The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1922-03-16
DIR. SMIRNOW ON
OUTDOOR THEATRES
Gives Illustrated Lecture Before WOm
ans Club-Two Appropriations
for Benevolent Work

From - to 100 members attended the
regular meeting of the Brattleboro Wom-
ans club at Odd Fellows temple yester-
day afternoon. when DIR. Louis SmifnoW
of Bridgeport Conn. read an illustrated
lecture ON The Outdoor Theatre and It>
Future in America. The lecture was
preceded by two selections by the club
chorus with Mrs Glenham Jones ic-
companist and Miss lzetta NJ. Stewart a.
director
The meeting opened with a business
session. in which the club voted 10 appro-
pirate SD for a Y. w G. \. camp
scholarship and SD to equip a bed AT
the kinStead Shelter Home for depend
ent children at Montpelier \ noninat-
ing committee, to prepare a list of of
| ticerS for presentation ut the annual
meeting in May was elected consisting
of Mrs Fred W. Hall. Mrs. William IL
Richardson and Mrs. Frederic c. Adams.
The president. Mrs. Clarence L. Stick
ney. announced that instead of the lunch
con AZ the time of lie annual meeting
in May when Mrs. Slayton, state preSi-
dent viii be present there would be a
high tea after the meeting. Sne also
called attention to the annual musicale
of Brattleboro chapter, ID. \. r.. this
evening in the Centre Congregational
church. and the exhibit of Russian hand
work, which will be on display in the
BROOKS House parlor tomorrow afternoon
by Mrs Foster Stearns of Constantine
pie. Mention was made of Il demonStra-
ton of electrical cooking appliances
which viii be given April by Prof Al
len of Boston for the Twin State Gas x
Electric Co: also Of Il course Of Il lee
lures on applied psychology to be given
by Ernest j Goddard, principal Of the
Brattleboro Business Institute 1t is
planned 10 start the series March 2S.
Persons interested should consult AIr.
Goddard. Mrs. W. j. Bigelow. chair
man of the program committee, am
nounccd that the speaker for the next
club meeting April ), would be Dr.
Charles +. Dalton of Burlington. secre-
tary of. the state board of health whose
subject will be. Federal and State Health
Problems.
After selections by the club chorus the
president introduced the lecturer whose
address began with the history Of the
outdoor theatre in Greece in the early
ages. showing pictures of ruins of old
theatres which have been brought TO
light by excavations. aud traced the
theatre from those beginnings up to the
present time, when the outdoor theatre
again * coming into its own. The slides
not only reproduced the fruit of excava-
tions. but showed the progress of the en-
closed theatres and many of the new
outdoor theatres in California and other
sections of this country Ills pictures
also showed the simplicity Of the casts of
the plays of earlier ages aS compared to
those Of the present time The three
kinds Of outdoor theatres. those of claSSi-
cal or Greek architecture. the natural
theatre and the garden theatre.
I'm tn course of his lecture. DR. Smir-
now stated that research had revealed
that every kind of play was presented III
the earlier ages. from the ShakSpereau
classics to the ballet dances. but that
in all the earlier productions the co
operation Of the audience was essential
t0 marked degree because of the fact
that there was no change of scenery this
necessarily meaning that Imagination
must be vivid.