SELECTIVE LISTS OF AMATEUR PLAYS
The following lists, which do not pretend to completeness, will at least
be found helpful in assisting amateur organizations to choose
"worth-while" plays. The general headings "Classic", etc, are clear, but
the following explanations must be made regarding the other markings:
An asterisk (*) indicates that the play is in one act. Those not so
marked are in more than one act, and are in most cases "full length."
The letter "S" denotes serious or tragic plays, intended in nearly every
case for advanced amateurs.
The letter "R" denotes plays of a romantic and poetic nature.
The letter "C" denotes comedies, farces, and plays in lighter vein.
The letter "F" in parenthesis after the title indicates that a fee is
charged for production by amateurs. The publisher or agent (see
footnotes), must be consulted for particulars.
The letter "D" denotes modern dialect plays, like those of Lady Gregory.
Most of these plays are included under the general heading of "Classic"
because the costumes and setting, though they may be modern, are not the
familiar modern costumes and settings.
All plays not included in the first division "_Classics, including
modern costume and historical plays_" are to be found in the second
division: "_Modern plays._"
It is nearly always unwise for an amateur organization to take a play on
faith; it is therefore advisable for it to collect a library of amateur
plays, from which successive generations of members can at least form
some judgment of the field from which they are to select their plays.
This list makes no pretence to completeness. It has been the writer's
purpose merely to mention a number of classic and standard plays which
amateurs can produce without too great difficulty.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: SCENES FROM EURIPIDES' "ELECTRA". PRODUCED AT ILLINOIS
STATE COLLEGE.
(Courtesy of Rollin H. Tanner).]
CLASSICS, INCLUDING MODERN COSTUME AND HISTORICAL PLAYS
Greek
RS Euripides, _Alcestis_ (Samuel French; Walter H. Baker)
RS Sophocles, _Antigone_ (Samuel French; E. P. Dutton, in
Everyman's Library)
RC Aristophanes, _The Clouds_ (Macmillan; "The Drama", Victorian
edition)
C _Lysistrata_ (Samuel French. Another version, by Laurence
Housman, published by The Woman's Press, London)
Latin
C Plautus, _The Twins_ (Samuel French)
C Terence, _Phormio_ (Samuel French)
Spanish
RC Lope de Vega, _The Dog in the Manger_ ("The Drama",
Victorian edition)
RC Calderon, _Keep Your Own Secret_ (Macmillan)
RC Benavente, _The Bonds of Interest_ (in "The Drama", No. 20)
Italian
RC Goldoni, _The Fan_ (Yale Dramatic Association)
RC _The Beneficent Bear_ (Samuel French)
RC _A Curious Mishap_ (McClurg)
RCD _The Squabbles of Chioggia_ ("The Drama", August, 1914)
R* Giacosa, _The Wager_ (Samuel French)
French
C Brueys (adaptor of 15th century anonymous), _Master
Patelin, Solicitor_ (Samuel French)
C Moliere, _The Merchant Gentleman [Le Bourgeois
Gentilhomme]_ (Samuel French; Little, Brown; Bohn Library,
etc.)
C* _The Affected Young Ladies [Les Precieuses ridicules]_
C _The Sicilian_
C* _Doctor Love [L'Amour Medecin]_
C* _The Doctor in Spite of Himself [Le Medecin malgre lui]_
C _The Imaginary Invalid [Le Malade imaginaire]_ (Samuel
French; Little, Brown; Bohn Library; Putnam, etc., publish
the above five titles)
C* Dancourt, _Woman's Craze for Titles_ (in "The Drama";
Historical Publishing Company, 1903, vol. viii.)
C* Le Sage, _Crispin, His Master's Rival_ (Samuel French)
CR* Marivaux, _The Legacy_ (Samuel French)
CR De Musset, _Fantasio_ (Dramatic Publishing Company)
CR* _The Green Coat_ (Samuel French)
C Augier, _M. Poirier's Son-in-law [Le Gendre de M.
Poirier]_ (in "Four Plays by Emile Augier", published by
Alfred A. Knopf, and in "Chief European Dramatists",
published by Houghton Mifflin)
CR* Banville, _Gringoire_ (Dramatic Publishing Company;
Samuel French)
CR* _Charming Leandre_ (Samuel French)
C Sardou, _A Scrap of Paper_ [_Les Pattes de mouche_]
(Samuel French)
CR _The Black Pearl_ (Samuel French)
CR* Feuillet, _The Fairy_ (Samuel French)
CR* Rivoire, _The Little Shepherdess_ (Samuel French)
CR Rostand, _The Romancers_ (Samuel French; Walter H.
Baker; Heinemann)
C* France, _The Man Who Married a Dumb Wife_ (Lane) (F)
C* Picard, _The Rebound_ (Samuel French)
CR Zamacois, _The Jesters_ (Brentano) (F)
SR* Bouchor, _A Christmas Tale_ (Samuel French)
CR* Coppee, _The Violin-Maker of Cremona_ (Samuel French)
SR* _Pater Noster_ (Samuel French)
SR* Theuriet, _Jean-Marie_ (Samuel French)
Danish
C Holberg, _The Loquacious Barber_ ("The Drama", Victorian
edition)
C _Captain Bombastes Thunderton_ (in "Three Comedies by
Ludvig Holberg", published by Longmans) (Requires cutting)
CR Hertz, _King Rene's Daughter_ (Samuel French)
German
CR Lessing, _Minna von Barnhelm_ (in Bohn Library,
Macmillan)
C _The Scholar_ (in Bohn Library)
C Schiller, _Nephew or Uncle_ (Walter H. Baker)
English
S Anonymous, _Everyman_ (Everyman's Library; Dutton)
R Lyly, _Alexander and Campaspe_ (Scribner, and in
Everyman's Library) (Requires cutting)
R Greene, _Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay_ (Dutton) (Requires
cutting)
CR Beaumont and Fletcher, _The Knight of the Burning Pestle_
(Scribner; Everyman's Library; etc.) (Requires cutting)
CR Dekker, _Old Fortunatus_ (Scribner) (Requires cutting)
CR _The Shoemaker's Holiday_ (Scribner; Dutton) (Requires
cutting)
CR Heywood _The Fair Maid of the West_ (Scribner) (Requires
cutting)
SR Jonson, _The Sad Shepherd_ (Dutton) (Requires cutting)
CR _The Case is Altered_ (in any complete set of Ben Jonson)
(Requires cutting)
Shakespeare (no plays need be mentioned. The "Ben Greet
Shakespeare for Amateurs" contains good directions for
staging and acting)
C Udall, _Ralph Roister Doister_ (Macmillan; Dent) (Requires
cutting)
CR Goldsmith, _The Good-natured Man_ (in any edition of
Goldsmith's plays)
CR _She Stoops to Conquer_ (in any edition of Goldsmith's
plays)
CR Sheridan, _The Rivals_ (in any edition of Sheridan's
plays)
C _The School for Scandal_ (in any edition of Sheridan's
plays)
C _The Critic_ (in any edition of Sheridan's plays)
CR Pinero, _Trelawney of the 'Wells'_ (Dramatic Publishing
Company) (F)[12]
[12] Apply to Sanger & Jordan, 1432 Broadway, New York, for
acting rights.
CR Housman, _A Chinese Lantern_ (Dramatic Publishing
Company) (F)
CR* _Bird in Hand_ (Samuel French) (F)
SRD* _A Likely Story_ (Samuel French) (F)
CR* _As Good as Gold_ (Samuel French) (F)
SRD* _The Snow Man_ (Samuel French) (F)
SR* _Nazareth_ (Samuel French) (F)
SR* _The Lord of the Harvest_ (Samuel French) (F)
SR* _The Return of Alcestis_ (Samuel French) (F)
CR (and Barker), _Prunella_ (Little, Brown) (F)
CR Shaw, _The Devil's Disciple_ (Brentano) (F)[13]
CR Parker, _Pomander Walk_ (Samuel French) (F)
CR* Barrie, _Pantaloon_ (Scribner) (F)[13]
[13] Apply to American Play Company, 33 West 42nd St., New
York.
CR Bennett and Knoblauch, _Milestones_ (Doran) (F)
CR Noyes, _Sherwood_ (Stokes) (F)
CR Tennyson, _The Princess_ (in any complete edition of
Tennyson)
CR _The Foresters_ (in any complete edition of
Tennyson)
SR* _The Falcon_ (in any complete edition of Tennyson)
R* Lord Dunsany, _The Gods of the Mountain_ (Little, Brown)
(F)
CR* _The Lost Silk Hat_ (Little, Brown) (F)
CRD* _The Glittering Gate_ (Little, Brown) (F)
R _King Argimenes and the Unknown Warrior_ (Little,
Brown) (F)
RS* Yeats, _The Land of Heart's Desire_ (Macmillan; Samuel
French)
CD* _The Pot of Broth_ (Macmillan) (F)[14]
RS* _Deirdre_ (Macmillan) (F)[14]
RS* _The King's Threshold_ (Macmillan) (F)[14]
[14] Apply to Samuel French, 28 West 38th St., New York.
CRD* Lady Gregory, _The Rising of the Moon_ (Putnam) (F)[15]
CD* _The Workhouse Ward_ (Putnam) (F)[15]
SRD* _The Travelling Man_ (Putnam) (F)[15]
CD* _Spreading the News_ (Putnam) (F)[15]
CD* _The Jackdaw_ (Putnam) (F)[15]
CD* _Hyacinth Halvey_ (Putnam) (F)[15]
SD* Hyde, _The Lost Saint_ (Scribner)
SD* _The Twisting of the Rope_ (Poet Lore)
CD* Mayne, _The Turn of the Road_ (Luce) (F)
CD _The Drone_ (Luce) (F)
SD* Synge, _The Shadow of the Glen_ (Luce) (F)[15]
CD Boyle, _The Building Fund_ (Gill, Dublin) (F)
RC* Downs, _The Maker of Dreams_ (Samuel French) (F)[15]
Sanskrit
SR Kalidasa, _Sakountala_ (Walter Scott, London; and
Everyman's Library)
Bengali
RS Tagore, _The Post-Office_ (Macmillan) (F)[15]
[15] Apply to Samuel French, 28 West 38th St., New York.
MODERN PLAYS (NINETEENTH AND TWENTIETH CENTURIES, IN WHICH THE COSTUMES
AND SETTINGS ARE MODERN)
Italian
S Giacosa, _As the Leaves_ (in "The Drama No. 1, and by
Little, Brown)
S _The Stronger_ (in "The Drama", May, 1913, and by Little,
Brown)
French
C* Augier, _The Post-Script_ (Samuel French, and in "Four
Plays by Emile Augier", Alfred A. Knopf)
SC _The House of Fourchambault_ (Samuel French, and in
"Four Plays by Emile Augier", Alfred A. Knopf)
CR* Meilhac and Halevy, _Indian Summer_ (Samuel French)
CR* _Panurge's Sheep_ (Samuel French)
CR* Feuillet, _The Village_ (Samuel French)
C* Labiche, _The Two Cowards_ (Samuel French)
C* _Grammar_ (Samuel French)
C Pailleron, _The Art of Being Bored_ (Samuel French)
C* Bernard, _French Without a Master_ (Samuel French)
C* _I'm Going!_ (Samuel French)
C* Donnay, _They!_ (In "Lovers, The Free Woman, and They!"
(Little, Brown)
S France, _Crainquebille_ (Samuel French)
C* Maurey, _Rosalie_ (Samuel French)
C* Hervieu, _Modesty_ (Samuel French)
S Capus, _The Adventurer_ ("The Drama", November, 1914)
C _Brignol and his Daughter_ (Samuel French)
C* Caillavet, _Choosing a Career_ (Samuel French)
German
SC Freytag, _The Journalists_ ("The Drama", February, 1913)
RC* Sudermann, _The Far-Away Princess_ (in "Roses", Scribner,
and separately, by Samuel French) (F)
S* _Fritzchen_ (in "Morituri", Scribner)
C* Benedix, _The Law-Suit_ (Samuel French)
C* _The Third Man_ (Samuel French)
C* Gyalui, _After the Honeymoon_ (Samuel French)
Scandinavian
S* Strindberg, _The Stronger_ (Scribner) (F)
SB _Lucky Pehr_ (Stewart and Kidd) (F)
SC Bjoernson, _The Newly-Married Couple_ (Everyman's Library;
Dutton)
C _Love and Geography_ (Scribner)
S Ibsen, _An Enemy of the People_ (Scribner)
Russian
C* Tchekoff, _The Boor_ (Samuel French; Scribner)
C* _A Marriage Proposal_ (Samuel French; Scribner)
C* _The Tragedian in Spite of Himself_ (Scribner)
C* Andreyev, _The Dear Departing_ (Henderson, London), and
[same play] _Love of One's Neighbor_ (Boni, New York)
English
C Pinero, _The Schoolmistress_ (Walter H. Baker) (F)
C _The Magistrate_ (Walter H. Baker) (F)
CS _The Benefit of the Doubt_ (Dramatic Publishing
Company) (F)
C _The Amazons_ (Walter H. Baker) (F)
C _Dandy Dick_ (Walter H. Baker) (F)
C Jones, _The Manoeuvres of Jane_ (Samuel French) (F)
CS _The Liars_ (Samuel French) (F)
C _Dolly Reforming Herself_ (Samuel French) (F)
C Wilde, _The Importance of Being Earnest_ (Walter H.
Baker; Nichols; Luce; Putnam; and French)[16]
C* Sutro, _The Bracelet_ (Samuel French; Brentano)
(F--Samuel French)
C* Sutro, _The Man on the Kerb_ (Samuel French; Brentano)
(F--Samuel French)
C* _A Marriage Has Been Arranged_ (Samuel French;
Brentano) (F--Samuel French)
CR* Barrie, _The Will_ (Scribner) (F)[16]
CR* _The Twelve-Pound Look_ (Brentano) (F)[16]
[16] Apply to Sanger & Jordan.
CR _The Admirable Crichton_ (Doran) (F)[17]
CR _Quality Street_ (Doran) (F)[17]
[17] Apply to Sanger & Jordan.
C Shaw, _You Never Can Tell_ (Brentano) (F)[18]
CR _Candida_ (Brentano) (F)[18]
C* _Press Cuttings_ (Brentano) (F)[18]
C* _How He Lied to Her Husband_ (Brentano) (F)[18]
CR _Arms and the Man_ (Brentano) (F)[18]
[18] Apply to American Play Co.
S Barker, _The Voysey Inheritance_ (Little, Brown) (F)
SC Bennett, _What the Public Wants_ (Doran) (F)
RC _Milestones_ (Doran) (F)
S _Cupid and Commonsense_ (Doran) (F)
C _The Great Adventure_ (Doran) (F)
C* _Polite Farces_ (Doran) (F)
S Baker, _Chains_ (Luce) (F)
S* Gibson, _Mates_ (Macmillan) (F)
S* _On the Road_ (Macmillan) (F)
C Hankin, _The Cassilis Engagement_ (Samuel French) (F)
C _The Return of the Prodigal_ (Samuel French) (F)
C _The Charity that Began at Home_ (Samuel French) (F)
C* Houghton, _The Dear Departed_ (Samuel French) (F)
C* _The Fifth Commandment_ (Samuel French) (F)
C* _Phipps_ (Samuel French) (F)
SC Houghton, _Independent Means_ (Samuel French) (F)
S Galsworthy, _The Silver Box_ (Scribner) (F)[19]
C _Joy_ (Scribner) (F)[19]
SC Hamilton, _Just to Get Married_ (Samuel French) (F)
SC* Chapin, _Augustus in Search of a Father_ (Gowans and
Grey, London) (F)
DCR* Brighouse, _Lonesome Like_ (Samuel French) (F)
SD* _The Price of Coal_ (Samuel French) (F)
C Monkhouse, _The Education of Mr. Surrage_ (Sidgwick and
Jackson, London) (F)
C Mason, _Green Stockings_ (Samuel French) (F)
SD Ervine, _Jane Clegg_ (Holt) (F)
DCR* Fenn and Pryce, _'Op o' me Thumb_ (Samuel French) (F)
American
S Gillette, _Secret Service_ (Samuel French) (F)
S _Held by the Enemy_ (Samuel French) (F)
C _Too Much Johnson_ (Samuel French) (F)
C MacKaye, _Anti-Matrimony_ (Stokes) (F)
C Thomas (A. E.), _Her Husband's Wife_ (Doubleday, Page)
(F)[19]
[19] Apply to Samuel French for producing rights.
S* Middleton, _The Failures_ (Holt) (F)[20]
S* _The Groove_ (Holt) (F)[20]
S* _Tradition_ (Holt) (F)[20]
[20] Apply to Samuel French for producing rights.
C* Macmillan, _Short Plays_ (Stewart and Kidd) (F)
C Forbes, _The Commuters_ (Samuel French) (F)
C _The Traveling Salesman_ (Samuel French) (F)
S Klein, _The Lion and the Mouse_ (Samuel French) (F)
R Thomas, _Arizona_ (Dramatic Publishing Company) (F)
RD _Alabama_ (Dramatic Publishing Company) (F)
C _Mrs. Leffingwell's Boots_ (Samuel French) (F)
C _The Other Girl_ (Samuel French) (F)
C _Oliver Goldsmith_ (Samuel French) (F)
C _The Earl of Pawtucket_ (Samuel French)(F)
C _The Capitol_ (Samuel French) (F)
COLLECTED VOLUME OF PLAYS
1. _Representative One-Act Plays by American Authors_, edited by
Margaret G. Mayorga (Little, Brown), contains a large number of suitable
plays for amateurs. Among these are:
R* _Sam Average_, by Percy MacKaye (F)
R* _Six Who Pass While the Lentils Boil_, by Stuart Walker
(F)
S* _In the Zone_, by Eugene O'Neill (F)
R* _The Wonder Hat_, a Harlequinade by Ben Hecht and Kenneth
Sawyer Goodman (F)
C* _Suppressed Desires_, by George Cram Cook and Susan
Glaspell (F)
S* _The Last Straw_, by Bosworth Crocker (F)
2. _Representative One-Act Plays by British and Irish Authors_, edited
by Barrett H. Clark (Little, Brown), contains, among others, the
following plays suited to the requirements of amateurs:
R* _The Widow of Wasdale Head_, by Arthur Pinero (F)
C* _Rococo_, by Granville Barker (F)
R* _The Snow Man_, by Lawrence Housman (F)
C* _Fancy Free_, by Stanley Houghton (F)
3. _Fifty Contemporary One-Act Plays_, edited by Frank Shay and Pierre
Loving (Stewart-Kidd), includes the following plays for amateurs:
C* _Literature_, by Arthur Schnitzler (F)
C* _Francoise' Luck_, by Georges de Porto-Riche (F)
S* _Mary's Wedding_, by Gilbert Carman (F)
C* _A Sunny Morning_, by the Quinteros (F)
APPENDICES
APPENDIX I
COPYRIGHT AND ROYALTY
The following statement regarding royalties on amateur plays was
prepared by Mr. Allen J. Carter, an attorney of Chicago, for one of the
Drama League pamphlets listing amateur plays:
"The copyright law of the United States requires that every
play, whether published or unpublished, for which copyright
protection is claimed, must be registered in the copyright
office at Washington, D.C. Until such registration, no action
for infringement of copyright can be maintained. The register of
copyrights keeps a complete record and index of all copyright
entries and publishes a catalogue of such entries at regular
intervals. Dramatic works are entered under Class D and are
found indexed under that heading in Part I, Group II of the
catalogues. Copies of these catalogues are on file in most of
the larger public libraries, and sets or parts of sets may be
purchased from the Superintendent of Public Documents at
Washington, D.C. Anyone wishing to learn whether a particular
play has been properly entered for copyright need only consult a
set of these catalogues. If such a set is not available, the
information will be promptly furnished by the register of
copyrights, Washington, D.C, upon request.
"Whenever a play has been published, examination of a copy of an
authorized printed edition will disclose whether such play has
been properly copyrighted. The law requires that a notice of
copyright must be placed either upon the title page, or upon the
page immediately following, of each copy published or offered
for sale in the United States. Such notice must consist either
of the word 'Copyright' or the abbreviation 'Copr.', accompanied
by the name of the copyright proprietor and the year in which
copyright was secured by publication. If published prior to
March 4, 1909, the notice may also be in the following form:
'Entered according to Act of Congress in the year ----, by A. B.
in the office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.'
Whenever the author of a play or anyone to whom he has assigned
his rights publishes such play without proper notice of
copyright in some one of the three authorized forms above
mentioned, the play then and forever after becomes the property
of the public and may be performed and printed at will by
anyone. No subsequent attempt to copyright such play would be
valid, and any valid copyright previously secured would be
vitiated.
"A play which has never been published nor offered for sale, and
which exists only in manuscript form, may be copyrighted upon
proper entry being made at the copyright office in Washington,
D.C. Should such play be later published, however, the
publication must comply with all the requirements of the law as
to notice of copyright.
"Any person who infringes the copyright in any play shall be
liable: (a) To an injunction restraining said infringement; (b)
to pay actual damages to the copyright proprietor, or in place
of actual damages $100.00 for the first infringing performance
and $50.00 for each succeeding one; (c) to imprisonment not to
exceed one year, or to a fine not to exceed $1,000.00, or both,
wherever such person has infringed such copyright wilfully and
for profit.
"It follows, therefore, that if any group of amateurs perform a
copyrighted play without having obtained the consent of the
author or copyright proprietor, they are collectively liable to
damages of at least $100.00 under whatever conditions the
performance is given. If they do it wilfully and for profit,
they are in addition each individually liable to fine and
imprisonment under the criminal provision of the act."
APPENDIX II
A NOTE ON MAKE-UP
Make-up as an art and a science does not properly fall within the scope
of the present volume. However, it has been thought advisable to insert
at this place sections from an interesting paper on make-up by one who
has made a thorough study of the subject. The author acknowledges his
obligation to Miss Grace Griswold, who wrote the article, for permission
to make this use of it.
_How and Where Lines Come
into the Face
A Study in Make-up
by
Grace Griswold_
Nearly all great actors are masters of make-up. They must be, for the
illusions of the stage are no less pictorial than those of painting and
sculpture, with the added elements of movement and voice, all of which
must be brought into working harmony with the thought and feeling of the
part, in a perfect portrayal. Any serious incongruity in externals is
felt at once, and destroys the illusion.
Women have not done as much as men in facial transformation, except in
the way of burlesque and grotesquerie. Women's make-ups, on the whole,
are far more conventional. The female face is more difficult to change
without revealing the tricks. Heavy furrows and deep coloring are
possible only for low types. Men can effect great changes by the use of
beards and moustaches. A woman's art must be far subtler.
Look at the men across the way.[21] Notice their eyes. We always see the
eyes first, although the mouth is a more unerring key to character. The
mouth for emotions and impulses, and the eyes for thoughts. As the mouth
is the gateway of the soul, so the eyes are its windows, but, like all
windows, their function is rather to give light and view to the interior
than to expose it to the impertinence of passers-by.... His level brows,
which show him to be of a practical or scientific turn of mind, are
deeply contracted. So much so, that not only are there two perpendicular
lines between them, but one across the top of the nose as well. The
heavy bone formation which the brows outline, indicates rare powers of
observation. But this man has come a cropper. See how restless and
unseeing are his eyes! He is searching for a solution to the problem
which is troubling him. It is a purely intellectual problem, for the
mouth, which is the indication of the emotions and passions, is
unaffected by what is going on above. There is nothing sinister about
the problem: you see that the eyes are wide open. Now it is settled,
because he appears focussed: he is following a single line of thought.
[21] It was imperative that the long article be abridged. The
reference here is to Miss Griswold's first sentence: "... take
a ride with me in the subway, where we may perhaps glean some
impressions for character portrayal upon the stage."
Now observe the man on the right. He too is thinking hard, but his mouth
is drawn, jaws set, eyelids puckered to a mere slit. He has been
wronged, or believes he has, and is planning retaliation. His nostrils
are dilated, his breathing heavy. Both these men are laboring under
excitement, but we cannot read their natures, because their habitual
expression is distorted.
Do you see that dear soul opposite? There is work behind that face, work
that has brought with it health. There has been good living, but no
intemperance. See the strong muscles and the glow in the cheeks, with
their Santa Claus rotundity. There is passion, too, but it is
restrained: the lips are full, but the center line is straight. With
less control, that line would tend to sag. Melancholia is also indicated
in downward lines. In the case of this woman, the lip is perhaps too
heavy to show delicacy of character, but it shows broad sympathy, and is
redeemed by its upper consort, which reveals, except at the corners, a
cupid's bow, full of tenderness. The Venus de Milo hardly escapes
censure even with the lateral shortness of the lower lip and the
softened outlines of the upper. This woman's mouth is larger, denoting
generosity. Now look at the eyes--open just to the degree of frankness,
but not of insincerity, like those of the vapid young person across the
way. There are radiations from the corners, too: the footprints of many
a pleasant smile. The eyebrows have the sympathetic upward sweep toward
the nose, and there is a whimsical twist of the left eyebrow.
Altogether, a pleasant countenance.
A perfectly straight compressed mouth always implies strength of will.
Now notice the woman just beyond with her high-bred aristocratic face.
The "executive" nose, with its delicate arch, are especially indicative
of her character. The eyebrows likewise are arched, over a full
forehead; very imaginative. The eyes, slightly veiled in their
expression, show her to be plunged in deep and somewhat troubled
thought. Her eyes are veiled because she does not see clearly a way out
of her problem, but that way out will be, we are sure, something noble.
Her problem is not so exclusively an intellectual one as that of the man
we mentioned: it must be some economic or philanthropical question--her
chin is finely chiselled and held with exquisite poise, strong and at
the same time delicate. Her complexion has the "pale cast of thought",
but is not unhealthy however. The flesh lies easily upon its firm base.
It will never warp into deep furrows. See, now she has solved or put
aside her problem, for a moment, and her eyes are open and clear, and
her smile, as she recognizes a friend, is engaging and unaffected. Her
sympathies are less personal, more detached, but none the less real,
than other women's.
And now see this man who has just entered. He, too, is an aristocrat,
but as he turns, we can observe that there is a one-sided twist to his
face. The bone formation in his face is similar to that of the woman's,
but his expression is exaggerated by a muscular habit of the mouth,
possibly occasioned by the loss of teeth. His eyes are open, but they
express impassive coldness. He has taken life with a sneer. His brows
are not arched, although one of them is artificially raised: the result,
undoubtedly, of boredom.
Habitual good-humor ages the face in a pleasant manner. It is the only
thing that never grows old: do you remember what genial sparkling eyes
Joseph Jefferson and Mark Twain had?
Bearing in mind these summary character studies, let us turn to the more
practical side of make-up:
Regarding _straight_ make-up--_i.e._ make-up which is designed to offset
the glare of the lights--it can safely be asserted that most
professionals make-up too heavily. This is partially due to the fact
that the lights in the dressing-room are seldom of like intensity or
kind as those on the stage. Billie Burke and Blanche Ring occur to us as
having achieved happy results in making-up, the former with a rose-bud
prettiness of white and pink, the latter by using so little color and
blending that little so well that it is scarcely perceivable. Both these
actresses use very little rouge on the upper eyelids, an excess of which
is one of the commonest faults. The only purpose it can serve is to
soften the upward and whitening glare of the footlights. The skilful use
of rouge is the most important and least understood of all the numerous
elements of this art. First as to shade, most of the rouge used is blue.
It does not blend with most powders, but produces a hard contrast, and
appears unnatural. The placing of the rouge, too, is very important in
obviating natural defects of proportion in the features, which distances
always intensify. Any spot left white is projected as if with a
high-light. If the nose is too wide, it can be narrowed by shading the
rouge up to its center line. If it is too prominent, it will be less
apparent if shaded slightly all over. The same rule applies to the chin,
the jaw, the ears, and the forehead. Some people lay in a general
foundation of grease rouge before putting anything else on, but this is
likely to give a muddy effect. If used only on the cheeks, with the dry
rouge over all for shading, the effect is far more natural. Some also
lay in a foundation of pink paste--called "Exora"--but the result is
nearly always pasty, and should never be used except to cover some
blotchiness. The lighter the make-up, the greater opportunity will there
be for mobility of expression.
The same moderation should be exercised in making up the eyes and mouth.
Brown on the lashes and eyebrows is softer than black, especially for
blondes. Heavy black leading above and below, accentuated by broad
shadows on the lids of dark blue, make them look like burnt holes a
short distance away. Few eyes are large enough to stand it, and those
that are, do not require it. A little light or dark blue close to the
lashes of the upper lid is necessary, but very few eyes need any make-up
at all on the lower lid, except a faint shadow, perhaps, of light blue.
A little dab of lip rouge in the inner corners of the eye adds an effect
of brilliancy. If the eye itself slants, it can be straightened by a
line of brown or black, drawn in the opposite direction, and beginning
just inside the outer corners. The line of the upper lids and the
eyebrows should be extended in almost every case, to give an effect of
breadth to the eyes.
If the face needs lengthening and the eyebrows are not too heavy, they
can be covered with flesh-colored grease paint, and another pair painted
above them. There is danger in this, however, of opening the frame of
the eyes too much and giving them a foolish expression. The arched brow
tends to elongate, the level, broad effect to shorten, the face.
The mouth also needs careful treatment. As to color: the dark red rouge
so often used gives the appearance of a bloody gash. The English hunting
red, a sort of bluish vermilion, is best, because most natural. Only the
very smallest mouths can stand being made up to the corners, because in
smiling, the mouth stretches, and will look too large if deeply colored
all the way across.
A line of white grease paint drawn down the bridge of the nose will
straighten it; or, if it be too small, lengthen it. The nose may also be
completely transformed by putty.
This brings us to what is known as the "character" make-up. Here again
one is confronted by numberless problems regarding the use of colors. At
best, character make-up is only the adjustment of one physiognomy to the
habitual expression of another: complete transformation is out of the
question. Nevertheless, the human face, being mobile, may assume
expressions which are not habitual to it. However, it must be borne in
mind that to superimpose a purely imaginary countenance over a natural
one, regardless of what that natural one is, is a fatal mistake, because
when the natural face attempts to express itself under the other, the
effect will be lost.
To return a moment to the problem of color: illusion is frequently lost
through a failure to adjust the shade of the high-light and shadow to
the tone of the foundation grease paint, or natural complexion. The
commonest offence is the use of an unmixed, unblended slate for shadows,
and white, and high-lights, whether the underlying color be florid,
sallow, pink, or pale flesh. The result of such treatment is merely
paint.
The whole art of making-up is still hide-bound by tradition, because of
stupid ideals which persist in the minds of those whose business it is
to direct, as well as many in the acting profession itself.
INDEX
INDEX
"Alcestis", 4
Aristophanes, 5
Art adviser, 17
"Art of Being Bored, The", 48
Quoted, 53, 54-57
Stage grouping of, 54-57
"As You Like It", 2
Backgrounds, 106-107
Barker, Granville, 6
Belasco, David, 89, 106
"Blocking out", 24, 61
Example of, 24-33
"Blue Bird, The", 108
"Box sets", 82, 89, 91, 100
"Brignol and His Daughter", Setting for, 102, 103
Business manager, Duties of, 11-12, 14
"Call Boy", Duty of, 16
Capus, Alfred, 102
Cast, Ability of, 2
Selection of, 19, 20
Size of, 2
"Chantecler", 108
Characterization by amateurs, 2, 3, 4
Cheney, Seldon, 76 (_Note_), 77
Classics, 2, 3, 4
"Clouds, The", 5
Coach, Selection of, 20, 21
Comedies, 4
"Comedy of Errors, The", 2, 3, 5
Setting for, 93-94
Costume man, Duties of, 10, 14, 15, 17
Costumes, 14-15
Accuracy of, 108-109
"Costumes and Scenery for Amateurs", 81
Craig, Gordon, 102
Crowds or large groups, Rehearsing of, 15, 58, 59
Curtain man, Duties of, 10
Cyclorama, 78-81, 84, 88
Construction of, 78, 79-80, 81
Description of, 78
Value of, 78
De Vega, Lope, 4
Deutsches Theater (Berlin), 95
Diagram, Making of, 40-46, 60
Director, Duties of, 8-10, 14, 16, 17, 20, 23, 24, 28, 34, 52, 58, 59,
64, 67, 73
"Doctor in Spite of Himself", 5
"Doll's House, A", 2
Draperies, 80, 83, 92, 98
"Electra", 4
Electrician, 13
Euripides, 4
"Fan, The", 5
"Far-away Princess, The", Setting for, 100-101
Farces, 4
Footlights, 86, 87, 89
Boxed, 84
Fortuny lighting system, 86, 88
Furniture, Handling and setting of, 15
Goldoni, 4, 5
Gregory, Lady, 90
Grouping actors, 48, 58, 59, 61
Examples of, 50-52, 53-57, 58-59, 63
"Hamlet", 4
Handling and setting of scenery and furniture, 15, 17
Imitation of Professionals, 68, 69
"Importance of Being Earnest, The", 3
"Blocked out", 28-34
Quoted, 24-28
"Indian Summer", Quoted, 71-72
Interpretation by amateurs, 69-70
Jones, Henry Arthur, 3, 46, 47, 48
"Julius Caesar", Costumes of, 108
Grouping in, 58-59
Klein, Charles, 89
Kotzebue, 4
"Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme," 3,5
Lessing, 4, 5
Lessing Theater, Berlin, 107
"Liars, The", 3, 46, 47
Quoted, 46, 50
Stage grouping of, 49-52
Lighting, Stage, 76, 78-79, 85, 89
Examples of, 89, 90
Fortuny system of, 86, 88
Kinds of:
Arc, 88
Border, 86
Calcium, 88
Footlights, 84, 86, 87, 89
Lightman, Duties of, 10, 13-14, 15
"Lysistrata", 5
MacKay, Constance D'Arcy, 82
"Magistrate, The", 4
"Man and Superman", 4
"Marrying of Ann Leete, The", 6
"Merchant of Venice, The", 85
"Milestones", 109
"Minna von Barnhelm", 5
"Modern Movement in the Theatre, The", 76 (_Note_)
Modern plays, 4, 6
Moderwell, Hiram Kelly, 76 (_Note_), 77
Quoted, 86-87
Modulation, Example of, 71-72
Moliere, 3, 4, 5
Music, 15, 17
"Music Master, The", Lighting of, 89
Original Plays, 6
Pailleron, Edouard, 48
"Peer Gynt", Setting for, 107
Performance, Essentials of, 74 75
"Phormio", 5
Plautus, 5
Plays, "Cutting", 23
Plays, Kind of, 8-7
Classic, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 14
Comedies, 4
Farces, 4
Modern, 4, 5
Original, 6
Problem, 4
Sex, 4
Thesis, 4
Translated, 6
Reading of, 23-24
Plotting the stage, Examples of, 41-45, 49-52
Problem plays, 4
Prompt-copy, Making of, 34
Prompter, Duty of, 75
Property man, Duties of, 10, 12, 13, 15, 75
Proscenium, 81
Alteration of, 81, 82, 83, 84, 103-104
Diagrams of, 82, 83
Rehearsals, 15, 22, 58, 59, 61, 66, 67, 68, 70
First, 22-24, 61
Second, 24, 61, 66
Dress, 73, 74
Scene and light, 74
Reinhardt, Max, 95, 106
Revolving stage, 85
"Rising of the Moon, The", Lighting of, 90
"Rivals, The", 3, 5
"Romancers, The", 15, 106, 108
Setting for, 97-99
Rostand, 13, 97, 108
Scenery, Handling and Setting of, 15, 17
"Scrap of Paper, A", Setting for, 104-105
Screens, 83, 92, 102-103, 104
Settings, Stage, 77, 81, 82, 83, 85, 89, 91
"Box sets", 82, 89, 91
Examples of, 93-94, 95-97, 97-99, 100-101, 102-106
Sex plays, 4
Shakespeare's plays, Settings for, 92, 98-94, 94-97, 97-99, 106
Stage business of, 52
Shaw, G. Bernard, 3, 13, 34, 47
Sheridan, Richard Brinsley, 3, 5
"She Stoops to Conquer", 5
Simpson, J. Palgrave, 104
Sophocles, 4
Staff, Duties of members of, 9-17, 73-75
Head of (Director) 8-10
Organization of, 8-16
Stage, Physical requirements of, 76
Revolving, 85
Wagon, 85
Stage "business", 52, 61, 62, 64, 66, 69-70,
Examples of, 62, 63-64, 65
How to remember, 60
Stage directions, 28 (_Note_)
For "You Never Can Tell", 35-40
Stage grouping, _see_ GROUPING
Lighting, _see_ LIGHTING
Manager, Duties of, 10-11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 22, 23, 28, 74
Settings, _see_ SETTINGS
Sudermann, Hermann, 100
"Sumurun", Background for, 106
Terence, 5
"Theatre of To-day, The", 76 (_Note_), 79
Thesis plays, 4
Translations, 6
"Twelfth Night", Settings for, 94-99, 106
"Twins, The", 5
Understudies, 16, 21
Wagon Stage, 85
Wardrobe mistress, _see_ COSTUME MAN
Warfield, David, 89
Wilde, Oscar, 3, 24, 47
"You Never Can Tell", 3, 13
Diagram of, 40-45
Quoted, 35-40
Stage directions of, 40
Transcriber Notes:
Passages in italics were indicated by _underscores_.
Passages in bold were indicated by =equal signs=.
Small caps were replaced with ALL CAPS.
Throughout the dialogues, there were words used to mimic accents of the
speakers. Those words were retained as-is.
The illustrations have been moved so that they do not break up
paragraphs and so that they are next to the text they illustrate. Thus
the page number of the illustration might not match the page number in
the List of Illustrations, and the order of illustrations may not be the
same in the List of Illustrations and in the book.
Errors in punctuations and inconsistent hyphenation were not corrected
unless otherwise noted.
On page 115, "Minna Von Barnhelm" was replaced with "Minna von
Barnhelm".
End of Project Gutenberg's How to Produce Amateur Plays, by Barrett H. Clark