The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-04-01
AMATEUR PLAYERS
Aided BY THEATER
ARTS ASSOCIATION
Designed as Propa=
eating Garden for
Drama


successful excursions of various
groups Of players into the realm
OF amateur theatricals.
The st. Patrick Players scored
an emphatic success with their
Passion Play Various high
school organizations have put on
sparkling comedies, remarkably
wen done. The three one-act
plays produced recently by
group of society girls and their
cavaliers for the benefit Of the
Child Welfare Society were mark
ed by sgenuine distinction and
finish.
Pageantry and the varieties will
be mingled at the cabaret fam
tastique" to be presented this
week for the benefit OF Noel
House-''everybedy's in it, my
dear, simply everybody worth
knowing" The Washingtonians
are on the even Of opening their
season" of community opera
and-but, after all, the activities
along this line are far too many
60 enumerate.
The general public, however.
knows very little about how much
many Of these amateur ventures
owe to the Association of The
alter Arts, which has been func-
tioning as an organization for
the last six or eight months, al
though most of the people in
cluded therein had been sup to
the neck in community drama or
its kindred arts for years. Herald
ed as "a national service for
pageantry, music, dance and the
DRAMA" the purpose of the or
ganization is to put on a play
or q pageant for any organiza-
ten desiring to give an enter
tainment for charity-or just for
instance-and to assist existing
dramatic organizations in one way
or another. Included in this
service are various departments
featuring the instruction as well
rs the production of community
drama in its many branches.
WHILE Mrs. Minnigerode An
" drews is the president OF
the Association of Theater Arts,
I should say that the presiding
genii Of the organization are Mrs.
Randolph Keith Forrest Marie
Moore Forrest), chairman of the
executive committee, and the Sec
retary.treasurer, Miss Bess Davis
Schreiner. Mrs. Forrest, indeed,
has made the activities of the
last winter possible by provid-
ing headquarters for the organi-
cation in her old home at 1921
K street, moving her family
into the two upper floors for
the purpose and even hang
ing out q sign, Association of
Theater Arts"
Moreover, when she and her
family move into their new home,
now a-building, as they propose
to do this spring, she viii place
another floor at the disposal of
the Theater Arts, giving them
the use of the house until II
is sold, as It eventually must be,
presume.
Mr.. and Mrs. Forrest, by the
way, are building in that very
charming new section which is
growing up on the outskirts Of
Alexandria on property purchased
from Mrs Minnegerode Andrews
and not very far from her coun-
try home, "Vauxcleuse." It was
al originally part OF a crown
grant which extended almost to
Mount Vernon. They expect to
get into their new home in the
latter part OF April or some time
In May; and once she gets her
household goods installed, Mrs.
Forrest IL going abroad and will
spend the summer in Paris.
studying the educational aspects
Of the theater.
Mrs. Forrest feels. I think, that
the development of the commu-
nifty drama IN Washington is
her life work. And before she
retires q few years hence to de-
vote herself more exclusively to
the young daughter who will
then be making her debut, she
wants to feel that she has es-
tablished q permanent and suo-
ceSsfuI organization. Next year
VIII see the opening of a dra-
matte school, with real stage ex-
perience provided through vari-
Gus dramatic organizations, and
It 10 hoped that the Theater Arts
will branch out in various ways,
Already the group is equipped
TO handle orders from other cities
and they now have nearly 5000
costumes.
MISS SCHREINER is one of
AVA those buoyant and enthusi-
astic personalities whose value
to any organization 1t is impos-