The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1934-03-15
Theatre Groups
Prepare National
Drama Festival

WEST COAST-This district sets
the pace IN organizing for the Fes-
tival. New groups have been formed
in Portland and Seattle and work
was carried on in Tulare, Bakers
field. Fresno Carmel, Oakland, and
Berkeley. In the Los Angeles sector
alone are ten theatre groups which,
together with groups up and down
the Pacific Coast, will participate
in a two-day Western Theatre Fes-
tival to be held March 18th and
18tn at the Orange Grove Theatre,
Los Angeles. On Friday, the 18th.
the Rebel Players of Los Angeles
will give q special performance Of
Squaring the Circle, full length
comedy by the Russian author.
Kataev. The West Coast will send
one English speaking and one for
eign language group to Chicago. An
outstanding event was the presen-
tation Of a play based on the revolt
Of Chinese sailors on British
tanker anchored in San Pedro har-
Dor. 1t was called Mutiny On A
British Tanker and was artistially
powerful as well as politically per-
tinent. Other events Of note are
plans for producing Peace On Earth
and Fortune Heights by the New
Theatre Group Of Hollywood and
the ten-day run Of Squaring the
Circle, beginning March 7th at the
Orange Grove Theatre. Originally
another theatre, the Figuerea Play
house, had been contracted for, but
the contract was cancelled by the
owners when it was discovered that
radical" group would use it.
After the run Of Squsring the Circle
the Rebel Players will go into the
fight and demand full explsna-
ton Of the ban. The Blue Blouses,
the group concentrating on agitprop
work, has been allowed to organize
separately and is no longer con-
nected with the Rebel Players,
which now devotes all Of its time to
full-length plays. A tour Of South
ern California has already been ar
ranged for the Blue Blouses.
NEW YORK.--Two workers theatre
groups survived the district COM
petition in which twenty-four work
ers theatres participated At the
final competitions held on March
10th at the Fifth Avenue Theatre,
the Ukrainian Theatre Group won
the foreign language competition,
with the Coney Island Workers
Club (Jewish) second. In the Eng
lish- speaking section the Workers
Laboratory Theatre of Harlem came
out on top, the runners-up being
the New Experimental Theatre of
Harlem, and the American Youth
Club Of Brooklyn. Before leaving
for Chicago, the Workers Labor
atory Theatre will present a full
evening Of its repertory March "a
including two new productions, La
Guardia's Got the Boloney, and a
special production in four scenes of
Lev Slavin's Intervention, a Soviet
I play presented in the Soviet Union.
The Workers Laboratory Theatre
will tour to Chicago, playing one
night stands along the way, as will
the winning English West Coast
group. A feature of the New York
finals was the presentation OF two
scenes Of Harry Alan Potamkin's
Strike Me Red OF the Young
Pioneers, which had the audience
calling for more.
Tickets are being distributed In
all quarters for the New York
Finals Competition of the National
Theatre Festival to send two groups.
one English-speaking and one
foreign language, as the New York
representatives to the National
Finals in Chicago april 1879 The
affair will be held Saturday, March
10th, $50 p. m, at the Fifth Ave.
Theatre, 18th st. and Broadway.
John Wexley, the author of "They
Shall Not Die" will be Chairman.
Tickets may be purchased at Work
erS Book Shop, so E. 18th st., and
League Of Workers Theatres office,
AZ E. 18th st.