The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1924-12-21
ART FLOURHHES
IN THE WILDWOOD
Theater Of Catskills Has
Developed Genuine
Home Talent

Picture a theatre in the Catskllls,
built of logs and rough hewn lumber
where one may sit on pine pencn
and witness the performance of a play
of the first rank by a cast OF Broad
wav actors, says the Lars Moem IN the
New York World. Among the audience
are nersons one reads about, but seldom
meets-famous painters, writer's, actors
poets. musicians, rubbing elbows win
art students and shopgirls on vacatlon'
and perhaps few tourists. ,.
Such a playhouse, with the fragrant
aroma of new lumber, with gllmpses
of the treetops and the stars and per-
hans the mountaina through the open
doors. is the Maverick theatre at WOOD
stock.
Some three hours from New York city
nv train and bus is this theatre in Ulster
county. a matter Of eight miles from
Kingston. Woodstock, three miles from
the theater, is a rural village at the
foot of Mount Overlook. so BEAUTIFULLY
situated among the Catskills that 1t mas
become a summer haven for artists from
everywhere.
Other colonies have grown up nearby,
such as Bearsville, Byrdcliffe, !ena ana
the Maverick
The last named colony takes Its name
from the founder and central flgure'
Harvey White, who still bears the nick
name, the Maverick, received more than
score of years ago in the west. A
number Of years ago White left the west
and migrate to New York. He decided
on the present spot as an ideal location
for an artists colony, and for twenty
years he has worked toward that end.
He is a sofe-voiced, courteous man,
whose flowing hair and bear, coupled
with comfortable, careless dress, sug-
gests the woodsman or the hermit rather
than the founder of a colony where
celebrities spend their vacations.
The theater is, to use Emerson's
phrase, his Heightened shadow" 1t
was his own idea and he brought the
dream into actual existence with his
own labor and his own money, despite
the fact there is small chance OF his
ever realizing any great return on the
investment.
He wanted theater at the Maverick
"a theater worthy of the talent gather
ed there and where fine plays might be
properly presented - yet theater
thoroughly in keeping with the vigorous
loneliness Of the surroundings.
Digges Is Director.
A gently sloping hillside was selected
as the site on which to build. This gave
the proper slant to the dirt floor" with
minimum of filling in. Trees were
cleared away and the work Of building
was on. The present summer marked
the formal opening.
Once the theater was built, the ques-
ton of managing director arose. That
problem was quickly solved in the per-
son of a man living a half mile or so
from the theater-Dudley Digges. Dig
ges work in "Outward Bound" his char
acterization of Mr.. ero in THE AIDING
Machine" as we'll as portrayals of a
high character in such plays as "Mr.
PIN Passes By" "She Stops to Con-
quer" and Peer Gynt," have made him
familiar figure.
Upon taking up his duties as actor
manager, the first problem facing Dig
ges was the assembling of competent
company of players. There were no
great inducements to offer, in a finan-
cia1 sense. 1t did mean, however, the
opportunity to spend few weeks amid
the most delightful surroundings, work
ing in an unconventional theater to an
interesting audience. 1t could hardly
he called a vacation, but it did mean
chance to get away from New York
during the hot weather.
Using these arguments, Digges set to
work to provide talent. He wanted a
thoroughly professional company and
he succeeded. Helen Hayes appeared on