FAULTS EXHIBITED AT THE DRAMA FESTIVAL

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 190, 28 August 1937, Page 10

FAULTS EXHIBITED AT THE DRAMA FESTIVAL

Lust Saturday I suggested that the weakness • of the Drama League festival lay in the number of indiffercht and bad plays in comparison with those representing good entertainment, and. that, thougli a complete eliminati'on of the various faults was not possible, yet an attempt at a general improvem ent might be made. Let us, then, to use that most admirable of Americauisms, ' ' take a gander ' ' at the f aulLs which are most obvioua. These faults are, not unnaturally, intimately connected with the three most considerable problems the ama-teur-producing organisatioh has to face — narnely, adequate acting, sensible production and the selection of a suitablo play. To generalise} the acting throughout fche festival was weak. There were one or two really good pcrformances, a few indilEerent, while tho rest were dcfinitely bad, and two people, both old enough to know better, should have been on the other side of the fqotlights. But the really Isurprising thihg' in all this was to find that among the bad aetors there was hidden a very co'nhiderable amount of talent. ' A sudden vivid gesture or well-pointed line would raise ,«bur interest, only4 to have it blotted' out by the general fault— under-emphasis — and this resulted in a monotonous performance. How often does one' hear it said of an actor that "he is so natural on tho stage," the implieation being that he has only to walk on and Say his words in a natural way to appear quite adinirable? Believe^me, nothing could be further from the truth; the good "natural" actor know3 the art of exaggeration to the nth degree, and applies it, but he applies it so well that tho teehnique is hidden by his art. This is the reason wby the amateur is liablo to find "straighf" parts difficult, whilo strong ' 1 character ' ' paTts, in which he can introduce exaggeration.without disguising it, - he " finds comparatively simple. , « Made Tliem Monbtonooia. I believe that it waa a praiseworthy attempt to appear natural that made so many of the festival performaneee monotonous. To the actor or actress who is aiming- at naturalness oil the stage} let me suggest fhat at the next party they attend they should retire to a quiet corner and lisen to the dull, level movement of tl/e -gjeneral conversation — then try to imagine it, just as it is, without any plan of highlights or shade„ tranisported (to the stagei. I can assure them that it would be a good lesson. The production side, of the festival was quite good. Bsit it seems to be a general idea that prod.uction is grouping and movement and no more. Certainly a produeer with a flaiT for grouping can often, gefc away with most of minor ; faults>- and this happened. quite often in the festival. _ Particularly * I noticed the blurring of important action by speaking thrdugh it. ' But -this - is elementary teehnique that the * actor himself should undeHstand, and has no real place in the producer 's part" .cave, insofar as he should not have permitted it. • ♦' Production is essentially -tempo;. the rhythm and swing of the .whole piece. It is a unifying process giving .value to the highlights of the play by accentuating the necessary balance against the shade,. This wais the general fault with the festival producers— the plays started, continued and ended, but they had no purpose. The selection of plays was definitely good. I admit that I went.to fhe festival with a faint heart, remembering a deplorable epfsode of some years ago called "Karl Ludwig's Window." B«ut I Had no reason to fear; the standard was high, and the entertainment

value excellent.' That appears to me a fair generalisation of the faulto of the festival, and a cursory glance at what I.have said will show that all of them— or all for that matter— cpuld be eliminated if the performers and producers were instructed in the rudiments of * theatrical work. Drama League Instruction, And therein lies my solution. Though I have no conneetion wifH the Drama League,. and therefore cannot speak authoritatively^ I believe that sonio form of instruction is being undertaken by the league, but it must.be a great deal more thorough if' it is to be of any general use. > X would suggest something on theise lines as an objeet -for which to airn. First, that a eentral organisation be set up with tho objeet of instructing all people intercstod and supplying information about plays. To this organisation plays intended for production could bo submittod for approval, with notes on production by some exporienccd person. The organisation would also send out on request instructors in production and acting. The heavy cxtra expenses could be met by forming the league iuto a body with a eentral nuclous supported by various branches throughout the country, each functioning independently and maintaining itself by profits from the festivals. Eveiry performer ' at the festivals — and as many others as were interesfed — Lwould have to become u member of the eentral body and pay a nominal subseription towards its upkeep.. By "this means the inexperienccd player-i would receive instruction, while the- old hands would. derive indireet benefit from the improved standai-d of tho productions and the incrcased populurity oE tlie languo festivals. Eor all I know, something on these lines may have been "done by the league; if this is the case, I should be most intero.-ted, and prcbably others as Iwell, to know cxaetly wliat tho aims of tho Itugue avtv— Jeremy Colller, Jnr.