CHAPTER X

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.

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