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Show Henry Miller's Dream for the Advancement of his Profession in the West. In an interview with Guisard of the San Francisco Fran-cisco Chronicle, Mr. Miller says in part: "Well, I dream of a theater for San Francisco in which shall be given from year's end to year's end the best of the drama, new and old; a theater with the best players, the best plays, the best settings; set-tings; a theater in which one shall know exactly the kind of thing one is going to get; in short, a theater of settled policy, and that of the noblest." "This is interesting," I said. "Is such a thing among the likelihoods?" remembering the ground newly broken at Market and Ninth for the Bouvier theater. "That is more than I can say," said the actor. "Possibly, yes. And why not? San Francisco is already very largely self-dependent in the matter of entertainment. You have many successful houses of known policy the Tivoli, Alcazar, Or-pheum, Or-pheum, for example, with their regular clienteles, and the higher class stock company is only one step further. You see it is this way. One must know what one is going to get. If I keep a restaurant res-taurant and give a good dinner only on Thursdays and Sundays, the Monday man is going to give my place a black eye, in spite of all the Thursday and Sunday fellows will say. He's not going to risk his sacred stomach to my uncertain mercies. Quite right, too. The same with the theaters." "Now, Mr. Miller, to put it definitely, is there any chance that you and this constellation of stars that are foregathering now with you here are going to lighten our darkness with such a company, com-pany, in such a theater?" "I think not," smiled the actor, "though the idea is fascinating (with the leatht, wee, thuthpithion of a lithp!) in the extreme. The work is simply colossal, col-ossal, and I doubt if I have the necessary courage to undertake it. Still, I always feel in San Francisco Fran-cisco like throwing mountains over my shoulder and other such gentle exercises. "You see," he went on, "such an institution would also accomondate the traveling star. There jte ample territory for the home company to exploit H while the visiting personage could be using tho B home boards, and one could say: 'Here, Mrs. Fiske, B Mr. Mansfield, here is a theater and audience B worthy of you; give us your best; we can enjoy B and appreciate it.' And every one from manager B to the box-officer should make the success of tho B place his personal care. The man who wanted a B ticket should have no pleasanter duty than choos- B ing his seat, with the courteous gentleman in tho B box-office to assist him. (In England his name is B very properly printed on the programme.) Thoso B things all count. When I go to the theater I want Q it to be a pleasure from the moment I buy my B ticket to the time I take a satisfied leave of tho B good play." B |