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."
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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.
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