The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-05-18
Fred HI ) etter
Little ksolves.

dancing. Mrs. Gienne Smith III,
min. Who has loag bssn an advotsn
| Of intefpretative and DRAMATIC dssc.
Ing. IL one Of the producerss n
her studentD are among the ~
err. Mrs. Tinnin holds that dancIs.
d . valuable medium OF sxpresuss
emotions and ideas.
The Warrington Little Theatrs 1
further different from most otha,s
OF IL kind IN that It IL especially +.
terested In schildrens II is not n.
mArily Z childfen's theatre produe.
Ing so-callsd children's plays. Il
ID specializing In productions thai
will appeal to young people Of all
ages"--thAt ID. such plays a. "A
Midsummer Nights Dream" "Prup.
ella. Treasure Island" some q
Hans Andsrson's f1iry tales, "The
Yellow Jacket" and Maeterlinck's
THE Miracle Of, st. Anthony"
Plays for Children.
These plays are not being adspt.
ed for children. The producers say
that children are ~ easily bored
by insipid. undramatic plays a.
grown people are. They think thai
children are interested by virile
plays, artistically presented, 10 len
than the adults to whom the Little
Theatree cater. Consequently this
Little Theatre makes a special bid
to child audiences at Friday and
Saturday matinees.
Some things Of this sort are &C.
cented by every Little Theatre. One
feels it has Z special mission in
sweeping from the stage the clutter
of heavy realism-dining tables
complete from center piece to finger
bowls: New York hotel rooms with
the Woolworth building painted on
drop showing through the win.
dow. Let us get back-or 60 on
they say. to the place where the
lines Of play are more importan,
than the future. -
Another Little Theatre wants 10
give America playwrights a chance
Of a hearing. Still another stages
q revolt against the star system.
Rarely will a professional star
trifle with the affections of her au-
dience to play charted part. And
therein lies the reason for a good
deal of the banality Of modern sue
cessful drama. In Little Theatre
group there are no stars and every
member is a character actor.
The strength of the Little The
aires lies in their ability to pro-
duce whatever they please regard.
less Of the general public. The
prices they charge are for the most
part lower than those of the CON-
mercial theatres, and this too is an
advantage.
Amateurishness is sometimes
pointed out as the weakness Of the
Little Theatre by critics who say
that its players are devotees Of art,
but often unskilled devotees. II
may be, however, that artistic free
dom and professional perfection
cannot be combined. Many Of the
Little Theatres strike a medium BY
keeping a few professionals as
nucleus for casting a play. The
smaller parts are then left to local
talent, and when the real dramatic
talent of the community is used,
the play has an added interest for
the audience without losing it, a.
tistry.
Further than this the Little The.
atre can scarcely experiment with
professionalism il it is to hold on to
its peculiar advantages. Almost
every Little Theatre has its expert
in some phase of production. But
to combine the Little Theatre idea
with skilled players, artistic set
tings, expert managers, costume
wizards and musical artists would
be to put it in commercial compe.i-
ton with the professional stage.