The New York herald., 1922-05-28
Threshold Theater
Rehearses Tragedy
Before It's Author
'Afiss RacheI Crothers Watches
Students in THE House of
LorimOr.'

Aif1s / chel Crothers is as interested
z IN the reduction OF one of her plays by
: tha stgsdsuts of the Threshold Theater
4 as ever sle was In seeing a drama from
y her pea 81. ged in Broadway. Last week
4 she came n from the country especially
e. Attend a rehearsal at the school
4 which reqs ntly opened in the Lexington
Theater Hiding, and which intends TO
4 be exactly what its name implies. the
threshold across which you step TO the
= legitimate stage.
The play that the young men and
& women are presenting is ''The House of
4 I-orimor," a society tragedy in four acts,
( which is already interesting one English
producer The rehearsals are to cul-
inmate in regular performance before
( directors and friends In about fort
night.
After watching the students at work
!. Miss Crothers talked earnestly about
{ their methods and the principles of this
, latest of schools for budding dramatic
talent. They are undergoing intensive
treatment, she remarked, and the direc-
lstors. of whom she is one. are thoroughly
satisfied with the results so far. Asso-
ciated with her on the board are George
Arliss, Arthur Hopkins and several
( others particularly interested in the
4 stage from the producers, the actors or
Z the playwright's point of view. Mrs.
Clare Tree Major, an English women.
I who was with the Washington Square
Players for some time. is director.
Enunciate Well.
What impressed me most about the
: progress at the school," said Miss
Crothers. was the students excellent
ssenunciation. Goodness knows, we need
improved speech on the stage. The in
structors are English. but they do not
insist on their own accent being initiated.
On the contrary, they try to clean up the
American language and tones. You
have no Idea what a change has been
wrought since these young men and
women have been made to understand
the value of pronouncing words dis
stinctly and pitching their voices COR
irectly.
Another point that interested me
!you know I once taught in a dramatic
:school myself is the training in dane
ling, not training for steps and technic,
but to bring out the emotional express
sion of the body The students are
taught to walk, to stand correctly, in
fact. everything that good stage pres
ence requires.
"They really move about and talk
far better than a great many persons
now on the stage. The Improvement af-
ter the intensive training is so remark
able that l said to them recently they
ought to realize what they have achieved
already. You are going to be paid for
something that you give I reminded
them, and you are ahead of many who
have studied much longer
\ THE old idea of the manager or pro-
ducer was that you didn't need training
for the stage. They just put you on
threw you in, as 1t were-and you sank
or swan, according to your strength and
natural gifts. That's the old idea. The
new one is different; it starts with
proper training. Why shouldn't you
J train for the stage? You do for almost
every other profession, art or trade.
A Stage workshop.
There is no time wasted at the dra-
matte school. The students get right
down to the bottom of things. They
make their own scenery, do their own
stage managing and study stage light
ing. The whole idea OF the Threshold
Theater is to set a standard and have a
workshop to which managers and pro-
!. ducers may come for material when they
need It. OF course we who write plays
hope to pick some of the young men and
women for certain parts when we have
play produced.
. There have always been dramatic
schools In New York. but this one is
peculiarly equipped for training In the
. right way. and is q direct road to the
stage"
Mrs. Tree accepts any student for
two months trial on his own response
bility. After that only q showing of
rrofnise will keep the student in the
Sshccl.
Most of tire plays presented so far
. .cvo been cne act productions. THE
frovse of Lorimor" Is the longest and
most ambitious effort.