The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-07-22
HOME GROWN TALENT WILL
 PLAY AT LITTLE THEATRE

Community drama is coming to the forefront, and Pirmingh ham is right there with her Little Theatre.
 If there are as many as five in terested people in small place, that is a decidedly hopeful situation" says Miss Ethel Armes in an article on producing plays with home e-grown talent. That four hundred people in Birmingham are interested, is enough to insure the success of the Little Theatre. plans fo- which go steadily onward under the capable com mittee.
 The eyes of tine people interested in community druma arc being turned nt present toward the drama con sference and festival under the aus pices of the Outdoor Players, to be held at Peterborough. N. H., Au- gust 16-1s inclusive. This confer ence will bring together from all over the United States instructors in dra- matic art and expression, directors of little theatres and dramatic orkshops," church. community and settlement house workers, playground directors, and others. who, through their educational work in various communities, are building an AIncri- can tradition of the public servic9 of dramatic art.
 It will be a matter of unusual in terest to Birmingham reople to know that ths program for the third day of the conference is under the chair manship Of Miss Ethel Armes, who formerly lived in Birmingham and who is a sister ot Edmund Arnes of this city.
 Founded On Comoon sensc.
 Miss Armes states that thers are certain Fundamental principles of play production founded on common sense alone. and that the first of these principles is nsturalness. The object of a play Is to enact atory in terms of real life, and for this reason d student should never be instructcd as to character he Is to play, but bs made to observe It.
 ITO begin with" she cautions, use only the simplest plays it Is possi- ble to find The first definite rule in choosing a play is to start with the a, b, c Of drama. Try to do these well, and keep on trying, but don't overreach at first"
 observation of external details Is as important as observation of char acter. The more groups are observed in the street. Tn the house, or In places of public resort. the easier becomes the problem of grouping on the stage. Ii the powers of obser- vation are trained along this line, the amateur Rtor will not be puz- zled wfieu he tas to join group and the living figures will learn to adjust themselves to inanimate objects.
 Simplicity is the second indis- pensable ri.,o in common sense play producing. It must be observed even
 IA ftTNg~ nd costuming than in the acting Director tho Moving spirit.
 According to Miss Armes, the whole effect of Il play Is lost un- less the director Is the moving spirit, for the actual content of the play lies not in what is said. but in what is suggested.
 A fourth element of play produc- ing is speed. and 1t Is most essen tial in amateur productions.
 The idea of producing plays Is be- ing taken held of with enthusiasm sm, carnestness and verve by youns; peo- pie all over tae country.
 Every college, preparatory school and high school has it's dramatic club
 In Birmingham, number of stu dent productions were given dur ing the past season with marked sue cess It is notable fact that at each school production given at the Jefferson. the house vas not only fulei, put there were calls for even more tickets
 The plays and the work of the student players of the University of Ncrth Carolina. under the direc- tion of Prof. Frederick H. Koch, are becoming nationaly known
 Universities and colleges situated near eacn other are already giving exchange performances, a procedure becoming more popular each year. Local colleges, as Montevallo and Howard. have worked out an eN- change system through the dramatic clubs maintained at each place.
 The fact that the players of Princeton university gave success fully a play in Birmingham during the Christmas holidays, may be a herald of the days when northern and southern universities and state colleges develop an exchange of plays, as of football and baseball games.
 Increasing Interest In Drama.
 Southern towns and cities have de- veloped an ever increasing interest in dramatic activities during the past year.
 Knoxville. Tenn, now has a group of community players organized as result of the Community Service