Part 17

When, as the critic watches the play, some idea comes to him for his report he should jot it down. As the play progresses he should develop this idea and watch for details that carry it out. There is no reason to be ashamed of taking notes in the theater and the notes will prove very useful at the office afterward. Perhaps after the play is over the critic finds that his jottings contain another idea that is of greater importance than the first; then he may incorporate the second into the first or discard the first altogether. Even after one has crystallized his judgment into a concise opinion he must elaborate and illustrate it and the program of the play is always of value in enabling one to refer definitely to the individual actors, characters, and other persons, by name. But, however complete the final judgment and the notes may be, it is always well to write the report immediately. When one leaves the theater his mind is teeming with things to say about the play, thousands of them, but after a night's sleep it is doubtful if a single full-grown idea will remain and the jottings will be absolutely lifeless and unsuggestive.

This is the positive instruction that may be given to young dramatic critics. It is so important and is unknown to so many young theatrical reporters, that it may be well to sum it up again. A dramatic criticism must be coherent; it must be unified. It must be the embodiment of a single idea about the play and every detail in the report must be attached to that idea. It is not sufficient to state the idea in a clever way; it must be expanded and elaborated with examples and reasons and must show careful thought. It is well to outline the report before it is written and to arrange a logical sequence of thought so that the result may be well-rounded and coherent.

The following is an example of a dramatic criticism in which this course is followed. It neither praises nor condemns but it points out gently wherein the play is strong or weak--and every sentence is attached to one central idea:

| A POLITE LITTLE PLAY. | | | | Never raise your voice, my dear Gerald. | |That is the only thing left to | |distinguish us from the lower classes. | |_Lord Wynlea in "The Best People"._ |

| The new comedy at the Lyric Theatre is | |written in accordance with Lord Wynlea's | |dictum quoted above. It is mannerly, well | |poised, ingratiating and deft. As a minor | |effort in the high comedy style it is | |welcome, because it affords a respite | |from the "plays with a punch" and the | |prevalent boisterous specimens of the | |work of yeomen who go at the art of | |dramatic writing with main strength. | | | | "The Best People" is by Frederick | |Lonsdale and Frank Curzen, who manifestly | |know some of them. It was done at | |Wyndham's Theatre in London, and we think | |that in a comfortable English playhouse, | |with tea between acts and leisurely | |persons with whom to visit in the foyer, | |it would make an agreeable matinee. | |Certainly it is admirably acted here, and,| |as has been intimated, its quiet drollery | |and its polite maneuvering make it a | |relief. | | | | Whether American audiences, used to | |stronger fare than tea at the theatre, | |will find it sustaining is a question that| |would seem to be answered by the | |announcement, just received from the | |Lyric, that the engagement closes next | |Saturday evening. | | | | The fable relates how the Honorable Mrs.| |Bayle discovered that her husband and Lady| |Ensworth had been flirting with peril | |during her absence in Egypt, how she | |blithely threw them much together, with | |the result that they grew intensely weary | |of each other, and how at last everybody | |concerned was happily and sensibly | |reconciled. | | | | The spirit of the piece is sane and | |"nice," the decoration of it whimsical and| |graceful. | | | | Miss Lucille Watson, embodying the | |spirit of witty mischief, gives a very | |fine performance of the part of Mrs. | |Bayle, a "smart," good woman, and Miss | |Ruth Shepley is excellent in byplay and | |flutter as a silly, good woman. | | | | Cyril Scott is graceful and vigorous as | |a philandering husband, Dallas Anderson | |comical as a London clubman with a keener | |relish in life than he is willing to | |betray, and William McVey wise, paternal | |and weighty in that kind of a part. | | | | "The Best People" is a pleasant spring | |fillip. |

The first admonition in theatrical reporting is "Don't resumé the plot or tell the story of the play." This is almost all that many dramatic reporters try to do, because it is the easiest thing to do and requires the least thought. But, after all, it is usually valueless. The story of the play does not interest readers who have already seen the play and it spoils the enjoyment of the play for those who intend to see it. The usual purpose of any theatrical report is to criticize, but a report that simply resumés the story of the play is not a criticism; hence space devoted to the story is usually wasted. To be sure, this admonition must be qualified. If the development of the critic's judgment of the play requires a resumé of the story, there is then a reason for outlining the action. However, even then, the outline should be very brief.

The following is a typical example of the usual dramatic reporting which is satisfied when it has told the story of the play. In this, the first two sentences are a very bald attempt to repay the manager for his tickets. The resumé of the story, given very obviously to fill space, is not of any critical value. The only real criticism is at the end and is inadequate because the praise is given without reason.

| Grace George and her small but | |excellent company of artists added one | |more to their long list of successful | |performances last night in the production | |of Geraldine Bonner's clever comedy of | |modern life, "Sauce for the Goose," at | |the ---- Theatre. That the moody and | |sparkling Miss George has a good claim to | |the title of America's leading | |comedienne, no one who saw the | |performance last evening could deny. In | |this piece she is cast for the part of | |Kitty Constable, who is in the third year | |of her married life and living with her | |husband in New York City. Mr. Constable | |has been engaged in writing a book on the | |emancipation of woman and as a result has | |come to neglect his pretty little wife | |and seek the companionship of a certain | |woman of great intellect, Mrs. Alloway, | |who leads him on by an affected sympathy | |with his work. He chides his wife for her | |seeming negligence of the culture of her | |mind, telling her that she lacks grey | |matter. The climax comes when Mr. | |Constable tries to get away from his wife | |on the evening of their wedding | |anniversary to dine with Mrs. Alloway. | |Kitty tries the emancipated woman idea | |and goes to the opera with another man | |and has dinner with him in his | |apartments. She lets her husband know of | |her plans and he comes to the room in a | |rage. By thus playing first on his | |jealousy and then by ridiculing his | |ideas, she wins him back to herself. The | |company was made up of artists and there | |was not a crude spot in the whole | |performance. The part of Harry Travers, | |the friend of Mrs. Constable's, was | |excellently done by Frederick Perry, as | |was that of Mr. Constable by Herbert | |Percy. Probably the most difficult | |character in the play to portray was that | |of the "woman's rights" woman, Mrs. | |Alloway, which was most admirably done by | |Edith Wakeman. |

The word criticism must not lead the reporter to think that, as a critic, his only function is to find fault. To criticize may mean to praise as well as to condemn. If the critic is not restricted by the policy of his paper, he should be as willing to praise as to condemn, and vice versa. But whichever course he takes he must be ready to defend his criticism and to tell why he praises or why he condemns. There is always a tendency to praise a play in return for the free tickets; this should be put aside absolutely. The critic owes something to the public as well as to the manager. If the play seems to him to be bad, he must say so without hesitation and he must tell why it is bad. Too many really bad plays are immensely advertised by a critic's undefended statement that they are not fit to be seen. Had the critic given definite reasons for his condemnation, his criticism might have accomplished its purpose. In the same way it is useless to say simply that a play is good. Its good points must be enumerated and the reader must be told why it is good.

However, criticism must be written with delicacy. If your heart tells you to praise, praise; if your heart tells you to condemn, condemn with care. Remember that your condemnation may put the play off the boards or at least hurt its success, and there must be sufficient reason for such radical action. The critic's debt to the public is large, but he owes some consideration to the manager. He must hesitate before he says anything that may ruin the manager's business. Critics very often condemn a play for trivial reasons; they feel indisposed, perhaps because their dinner has not agreed with them, the play does not fit into their mood and they turn in a half column of ruinous condemnation. Perhaps they like a certain kind of production--farces, for instance--and systematically vent their ire on every tragedy and every musical comedy. They do not use perspective; they do not judge the stage as a whole. No matter how poor a play is or how much a critic dislikes it, he must consider what the stage people are trying to do and judge accordingly. In many cases it is not the individual play that deserves adverse criticism, but the kind of play. All of these things must be considered; every dramatic critic must have perspective. He must be fair to the stage people and to the public; his influence is greater than he may imagine.

No matter how strong the occasion for condemnation may be, the dramatic critic is never justified in speaking bitterly. The poor production is not a personal offense against him nor against the public. It is simply a bad or an unworthy attempt and his duty is confined to pointing how or why it is not worthy. That does not mean that he is justified in using bitter, abusive, or even sarcastic language. It is great sport to make fun of things and to exercise one's wits at some one's else expense--it is also easy--but that is not dramatic criticism. The public asks the critic to tell them calmly and fairly, even coldly, the reasons for or against a production--the reasons why they should, or should not, spend their money to see it--bitter sarcasm overreaches the mark. Just as soon as a critic tries to be personal in his remarks on a play he is exceeding his prerogative and is open to serious criticism himself.

The necessary attributes of a dramatic reporter, as we have seen, are: fairness, logical thinking, and a background of stage knowledge. And of these three, the background is of the greatest importance; it is the stimulus and the check for the other two. The more a critic can know about every phase of the theatrical profession, contemporary or historical, the better will be his criticisms. The more knowledge of the stage that his copy shows, the more greedily will his readers look for his "Theatrical News" each day. However clear his idea of a play may be he cannot express it clearly and readably without a background of other plays to refer to. And, by the same sign, a wealth of allusions and a quantity of theatrical lore will often carry a critic past many a play concerning which he is unable to form a clear opinion. To develop your ability as a dramatic reporter, watch the theatrical criticisms in reputable dailies and weeklies and learn from them.

XVII

STYLE BOOK

_Being a copy of the Style Book compiled for the Course in Journalism of the University of Wisconsin from the style books of many newspapers._

=1. Capitalize:=

All proper nouns: Smith, Madison, Wisconsin.

Months and days of the week, but not the seasons of the year: April, Monday; but autumn.

The first word of every quotation, enumerated list, etc., following a colon.

The principal words in the titles of books, plays, lectures, pictures, toasts, etc., including the initial "a" or "the": "The Merchant of Venice," "Fratres in Urbe." If a preposition is attached to or compounded with the verb capitalize the preposition also: "Voting _For_ the Right Man."

The names of national political bodies: House, Senate, Congress, the Fifty-first Congress.

The names of national officers, national departments, etc.: President, Vice President, Navy Department, Department of Justice (but not bureau of labor), White House, Supreme Court (and all courts), the Union, Stars and Stripes, Old Glory, Union Jack, United States army, Declaration of Independence, the (U. S.) Constitution, United Kingdom, Dominion of Canada.

All titles preceding a proper noun: President Taft, Governor-elect Wilson, ex-President Roosevelt, Policeman O'Connor.

The entire names of associations, societies, leagues, clubs, companies, roads, lines, and incorporated bodies generally: Mason, Odd Fellow, Knights Templar, Grand Lodge of Knights of Pythias, Woman's Christian Temperance Union, Wisconsin University, First National Bank, Schlitz Brewing Company (but the Schlitz brewery), Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, Chicago and Northwestern Railway Company, the Association of Passenger and Ticket Agents of the Northwest, Clover Leaf Line, Rock Island Road, Chicago Board of Trade, New York Stock Exchange (but the board of trade and the stock exchange).

The names of all religious denominations, etc.: Catholic, Protestant, Mormon, Spiritualist, Christian Science, First Methodist Church (but a Methodist church), the Bible, the Koran, Christian, Vatican, Quirinal, Satan, the pronouns of the Deity.

The names of all political parties (both domestic and foreign): Republican, Socialism, Socialist, Democracy, Populist, Free Silverite, Labor party, (but anarchist).

Sections of the country: the North, the East, South America; southern Europe.

Nicknames of states and cities: The Buckeye State, the Hub, the Windy City.

The names of sections of a city and branches of a river, etc.: the East Side, the North Branch.

The names of stocks in the money market: Superior Copper, Fourth Avenue Elevated.

The names of French streets and places: Rue de la Paix, Place de la Concorde.

Names of automobiles: Peerless, the White Steamer, Pierce Arrow.

Names of holidays: Fourth of July, Christmas, New Year's day, Thanksgiving day.

Names of military organizations: First Wisconsin Volunteers, Twenty-third Wisconsin Regiment, Second Army Corps, second division Sixth Army Corps, National Guard, Ohio State Militia, First Regiment armory, the militia, Grand Army of the Republic.

The names of all races and nationalities (except negro): American, French, Spanish, Chinaman.

The nicknames of baseball clubs: the White Sox, the Cubs.

Miscellaneous: la France, Irish potatoes, Enfield rifle, American Beauty roses.

=2. Capitalize when following a proper noun:= Bay, block, building, canal, cape, cemetery, church, city, college, county, court (judicial), creek, dam, empire, falls, gulf, hall, high school, hospital, hotel, house, island, isthmus, kindergarten, lake, mountain, ocean, orchestra, park, pass, peak, peninsula, point, range, republic, river, square, school, state, strait, shoal, sea, slip, theatre, university, valley, etc.: South Hall, Park Hotel, Hayes Block, Singer Building, Dewey School, South Division High School, Superior Court, New York Theatre, Beloit College, Wisconsin University, Capitol Square.

=3. Do not capitalize when following a proper name:= Addition, avenue, boulevard, court (a short street), depot, elevator, mine, place, station, stockyards, street, subdivision, ward, etc.: Northwestern depot, Pinckney street station, Third ward, Harmony court, Amsterdam avenue, Broad street, Wingra addition, Washington boulevard, Winchester place.

=4. Capitalize when preceding a proper noun:=--All titles denoting rank, occupation, relation, etc. (do not capitalize them when they follow the noun): alderman, ambassador, archbishop, bishop, brother, captain, cardinal, conductor, congressman, consul, commissioner, councilman, count, countess, czar, doctor, duke, duchess, earl, emperor, empress, engineer, father, fireman, governor, her majesty, his honor, his royal highness, judge, mayor, motorman, minister, officer, patrolman, policeman, pope, prince, princess, professor, queen, representative, right reverend, senator, sheriff, state's attorney, sultan: Alderman John Smith (but John Smith, alderman), Senator La Follette (but Mr. La Follette, senator from Wisconsin).

The same rule applies when the following words precede a proper noun as part of a name: bay, cape, city, college, county, empire, falls, gulf, island, point, sea, state, university, etc.: City of New York, Gulf of Mexico, University of Wisconsin, College of the City of New York, College of Physicians and Surgeons.

=5. Do not capitalize:=

The names of state bodies, etc.: the senate, house, congress, speaker, capitol, executive mansion, revised statutes. (These are capitalized only when they refer to the national government: e. g., the capitol at Madison, the Capitol at Washington.)

The names of city boards, departments, buildings, etc.: boards, bureaus, commissions, committees, titles of ordinance, acts, bills, postoffice, courthouse (unless preceded by proper noun), city hall, almshouse, poorhouse, house of correction, county hospital, the council, city council, district, precinct: e. g., the fire department, the tax committee.

Certain other governmental terms: federal, national, and state government, armory, navy, army, signal service, custom-house.

Points of the compass: east, west, north, south, northeast, etc.

The names of foreign bodies: mansion-house, parliament, reichstag, landtag, duma.

Common religious terms: the word of God, holy writ, scriptures, the gospel, heaven, sacred writings, heathen, christendom, christianize, papacy, papal see, atheist, high church, church and state, etc.

The court, witness, speaker of the chair, in dialogues.

Scientific names of plants, animals, and birds: formica rufa.

a. m., p. m., and m. (meaning a thousand); "ex-" preceding a title.

The names of college classes: freshman, sophomore.

College degrees when spelled out: bachelor of arts; but B. A.

Seasons of the year: spring, autumn, etc.

Officers in local organizations (election of officers); president, secretary, etc.

Certain common nouns formed from proper nouns: street arab, prussic acid, prussian blue, paris green, china cup, india rubber, cashmere shawl, half russia, morocco leather, epsom salts, japanned ware, plaster of paris, brussels and wilton carpets, valenciennes and chantilly lace, vandyke collar, valentine, philippic, socratic, herculean, guillotine, derby hat, gatling gun.

=6. Punctuation:=

Omit periods after nicknames: Tom, Sam, etc.

Always use a period between dollars and cents and after per cent., but never after c, s, and d, when they represent cents, shillings, and pence: $1.23, 10 per cent., 2s 6d.

Punctuate the votes in balloting thus: Yeas, 2; nays, 3.

Punctuate lists of names with the cities or states to which the individuals belong thus: Messrs. Smith of Illinois, Samson of West Virginia, etc. If the list contains more than three names, omit the "of" and punctuate thus: Smith, Illinois; Samson, West Virginia; etc. Where a number of names occurs with the office which they hold, use commas and semicolons, thus: J. S. Hall, governor; Henry Overstoltz, mayor; etc.

Never use a colon after viz., to wit, namely, e. g., etc., except when they end a paragraph. Use a colon, dash, or semicolon before them and commas after them, thus: This is the man; to wit, the victim.

"Such as" should follow a comma and have no point after it: "He saw many things, such as men, horses, etc."

Set lists of names thus without points:

Mesdames-- George V. King Charles C. Knapp Henry A. Lloyd John H. Cole Jr.

Do not use a comma between a man's name and the title "Jr." or "Sr." as John Jones Jr.

Use the apostrophe to mark elision: I've, 'tis, don't, can't, won't, canst, couldst, dreamt, don'ts, won'ts, '80s.

Use the apostrophe in possessives and use it in the proper place: the boy's clothes, boys' clothes, Burns' poems, Fox's Martyrs, Agassiz's works, ours, yours, theirs, hers, its (but "it's" for it is). George and John's father was a good man; Jack's and Samuel's fathers were not.

Do not use the apostrophe when making a plural of figures, etc.: all the 3s, the Three Rs.

Do not use the apostrophe in Frisco, phone, varsity, bus.

Use an em dash after a man's name when placed at the beginning in reports of interviews, speeches, dialogues, etc.: John Jones--I have nothing to say. (No quotation marks.)