The Washington herald., 1921-06-12
NEW PLAYS AND PLAYERS BEFORE THE JUNE FOOIIIGHTS
The Southern Play
By EARLE DORSEY.

cSoME thirty months have whisued past since
- Armageddon ended and beer begsn-tome
thirty-odd months of stupendOus social. ecouonie
and political change. in which prohibition. has
triumphed, cerics have ward -heelers movies
have embraced morality. skirts have gone kneevard
for the second time bootlegg1ng has Joined nne
arts and found her place outside the
Generally speaking. the arts and sciences hsvs
been keenly affected by this epic revision Of human
values and the theater less The has evolved
less than handful Of nrst-rste drsmatists but
demand and q more earnest striving for accurate
dramatic craftsmanship and accurate present.-
ton of the thrice-vivid drama Of life within the
republic
In view Of this quickened technical faculty t
seems downright remarkable that Of the 800
plays which have been produced in the two
there have been but two and two only that occur TO
memory as the work Of southern plzywrishts--rhe
Red Dawn" by the Rev Thomas Dixon. jr- and The
Hotheads." by drsmatst named Faiier based Will
n Harbins Nam Linda" There may have been one
possibly two-more plays produced the brace
OF southern origin. but the number
does not exceed that figure
Ignoring the moment the startling sterility OF
the south in the generation Of plsywrghts Of real
ability. obsessed ana gruesomey fascinated b.
the appalling low technical standards Of these two
southern wrters-the only two can remember who
boldly their sectional trademark
the face Of their manuscripts.
that he has ouahs GRG Sssh is an vssS o. peaS ey in
Of s .f | m aPS Ia. ts
the s.,tsE DFodSs!. of ,hf region in s1 eve. moSe
insiy. that cOnspicuous outstanding eIsmpss q
Be MARKED By 10 and
snee Of the Trs. ot the 1st1an sd
that the two most conspicuous example. Of frankly
Of the rFsinE sta1dards Of ten-twenr-thirr neio-
@M actually hesitates to accept indicstiv. Of
southern literary attainment in the theater the
~ two theater products / have already outlined.
but the remains that during the 80 months
they the best plays and practically the only plays
er.Nr,
their sectional antecedents with sounding brass and
tinklng cymbal and who called all true southerners TO
rally round the literary Stars and Bars and do homage
There may southerners who. in the years.
contributed notable examples OF stsgecrsft
the theater IL such exist they have
fully concealed their South Atlantic origin beneath
Lambs club address New England postnsrk.
Under the circumstances, is forced 10 soeept
theories: "a That The Hotheads- and
soa.herR Red ps2Grrhns rs tSst OF
actual literary eOmPetence are careful 70 svoio the
Indansns, Cape Cod Yankees or New England school
Just snGssh 5000 writing is left ,n',n4 II the
center Of the Gnited States was SITUATED below the
cSSnG1 HsGT TSo%.. Neison Psss James Branch
FsSsh & % and Sne OF two o1h @ h. ina. ss @ ns nS
himself or herself to nontheatricaI writing and
avoided the Shsater hsid Of SperstiCRs: iesyins
and perhaps one or two Others Of even Lesser t.ms
exception the few competent writer's the southisnd
are writer's deeply grounded in the soil Of the old
literary order as stOne~an jackson is indigenous 10
the soft-drink industry.
Such southern stage writings today
are marked by one definite. undownabe motif: The
motif Of harsh, nate-twisted conflict. conflict
evolve sweeping, all embracing psnscea for one
or another sickly political maady. Politics
inseparable from southern drama homny fs in
ser The hero Of southern
dram is chemically-pur mid~Nic
torian Galahadish hero bitter political
test who by dint OF high phraseolosy and
Ajax-ke series Of postures, eventually beats down
fearful odds and evolves the remedy that will free
the and send cotton back to IS cents
he melodrama. likewise the only form
drama they know. and humor when Il appears,
is mechanical one-nngered
cause playwright believes appreciates hpmor
but because humor appears the accepted drsmatic
slight attention be paid
formula be awkward. elephsntine blunt.
MOTHER hall mark Dixie drama is its meticu-
~ lous avoidance of a stage analysis Of sex and
- the conflict that permeates human exist
The southern woman, obviously, is we'll
docile who pushed into the back
ground the slightest provocstion-s creature who
invades politics dehes her for
birth-control In short. she is mere moonshiny back