The Washington times., 1915-07-04

ara OF acting ABILITY. Whcther tnei pay
to be given Is a comedy. or a drama,
the organization must be Of such an
elastic nature as to admit expansion to
great size or contraction as the REQUIRE
ments Of the play demand. s'
There are several stock companies In
the country that fill these requirements,
but there are probably none outside Of
the Poll company which has such ufi-
limited capacity that It would attempt
to add to It's achievements the produc-
tion Of one of those eerie fairy tales
later, day philosophers have fallen into
the habit Of writing for the stage, such
as Maeterlinck's THE Blue Bird"
The results that were obtained by the
Poll management in the production of
''The Blue Bird were entirely, beyond
the expectations Of the most enthusias-
tic patron of the players. The atmos-
phere of the Maeterlinck masterpiece
WAS attained in the very. first perform
Ance and the smoothness Of each per-
torrance was entirely out lof keeping
with stock methods and precedent. 4 '
"The Blue Bird Is q directors play
rather than an actors. 1t, is.a. spec.
effects play as Important: part as act
Ing. And Il Is a most difficult directors
play. because the management, OF CROWDS
OF supernumeries must be 50 smootn
Or STACEY precision; the manipulation of
the lights must be so careful that
brilliant nash or soft melting effects can
o"Ths Po,i PiaVersi have the advantage
of an unusual director in the person OF
Harry Andrews, and for this particular
production he had a remarkable assist
ant in the person, of Selma seymour.
Mfss :TS. ssy@Gsr siye BIRD: = has s become almost
religious ritual She was in the original
cast of the production at the, New
Theater in New York: She knows every
setting. Director Andrews gives Miss
duction of 'SThe Blue Bril- by his conn
pany. He declares that he has never
msnasement man g @ than she exhibited in the
rehearsals. and in the twelve perform
ances that were given. -"
company as whole, from MANAGER Joe
Cone down to the smallest child IN the
cast, give the highest tribute OF praise.
This is Robert Robins, the Pon scenic
artist. MIR. Robins Is one OF me most
signers Of scenery in the country. and
his work for the Poll company during
the past year has attracted great at
tention. Week after week he has fur.
only Of a highly artistic character. but
are In keeping with the spirit OF the
pltys that have been presented 49,,
Rsnsa s tTss sntssay oSansd Stfss
from black and white pictures Of the
settings used in the original production
but In most cases he made entirely orig.
inal designs. Mr.. Robins Is an artist
~ as hA
full attention to every little detail. and
understands light values as g chemist
understands them. He utilizes this
knowledge in the production OF scenery
breathes the spirit Of and goes long
way IN giving atmosphere to every pro.
drction. Mr.. Robins has made himself
as important factor in the interpre-
tation Of a playwrishts MESSAGE as tho
play or its actors. <
Having fished rather successfully
In those deep pools OF human nature
the written line, old lrv Cobb. war
correspondent. Joe Millor-and- orisi-
nal-humorist, and a number Of other
things, has broken out" In a new
place.
Cobb is a motion picture actor!
There are probably lot of people
who will tell Cobb that as an actor
he is one Of the champion heavy
weight war .so SorresP0nddehnss p,,,d hs pon Of the
all wrong. Cobb makes his debut az
an actor as a tourist IN Edgar
selwyn's photoplay Of his own ORA;
matte success. The Arab. A,r1 AND
to the piece. He did more than that.
He mixed the colors himself.
one Of the delights Of travelling IN
Egypt. and other places where Arab
the fleas and warn .highballs, is add
ing UP ones experiences after each
day Of sightseeing. and betting with
ones self on the percentage .of truth
In. In tie htoespeefa,y "a: to the ,e:
When Edgar selwyn asked Irv to ap-
pear, In his photoplay as a tourist Tor
the Of Lending xosds gsS5 Local sh.p,cn
tourist--the humorist consented provid-
ed he was permitted to give to the
world through this photoplay his IN;
dorsement of Arab guides which mao
bosom. bose but which he had never before
had opportunity to make public As II
was for the purpose of indorsing guides
that Selwyn wanted Cobb in the pic
So Cobb became an actor and wrote
his own part. The whole Of the part
appears in print as a part OF the pic
ture and must be read on the screen In
It's proper SettlnB 10 De TcdIty uuuSt-
stood. In doing this one thing Cobb
has earned the thanks and good will
of everybody who has had dealings
with an Arab as guide or IN any
other capacity. ,..-
Having observed that the brain dus
twins. r. E. Morse and r. e. Gret
habitually becloud the mental vision o
the persons who invite spiritual stra
bisnlus by attempting to see both back
ward and forward at the same time
clarity of viewpoint seems only attain
able by the student Of things dramati
who will turn away from the disastrou
season that has passed and face tn
future. No matter how much caus
there is TO bemourn the past there 4
always the cheerful figure OF hope clear
" outlined In the middle distance o
things to be. We call the future.
Likewise next season is the tim
when. every actor and actress score
the greatest success! No matter hou
bad business has been during the seaso
that has passed or is passing the tru
thespian knows that next season !
to be the time when he and the publ
reach the mutual understanding tina
spells greatness in electric lights an
the figures on the box office sheets
The patron of the theater can do littl
more than initiate his entertainer, q
least to the extent of looking so far int