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Show I One-Act Play Best I Vehicle for Amateurs X Br MARGARET DURWARD, Colorado Agricul. tural College, Fort Collins, Colorado V X":X"X-x-x-:"X":"X"y,x-x-X":"X"X5 In amateur dramatics the interest is found in the freshness and originality which is often displayed, but in detail and finished technique amateurs are often of-ten weak. For that rea- son plays which contain long-sustained parts, or extreme emotion of any kind should be avoided and those plays which afford plenty of "characterization" "charac-terization" should be chosen instead. However, amateurs need not be afraid to try serious plays or even those which are strongly dramatic, if they are willing to undertake their work seriously and think out their parts with sincerity and care. A new dramatic form, one which has just come into prominence for amateurs, is the one-act play. Beginners can often do one scene well, bringing considerable enthusiasm and freshness into their work, when they cannot sustain a long part through several acts. There are other advantages in the one-act play. It gives an opportunity for more people to participate; it makes possible a program which is varied enough to please any audience; it takes less time to prepare and is less trouble to stage. This one-act play has found much favor with high-school and college clubs. One club in a Chicago suburb has given over forty short plays with much success. There is quite a long lisf of these one-act plays from which to choose, most of them having been written in recent years. Here are a few which may prove suggestive: "A Hero for a Husband.'" "The Neighbors" Zona Gale. "Augustus in Search of a Father" Harold Chapin. "The Rose With a Thorn" Pierrot Play. Seven Short Plays (any one) Lady Gregory. Comedies in Miniature Margaret Cameron. |