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
While still in its infancy, the work of The Little Country Theater
has already more than justified its existence. It has produced many
festivals, pageants, and plays and has been the source of inspiration to
scores of country communities. One group of young people from various
sections of the state, representing five different nationalities,
Scotch, Irish, English, Norwegian, and Swede, successfully staged “The
Fatal Message,” a one-act comedy by John Kendrick Bangs. Another cast
of characters from the country presented “Cherry Tree Farm,” an English
comedy, in a most acceptable manner. An illustration to demonstrate that
a home talent play is a dynamic force in helping people find themselves
was afforded in the production of “The Country Life Minstrels” by an
organization of young men coming entirely from the country districts.
The story reads like a fairy tale. The club decided to give a minstrel
show. At the first rehearsal nobody possessed any talent, except one
young man. He could clog. At the second rehearsal, a tenor and a mandolin
player were discovered. At the third, several other good voices were
found, a quartet and a twelve piece band were organized. When the show
was presented, twenty-eight different young men furnished a variety of
acts equal to a first class professional company. They all did something
and entered into the entertainment with a splendid spirit. “Leonarda,” a
play by Björnstjerne Björnson with Norwegian music between acts, made an
excellent impression.
[Illustration: A Farm Home Scene in Iceland Thirty Years Ago]
Perhaps the most interesting incident that has occurred in connection
with the work in this country life laboratory was the staging of a
tableau, “A Farm Home Scene in Iceland Thirty Years Ago,” by twenty
young men and women of Icelandic descent whose homes are in the country
districts of North Dakota. The tableau was very effective. The scene
represented an interior sitting room of an Icelandic home. The walls
were whitewashed. In the rear of the room was a fireplace. The old
grandfather was seated in an armchair near the fireplace reading a
story in the Icelandic language. About the room were several young
ladies dressed in Icelandic costumes busily engaged in spinning yarn and
knitting, a favorite pastime in their home. On a chair at the right was
a young man with a violin, playing selections by an Icelandic composer.
Through the small windows rays of light representing the midnight sun
and the northern lights were thrown. Every detail of their home life was
carried out, even to the serving of coffee with lumps of sugar. Just
before the curtain fell, twenty young people, all of Icelandic descent,
joined in singing the national Icelandic song, which has the same tune as
“America.” The effect of the tableau was tremendous. It served as a force
in portraying the life of one of the many nationalities represented in
the state.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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