The sun., 1919-07-06
THE task Of the piaywrights Of
niseledranaA is taking on new

n
naelodraHiA is taking on new
hardships. 1t used to be ac-
counted difficult enough to provide the
thrills necessary to the suspense Of a
play. The man who could keep his
audience engrossed as D'Ennery did
ana as Sardou did in his best days
had every reason to be satisfied. But
nowadays . new duty confronts him.
Not only must he make the audience
thrill with the excitement Of his story
and the adventures or his characters.
but he muet make the spectators roar
With laughter while they SILVER with
emotion. His labor has indeed become
bnrdensonne.
An example Of this new difficulty 10
seen In Owen Davies's AT s:45." At
the close OF the second act three per-
sons have confessed to shooting the
young rake. The puzzled chief Of
police, lining them up in front OF him.
observes that one is the criminal and
the two others, the biggest liars In
New York. He repeats this remark on
the rise Of the curtain on the third act
a. the three characters stand In the
same pose. II may be seen how difficult
II Is for the drarnatist 20 suit the taste
Of the day II indeed that be the taste
OF audiences that seek the excitement
OF nnelodrama. 1t is the opinion Of the
writer, however, that the real thrill
and the genuine laugh are 90 hard to
attain that the playwright Who can
accomplish so much not only satisfies
his audience but should feel satisfied
himself. Half success either with the
laugh or. the thrill 10 fatal.
"HE burdens Of the playwright
grow ever more onerous. One
hears Of the vast profits of
the writer Of the successful play and
all the gold that later flows in his d.
rection as part Of the by-product.
There are the moving picture rights
among these, for which the heather
always rage; and indeed, this reward
is often considered sufficient to COM
pensate the dramaust for failure on
the spoken stage.
But Just In the ratio that his emolu-
. ments increase so do his responsible
ties. It was not long ago that his
demand to share In the advanced price
Of the spseuiator's tickets was met by
the answer that he was lucky to draw
. royalty on the admissions sold for
half price which had their influence in
reducing his profits. Then came the
special advertising in which the au-
thor is now expected to bear his share.
This new device Is worked" in the
following manner:
A play may be struggling along
keeping. just as its producer would
say, 'alive." Entrepreneurs in the
theatre know that by certain means.
such attention may be attracted to a
play that its receipts will be increased. |
ct least temporarily. Whether or not
under this system of hot house forcing |
q theatrical property will develope |
enduring value is always a question. |
Sometimes the manager is willing TO
make the experiment. But he usually |
demands that the author release all or
part Of his claim for royalties. In the |
majority Of such cases the playwright |
Ia perfectly willing to take his chances. |
He knows that he may lose all oppor-
tunity II the piece is withdrawn while |
there is some chance in his favor II |
by the extra outlay for advertising 1t |
may be made into a success. So he |
generally submits to what he considers
In his heart another scheme OF de-
priving him Of his rightful earnings.
As an interesting example Of this
method Of manufacturing success one
drama OF New York life recently seen
here is always pointed out. 1t was the
work OF a more or less noted writer.
It's reception was lukewarm. There
were no signs of any widespread
popular success. On the other hand
there were unusual manifestations OF
interest from time to time. So the
managers took a chance. The actors
accepted almost to q man 20 per
rent. reduction In salary. The piece
was removed 10 a less expensive the
ttre. For several months It was
played with apparent success. It was
extensively exploited. Well, its run
tnded. so far the author has not re-
eeived one cent OF royalties and is
hiOiC VI lCSS odllSlCu Indl lHty NtII |
with the uncommon outlay for pub
hcity. The managers feel no EN-
barrsssment since as the play never
knew q profitable week and only the
actors earned anything out OF the en-
terprise. they do not entertain quix-
stic duty to reward the playwright
but of receipts that never paid ex-
penses.
But such a method OF doing business
while II may be fiattering to the play
wriRht's pride. is an unfavorable con-
trast to those old days in which he
was sure of his 8 per cent. OF the
gross receipts whatever that amount
happened to be.
Madge Derry dancer OF the Opera
comique, Paris. has arrived in New
York under contract to appear in a
forthcoming Winter Garden extrava-
.anza to follow "Monte Cristo, Jr."
b J. Shubert, when in Paris last April,
n SUMMER RESORTS. II