New-York tribune., 1920-05-30

I'm, words of advice from Deborah
Blerne, managing director OF
the Celtic Players, who are now pre-
senting the first of three bills of Irish
drama at the Provincetown Theater Miss
Bierne, the only American in the CO.
operative company, which plans to form
a permanent national Irish theater,
hasn't the brogue characteristic of the
actors, but che knows the Irish. 1t is
not necessary for her TO tell one that
both her parents We're born on the
Emerald Isle and that they were tenn
peramental dreamers. Her eyes and
her sense Of humor are sufficiently in
dicative Of that.
On the darkened stage Of the tiny
theater. set with real Irish propcrties-a
can Of Irish oatmeal from Dublin, a
shawl which saw service in the Fenian
unrising in 1857 in County Mayo, an
Irish sideboard and a picture Of Robert
Emmet from an Irish drawing room
Miss Bierne talked of the schooling nee
essary III order TO be qualified TO manage
{. company OF players from Ireland
The first training necessary is sew
eral seasons of grand opera work with
Italian singers. They are mild, com
pared to the Irish. Yet the Irish are
easier to handle. You are never in doubt
about their feelings. They hide nothing
and they express their opinions openly"
For two seasons Miss Berne did press
and managerial work with the Boston
Opera Company, SO her advice is backed
up By her own experience. She is we'll
qualified TO govern tie Irish tempera-
ment win tact and effectiveness Her
father manufactured sails in Japan. was
IN the navy during the Boxer uprising.
and visited many countries. In America,
after his marriage, he went TO Florida
for honeymoon trip. Both Mrs. Bierne
and he liked the Southland so we'll that
they decided to settle along the Indian
River. Being city folk, their Irish i'm
practically led them to start an orange
grove. They did, and, strangely enough,
it went well-until the frost came, at
least. So Deborah Bierne knows the
Irish temperament.
Up like volcano. few minutes at
fever heat. an appeal to the sense Of
humor, ard sharp drop, tha. IS the
WaT lri5hmen acl When tiay become
angry. Appeal to their sense OF humor
or to their desire 20 establish national
Irish thcater and their anger vanshes.
They are again lovable. enthusiastic
and helpful. During rehearsals they
would fare IN a one another The
stage director frt ! threaten 70 stop
rehearsals. Then | ~ould say. Shall We
establish a national Irish tneator. or
shall we not?' The effect vas instanta-
neous. Harmony would be restored diff
ferences forgotten, and the rehearsal
would proceed. AND TO show their sense
Of humor the next day the principals
If the quarrel would reenact il for NV
edihcation. They would fight one day
and talk about it the next. Il all took
time and delayed matters, but that's the
way an lr.shman does things. The best
thing about fight is the opportunity it
gives for making up said Eileen Cur
ran one day after she had made up with
one OF the other members Of the com
pany.'
The policeman on the beat would put
his mead IN al the tiny ticket office where
Miss Bierne presides, inquire about the
production, and say:
oh, so j. is to be Irish acting is it?
More power to yez, them"
And that, too. was the attitude o. the
fireman who watched the enforcement of
tire regulations. And this vas the at
tltudc which srnoothed the preparatory
steps leading to the onen;ng perform
ance last Monday evening. Miss Bierne
feels that the preliminary founda.io
for the Irish theater has been firmly
built and the work in hand now is to
obtain money and larger theater in
the uptown district for next season.
Other attempts to start an Irish thea
ter have been made. A group of actors
would get together, make their plans
before securing theater, only to find
that no theater was obtainable.
Miss Bierne got the thsater first. then