New-York tribune., 1918-03-03

chooses the fine arts as the field
of his work, and who succeeds to
a reasonable degree in accomplishing the
results which he has set as the goal of
his ambition, tnere must come time when
he can look back with satisfaction upon
hostile criticisnl," declares David Belasco
IL an article appearing in the March issue
Of "Munsey's." His own endeavor, he re-
minds his readers, has always been de-
he goes on to say:
Gas it is the most democratic of all the
arts, and is therefore subject constantly to
scrutiny and study from the most divergent
points of view, l have not escaped the in
cvitable penalty of being sometimes mis-
understood
"ln one branch of the art of the theatre,
especially, my purpose and methods have
aroused discussion which has resulted in eX
tremcs of encouraging approval or discour
aging objection. There was time when it
was charged against me that I placed undue
emphasis upon stage decoration, the use of
light and color, of scenic investiture and
minute detail of costumng; that | held the
Importance of these adjuncts above the play
itself and its Interpretation through the
acting art
at was argued by those VINO disparaged
my methods mistook my purposes, that
the chief effort in my dramatic productions
to appeal to the eye, and to subordinate
the work of the dramatist which must be
the foundation Of every production of the
stage, to mere physical display. This view
Of my work dramatic producer, which
sometimes expressed twenty-five years
ago, but has undergone radical and sig
nilicant change time has progressed,
caused me to be regarded in some quarters
as kind Of stage carpenter or decorator
who was attempting to veil some kind of
hocus-pocus by the pretence of art
CAT the same time, my method of present.
ing plays never without its strong ad-
vocatcs. The latter saw more clearly than
my adverse critics They OWNED that the
careful attention ! gave to the eXtraneous
details Of my production was only for the
purpose of interpreting and intensifyinc the
moods Of the play and OF the characters,
and that | was trying by legitimate artistic
means to stir the emotions of my audiences.
I'm some of these controversies | have
been hailed a wizard of light and color
and in other superlative terms For such
encouraging support | have always been
grateful, but for the final verdict I have
looked with confidence to the best taste Of
the public. A worker in the arts is never on
unsafe ground when he courts both praise
and blame; he is in danger only when he is
ignored.
"It was my fortune to come into@he theatre
during time when lighting appliances and
the use of Illuminating effects were under
going a great scientific revolution The in
ventlon and the perfection of the electric
light fall easily within this period. 1t is
usual to consider the inventions of Thomas
A. Edison from the viewpoint Of their sci
entiiic, commercial and practical utility We
of the theatre realize also how great is the
debt which the dramatic producers art owes
for its present perfection to this magician
who is not of the theatre. and into whose
calculations the benefits which the stage was
to derive from his discoveries probably did
not at first enter.
"My first work as a producer Of plays was
done in the Far West, where the theatre
was still in a primitive state. | was, of
course much hampered by the imperfect
methods of illumination then at our COM
mand. began with hckcring candles and
smelly oil-lamps, and observed the improve
ment when they, in turn, were replaced by
gas.
Each of these changes brought me a step
nearer to the ideals which I had formed in
my dreams, but which then still seemed far
away. 1t inevitable that should utilize
to the fullest extent every new means by
when the true effects OF nature could be
more closely reproduced in the theatre So
1t is upon applying to the stages art electric
lighting, and the more perfect use of color
which it has made possible, that a great
part of my thought and energies as dram
attic producer have been concentrated
E6 (Y good fortune my work at New York
40 theatre, with its wider facilities, be-
gan about the time OF the transition from the
stock company system of presenting plays to
productions which were made with a view to
greater pcrmanence, and in which more care
full attention could be given to the details,
of their staging. This change in the man
agement of theatres offered better oppor-
tunity and at the same time greater inccn-
tive for experiment with delicate illuminat
ing effects.
Before that time it had been the practice
as means of stirring the feelings of audi.