It is the best art of the teacher to see the good in mixed human nature
and give it encouragement:
Several years ago one of the New York producing managers
received the manuscript of a play from an utterly unknown
author. It was crudely written and most of the situations were
utterly impossible. Produced in the form in which it came from
its creator’s pen it could have been only a dismal failure. The
manager was not for a moment tempted to produce the play he had
received, but he saw possibilities in the author’s plot. He sent
for him and pointed out a few of the more glaring defects and
suggested that the manuscript be turned over to a professional
dramatist.
This was done, and the rewritten play, only faintly suggesting
the original manuscript, was produced and immediately achieved
success. The amateur playwright applied himself to a close study
of practical playwriting, and is to-day the author of numerous
successful dramas. He realizes now just how hopeless that first
play must have appeared in the original form, and appreciates
the patience and good judgment of the manager who discerned the
dramatic nugget buried in a desert of dreary dialog.
(1274)