New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-09-21
Author of "a Voice i'm the
Dark Finds an Easy
Customer in Broadway
For His Plays
By Rebecca Drucker

By Rebecca Drucker
Voice in the Dark" is launched upon
a successful run at the Republic The
atre, is candid young man. tried
gently to convey to him that he might
permit himself some latitude in his
story. that the public did not insist on
too literal rendering Of the account
OF q favorite of fortune-I even tried
subtly to insinuate a more artistic
handling Of details-but Mr.. Dyar in
sisted on remaining resolutely prosaic
He is young Westerner who never
80 much as had glimpse Of New
York until he arrived in answer to
Mr. Woods's summons that he come
and confer with him about the play.
Since he came from the furthest West.
it is entirely in the contrary nature
OF things that he should be without
that large insouciance that is consd-
cred typically Western. He is dark,
restrained, professional looking young
man, with thick eyeglasses and o.
rather prominent Adams apple, and
he speaks with, the careful, decisive
utterance of the prize debater
But the academic exterior is only a
FACADE. Mr.. Dyar frankly reveals him
self as the keen young business man
in whom the West abounds. So far as
he is concerned, there are no glittering,
unsubstantial gcneralities involved in
the writing OF plays One writes for
the good, serious, practical reason that
an idea is marketable. And at judging
the marketabilty Of anything Mr.. Dyar
Is an expert. He has been a staff of
the promoting department of "The
Spokane Daily Citizen" and Western
city can develop a very high degree of
shrewdness and hustle in a promising
young man. The lessons in salesman
ship he learned in that extremely
brisk school stood him in good stead
In the selling of his play.
Spokane gets few plays. Its interest
IN drama is languid. But Ralph Dvar
had once written college play in his
student days at the University of
Minnesota, and ever since then had
remained interested in the battling
tricks Of play construction. The idea
for "a Voice in the Dark" came to
hlm wrapped up in an article by Clay
ton Hamilton, in which Hamilton sug-
gested that there was a dramatic de-
vice in presenting certain dramatic
incident from the angle Of several peo-
ple-repeatlng it to show the conflict
ing points Of view Of each individual.
Mr.. Dyar seized on the idea and car
ried it step further, showing a muir
der presented through the testimony
OF two people, a blind man and a deaf
woman. Bit by bit, in his spare time,
he worked 1t out very much as n
mathematical equation, and when he
felt it had reached marketable stage
he set about selling it with that brisk
concentration which had been SO salts
flying in the saiesmanshiD Of tooth
paste and lawn mowers and automobile
tires.
He sent Mr. Woods letter in which
he set forth the SELLING points" of
his play. He explained to Mr.. Woods
why he as producer could not afford
to overlook Mr.. Dyar's product 1t
had (1) new idea CO suspense, (3)
elements of popularity, etc. 1t brought
a summons from Mr.. Woods, and ten
days after Woods had read the script
he summoned the author and signed
contract for an early production.
This practical application Of sales
manship was an entirely rational dem.
onstration of American business meth.
DDS. Mr.. Dyar did not even conside,
Tor a moment the idea Of cominp tc
New York and starving in earret
until he had won recognition, Even i
he had taste for such romantic in
eptitudes, the fact that there was ,
Mrs. Dyar and four young Dyars t,
consider would have precluded that
Since it was first play, it prove
IN rehearsal to have the inevitabl
crudltles arising from such a lack O
experience. 1t went through some re
construction at the hands Of Willar
Mack and Mr.. Woods contributed to j
something of his knowledge of practica
stagecraft distilled from long expert
enco IN what will and what will no
work on the stage.
Woods has probably never read any
thing of that hugo literature in stag,
technique that is cxtaNt, but Mr.. Diva
says that no learned few rules from