New-York tribune., 1920-11-07
Winchell Smith on
The Production of
Successful PLAYS
Continued from preceding pagc)

to be played before an audience. What
is the good of a flying machine that
! cannot go up in the air? believe that
the author who writes for any public !
ought to begin with the idea that it is
nc good unless it contains something
that will bring people to see ii.
Many so-called great plays are not
great at all. They are considered great
among a class which does not know
good construction and the work Of
playmaking. Some of them contain
good thought, but they are not great
plays. Mr.. Golden is very much in
terested in plays which are produced
by small organizations throughout the
country knowing that their produc-
tions will have little box office appeal.
In fact, he has two or three representa-
tlves who secure these plays and send
them to him. Nine-tenths of those he
receives are just downright filth and
their appeal is degenerate appeal
Now think that no good at all is ac
complished by play like Ibsen's
Ghosts 1t has great acting possibili-
ties. but it does not benefit any one
lbsen is great dramatist and the
theme he uses in Ghosts is all right
if it accompishes some good. No
matter what material you have, you've
got to write with the idea that it will
draw people. A successful play de-
pends on what the auditor thinks of
1T one or two days after he has seen
it.. If the play stays with him and
takes on reality, then it is success
Mr.. Smiths chief interest in the
theater is in comedy. He likes the
dclicatencss Of the work and the fun
of fussing with laughs which can be
spoiled SO easily if not handled right.
Because of the very thin plot of
The First Year didn't think it pos
sible to achieve the success that we did
with it. A man asked Mr.. Golden what
the plot Of The First Year was. "A
fellow gets married. Mr.. Golden re-
piled, and that is the plot and no more.
But it's the truth of the play, the truth
that makes people say Don't you re-
member SO and So, which makes the
play so popular. Of course, we go after
comedy but we keep IS near reality as
we can. In the second act there are
two struggling kids. The husband tells
the wife that they are going to be rich,
that they will be worth 100000. We
had her say: "A hundred thousand
dollars-that means New York, London.
Paris But the line got no laugh at
all. SO we had her put in If you get
it, and the line now gets a roar. 1t is
natural for the young wife to doubt
and the success Of the change shows
the response when the thing seems to
be the truth. The play is just crowded
with truth"
Winchell Smith has always believed
and still believes that it is impossible
to put sermon on the stage and have
I draw In ,,l., i,.I
The Only Son" He thought it was
great, but it ran three weeks The
trouble was that he preached. But he
believes that if play can carry
theme based on something that will be
of benefit to the people who see it it
makes the play very much more worth
while than if the play is hooked up
simply to get money. This must be
done. however, from the standpoint of
entertainment and not from the stand
point of preaching
zone OF the best plays | ever saw
was Galsworthy's Justicc.' People said
to me 60 and see sermon that is Just
croWdng them in-itS q treatise on
thc horrible grind of the wheels Of the
law. Went TO see it and | made up
my mind at once that what that play
told the audience about justice and law
didn't draw q nickel. What drew the
that the play told. Gasworthy could
have ruined the story easily, but ne
didn't, and whether this was because
Ga sworthy is a master playwright and
tcchniclan or because of pure luck |
don't know. The love story concerned
the poor clerk who took money to help
the woman whose husband abused her
The author told the audience that she
had two children. But neither the
children nor the husband were seen
Whether Galsworthy didn't show them
because they were not needed in the
play or because he knew it would kill
it | don't know. am inclined to be-
lieve that he didn't know. Galsworthy
IS fine writer, but | don't think he
knows the theatrical tricks from the
standpoint Of the worker as know
them.
Mr.. Smith loves little theater He
says he had always wanted the Little
heater for play and now he has it
with "The First Year The turnawav.
he thinks. is the best advertisement the
mr. Golden says that a man who
cannot get in to see a play either
comes back with his money another
time or he tells his friends he couldn't
get in The latter is the best adver-
tsement. have often wondered if
bad play wouldn't go if YOU could fill
all the seats so no one could get in,
he said lauphirrlv