The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-11-10
The World of
the Theatre
BY HAROLD EDGAR
The Theatre of Action

A program of skitS and mass reci-
tationS was presented on Saturday
evening at the New School for So
ciaI Research by various theatres Of
action. Theatres of action are nom
professional groups of workers who
use simple theatrical forms for pur-
poses Of agitation and propaganda at
meetings, rallies, demonstrations in
and out Of doors.
Only two OF the six numbers on
Saturdays program were completely
enjoyable. These were 1.-THE House of
Cards" q semi Chaure-Souris vaude-
vile number, spoofing the Nazi ten
Got the Bologney," something OF an
intimate circus tomfoolery with song,
dance and dialogue showing the
friendly relationship of the
four bourgeois candidates for mayor:
OBrien, La Guardia, Mckee and
Solomon. Both these numbers are
products Of the Workers Laboratory
Theatre. They are to be congratu-
lated on the zest and verve of their
performances, particularly in the
election number which on Saturday
was distinctly the ''hit" of the eve
ming.
The other numbers suffered either
from faulty presentation or from in
appropriateness Of form. For exam
Pile, take the Hail Hitler?" skit,
which was scheduled for performance
by the German theatre OF action,
Prolet-Buhne, but which was done
by the Workers School Theatre
Group. This skit is good because it
dramatizes in simple but graphic
way the contradictions of the Hitler
platform which attempts to flatter at
one and the same time the big capt.
talist, the poor middle-man, and the
worker. The conciseness Of this skit
sharpens its point, and its unpreten-
tious situation Can argument in a
restaurant between three people rep
resenting these three strata of So
ciety) makes it convincing. Only 1t
must be acted more steadily and less
childishly than was the case on Sat-
urday night if it is to have the de-
sired effect.
The same applies to the mass reci-
tation of the Workers School The
atre of the Ballad of the Nine Negro
Boys Of Scottsboro, Alabama. This is
also excellent for it's narrative sim
plicity and directness, and the form
of mass recitation which employs diff
ferent groups Of voices for heighten-
ing or intensification is very effec-
tive when properly used When such
group as the Prolet-Builne gives
this ballad one sees how a proper
technique of mass recitation can &C
tually add to the content of the
words: the crescendoes and the whis-
pering are not mere devices to hold
the audiences attention but may be
used to give emotional color and sig
nificance to what is said at each mo-
ment. Saturday nights recitation was
mediocre in execution.
The Brownsville and East New
York section of the City Workers
Clubs presented what amounted to
a one-act play in Yiddish. Some Of
the actors gave likeable performances
but the piece itself was poor We
hicle for a Theatre of Action. The
reason for this is a wrong kind Of
ambitiousness of content and wrong
form. This playlet attempts to show
an old sailor converted to the Com
munist cause so that he joins his
comrades in refusing to ship a cargo
Of machine guns which they believe
will be used against the Soviet Union.
In a short vaudeville skit or a mass
recitation the simplest slogan elo-
quently or colorfully stated carries
weight, but in play with a more
involved story and d background that
needs explanation, the mind begins
to question the authenticity Of the
incident unless every character is
properly motivated, every turn of the
plot is realistically justified. If the
play fails in this, its propaganda VAL
lie is undermined. The spectator in
the theatre is impressed by convic-
ton forcefully uttered, but it resists
an argument poorly thought out and
badly built up. The Theatre Of Ac-
ton derives its methods from the idea
of direct action" in the theatre, and
should leave the creation of atmos-
phere, character portrayal and all the
more complex aspects and elements
of the dramatic" form to the sta
tionary theatres, such as the Theatre
Collective, Artef and others.
This brings lis to a definition of
aims. 1t is often said that the The
atre of Action has very limited val
ue since it appeals to workers who
are already class conscious. But the
Importance of theatre does not lie
only in the new recruits it makes for
the revolutionary movement, but also
in the strength and encouragement 1t
gives to those who are already fight
ing for it. 1t is doubtful whether any
sketch, however clever, could make a
confirmed Tammanyite vote for Bob
Minor, but such piece a.s who's
Got the Bologney," presented by the
w. l.. T., does stimulate a sense of
joy, Of youthful vigor, or fresh en-
thusiasm, of confidence and the an
ticipation of final victory among
those who are already sympathetic
to our cause. And the presence Of
such feeling amongst us not only in
creases the spiritual health neces-
sary in our struggle but must be a
token to any outsider with rem
nant of good sense that here amongst
the Communist voters there must be
the roots of a growing life, for such
enthusiasm and genuine pleasure are
never seen in the noisiest and most
elaborate bourgeois political mani
festations. II the Theatre Of Action
will make their work satisfactory to
heir own Nell-WisherS Ii roov also