S MfAYV, APRIL 26, 1929
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
THE MIaCHIG aN DA \i~ ILY
PAGE T1IIRT1ERN
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ThTeteI emnBeing A Treatment Written By F
ICampbell On The Presen
I
' y Prof, Oscar Jamues Campbell
(Editor's Note: This is the first ofj
.a series of six articles 'by members
of the faculty on. the adaptations and
reactions of the various continentalj
countries to the present progressive
tendencies in the theatre.)
m *
The American drama has come of
age. The career of Eugene O'Neil'sl
plays abroad is clear proof of this.
"The Emperor Jones' was presented
last year 'in both Paris and Berlin.
"The I.-airy Ape" was received withj
enthusiasm in Germany. The suc-
cess of "Anna Christie" in America
was repeated in D~ondon, Paris, and
Berlin; and I have just heard that,
three companies have been playing:
this drama in Russia during the
present season.
Never before has the work of any
i I
American playwright spoken with a
voice of power so far-flung. Like all
great art, his work has transcended
the world from which it came and
the medium in which it took form.
Although Eugene O'Neil. is clearly
our greatest 'dramatist, hie is by no
mfeans an isolated figure. As Mr.
,Alexander Woolcot says, "The pro-
" d uction of every play is the melting
''place of many roads of destiny."
The presentation of a drama is a
great co-operative enterprise in
which playwright, producer, scenic
artist', actor and audience each con-
tributes an important elemenrt.TIni
I - A r e cacompose Aeia In "Sun-Up" ''is procedure by Zola, is that man is ut,-I ..,.e.
® , i p s n .a hea~n~ic ,c c a ( f aterly the creature of natural forces
t ~m er cwomnan of the rew ot uiouint a ins 0 over which hie has no control. P n-
fTennessee. In "7 h y 1K"new Wht viioiiflt becomeCs destiny and the}
~ro. 0'They Wanted." the cssenifial spirit of essence of the play. It forms a kind
rof.0. J i n Itlia frnt ;,owe in outern' of sea o misery upon whiell char-
California is pressnt ed w~'ith syn- j ilter's appearike chance bulbles, to
jN.patby and insight. burst. and disappear. :
Am e i a o ag In Eugene O'Nii's "Desire Uinder ,ugene O'eil has written in "Be- m rc nIaeltehIs
th Ems, the bleak tragedy of a yofld the horzon" remorseless nat-
family on a to ) , unyielding New uzralistic tragedy in terms of Ame-
only upon giving fine play s their best F ngland farm is revealed with all the can life. Robert and Andrew Mayo ;4
p o unio n ho f E u tyPartis tst r o r a n p t o tfo u n d e dt st b o h o n n fo rm e N e n g a n a la o r u i o o a t st f u d e f r r . oaa en dep a s o n a ne p th fa rm a re d e s tro y e d b y a h o stile e n -
purposes like that of a Guild of the of these plavs with the picture,, of vironment. Robert, the poetic lad!'
MideAe. TeTeteGidAugustus Thomas and you realize who should have sailed . TeTeteGl( "beyond the
above all has become a vast imper-I how comnpletely the mere sens;e of the horizon'' is trapp~ed by his irrational ,
sonal enterprise for producing great Anieiicaii scene has been transmuted love for a. country girl, and ound to j'
ply.into life tragically conceived. The the hostile soil, His life bemies,
playa. same sense of differenc e can be felt then an utterly forlorn decay.
Simlary, rous lke hatof hein comedy from a comparison of the Andrew, who should have stayed
Cleelad Payous, funed n ii-theatric clap-trail of "Abe's Irish on the farm, sails to far places andI
i tation of. the Moscow Art Theatre, Rose" with the Tenet'tnsaie
are being formed throughout the' hon n ht. l o--Of.atisj made a futile gambler and rest-,
country. Reerhowynina"The Show-Offt."less ne'er-do~'el This is natural-1
oY Miss Bonste/la's are beginning t ~ sm given anr American form, because idrxldlza ,4zs E'Tz
prosperous careers in many of our.' The grat fecundating- ilfiflcs here, as no where else in the world, j .V B r c1:Co ds =Y* v o< mo
imporance of uo nxeean drama have also found
larger cities. The iprtneoe-f ' n i mria ~avs I-ito cosnfl it othuierltaoer-At aPte Winey Theatre, Sahmr ,y , y
these organizations cannot be oe-epeso nAeia ~~.I-it ofitwt u nvra agr
estimated. They have put the play at sen's dramatic spirit inspred William ness for change and mfovement In only that reality which more and streams of powr' and beaty. Yet
the center of dramatic activity in Vaughan Iloody's "The Great Di- I old New England, too, there was, more tyrannous fear and deepening we have cased t:, Ib" (depedent and
JAmerica. Until this had been done. Vide." Like most of the Noiwegians often a conflict between the two horror can create. Fantasy has be- merely imitative. MIay' of our
drm ol nthv eahdisma raetplays, it deicts a. struggle loyalties, the one to the sea, the other cane the only truth. ~draatits see beneath . the pictur-
jit.which takes mlace in the mind of one to the land. *** esque surface of our diverse life and
* -* Even Expressionism, that newestI This is of necessity but the griefest present its meaning with relentless
Tefrt *America. Arizona and Massachusetts of the dramatic movements, has made sort of review of contemporary, yet sympathetic insight. In other
tamn any real distinction were thoseda's frtecnoloRu i.m- its Ppearance among- us. Its objectI American drama. It has served to words, we are taing an imorant
Iwhich made an honest attempt to deal fids itself fat. war F ith her ernoion5 i 1witoinptemnl n enthedaa talcarse curelywhatin thes re a flowdaingprio of amticheao'ngete
with the American scene. Some o ihnemn f one hentraltrugrglecfoely in th andat ,fecundaing, totep intoamaticbraintand
the first of these were Bronson How-wih sae.g;efrsoeadbet-ace.l' tpit i ri n
- space. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~behold the world1 through his senses 1111111111titIlilltll~lllll11Diltult6l1~3111ltttl
ard's ""Saratoga", Augustus Thomas' Aioa nte )i(. oerbs "I Mrino Jns i uh ly
"Alaba",v nCyM itconr 3a s!and" n dcconquers, but only after -a (des- A s soon as the negro porter beg ins
zon"Ee ld ic o alhs;erate st aggle. This is a successful 10feearss
Ic)fle acossthe tangled forests of
koldeothwelmdplyd-transposition into anm American mode. sIIvpne o i fet agl nhs hisemi-tropical island to fancied Iknwegofte el-aepyd-W e Ue
viipeneflois ets aglyo.i similarly naturalism has been su- safety ait the other side, we enter his j
The sense of life in New England drma The essential feature o e tugewt
has given us "The Old Homestead", tri~*do tugewt primitive fear. The ...t-~1
Youtotrya Barecue-
"Shre Acres",an more rcnltinain aeauoa aesthetiie sceneOs, the stage settings all have 'LI-
IOwen. Davis' "Icebound." This im -______________________________________
pulse extended to the middle-west f _______________________________ -Sndlwich because it is s
has produced "Lightnin' ", "The First Mdec-idedlyh7 different- f4r .-im
Year", "Miss Lulu Bett", "Minick" I1~.~.1 tGl
and "The Goose Hangs High." The: -
auhr fteepasseem tohaves ordinary
'been entertained by the life they] Rea1lstate and, Insurance o dnay
know, but never shaken by it. These !
dramas therefore, appeal largely to ~~1
our sense of amused recognition. i - "'NUV
Their construction . is conventional I _Te
and the feelings evoked time-worn.
On a higher plane this same sense -
of local-color has given us plays inj I LLI TS and CU SH I NG 440 South State Phone 2948-W
which pictiresquepess is but inci-
dental to a presentation of the (deeper 31Iot tt
currents of life which course through31SotSae
the 'utterly diverse characters who________ _______________ Read ThIde Daily 'Clasified;' Columns
each one of these fields, the develop-
ment during the last twenty years
has been immense.
At the beginning of this century in
America the theatre was not regarded
as the home of one of the great arts.
It was simply a place of amusement,
probably of 'a questionable sort. The
-stage created a little self-contained
world of its own. The proper re-
garded it with wistful sentimental-
ity; the improper as a possibility for
-naughty intrigue. To all, the most
-interesting thing about it was the
stage-door. Scenery, , crudely realis-
t~tic stuff, was daubed by the yard.
-'Plays were vehicles for stars. The
best were those who gave this un-
disputed center of the stage for. the
,,greatest part of the evening. Natur-
Sally, dramas thus contrived were
never printed and never read.
S Now the entire situation has
~.changed. Drama is receiving more
and more social sanction, and more,
and more wide-spread recognition as
San art. Responsibility for it progress
Sis widely felt. Universities are gv
giv ing students an opportunity to 'do-
~'velop intelligent taste. In almost
every .town one or more organized
i;groups are reading and discussing
'~dramas. The play and not the green-
-room has become the thing.
S The advance in all of. the arts of
-production has also been great. On
-one hand, we; have reached in the
work of such persons as Belasco the
Dvery summit of realistic finesse i
Ssehoo l "has given us such triumphs t
Sof actuality as the incessant tropical
downpour contrived by John D. Wil-
Hams in "Rain."
VOn the other hand, we have in men
like Arthur Hopkins, Robert Ed-
Smond Jones and Norman-Bel Geddes
able exponents of the movement in
staging hwhich tends directly away
from photographic realism. This
4 movement, often called stylization, is
,,symbolical and atmospheric in inten-
Stion. In devising his sets the scenic
Sartist looks not at nature but into
Sthe play of the dramatist. The stag-,
. ing seeks in every way to carry the,
i
Prof. OJscar ,J. Campbell
Who has written the first of a series
of six articles on m~odern drama be-
ing prepared for The Daily by mem-
bers of the University faculty. Pro-
fessor Campbell's article appears on
this page.
spectator to the emotional heart of
the drama. To take an extreme case.
Jones devised for "Macbeth" distorted
suggestions of wall, doorway andl
throne to indicate the dread of im-
pending tragedy. The witches were l
disclosed by the light of gloomy emn- l
bers, above and enclosing which rose I
a tall, tapering white pillar to sug -
gest the king's dependence on fata-
listic guidance.
The star system as such is being
broken down in favor of various
group-theatres. Tihe Provincetown
Players form a closely knit group of l
creative and critical minds intent up-
on exploiting no particular actor, but
U________M___
In the 'Spring --
This is the time of the year when canoeing and outdoor
pleasures are the vogue. We would like to offer you our
suggestions to things that will make these exercises even
mor'e enjoyable. There is nothing that adds. more to tihe
pleasure of a canoe ride than the soft strumming tune of a
ukelele. And besides they are cheap!
WE INVITE YOU to come in today and see the
extensive showing of novelties that we are carrying, which
we feel sure wvill aid you in enjoying these warm Spring
days.
A Few ,Suggestions--Peter Pan Grarnaphone and
Ukelele Ike Records, Banjo-Uikes, Big Kazoo.
U
U
m
U
IN
m
(Baritonle)
Some of the World 's
Noted Artists with
*TiEEEUUAyE
ma s~aaa,., m mu**ui~c
m
(Contralto)
I N
CONN MUSIC SHO'P
14 NICKELs ARCADE
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,me
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11
jus ersey" L
Helps your children to grow-besides being a good all-around food.
"Just Jersey" milk has something special in it that makes children grow.
This something is found in some other foods, but not in such large amounts
as in "Just Jersey" milk. Give your boys and girls "Just Jersey" milk for
their chance to grow.
The Oak lands.
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U
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I' RAiN ES FEB ALTA
(Soprano)
e
s
HILL AUDITORIUM
SConcerts A
Days 4
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E
s
U
U
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OJSSIP GIABRLOWITSCII
1
HENRI SCOT'r
(Bass)
0
MARIO CIHAMLEE
(Tenor)
U.
COURSE TICKETS
On Sale up to May 11Ith
$5, $5.50, $6, $7
If festival coupon from Choral Union
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