Woman's enterprise., 1922-01-13
LITTLE THEATRE GUILD
Editor Woman's Enterprise:

You recently asked me to write
something on the subject of the Little
Theatre Guildof this city, and COM
plying with your request, l beg to
submit what l know of the matter
described, from purely personal
standpoint and in explaining what
makes me a consistant supporter Of
the institution, l may develop what
should make all we'll informed and
we'll meaning people in Baton Rouge,
do likewise.
The Little Theatre is an institu-
ton Of the people, for the benefit of
the people, its purpose being to de-
velop and foster and dramatic talent
that may exist among the members
or to cultivate dramatic taste among
those gifted by Nature with dramatic
talent it furthers and promotes this
natural gift and among those who do
not possess it to be marked degree,
it teaches appreciation thereof and
sometimes causes by comparison a
development of talent that had not
heretofore been suspicioned.
The Little Theatre, if my concep-
tion of the plan is we'll formed and
correct, should be an extremely demo-
cratic institution and on it's stage and
in its audiences all classes of society
should assemble and worship at the
same shrine. Those who can contri-
butte their talent should do so and
those who can only contribute their
financial support should be none the
less Jealous. The movement is still
in its infancy but as its possibilities
are infinite and it's influence unlimit-
ed, it bids fair to become in all COM
munity centers what it has become in
some Of the more appreciative centers,
a permanent institution of real public
utility and interest.
The Little Theatre furnishes to the
community what schools in express
sion, dramatic art, Delsarte, and the
like have been furnishing to the
affluent classes for many years. The
teaching of expression and dramatic
art has taken it's place in the curri-
culum of all the better schools and
colleges in the country and there is
a reason. Without direct aim or con-
trivbute the cultivation of expression
and dramatic art have not alone con-
tributed to grace of bodily movement
the value of facial expression and tone
modulation and the resulting increase
in mental development to prompt these
bodily results, but it has done more
md infinitely better, it has created
what might be termed sentiment
whieh II the raline ins&inet OF, the in.
dividual and the very soul Of the com.
munity.
To those who have kept up with
the rise and fall of nations
the passing of eras and empires
the milestones in aeons of Time
it has become probably plain that
each and every era was marked
indelibly by the sentiment" that
existed at that time and even today
in the cold epoch Of commercial life
public "sentiment' is the arbiter Of
all matters affecting the individual
and the body social. But in using the
word sentiment from the standpoint
OF the conditions bred by the Little
Theatre, / want to deal more parti-
cularly with its adaptation to the
needs Of the individual and only
through the homogeneity of the COM
munity, to the people as a whole.
We have had for some time the
demonstration of the effects of music
on community or on a people. We
have noted the effects of popular de-
votlon to literature. All nations have
their distinguishing characteristics
in the matter of the fine arts and
sciences. School systems have tended
to development of latent talents in
the many lines with which nature
gifts its products among th. children
ct mon. The rages of history record
the tales # the minstrels VIM acc om-
panied their recitations to t!,c cadence
o! their stringed Instruments and all
re great COMPOSERS recorded their
genius by adapting tn. emotions of
the soul as interpreted by the actions
OF the body in rythme with the music
Of the human voice and the tones Of
reed and string, or the blare of brass.
Not until the time of Shakespeare
ala the genius of the play come into
popular repute to the extent of being
classed as a fine art and the produc-
tlons OF the Bard of Avon were them
selves long overlooked by an unap-