Evening star., 1933-10-21
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES Z. TRACEWELL.

Some persons hold the idea that II
you ever went to the theater you should
forever continue to 60; that II you ever
once attended concerts you must 60 to
them still.
Certainly this is not true for all tenn
peraments. And its opposite has the
very weighty backing Of no less a man
thar DR.. Samuel johnson himself.
In Boswell's Life" the very keystone
Of English letters, the reader finds a
scene In which the assiduous James,
accompanied by Oliver Goldsmith.
called upon johnson, to f1nd that he
did not want to go out that night
Asked why he no longer went near
the theaters, the great man replied:
why, sir, our tastes greatly alter. The
lad does not care for the child's rattle.
AS we advance in the journey OF lie
we drop some Of the things which have
pleased us, whether 1t be that we are
many things any farther or that we
find other things that we like better"
One is not succumbing to old age or
anything of the kind when he gives over
going to the theater. for instance.
Those who still like to go will pre-
tend not to understand, but misunder-
standing is a part of life, too, and a
very large part, 1t would seem' with
certain human beings.
They prefer to misunderstood, espe-
cially other human beings. But, in
deed, they do protest too much. Other
persons can scarce be as wrong as these
fault-finders pretend to find them.
No, such misunderstanding soothes
the fellow, that is all He finds his own
belief in his own infallibility exalted
by refusing to be, in his own right, as
wise as DR.. johnson.
That old literary bear knew there Is
no accounting for tastes, that time does
change us, truly, and not necessarily
for the worse. either.
It is possible, in other words, for one
to have genuine interest in the drama
without making it a consuming passion.
Any variation between these two is like
wise possibility. Extremes are not in
evitable. -
Thus, young man may take fancy
to the stage, go to all the plays he can
find the time and money for, buy and
read all the famous pieces Of stage
craft, manifest real interest in all that
has to do with the drama.
Perhaps he may become an amateur
actor just long enough to realize that
he cannot act.
He may even attempt to write plays
Nowadays few young men or women get
through high school or college without
attempting a play at least once.
Some of these productions. in their
proper settings, are not bad at all
Kind friends of the budding play
wright tell him that he has a brilliant
future before him.
Down in his heart the young man
knows better.
He is smitten by no inferiority COM
pleX when he takes to selling stocks
and bonds or automobiles in later life
He is suffering from an acute realiza-
ton of his plays real inferiority, that
is ALL
He has enough common sense to know
that when it comes to the acute grasp
of the elements of the drama he is
genuinely lacking.
All the study and determination In
the world will not give it unless one
possesses it naturally Those who fail
to realize this end by producing medi-
ocre and poor plays and one-act efforts
which are efforts, indeed.
X X X
It is possible for person to be in
terested in the stage and yet never &c
to performance.