ituentn PHOTOPLAY DANCING THEATRES and MUSIC AMUSEMENT SECTION PHILADELPHIA, SATURDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 4, FRAZEE FOR A FARCE SCHOOL PHILADELPHIA TAKES TO SCENIC REFORM Prominent Manager Sees Need of Developing Young Writers successful farces. 3 - m m II. IL Frazee. who has produced "A Pair of Pies." "A Full House" and other claims that, although there are hundreds o very good actors in America, the ex perts are not sutil- ' cient in number to ko around. Sir. Fra zee has held back the production 01 tuo farces this sea son for no other reason than the fact that he has been unable to secure a ;- competent cast for either piece. One of tin. in is by IMward 1'eiile. author of "A J Pair of Sites,-' and i the other is a fart-t II. II. FIJAZUE. ' Clara I.ipman and Sam Sliipman. Mr. Frazee was in IMiiladelplua the other evening, looking at "A Full lloii'-e ' at the Adelphl Theatre, and then de clared his intention of establishing a school in New York in which jour.g ac tors are to be trained in the requin merits of farce. Among .Mr. Frazie's remarks were: "It is harder to properly cast a modern farce In New York today than it is to secure plajers for a Greek tragedy. You tan gtt dramatic leading men by the hun dred; jou tan secure character comedians In unlimited numbers: there are thou sands of 'hea"ies' and as many people to play heroines and grand damea; but thero Is a woeful lack of actors who can play farce as it should be plajed. Farce Hardest Drama "Farce, to my mind, is the most diffi cult branch of the drama. Comedy, drama and tragedy portray the probable; farco portrajs the possible. The plausi bility of the average comedy helps the actor, for he has only to act his part In a natural manner. Farce, on the other hand, consists of improbable situations, and the actor must play it in such a fashion that the auditor will not question tho possibility of the events or the Plausibility of the plot. To accomplish tills end the plajer in farce must postess the qualitj of smoothness, the degree of unction and the tremendous speed that will disarm critical analysis of the subject-matter nnd leave only a recollection of the pleasure afforded by the laughter provoked. "Farce has such special requirements." continued Mr. Frazee. "that In France and Germany, where it has been elevated to Its highest plane, it has long had its special school of actors who appear In no other kind of play. These plajers receive special training for the playing of farce, and the skill of these players may ac count for the fact that so many big farclcil succes-.es in Iiris and Merlin re sult in failures when presented in New York. Gillette Best Farceur '"'William Gillette is the foremost farceur in America today, because of his Knowledge of the value of repose. Speed and repose, the two extremes of dramatic tempo, are what make the successful farceur. I, make it an object to place under contract all the clever farceurs I come in contact with, as it Is my Inten tion to contlne myself almost entirely to the production of farces in the future; there Is such a fertile field for this sort of play in America. I beliee that May Yokes. Herbert Corthell and George Par sons, now appearing in 'A Full House,' may be classed among the cle crest farceurs we liae. "Speed in farce does not mean rushing about the stage, up and down stairs, and slamming doors. It means the tempo in which the piece Is played. Cues must be taken upon the instant, if not by the actual line, by a look or mocment that will arrest the attention of the audience and keep it from serious thought. The audience must be interested every second. "In a few weeks I will be ready to an nounce my plans for a school for farce. I have consulted with several authorities on this subject, and will have the co operation of other managers who have experienced the same dilllculty in secur ing the proper actors for plays of this type." I EaKaSitsSiswKJSsaHaSmiya i ni .Mime i&Sv &jiWlm&gMK'MS&TXh:'. i llllIUPl If llillHif aH Ki,iiKH " ' MB&MM&mBMmfmBl rim frWTrfHBt wHrfiB One of the very beautiful designs which a Philadelphia artist. W. II. K. Yarrow, prepared for the Stace So ciety's current ballet, "The King of the Black Isle." The above is the black-curtained hall of the Palace of Tears. What I Have Learned in Photoplay Studios By WILLIAM FAVERSHAM I haven't acted for the pictures yet; I have only posed for them. Vhat we would call acting in the theatre, we con sider tremendous exaggeration for the screen. I find mself trin not to act! Tho camera exaggerates your every movement to such an extent that If you pantomimed on the screen as you did in the regular theatre there would be so much action that jour arms would look like a stries of windmills: And yet I say, most emphatically, that In order to plaj- bie parts on the screen jou certainly need a great knowledge of the legitimate theatre. All I have said before this merely goes to show that you want to modify jour theatre work. Vt'hert the knowledge of the theatre strikes me as being most necessary in motion pictures is in the waj of direc torship. I think a thorough knowledge of the stage, an artistic sense, and a knowl edge of "periods," correct tostumIn, etc., is essential, because the director has got to correct mistakes made by the actors anil the working force. Just the same a3 the legitimate stage manager. The assertion may seem to be too sweeping, but I believe that motion pic tures will stand still until some one comes along who will take scenes on the screen which will give the actor and actress a chance for more acting, and will also let the audience get the storj- in Its head, and keep the seiniente clear. The tendencj- now is to take scenes for the sen en averaging from 5 to 15 seconds. The cinematograph was never meant to do that. It was meant to represent real life, and all the best pictures I have ever seen are pictures where there have been scenes acted n the screen which took anywhere from 3 to 5 minutes. They will finally come to this again, and the man who first docs it will elevate motion pic tures to a much higher grade artistically. The present mode of running scenes for a few seconds and jumping about from one scene to another is puzzling to an audi ence. I have sat in motion picture houses and heard people say they were bored to death because thej- couldn't follow the story: It Jumped about so much. I have also seen pecple set up and leave for that verj- rea son, and express themselves to that effect as they were going out. TEACHING THE COLLEGE MAN HOW TO MOVIE Columbia University Opens a Course in Scenario Writing to Parallel Harvard's Instruction in the Drama '0; XCK upon a time." a3 the stories of our childhood began, and that time was not so long- ago. a new course was started at Harvard University. Its purpose to teach the technique of the drama. What the course has done Is a matter of common knowledge. From It have come such men as Edward Sheldon, who has given to the stage really sig nificant works like "The Nlrcer." "The Highroad." in which Mrs. Fiske starred; "The Song of Songs." an adaptation from Ludermann. and "The Boss," a political play of real valua Sheldon got his foun dation to work on from the course on drama, and It developed the natural worth of the man. "Common Clay," the sensation of this season In New York. In which Jane Cowl and John Mason are starring, was the Harvard prize play of last j car. Truly, this course has had a real luiluence on our stage. Now we find a movement of this same kind developing In the new offspring of drama, the photoplay. Columbia Uni versity has built up a course which par allels for the photoplay tho Harvard characteristic course, with Its purposes the same in relation to the screen art as Harvard to the stage. This matter came, to the attention of a hlslt official in one of our great photo play companies, with, the result that a most remarkable offer was made to the student body of Columbia. The Laskj- Company of the Paramount ricture Corporation made the following offer to Columbia: "That the student who. In the judgment of William C. DeMllle, has written the best original live-part scenario during the term will receive, all expenses paid, a trip from Xew York to the Lasky studios at Hollywood. Cal., and return. "If the winning photoplay Is sufficiently practical for production It will be pro duced by tho Lasky Company with one or moro stars and equitable compensation will be made to the author. "During the visit of the winning stu dent at the studio William C. DeMill will extend to him every opportunity for additional study In a practical environ ment." The result was a keener Interest In. and building up of. the course in photoplay technique. The Columbia course Is thus described In the university catalogue! "Photoplay writing, lectures and confer ences." The class meets on Thursday afternoon in the Journalism building, from 3:10 to :ZZ o'ctocJc Prof. Victor O. Freeman, who Is a doctor of philos ophy, has charge of the course, and lec tures at that hour. Also he meets th students Individually for discussions oj their work In what are called confer ences. The course lasts a half year, and It counts three hours toward u degree. In a circular the alms are expressed as follows: "This course aims to equip the student with a knowledge of the new dramatic possibilities as well as me chanical limitations of the photoplay: the specific demands of the producer: the tastes of the typical audience as con ditioned by time and place of perform ance, and the technique of scenario writ ing. Kach student Is expected to confer regularly with the instructor for criticism of scenarios. The course Includes a visit to a studio." It remains to be seen whether the screen art limitations of lack of words to ex press emotion Is capable of receiving a real uplift, such as the stage received from the Harvard course in the technique of the drama- At least, the matter la ona of Intense Interest to any who follows the screen work carefully, and tends to show the trend of tho time toward the artistio and truly worth-while things In photoplays. KoSiw- .)pJSifc
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