DRAMA Prologue-The Class Work PLACES! Lights! Curtain! The prologue of Weber's Dramatic Season begins. The scene in which our thirty would-be actors assemble at the sound of the first bell is a familiar one-room twelve. The director calls for action, and Margaret DeVine stands before the rest of the group and chants, "Menny-enny-ah h-h- h-h-h-h-" This, though perhaps unintelligible to the average person, wins the approval of Mrs. Wright, for it is an exercise which will develop in her pupils more charming; voices. There is strong realism in the work done by Roger Woods as he interprets the poem, "On the Jail Steps" (proving that an actor must know life before portraying it). One can sense, too, the heart throbs that Lovinia Francis feels as she pantomimes, "Among My Souvenirs." Our young players feel the usual urge to do Shakespeare; and we receive a real treat when Beverly Wood in the balcony scene says, "Romeo, doff thy name, and for thy name which, is no part of thee, take all myself," and Joe Littlefield ardently replies, "I take thee at thy word!" After weeks of consistent study of voice, pantomime, diction, and interpretations, the prologue fades, and we are ready for the play. Dramatic Art, in its real sense, should be a means to better speech, lovelier voices, greater imagination more culture and charm; and to a deeper appreciation of literature, people, conditions, and countries foreign to the environment of the student. In truth, it should influence his vocation, or avocation, through his ability to see and understand, and to give himself to such an extent that he becomes a person of personality, and that, a charming gracious one. His life should be fuller and better, and more sincere to the extent that his appreciation and interpretation are real and true. ACT ONE-ONE ACT PLAYS The four scenes of our first act shift from the lightness of romance and flowers to the dregs and drugs of the tenement. But there is an intervening study of our relations with God and with each other. Verla Green is engaged to Floyd Farr. Drab, yet hopeful, she has waited fifteen years for the wedding bells. Ella Winkler, of Mr. Slovsky's Florist Shop, sends her orchids, and her fiance thinks they are from another angle of the triangle. Every man fights to retain that which someone else wants-needless to say Slovsky's furnish the flowers for Verla's wedding. Henrietta and Stephen Brewster (Lila Peters and Jack Moore) are happily married until Lila's theories of psychoanalysis threaten to sink the ship. The explosion comes when Sister Mabel (Ellen Fairweather) twists these ideas and discovers her own suppressed desire for Stephen. Once more jealousy, that most useful of all human attributes when an author needs a climax, comes to the top, and all is adjusted. Cecil Gealta, as Mr. Strickland, is moved by greed and avarice. He declares that "not even the Finger of God" can stop him from absconding with the life savings of investors of his DRAMA firm. The Finger of God does intervene in the form of a girl (Evelyn Jackson) who places absolute trust in his honesty. He tells Benson (George Williams), "I'm going to make good! I'm an honest man!" Nance and Jim (Donna Manning and Bill Wright) face life hopelessly. Jim is moved only by the desire for revenge against the the judge who "sent him up:" Nance by her love for Jim. "Two seeds planted in the mud." God does not intervene. Life is drunk to the dregs. Romance, pseudopsychology, determination to live, and death in life-our first act like a spectroscope has broken life into its component colors. ACT Two-"LAFF THAT OFF" The first scene reveals ten anxious young men and women, applying fine pencillings of make-up, repeating lines, tensely awaiting that great thrill which comes as the curtains part and the dazzling footlights rise between them and the hushed darkness beyond. It is February 9th. Weber is presenting her student actors in "Laff That Off." As another curtain rises we see three "jolly bachelors," Fred Taylor, Bill Wright, and Len Harbertson, who are sufficient unto themselves until Peggy Bryant (Carol Adams) drops in. War bugles cause Fred and Len to express their love. Only Bill, whom Carol adores, maintains a discreet silence. In the end the heroine actually wins the hero, Len is rewarded with a Pygmalionized Mop-up-us (Margaret Schmalz), and Fred comes out with a photograph and a letter announcing the arrival of a "third." Everybody is rewarded. Lee Cain, the landlady's lesser half, gets a drink, Donna Manning and Norman Bingham as a comedy pair get a hand, Bertha Agren gets an opportunity to exercise her Irish tongue, and Floyd Farr gets a chance to be in a show. ACT THREE-"TAKE MY ADVICE" SCENE: AUDITORIUM TIME: MAY EIGHTH Bradley Clement, a lovable young professor, (Floyd again) says, "Now if you'll take my advice-" The Weavers (Emery, Cecil, Mildred and Lucile) do, and there- on turns the play. Seventeen-year-old Bud is convinced that college will be a better choice for him than marriage with his "divine inspiration" Mare11a Scotte, "the fastest, fiercest vamp in town." (Would you believe it of Dorothy?) Mr. Weaver's tendency to "sign on the dotted line" whenever he encounters a salesman, is overcome when he applies Professor Clement's psychology to Jimmy Thayer (introducing Jack). And charming Ann's ambitions for a stage career under the direction of the effeminate Kerry Van Kind (Bill makes his bow, "ye-es") are abandoned. After successfully slaying all of the family's dragons, the young hero is rewarded with the hand of the king's daughter. EPILOGUE Who are these arrayed before us on the stage for the final scene? Can they be the same thir y? Yes, but to each players has come a broader understanding and fuller enjoyment of life which remains with him as the director, Mrs. Wright, once more calls "Curtain!" After devoting a long lifetime to study, teaching, and artistry, I am convinced that the normal order of development in one's training may be labelled nature first, then nature made effective, then nature made effective shown through art. In art work, the student and his imagination must never let go hands. To share our visions with another, or better still, with all mankind, should be a joy, a blessing, and a power.