The Washington times., 1933-09-16

Secrets OF
Health
By LOUIS E. BISCH. MD. Ph.D.
No Play That Is Any Good
Lies About Life

Lies About Life
Again the theatrical season
has fairly started, and soon We
will hear and read what New
York and other big centers are
doing or expect to do with the
drama this coming year.
To be sure, motion pictures
have given the legitimate stage
quite a setback, and the eco.
nomic depression almost deliv.
cred the death blow. Neverthe-
less, the Super-activity of the
small summer theaterS, as well
as that of the amateur and
semiprofessional groups through
out the country last winter, give
convincing proof that the thea
ter is still very much alive; in
fact, that it is a force that can
never die.
For, after all, the drama fills
a need in our lives; one, indeed,
that even motion pictures cam
not satisfy. One can scarcely
visualize a civilized people who
would not have a living drama
of their own. This has been so
for ages past. 1t will continue
to be so.
Project Selves
Living characters on the
stage reflect best our own emo.
tions, our own repreSsed desires,
our own innermost and often
secret feelings. The conflicts
which the play presents are our
conflicts. We project ourselves
into the characters that are
portrayed before our eyes. We
suffer with them, are glad with
them, go down in defeat with
them and exult in victory with
them.
In witnessing a good play we
have a vital and condensed eX-
perience in living that cannot
leave us unaffected. A good
play invariably does something
to us. Never does it leave us
the same.
A play can be about any sub
ject connected with life-tragic
or comic; its struggles, its
trials, it's successes and heart.
aches, its humorous twists and
unexpected surprises. Always,
however, to be a good play, the
script must not lie about life.
Just as soon as play, no
matter what its theme or
method of presentation may be,
tells untruths about life, the
characters become stuffed pup
pets that soon cease to hold our
interest.
Plays Thrill
Unfortunately, too, many
plays that reach the stage-and
here I would include the screen
as welfare stilted. fake and
mechanical. Too often they
set out to do something star
tling or even shocking, in order
to catch the interest. Often.
too, they stress wrong values
and ennoble the very worst ele-
ments in our social structure.
But when q good play comes
along, see it by all means. II
that is impossible, at least get
q copy in book form and
imagine yourself sitting in the
theater.
Nothing can thrill more than
a worthwhile play. 1t peps you
up. It makes you weep and
laugh. It exercises your emo
tions. 1t plumbs the deepest
reaches of your soul.
And don't forget the good
plays of other years. These
can all be obtained in libraries
and bookshops. Don't forget
Ibsen, Shakespeare, Galsworthy.
Shaw, Tchekhoff, Moliere and
our own Eugene O'Neill.
See all the plays you can.
READ all the plays you can. "A
dozen good plays is a liberal
education.
DR.. Bisch's Daily Diet Hint
The ordinary slice of white
or whole wheat bread contains
approximately so calories OF
food value while graham bread
contains about 33. A slice OF
corn cake measuring two inches
in diameter by one inch in
thickness contains as much as
100 calories. Boston brown
bread, three inches in diameter
by three-quarters Of an inch in
thickness, also contains 100
calorieS.