The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-09-13
HHERIOUS AND MERRY PLAYS OF THIS WEEK:
IA@ - NOVELTIES TO BE TRIED OUT

year. IN my childhood I had rryer
thought of the theatre. had no aIf.'9.
lions with II and took no thought NJ 4,
But the minute 7 began to think OF wt..
ing plays ! was fascinated hy tho g....
css. know " no profession So a..
sorb'"g"
After ne left high school THIS vnlrr
playwright went to work in commurr,,,
way. then entered the law Off, n
Houseman. & Norhau. soon decide.
after he had begun to write plile ''t,
there was to he nothing for him n 'r.
law after he was graduated. and ~ SOON
a. his first play was a success ho 70
tired 10 devote himself TO playvr.,...,
and h $ other favorite occupation TIT
is nothing else than the study ~ a.
Geological questions. w which he w..
taken some Of the university extension
lectures at Columbia University NJ
Rcizenstein's study in the high schoa.
his reading and his attendance at e..
lumba have all helped to make Mn
cultured IN conversation much moro
cultured In fact than the characters IN
his play. who speak what is more co.
loquial than elegant or correct
I'm writing ON Trial" Mr.. Royor
stein told the reporter. ~ came on Clio
idea Of writing play backward VIII.
wanted to do. not only for tho novel,y
Of ss~p thing but as training in ~.
technique OF playwriting. was 70 max.
the last act the furthcst Off Of NJ. p,
point Of time, the second further M
than the first, and so reverse tho rsr1'
process by which a play is written
did that. The result, however was no.
satisfactory.
ut was then that the idea % 'Ne
trial appealed to mo as "A sort Of franz
for the scenes n link. as il were IN cor.
meet these scenes which were en- COP.
arated IN point Of time My echowo
had been 10 chow the cCur: rom on'r
in the first scene and the last. 7 mean
20 have dark stage with the voices NJ
the lawyers and the witnesses. Ny re-.
son for not visunliMng the court room
was the difficulty of making tho quick
changes. Arthur Hopkins. who hal
read the play and had confidence IN g.
invented the mechanical process -.
which the quick changes are made.
When the play had been submitted e.
Conan & Harris and Mr.. Hopkins 'hor
seemed to he no objection to the IDEA o.
the play beginning with what would -
dlnarily have been the last nc' and NOV
ing along to the first act. which WIS {.
the place that tho first act should nav.
been with the separating scenes in =.
court room. But had written his p'r'
with an altogether different plot f~7"
that which Is now used There was
murder and trial Of course was show
But the scene was in the Eentucl
mountains ma there was a fcud =
the brother who was not involved IN ~.
feud was killed and it was the mye''r
Of explaining this TINT made tho nlav
Put my managers did not think ~.
here was any punch IN that s'7",.
They wanted another murder and m.
other trial. So IN six DAYS 7 wrote 'Or
Trial as II is hclng played now ~
course that allowed mo very lttlc chan,
for characterization. do object n -.
charge thai the language is ignorant 7
did not try to write fine language. NV
to make It colloQulal and charactcris' Z.
OF the speakers"
Mr.. Rclzonsteln speaks with 49,.
franknrss and modcstv Of hov W.
has siill To make any kind Of = rcru'
tion. although Ne Is about the yurua0-.
Of III" p'aywrichis Ten make such
reputation. Dion BouCicault was un7.~
90 when "London Assurance" was u
lighting London but tltre was a'w ..
the claim that John B~oucham and .
he wrote the piece. But Rouc'c7r'.
wrote enough later to Justify his claim
to the namo OF dramat,st.
81 don't know that I viii wit, ar.
other play Immediately" Mr. Pa'2.u.