soothing influence of an amusing or
instructive dramatic performance or
some similar form of mental exercise.
The minute the thing which stimu-'
lates the sense of humOr gets under
the skin-just that minute it loses
its force of amusement for the per
son whose epideTmis is attacked.
The business Of providing recreation.
therefore, through the medium OF a
theatrical performance, is more or
less a reflective process. 1t is a
most hazardous game of chance be-
cause there is no guarantee that the
composite beam formed of the varied
lights of reason in an audience will
strike sQuarely on the large surface
created under the proscenium by the
author. the manager and the actors
so IndI In6 TellSCllOn Will ATTAIN
that brflliance which the needs or
the patients require.
Mirror Held Up to Nature.
It was probably some such thought
as this which occurred to the great
poet who gave so many actors their
only excuse for being so by desig-
mating their office in life as holding
20 the mirror to nature. The bust
ness of holding up the mirror to ma
Iure is very fine so long as il isn't
held so high that it requires a, giant
intellect to get even a suggestion
of reflection therefrom. However,
as q glittering generality, in a man
ner Of speaking-the term is good
one and gives reasonable excuse
for the suggestion that while the
various theaters in the large centers
are teemtng with experts in the
mirror holding business. as they
are at present-it might not be bad
idea to wheel a pier glass or two
into position and get some counter
reflections as to just how the pre-
parations for season are made.
In New York. Chicago and San
Francisco-as well as a few stations
marked with stars on the railroad
guides around these centers of popu-
lation. there are hundreds of actors
AMI actresses and managers and
musical directors and scene painters
hard at work today in empty houses
polishing up their mirrors for use
the coming forty weeks. At this
stage of the proceedings every new
plav is a potential success with forty
weeks of money producing possibili-
ties, and every old success is bound
10 coin more money than il ever did
before, because ii will get a better
demonstration by the new company
that will produce it-or the old COM
pany is able to give a better pro-
duction. Anyway you might happen
to put it. the weeks Just preceding
weeks of optimism in the theaters,
and success is the only word any
one connected with the profession
knows how TO spell.
Selecting a Play.
The manner in which one play is
produced is typical Of all the others
making due allowance for the di-
vergent personalities of managers
and the character OF the COM
panIes-whether they are engaged
fer the purpose of perpetrating COM
edy. tragedy, a musical show. or a
vaudeville act. These things all make
q difference in detail. but not in gen.
u al CLCCl- Inc play Is the III 81
thing that must be obtained-natu-
rally. Even if you are a star actor
or actress, with well-known charac-
ter forms to be fitted. it is abso-
lutely essential to get a play. So
eminent an authority as George Co
han announces that most PLAYS are
Celebrations OF the theme of the
fairy tale cinderella" or the drama
Sis HOPKINS or combinations of
the two. You might ring the changes
on either a man or a woman-it
makes no difference to George-he
can prove his case.
When one has secured the theme Of
the play, II must be written with the
needs of the well-known tired bust
ness man" uppermost IN the mind Of
the playwright. The poor. tired
housekee2er doesn't seem to have
any rights in the theater. and. be-
tween ourselves. the greatest salts
faction the writer Of these words
takes in being a man is that. if Fate
ever so suffragettes the world as to
deal him job as q hOusekeeper, he
can still shake it any time he so
desires and get to work with one Of
the overgrown carpet sWeepers that
are being constantly pushed about
our more important thoroughfares
by gentlemen in alleged white suits
Bob Burdette, one OF the most hu-
man u HuHldH lEE- " TO mas lilE
faculty of transmitting his human
tty through the point o. a pen TO
his fellow-sufferers. has declared
that there is no such thing as a
~ured business man." anyhow.
Actors Always Plentiful.
9ewever that might be. We have
Q play written a la George Conan,
and, 10 be conventional. Wen have
Il for our old friend. the | b. m.
in spite Of Burdette and his theories
And now We must get a company to
play II. That isn't SO hard a. il
seems Every year there are more
actors floating around ont Of jobs
than there ever were before. and
this season is no different from 9TH
ers. New York reports a perfect
deluge OF actors and actresses.
The average company includes a
leading man and leading woman. a
heavy man and reavy woman a
character man and character woman.
q juvenile an ingenu-. a comedian
and several also rams. OF course,
every company doesn't need Ali this.
But the average will need most Of
II. The leading lady is selected to
1T the part and wear the clothes
II the part hasn't been written to
1T the leading lady and the lead
ing lady changed IL to fit the
clothes.
There is a graf deal Of trouble
always just about this point in the
fixing up of a production. You see
the author and the manager and
the siege director and the leading
lady all have q perfectly plausible
set of ideas about this part of the
affair. And each declares there
will be no show unless his or her
particular set of ideas is adopted
In toto-wherever that is.