|written in accordance with Lord Wynlea's |
|dictum quoted above. It is mannerly, well |
|poised, ingratiating and deft. As a minor |
|effort in the high comedy style it is |
|welcome, because it affords a respite |
|from the "plays with a punch" and the |
|prevalent boisterous specimens of the |
|work of yeomen who go at the art of |
|dramatic writing with main strength. |
| |
| "The Best People" is by Frederick |
|Lonsdale and Frank Curzen, who manifestly |
|know some of them. It was done at |
|Wyndham's Theatre in London, and we think |
|that in a comfortable English playhouse, |
|with tea between acts and leisurely |
|persons with whom to visit in the foyer, |
|it would make an agreeable matinee. |
|Certainly it is admirably acted here, and,|
|as has been intimated, its quiet drollery |
|and its polite maneuvering make it a |
|relief. |
| |
| Whether American audiences, used to |
|stronger fare than tea at the theatre, |
|will find it sustaining is a question that|
|would seem to be answered by the |
|announcement, just received from the |
|Lyric, that the engagement closes next |
|Saturday evening. |
| |
| The fable relates how the Honorable Mrs.|
|Bayle discovered that her husband and Lady|
|Ensworth had been flirting with peril |
|during her absence in Egypt, how she |
|blithely threw them much together, with |
|the result that they grew intensely weary |
|of each other, and how at last everybody |
|concerned was happily and sensibly |
|reconciled. |
| |
| The spirit of the piece is sane and |
|"nice," the decoration of it whimsical and|
|graceful. |
| |
| Miss Lucille Watson, embodying the |
|spirit of witty mischief, gives a very |
|fine performance of the part of Mrs. |
|Bayle, a "smart," good woman, and Miss |
|Ruth Shepley is excellent in byplay and |
|flutter as a silly, good woman. |
| |
| Cyril Scott is graceful and vigorous as |
|a philandering husband, Dallas Anderson |
|comical as a London clubman with a keener |
|relish in life than he is willing to |
|betray, and William McVey wise, paternal |
|and weighty in that kind of a part. |
| |
| "The Best People" is a pleasant spring |
|fillip. |
The first admonition in theatrical reporting is "Don't resumé the plot
or tell the story of the play." This is almost all that many dramatic
reporters try to do, because it is the easiest thing to do and requires
the least thought. But, after all, it is usually valueless. The story of
the play does not interest readers who have already seen the play and it
spoils the enjoyment of the play for those who intend to see it. The
usual purpose of any theatrical report is to criticize, but a report
that simply resumés the story of the play is not a criticism; hence
space devoted to the story is usually wasted. To be sure, this
admonition must be qualified. If the development of the critic's
judgment of the play requires a resumé of the story, there is then a
reason for outlining the action. However, even then, the outline should
be very brief.
The following is a typical example of the usual dramatic reporting
which is satisfied when it has told the story of the play. In this, the
first two sentences are a very bald attempt to repay the manager for his
tickets. The resumé of the story, given very obviously to fill space, is
not of any critical value. The only real criticism is at the end and is
inadequate because the praise is given without reason.
| Grace George and her small but |
|excellent company of artists added one |
|more to their long list of successful |
|performances last night in the production |
|of Geraldine Bonner's clever comedy of |
|modern life, "Sauce for the Goose," at |
|the ---- Theatre. That the moody and |
|sparkling Miss George has a good claim to |
|the title of America's leading |
|comedienne, no one who saw the |
|performance last evening could deny. In |
|this piece she is cast for the part of |
|Kitty Constable, who is in the third year |
|of her married life and living with her |
|husband in New York City. Mr. Constable |
|has been engaged in writing a book on the |
|emancipation of woman and as a result has |
|come to neglect his pretty little wife |
|and seek the companionship of a certain |
|woman of great intellect, Mrs. Alloway, |
|who leads him on by an affected sympathy |
|with his work. He chides his wife for her |
|seeming negligence of the culture of her |
|mind, telling her that she lacks grey |
|matter. The climax comes when Mr. |
|Constable tries to get away from his wife |
|on the evening of their wedding |
|anniversary to dine with Mrs. Alloway. |
|Kitty tries the emancipated woman idea |
|and goes to the opera with another man |
|and has dinner with him in his |
|apartments. She lets her husband know of |
|her plans and he comes to the room in a |
|rage. By thus playing first on his |
|jealousy and then by ridiculing his |
|ideas, she wins him back to herself. The |
|company was made up of artists and there |
|was not a crude spot in the whole |
|performance. The part of Harry Travers, |
|the friend of Mrs. Constable's, was |
|excellently done by Frederick Perry, as |
|was that of Mr. Constable by Herbert |
|Percy. Probably the most difficult |
|character in the play to portray was that |
|of the "woman's rights" woman, Mrs. |
|Alloway, which was most admirably done by |
|Edith Wakeman. |
The word criticism must not lead the reporter to think that, as a
critic, his only function is to find fault. To criticize may mean to
praise as well as to condemn. If the critic is not restricted by the
policy of his paper, he should be as willing to praise as to condemn,
and vice versa. But whichever course he takes he must be ready to defend
his criticism and to tell why he praises or why he condemns. There is
always a tendency to praise a play in return for the free tickets; this
should be put aside absolutely. The critic owes something to the public
as well as to the manager. If the play seems to him to be bad, he must
say so without hesitation and he must tell why it is bad. Too many
really bad plays are immensely advertised by a critic's undefended
statement that they are not fit to be seen. Had the critic given
definite reasons for his condemnation, his criticism might have
accomplished its purpose. In the same way it is useless to say simply
that a play is good. Its good points must be enumerated and the reader
must be told why it is good.
However, criticism must be written with delicacy. If your heart tells
you to praise, praise; if your heart tells you to condemn, condemn with
care. Remember that your condemnation may put the play off the boards or
at least hurt its success, and there must be sufficient reason for such
radical action. The critic's debt to the public is large, but he owes
some consideration to the manager. He must hesitate before he says
anything that may ruin the manager's business. Critics very often
condemn a play for trivial reasons; they feel indisposed, perhaps
because their dinner has not agreed with them, the play does not fit
into their mood and they turn in a half column of ruinous condemnation.
Perhaps they like a certain kind of production--farces, for
instance--and systematically vent their ire on every tragedy and every
musical comedy. They do not use perspective; they do not judge the stage
as a whole. No matter how poor a play is or how much a critic dislikes
it, he must consider what the stage people are trying to do and judge
accordingly. In many cases it is not the individual play that deserves
adverse criticism, but the kind of play. All of these things must be
considered; every dramatic critic must have perspective. He must be fair
to the stage people and to the public; his influence is greater than he
may imagine.
No matter how strong the occasion for condemnation may be, the dramatic
critic is never justified in speaking bitterly. The poor production is
not a personal offense against him nor against the public. It is simply
a bad or an unworthy attempt and his duty is confined to pointing how or
why it is not worthy. That does not mean that he is justified in using
bitter, abusive, or even sarcastic language. It is great sport to make
fun of things and to exercise one's wits at some one's else expense--it
is also easy--but that is not dramatic criticism. The public asks the
critic to tell them calmly and fairly, even coldly, the reasons for or
against a production--the reasons why they should, or should not, spend
their money to see it--bitter sarcasm overreaches the mark. Just as soon
as a critic tries to be personal in his remarks on a play he is
exceeding his prerogative and is open to serious criticism himself.
The necessary attributes of a dramatic reporter, as we have seen, are:
fairness, logical thinking, and a background of stage knowledge. And of
these three, the background is of the greatest importance; it is the
stimulus and the check for the other two. The more a critic can know
about every phase of the theatrical profession, contemporary or
historical, the better will be his criticisms. The more knowledge of the
stage that his copy shows, the more greedily will his readers look for
his "Theatrical News" each day. However clear his idea of a play may be
he cannot express it clearly and readably without a background of other
plays to refer to. And, by the same sign, a wealth of allusions and a
quantity of theatrical lore will often carry a critic past many a play
concerning which he is unable to form a clear opinion. To develop your
ability as a dramatic reporter, watch the theatrical criticisms in
reputable dailies and weeklies and learn from them.
XVII
STYLE BOOK
_Being a copy of the Style Book compiled for the Course in
Journalism of the University of Wisconsin from the style
books of many newspapers._
=1. Capitalize:=
All proper nouns: Smith, Madison, Wisconsin.
Months and days of the week, but not the seasons of the year: April,
Monday; but autumn.
The first word of every quotation, enumerated list, etc., following
a colon.
The principal words in the titles of books, plays, lectures,
pictures, toasts, etc., including the initial "a" or "the": "The
Merchant of Venice," "Fratres in Urbe." If a preposition is
attached to or compounded with the verb capitalize the preposition
also: "Voting _For_ the Right Man."
The names of national political bodies: House, Senate, Congress, the
Fifty-first Congress.
The names of national officers, national departments, etc.:
President, Vice President, Navy Department, Department of Justice
(but not bureau of labor), White House, Supreme Court (and all
courts), the Union, Stars and Stripes, Old Glory, Union Jack,
United States army, Declaration of Independence, the (U. S.)
Constitution, United Kingdom, Dominion of Canada.
All titles preceding a proper noun: President Taft, Governor-elect
Wilson, ex-President Roosevelt, Policeman O'Connor.
The entire names of associations, societies, leagues, clubs,
companies, roads, lines, and incorporated bodies generally: Mason,
Odd Fellow, Knights Templar, Grand Lodge of Knights of Pythias,
Woman's Christian Temperance Union, Wisconsin University, First
National Bank, Schlitz Brewing Company (but the Schlitz brewery),
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, Chicago and Northwestern
Railway Company, the Association of Passenger and Ticket Agents of
the Northwest, Clover Leaf Line, Rock Island Road, Chicago Board
of Trade, New York Stock Exchange (but the board of trade and the
stock exchange).
The names of all religious denominations, etc.: Catholic,
Protestant, Mormon, Spiritualist, Christian Science, First
Methodist Church (but a Methodist church), the Bible, the Koran,
Christian, Vatican, Quirinal, Satan, the pronouns of the Deity.
The names of all political parties (both domestic and foreign):
Republican, Socialism, Socialist, Democracy, Populist, Free
Silverite, Labor party, (but anarchist).
Sections of the country: the North, the East, South America;
southern Europe.
Nicknames of states and cities: The Buckeye State, the Hub, the
Windy City.
The names of sections of a city and branches of a river, etc.: the
East Side, the North Branch.
The names of stocks in the money market: Superior Copper, Fourth
Avenue Elevated.
The names of French streets and places: Rue de la Paix, Place de la
Concorde.
Names of automobiles: Peerless, the White Steamer, Pierce Arrow.
Names of holidays: Fourth of July, Christmas, New Year's day,
Thanksgiving day.
Names of military organizations: First Wisconsin Volunteers,
Twenty-third Wisconsin Regiment, Second Army Corps, second
division Sixth Army Corps, National Guard, Ohio State Militia,
First Regiment armory, the militia, Grand Army of the Republic.
The names of all races and nationalities (except negro): American,
French, Spanish, Chinaman.
The nicknames of baseball clubs: the White Sox, the Cubs.
Miscellaneous: la France, Irish potatoes, Enfield rifle, American
Beauty roses.
=2. Capitalize when following a proper noun:= Bay, block, building,
canal, cape, cemetery, church, city, college, county, court (judicial),
creek, dam, empire, falls, gulf, hall, high school, hospital, hotel,
house, island, isthmus, kindergarten, lake, mountain, ocean, orchestra,
park, pass, peak, peninsula, point, range, republic, river, square,
school, state, strait, shoal, sea, slip, theatre, university, valley,
etc.: South Hall, Park Hotel, Hayes Block, Singer Building, Dewey
School, South Division High School, Superior Court, New York Theatre,
Beloit College, Wisconsin University, Capitol Square.
=3. Do not capitalize when following a proper name:= Addition, avenue,
boulevard, court (a short street), depot, elevator, mine, place,
station, stockyards, street, subdivision, ward, etc.: Northwestern
depot, Pinckney street station, Third ward, Harmony court, Amsterdam
avenue, Broad street, Wingra addition, Washington boulevard, Winchester
place.
=4. Capitalize when preceding a proper noun:=--All titles denoting rank,
occupation, relation, etc. (do not capitalize them when they follow the
noun): alderman, ambassador, archbishop, bishop, brother, captain,
cardinal, conductor, congressman, consul, commissioner, councilman,
count, countess, czar, doctor, duke, duchess, earl, emperor, empress,
engineer, father, fireman, governor, her majesty, his honor, his royal
highness, judge, mayor, motorman, minister, officer, patrolman,
policeman, pope, prince, princess, professor, queen, representative,
right reverend, senator, sheriff, state's attorney, sultan: Alderman
John Smith (but John Smith, alderman), Senator La Follette (but Mr. La
Follette, senator from Wisconsin).
The same rule applies when the following words precede a proper noun as
part of a name: bay, cape, city, college, county, empire, falls, gulf,
island, point, sea, state, university, etc.: City of New York, Gulf of
Mexico, University of Wisconsin, College of the City of New York,
College of Physicians and Surgeons.
=5. Do not capitalize:=
The names of state bodies, etc.: the senate, house, congress,
speaker, capitol, executive mansion, revised statutes. (These are
capitalized only when they refer to the national government:
e. g., the capitol at Madison, the Capitol at Washington.)
The names of city boards, departments, buildings, etc.: boards,
bureaus, commissions, committees, titles of ordinance, acts,
bills, postoffice, courthouse (unless preceded by proper noun),
city hall, almshouse, poorhouse, house of correction, county
hospital, the council, city council, district, precinct: e. g.,
the fire department, the tax committee.
Certain other governmental terms: federal, national, and state
government, armory, navy, army, signal service, custom-house.
Points of the compass: east, west, north, south, northeast, etc.
The names of foreign bodies: mansion-house, parliament, reichstag,
landtag, duma.
Common religious terms: the word of God, holy writ, scriptures, the
gospel, heaven, sacred writings, heathen, christendom,
christianize, papacy, papal see, atheist, high church, church and
state, etc.
The court, witness, speaker of the chair, in dialogues.
Scientific names of plants, animals, and birds: formica rufa.
a. m., p. m., and m. (meaning a thousand); "ex-" preceding a title.
The names of college classes: freshman, sophomore.
College degrees when spelled out: bachelor of arts; but B. A.
Seasons of the year: spring, autumn, etc.
Officers in local organizations (election of officers); president,
secretary, etc.
Certain common nouns formed from proper nouns: street arab, prussic
acid, prussian blue, paris green, china cup, india rubber,
cashmere shawl, half russia, morocco leather, epsom salts,
japanned ware, plaster of paris, brussels and wilton carpets,
valenciennes and chantilly lace, vandyke collar, valentine,
philippic, socratic, herculean, guillotine, derby hat, gatling
gun.
=6. Punctuation:=
Omit periods after nicknames: Tom, Sam, etc.
Always use a period between dollars and cents and after per cent.,
but never after c, s, and d, when they represent cents, shillings,
and pence: $1.23, 10 per cent., 2s 6d.
Punctuate the votes in balloting thus: Yeas, 2; nays, 3.
Punctuate lists of names with the cities or states to which the
individuals belong thus: Messrs. Smith of Illinois, Samson of West
Virginia, etc. If the list contains more than three names, omit
the "of" and punctuate thus: Smith, Illinois; Samson, West
Virginia; etc. Where a number of names occurs with the office
which they hold, use commas and semicolons, thus: J. S. Hall,
governor; Henry Overstoltz, mayor; etc.
Never use a colon after viz., to wit, namely, e. g., etc., except
when they end a paragraph. Use a colon, dash, or semicolon before
them and commas after them, thus: This is the man; to wit, the
victim.
"Such as" should follow a comma and have no point after it: "He saw
many things, such as men, horses, etc."
Set lists of names thus without points:
Mesdames-- George V. King
Charles C. Knapp Henry A. Lloyd
John H. Cole Jr.
Do not use a comma between a man's name and the title "Jr." or "Sr."
as John Jones Jr.
Use the apostrophe to mark elision: I've, 'tis, don't, can't, won't,
canst, couldst, dreamt, don'ts, won'ts, '80s.
Use the apostrophe in possessives and use it in the proper place:
the boy's clothes, boys' clothes, Burns' poems, Fox's Martyrs,
Agassiz's works, ours, yours, theirs, hers, its (but "it's" for it
is). George and John's father was a good man; Jack's and Samuel's
fathers were not.
Do not use the apostrophe when making a plural of figures, etc.: all
the 3s, the Three Rs.
Do not use the apostrophe in Frisco, phone, varsity, bus.
Use an em dash after a man's name when placed at the beginning in
reports of interviews, speeches, dialogues, etc.: John Jones--I
have nothing to say. (No quotation marks.)
In a sentence containing words inclosed in parentheses, punctuate as
if the part in parentheses were omitted: if there is any point put
it after the last parenthesis.
Use brackets to set off any expression or remark thrown into a
speech or quotation and not originally in it: "The Republican
party is again in power--[cheers]--and is come to stay."
Use the conjunction "and" and a comma before the last name in a list
of names, etc.: John, George, James, and Henry.
Use no commas in such expressions as 6 feet 3 inches tall, 3 years 6
months old, 2 yards 4 inches long.
Punctuate scores as follows: Wisconsin 8, Chicago 0.
Punctuate times in races, etc.: 100-yard dash--Smith, first; Jones,
second. Time, 0:10 1-5.
Peters carried the ball thirty yards to the 10-yard line.
=7. Date lines:=
Punctuate date lines as follows:
MADISON, Wis., Jan. 25.--
Do not use the name of the state after the names of the larger
cities of the country, such as New York, Chicago, Boston,
Philadelphia, Baltimore, San Francisco, Seattle. Abbreviate the
names of months which have more than five letters.
=8. Quoting:=
Quote all extracts and quotations set in the same type and style as
the context, but do not quote extracts set in smaller type than
the context or set solid in separate paragraphs in leaded matter.
Quote all dialogues and interviews, unless preceded by the name of
the speaker or by "Question" and "Answer":
"I have nothing to say," answered Mr. Smith.
William Smith--I have nothing to say.
Question--Were you there?
Answer--I was.
Quote the names of novels, dramas, paintings, statuary, operas, and
songs: "The Brass Bowl," "Il Trovatore."
Quote the subjects of addresses, lectures, sermons, toasts, mottoes,
articles in newspapers: "The Great Northwest," "Our Interests."
Be sure to include "The" in the quotation of names of books,
pictures, plays, etc.: "The Fire King"; not the "Fire King";
unless the article is not a part of the name.
Do not quote the names of theatrical companies, as Her Atonement
Company.
Do not quote the names of characters in plays, as Shylock in "The
Merchant of Venice."
Do not quote the names of newspapers. In editorials put "The Star"
in italics, but in "The Kansas City Star" put "Star" in italics
and use no quotation marks.
Do not quote the names of vessels, fire engines, balloons, horses,
cattle, dogs, sleeping cars.
=9. Compounds and Divisions:=
Omit the hyphen when using an adverb compounded with -ly before a
participle: a newly built house.
Use a hyphen after prefixes ending in a vowel (except bi and tri)
when using them before a vowel: co-exist. When using such a prefix
before a consonant do not use the hyphen except to distinguish the
word from a word of the same letters but of different meaning:
correspondent, but co-respondent (one called to answer a summons);
recreation, but re-create (to create anew) reform, but re-form (to
form again); re-enforced; biennial, etc.
Do not use the hyphen in the names of rooms when the prefix is of
only one syllable: bedroom, courtroom, bathroom, etc. (except blue
room, green room, etc.).
When the prefix is of more than one syllable use the hyphen. Follow
the same rule in making compounds of house, shop, yard, maker,
holder, keeper, builder, worker: shipbuilder, doorkeeper.
In dividing at the end of a line:
Do not run over a syllable of two letters.
Do not divide N. Y., M. P., LL. D., M. D., a. m., p. m., etc.
Do not divide figures thus: 1,-000,000; but thus 1,000,-000.
Do not divide a word of five letters or less.
=10. Figures:=
Use figures for numbers of a hundred or over, except when merely a
large or indefinite number is intended: twenty-three, 123, about
a thousand, a dollar, a million, millions, a thousand to one,
from four to five hundred.
Use figures for numbers of less than 100 when they are used in
connection with larger numbers: There were 33 boys and 156 girls;
there were 106 last week and 16 this week.
Use figures for hours of the day: at 7 p. m.; at 8:30 this morning.
Use figures for days of the month: April 30, the 22nd of May.
Use figures for ages: he was 12 years old; little 2-year-old John.
If the words "2-year-old John" begin a sentence or headline, spell
out the age.
Use figures for dimensions, prices, degrees of temperature, per
cents., dates, votes, times in races, scores in baseball, etc.: 3
feet long, $3 a yard, 76 degrees, Jan. 14, 1906. Time of
race--2:27.
Use figures for all sums of money: $24, $5.06, 75 cents.
Use figures for street numbers: 1324 Grand avenue.
Use figures for numbered streets and avenues above 99th; spell out
below 100th: 123 Twenty-third avenue, 10 East 126th street.
Use figures in statistical or tabular matter; never use ditto
marks.
Use figures, period, and en quad for first, second, etc.: 1.--,
2.--.
Do not begin a sentence or paragraph with figures; supply a word if
necessary or spell out: At 10 o'clock; Over 300 men.
Do not use the apostrophe to form plurals of figures: the 4s, rather
than the 4's.
In all texts from the Bible set the chapters in Roman numerals and
the verses in figures: Matt. xxii. 37-40; I. John v. 1-15. In
Sunday school lessons say Verse 5.
Say three-quarters of 1 per cent.; not 3/4 of 1 per cent.
Set tenths, hundreds, etc., in decimals: 1.1; 2.03.
=11. Abbreviations:=
Abbreviate the following titles and no others, when they precede a
name: Rev., Dr., Mme., Mlle., Mr., Mrs., Mgr. (Monsignore), M.
(Monsieur).
Do not put Mr. before a name when the Christian name is given
except in society news and editorials: Mr. Johnson; but Samuel L.
Johnson.
Supply Mr. in all cases when Rev. is used without the Christian
name: Rev. Henry W. Beecher; but Rev. Mr. Beecher.
Never use "Honorable" or the abbreviation thereof except with
foreign names, in editorials, or in documents.