New-York tribune., 1919-03-30

KA/ art OF the theatre {.
wv whether it be a fine art .
whether acting is the whole of
that art or but part of the whole E.
whether the drama should be spoken or
sung whether scenic show is q nui-
,snce or not whether an audience
should applaud or remain silent F. an ac-
,or paint or not paint his fact ami
mails be allowed on the stage men
act the female roles prompters
be heard and not seen. or both .
these and at least another three dozen
questions afford not only England but
one or two other nations perennial exercise
for speculation.
We try our teeth year in and year out on
these grave and trivial questions -. ques-
lions not to be chewed i. we chew them
ncsssantly.
We are still chewing them on our way to
the theatre: we continue quietly all through
the first act; during the first interval we
start afresh . munich, munich, MUNICH .
b. the end Of Act We have swallowed
them along with the prepostsrous perform
ance offered to as drama.
We become quite i'll.
We go home after it's all over to
have good talk, and we decide to reject the
drama "besides, who ever heard of
drama without horses ~ and the
chewing recommences until Apollo in his
chariot of eight comes gallopng up, de-
Gently hidden. let us thank Heaven, by the
Middlesex mists
en- Corn in III i,,o~
Of the arts. They, too, mix up trivial and
serious questions relating to theatre and
drama: and Fritz and Elsa feel they have
the sole right to them all just az Jack and
Mary feel that the questions are theirs.
But we must never forget never
again forget E. that there are other ma
>ons besides England and Germany.
Some of these, adopting this Anglo Saxon
r,jck, 60 in for the yearly cackle but with
more emotion than we do {. :. with them it
becomes E. Gust thrilling"
| suppose no one will imagine mean that
our whole people wastes it's time and energy
over an Improbable foolery. I mean no
such thing. But I do mean that a very
large clique, or ':public" as it's called. does
this, and at the peoples expense, and the
net result is labelled "Pubic Opinion"
We have no English theatre for this rea-
A clique has chewed it up A public
has cheated people.
Had the people been left alone they would
have loved nothing better than to lend a
hand in creating theatre for us long ago
representative English theatre Shall
| tell you how people lends hand?
1t accepts what it is given, appauds or
Kisses it, but it does not dictate with irri-
tating persistence what the dishes are to be
like, and it does not permit prejudice to
spoil chance of enjoyment. 1t leaves the
dishes to the choice of the artists . and
it goes to the feast prepared TO enjoy it if
1t
But the cliques publics of certain ma
tlons do dictate and are prejudiced, and
prejudice others. They are prejudiced to
such an extent against all but their own
particular fads that their prejudices become
passions with them, and thus a tenth-rate
theatre is produced and first-rate drama
is destroyed just because of chewing
clique.
Our drama was first rate. 1t has been
destroyed
II
If in some lands genius and intellect arc
so general that their peoples can afford to
waste them in this way, in other lands they
are still looked on as rather rare and treas
ured accordingly.
1t is in such lands accepted that dramatic
genius is a thing valuable to a nation and
that it is thing to be preserved Art does
not awaken animosity toward artists in the
hearts Of these peoples because it is not
eommerce-or CONNIE rcial.
In the great eastern empires and among