The little country theaterArvold, Alfred G. (Alfred Gilmeiden)
General
The little country theater
Arvold, Alfred G. (Alfred Gilmeiden)
Little Country Theater (Fargo, N.D.); Little theater movement; Theater -- North Dakota -- Fargo
In order to render the best aid possible, the system gathers data and
information from reliable sources. Briefs upon subjects relating to
country life, copies of festivals, pageants, plays, readings, dialogues,
pictures of floats, parades, processions, exhibit arrangements,
costume designs, character portrayals, plans of stages, auditoriums,
open-air theaters, community buildings, constitutions of all kinds of
organizations, catalogues of book publishers—in short, every kind of
material necessary in building a program which will help people to
express themselves—are loaned for reading purposes to citizens of the
state. A few minutes’ talk with anybody interested in getting up programs
in small communities will soon show the dearth of material along these
lines.
In the years gone by, as well as in the present, the letters which come
to the desk daily have told many an interesting story.
An energetic teacher in a country school in the northern part of the
state sent for several copies of plays and play catalogues. None of
the plays sent suited her. She decided to give an original play, “The
Comedy.” When asked for a description of the staging of the original
production, she sent the following letter, which is indicative of what
people really can do in the country to find themselves.
“When I wrote to you about ‘The Comedy,’ I do not know what
idea I gave you of it; perhaps not a very true one; so I am
sending you a copy. The little song is one I learned from a
victrola record, so the music may not be correct, but with
a little originality, can be used. The little play has the
quality of making the people expect something extraordinary,
but when performed, the parts are funny, but still not funny
enough to produce a ‘roar.’ They are remembered and spoken of
long afterwards. Now around here we often hear parts spoken
of. I enjoyed training the young people, and they were quite
successful. I have found that every place I go people in the
country enjoy the school programs very much and speak of them
often. We wanted to take some pictures, but could not. The
weather was so cloudy before and afterward that we could not
take any, but may this Sunday afternoon. I wish I knew just
what to write about or just what you wish to know. I liked our
arrangements of lights. We only had lanterns. A dressing room
was curtained off and the rest of the space clear. We hung four
lanterns in a row, one below the other, and had one standing
on the floor at the side opposite from the dressing room, and
then one on the floor and one held by the man who pulled the
curtain on the other side. This gave splendid light. There was
no light near the audience except at the organ.
“Hoping you will enjoy reading ‘The Comedy’ as much as we did
playing and writing it, I am
“Yours sincerely,
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account