New-York tribune., 1920-02-01
By Silas B. Fishkind

Win seventeen year = OLD waiter
Hampden Dougherty as Shylock and
Clayton Meeker Hamilton. three yeara
younger, as Nerissa. the dramatic So
eiety Of the Brooklyn Polytechnic In
stitute produced the Merchant of
Venice" In the City Of Churches and
other things twenty-four years ago.
Walter even then showed ability as an
actor. Clayton played his part, but was
much better as writer. Now, Walter
Hampden, the former youthful Shylock,
is one Of Americas great actors, "the
greatest Hamlet Of the last twenty-five
years" his friend Hamilton calls him.
"Meeksr." 10 one Of the prominent dra-
matte critics OF the country.
College dramatic work was not the
hrst evidence Of Clayton Hamilton's
interest in the thekter. From the age
of eight, when he started to attend the
theater, his connection with 1t has been
continuous, not only In America, but
also abroad. At fourteen he started to
earn money by writing and he has con-
was his birthplace and after gradual
ing from the Brooklyn Polytechnic In
stitutc at the age Of eighteen he came
over TO Columbia University and re-
ceived his master Of arts degree the
next year.
While still at college in Brooklyn he
had decided upon a writing career for
himself and Hampden chose the stage
Although he had been writing profes-
sionally for FIVE years, he felt, at nine
teen, that he needed an apprenticeship
learn to write was to teach others to
do 1t.
II was offered position as tutor In
English at the college," he told The
Tribune's representative, "and accepted
it. did not want to become profes-
sor, but wanted to learn to write.
read hundreds of freshman and soph-
omore themes, learning much from
them, and taught seniors older than
myself, many of whom have since be-
come well known in the writing world
Two of these students we're Phillip
Moeller and Samuel Shipman."
Mr.. Hamilton, who is at present
dramatic editor of Vogue" three
years later moved into the extension
department of the university and ar
ranged to give one course week In
stead Of four in order to have time to
devote himself to magazine and the
atrical work. At first he lectured on
Saturday mornings on tho Elizabethan
drama.
Then several OF tho undergraduates
them Alfred A. Knopf, the publisher,
and asked me: Why don't you give
course on the contemporary drama?'
AT that time, fifteen years ago, 1t was
considered unacademic to lecture on
living writers but ! consented TO give
the course which was really conceived
by the students themselves"
he has been giving the course every
Saturday morning at Columbia ever
since. Always present at his lectures
are playwrights, critics, actors, ac-
way with the stage. At first he lee
tured on the living writers to q group
of SIX. now his class numbers more
tran 200. Dufing the fifteen years
That he has been lecturing. many of
his students have written successful
plays, criticisms, and articles on the
drama.
Playwritng or playmakins, as taught
hy Professor Baker at Harvard, is not
the object Of Clayton Hamilton's lee
lures, he explained. With groups num-
herring 200 and more it would be i'm
possible for one man to read and crit
clze the plays written by the students
and have time left for anything else
81 try TO teach them how great plays
have been made by contemporary writ
ers. If they can see how Ibsen wrote
his plays, and how PlnerO and Shaw
do it, they will learn how to 60 about
it themselves. If you want to learn
how to do thing we'll 60 to living
master and get him to show you. Don't
70 back three hundred years. II you
want to be pitcher go to Christy
Mathewson and ask him to show you
how to pitch.'
No hard and fast rules are laid down
by Mr.. Hamilton for tho conduct OF
lectures. He rarely II ever knows in
advance what he is going to talk about
Whatever occurs to him on tho spur
of the moment is his theme. If he is
talking about Pinero he talks Of tech
nique, If Ibsen is his theme he deals
with life, If he thinks Of Maate rlinck
he discusses mysticism. Rostand sug-
gests lyric poetry to him; Dunsany
prose style.
The formula for ION Triai." the suc-
cessful play Of several years ago by
Elmer Reizenstein, was worked out
during one of Mr. Hamiton's Saturday
morning lectures He was talking
about the novel and suggested to the
class that it would be possible to write
a play like novel, turning the action
backward. Hamilton was then dra-
matte editor Of Tho Bookman." Two
days later he had to 60 to press and,
finding himself short of material, he
wrote out the thoughts he had sug-