The Billboard 1924-01-05: Vol 36 Iss 1 (1924-01-05)

42 The Billboard JANUARY 65, 1924 Trrraniin } SPOTLIGHT 87} (Communications to Our New York Offices) THE COMMUNITY THEATER an of the most significant movements in the ¢ ntire range of the American drama is that which brought into being the Community Theater or d : i . fowns which, deprived of touring attract ons, have decided to provide i themselves with drama, gradually, but nevertheless surely, open up a wide field for the dramatist and bring to their community a measure of culture which they would otherwis lack The theater is almost a necessity for a Civilized people; consequently if it does not come to them they will go out and create it for themselv: lor those leaders with an urge to start and run such an enterprise The Community Playhouse, by C. J. De Goveia, should prove very valuable. Now, just what is a “Community Playhouse”? The author of this book defines it as follows: “The author prefers to use the Community Playhouse as applying to those little theaters which, thru community co-operation, are able to provide their own dramatic amusement This does not mean that the Plays must be written by local dramatists, tho they often are; it does not mean that these local plays must be woven around local people, altho good work has been done along that line It signifies rather an institution which provides the means whereby a community, or a class of people large enough to support it, can give individual expression to their dramatic impulses, learn the technique of the stage and support the best plays of the type which appeals to them.” Within these limitations the author then goes on to give pretty precise directions for the forming of such an enterprise and the conducting of it. Imagining « group of people almost. if not wholly, ignorant of the manner in which this is to be done, this book will serve well as a primer for their guidance. The organization of the playhouse is divided into three parts, the Players’ Group, Audience and Building. Each one is taken up in its turn, analyzed, its functions explained and workable principles laid down for the handling of each The note which marks the book above everything else ticality. Mr. De Goveia leaves theory pretty much alone, of bdoks for that, and sticks to the why and the how quotes figures where they are needed, building and stage settings; is its intense practhere are all sorts j of the problem. He gives constructional details of costumes, even tells you how to sell your tickets. In fact. the latter part of the business is kept before your eyes all the time. That is one reason why I like this book. Many a little theater has gone on the rocks because its founders despised the box-office. and that necessary part of the theater won't stand for such treatment. The amateur can always learn from the professional, who has gone thru the amateur stage. kept what is good from it and has discarded the rest. Let the amateur look to the “commercial” theater for guidance in the most commercial part of the enterprise—the box-office. { have heard of theaters being built without dressing rooms, but never of one without a box-office. And our author cautions his readers in the following terms: “It is certain that a Community Playhouse cannot run without mons Vv; moreover, it must have a definite amount for the season in order to make out a budget.” Oh, wise young author! I have purposely stressed the practical nature of The Community Playhouse, for, as I see it, such a book has been sadly needed in this field. This is the first attempt, to my knowledge, that has been made to tell people who want to know how to do it. I unhesitatingly voice my admiration for Mr. De Goveia and his work, and earnestly recommend that anyone contemplating such an enterprise read The Community Playhouse. They are not the only ones who should be interested in the book, there is plenty in it to warrant the attention of all those following the development of the drama in our country. I commend it to them also. THE COMMUNITY PLAYHOUSE, by C. J. De Goveia. Published by B. W. Huebsch, 116 West 13th street, New York City. $2. MAGIC WITHOUT TOOLS Those of you who are obsessed by the idea that doing a little entertaining for your friends is fitting and proper will find much of interest in Easy Conjuring Without Apparatus, by Will Baffel. You will not learn how to yank a rabbit from a hat, but you will learn how to perform any number of simple and showy tricks with little or no apparatus. Tricks with cards, paper, string, handkerchiefs, coins and matches there are aplenty. The directions given are precise and easily followed. There are illustrations for most of them It seems to me that almost anybody with a will to learn could soon acquire quite a repertoire from the book Enough of one, in any event, to take his turn creditably when the time came for the lads to do their stuff Whether the professional magician can get anything from Easy Conjuring Without Apparatus is another question, and one that I have little right to commer on I suppose there will be something for him, too. In any event the book is an inexpensive one and he will not be out much even if he finds nothing in it for him. Under these circumstances I should sav that Easy Conjuring Without Apparatus was worth the attention of the aspiring and the professional magician, particularly the former. EASY CONJURING WITHOUT APPARATUS, by Will Baffel. Published by BE. P. Dutton & Company, 681 Fifth avenue, New York. $1.25. THE STORY OF THE BIBLE Hendrik Van Loon, whose “The Story of Mankind’ popular. has now turned his ttention to The Bible Story of the Bible. Ther to books other than those dea Was so deservedly and presents to us The pace in th column possible of devotion & with the entertaining art, but | cannot resist the temptation of calling this bo« to my readers’ attention. In no sense intended as a substitute for the book itself, The Story of the Bible seems admirably adapted to making that great book familiar to the many. There are a host of people who do not reid the Bible and who do not realize what an entertaining piece of literature it Van Loon’s book will help in this direction, and, Lt think make the mar reach the Bible down from the shelf and get a first-hand knowledge of its beautie for themselves. If they do, then Van Loon's purpose has been accomplished. I suggest that you try it for yourselves THE STORY OF THE BIBLE. by Hendrik Van Loon. Published by Boni & Liveright, 61 West 48th street, New York City — son Reflecti f Doroth Dorothea Ante] is unable to greet her readers she wishes us to assure her readers, how week The mental) strain of the past er that she will prepare a newsy double few weeks has left “her in ch veakened column for next week's issu condition that she is unable to assemble Tor ELITA MILLER LENZ. publication the interesting bit of news she gathered during the holiday season THE SPOKEN WORD (Continued from page 30) considerable promise. She has probably had better parts that would be more suitable to showing her talents. Prances Gregg was especially vivacious as a French maid and he: dialect was quite up to the mark. She has a give and take in t®e idiosnycrasy of Scudder, He was something painted on the wal Oswald Yorke made a consistent character contagious comic spirit and a certainty of out of Barlow. His pronunciation suggests tone) that never fails to please her audience that he is British trained, for he ills a David Calais and A, 8S, Byron were full of “‘raspberry’’ a ('rah:z-bu-ri), and pronounces ‘‘pep’’ as the village rubes. ‘hovering’? (“haw-vu-ring) in British fashion Albert Vees did some excellent acting in the Walter Connolly is a good agtor, His voice small part of a bashful lover. He has origi is decidedly pleasing and expressive He and nality and a great deal of subtility ip everything that he does One can easily imagine him in two Fellows and a Girl’, or as one of the youthful lovers in “In Love With Love’’. proved if the part of Pilar and the mother : , . were played by actors who could speak Spanish Miss Spooner had a very conventional part in . , P this comedy drama which she played witb the or a Spanish dialect rhe part of the matador, a “ : as played by Jose Alessandr« s thoroly interpopular “‘mother’’ appeal of Mr. Blaney's play. esting. His dialect is admirable and gives a One of the amusing features of the evening good deal of pleasure to English ears The is the curtain speech or “announcement” of vowel sounds come out in musical tone and the Dan Malloy Mr. Malloy is able to string his “accent”? has romantic charm. The absurdity audience aiong indefinitely and he does it very of the play is also accentuated by having the «racefully. He obviously speaks impromptu, Princess Amelia set off against the background confidentially, and in a real spirit of smallof the matador’s family. But Mr. Hopkins talk sociability. He has no heavy-man austerity, didn’t seem to find it convenient to engage but just the good will of a genial after-dinner two Spanish actors for the parts of the mother speaker. Incidentally, he tells you ail abeut and Pilar. Both of these women speak ordinext week's bill, gives you a history of @ranary English, and by so doing they seem to be matic criticism, broadens your appreciation of Mr. Yorke furnished most of the fun in “The Talking Varrot’’ ‘A Royal Fandango’ would be greatly im HARD WORDS CHARLEMAGNE (shah-lu-’mabgn), Charles the Great (742-814), Emperor of the Vest, 800-814 The palatal (gn) is made by touching the tip of the tongue against the back of the lower teeth and then bunching the blade of the tongue against the hard palate. The English pronunciation is ('’shah:-lu-"’mein). INIGO ("'i-ni-go.oo), Inigo Jones (1573-1652, English architect. JERUSALEM (dzhu-"'roo:-su-lum). LENORMAND (lu-nawr-’'mAH), H. R., French dramatist, author of ‘‘The MONTREDON (mAW-tru-"dAW), Dudley Digges’ part in ‘‘The Failures"’ OELS (%:lz), where the Crown Prince of Germany has taken up his residence on his country estate. (7) is the glottal plosive, (¢:) is the sound of (u:) in “‘her’’. rounded and covered by the lips ROTISSERIE (raw-tis-ri), a cooking shop, from French “‘rotir’’, to roast. ROTISSEUR (raw-ti-’su:r), with (u:) lip-reunded, a cookshop keeper. VON SCHOEN (fawn ‘sh¢e:n), Freilberr (''frai-he.r), German Ambassador at Paris 1914 and former Minister of Foreign Affairs. Author of ‘‘The Memoirs of an Ambassador"’, Brentano’s, New York City. XAVIER ('za-vi-u), English pronunciation, Saint Francis, Spanish Jesuit and missionary to the Indies (1506-1652). KEY: (i:) as in ‘‘see’’ (si:), (i) as im “‘it” (it), (e) as in ‘‘met’? (met), (ei) as in “‘day’’ (dei), (e.) as in ‘‘there’? (&e.u), (¢) pronounce close-e with the lip rounding of (0) as in Fr, ‘‘monsieur’’ (mu-sj¢), (a) as in ‘‘at’’ (at), (ai) as in ‘ice’ (ais), (00:) as in ‘‘true’’ (troo:), (00) as in ‘“‘wood’’ (wood), (0.00) as in “go”? s Failures" ice (go.00), (aw:) as in ‘‘law’’ (law:), (oi) as in ‘‘boy” (boi), (aw) as in “‘on’’ (awn), (ah:) as in ‘father’ ("fah:&u), (u:) as in “‘urge’’ (u:dzh), (us) as in ‘‘water’’ (waw:tu), (uh) as in ‘‘up’’ (uhp). (&) voiced th-sound as in ‘‘this’’ (&is), (j) glided i-sound as in ‘‘yes’’ (jes), (c) breathed fricative with tongue in position of (j) as in German “‘ich’’ (tic), (x) velar fricative as in Scotch ‘‘loch’’ (lawx) and in Ger. ‘‘ach’’ (?ahx), (ng) one sound as in ‘‘sing’’, (?) glottal plosvie which in North German precedes all initial strong vowols. Capital letters represent nasalized vowels as in Fr. “‘yvin'’ (vE), ~~ —— SS id eae a ee no relation to the matador. It makes them the theater inquires for the family, and gives both rather colorless and raises several ques you the good wishes of the Blaney Stock Oomtions of inconsistency. What has separated pany. He exits smiling and the audience is in this family, so that half is English and the the best of humor ee ea ET Te TERS to be referred to Mr. Hopkins. Ethel Barrymore's elee is foil of ite rippling music in this comedy and her intonation s archly playful in making the andience enjoy T) . py le New Family heate the whimsical wandering of Princess Amelis‘s oieciie. -haatan sates Theater, on South Main desire It is all very ght amusement, but Thing Pe ee opened abont January 1. The new Swan Theater, Walnut Ridge, Ark., Al 1 ! ‘ b} Tr lay opened recently Alessandro are equatiy enjovablie we play Tr . on . “ 1 old Masonie " , would be much improved if some of Chucho's Ia., ie eelee akan he rage Davenport, ; : ” . i ¥ outside family could speak with Spanish “accent"’, 8 »y outside interests for & delicately done. Miss Barrymore and Jose ores theater, Edward G. Robinson has a superficiality of The new Derry Theater at El RB Ox . arr) ‘ater a ¥ eno, “° manner that mars his characters ’ + opened recently. V ville is fe be { notice that Miss Barrymore calls “atlas films audeville ts featured tween at-} ich seems ittle over-refing — . c's0te), WHR Sees 5 ee Sere. 10 The Lane Theater at Cle Elum, Wasb., representing an investment of $50,000, opened recently, am not familiar with this pronunciation, People as a rule say ("'at-lus). The Blaney Players presented “Back to Home and Mother”’ at the Fifth Avenue TheThe new movie house in course of construeater in Brooklyn for the week of December tion at 204 West Sixth street, Okmulgee, Ok., 17. It wasn’t an expecially good bill te show to be known as the Cozy Theater, will be the real strength of the company. This comedy opened the latter part of January. drama in four acts was written by Charles #. A rumor is going around that an Eastern Blaney. It has a lot to say about ‘dear old “amusement company ig looking for a site in mother’. There is a wonderfully virtuous and Williamsport, Pa., for a combined vaudeville elf-sacrificing daughter who has a hard time ®»d picture house, in New York, and there are a number of vil The Saenger Amusement Company plans an lage characters to act as gossips and to fore attractive theater on Palafox street, Pensacola close the mortgage Via to seat 2.000 Work is expected to start George Dill, the leading man, plays without “fter the first of the year The stage will be affectation He has «a good voice and speake fitted for any large road show. with a onvincing naturalness He doe not ‘ne of the foree his voice or give the mechanical readValley ts ng that ometime develop in tock com finest theaters in the Shenango being erected at First and Main treets, Sharpeville, Pa There will be three panic Joyee Booth voice has less warmth exits and two dressing rooms, The seating than Mr. Dill's, but ber emotional work shows capacity will be about 400, & = 2 ~weeoewnameneeons nF oo. bn ee oa ie Cn ee ee. ot) oe