Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-12-30
A UNIQUE Undertaking.


and thrilling motion pictures.
A Unique Undertaking.
Pursuing broad policy of reviewing
everything worth while, the Poll Mu-
steal Comedy Players are preparing
within the next few weeks to make an
elaborate production of Miss Wash
ington." an original revue of the Ma
tional Capital, old and new
Writers Of lyrics, satirists and pun
sters generally are invited to contrib
ute to this production. There will be
sklts on the topics of the day and a
general burlesquing of things worth
while. Newspaper men. organizations
and every one Is invited to write skit
and send 1t to Producer Charles Sin
clair" at Polls Theater for this big
production.
The skits will be put on with abso-
Lutte fidelity as to detail, and special
effort will be exerted to make a unique
performance.
Manager Fred G. Berger of Polls has
addressed an invitation to heads Of
bushes professional and civic bodies
asking them to write skits on matters
OF paramount interest. Local song
writers and those who are adept at
making puns will also have the pleas
ure OF contributing to the undertaking.
Audience and Actor.-"The mood and
temper Of an audience. says Otis
Skinner. is always a source of interest
and guide to US behind the footIights.
Every player has, think, an instinc-
tive pleasure in studying during the
first act the sort Of audience he is play
Ing to. and then watching and studying
II throughout the entire performance.
No two audiences are alike, and one diff
fers from another in striking degrees
For instance, there Is the silly audi
ence. that invariably laughs and ap-
plauds at the wrong time and in the
wrong place There is the cold audi
ence. that nothing can thaw. and there
is the discriminating audience, with
powers of appraising the worth Of a
player and play. whose response al
logical moment.
individuals In an audience never
count. 1t is the united mass that we
play to. Mr. Jefferson. l believe. said
that he often found pleasure in picking
out one person in front and watching.
as opportunity offered, the effect Of HIS
work upon that one person. He said
IT taught him whether or not he was
playing up to the right key
But. personally, I think this il dan
gerous guide for most of us to go by
One particular individual may happen
to be easily pleased at anything or
| cynical turn of mind and a sophIsti-
Gated theatergoer. who is never moved
to enthusiasm.
Then, too. the average spectator at
play does not weigh the relative
shares the author and the actor con-
tribute to his enjoyment Tho PLAYER
who has the skill to draw a vivid pic
| ture of the character created by the
author is helping the public consid :
| erably to properly understand the au-
Vat
gets the entire credit for new stage
creation and vice versa. An uninteIii-
gent audience leaves the theater with
a totally wrong idea of the intrinsic
author and the Interpretation of those
characters by the players"
Ian Hay Trench Life-"As the
immortal costemonger observed. there
amt no word in the blooming language
for the trenches in Belgium" says Maj.
| Ian Hay Beth.
| In the first place there is no settled
trench line at all. The salient has been
a battlefield for twelve months past.
No one has ever had the time or the ou-
portunity to construct anything in the
shape of permanent defenses shall
low trench trimmed with an untidy
parapet or sandbags. and there is your
stronghold. For rest and meditation a
hole in the ground. half full Of water
and rooted with sheet of galvanized
iron, or possibly a glorified rabbit bur-
row in canal bank.
| These things. a modern poet has
observed. are all right in the summer
| time. But winter here is a disintegrat-
ing season. II rains heavily for, say,
| three days. Two days Of sharp frost
succeed. and the rain-soaked earth is
reduced to the necessary degree of fri
ability. Another days rain, and the
trenches and dugouts come sliding
down like melted butter. Even IL YOU
rivet the trenches. II is not easy to
drain them. The only difference lis tina
II your line is situated on the forward
slope Of hill the support trench drain.
into the firing trenches. II they are on
the reverse slope the firing trench
drains into the support trench
Our indefatigable friends, the royal
engineers. labor like heroes, but the
utmost they can achieve in q Iow-lyins
country like this is to divert as mucS
water as possible into some other bri.
gade's area. Which they do right cum.
lningly."