A great many original plays have been written and presented to large crowds. “The Prairie Wolf,” “Bridging the Chasm,” “Every Ship Will Find a Harbor,” “The New Country Woman,” “The Country Side,” not to mention dozens of others, are productions which have come out of the country people themselves. The place was crowded at the presentation of every one of these plays. Over eighty per cent of the audiences were country people, who had come to see dramas of their own creation, plays that had come out of the soil. “The Prairie Wolf” was written by a young man who was interested in horses and cattle. It pictured in a most vivid manner the financial troubles of a great many farmers. The central thought in “Bridging the Chasm” brought out the gap between city and country. A city girl and a country boy had fallen in love with each other. The city prejudice against country people made her hesitate before she said yes. “Every Ship Will Find a Harbor” was worked out by a country lad who was very fond of machinery and electricity. The action of the play took place in a country store, in the woods near the Langer farm, and in the sitting room of a farm home. The play told the story of a lazy country boy who decided to leave the farm and go west in search of adventure, and to study about machinery with the aid of a correspondence course. He didn’t like school. After being in the employ of a western power company for a few years, he returned home. His arm was broken. While at home he became interested in the community where he was born. In order to help his people enjoy life he showed them how to harness nature’s power, so that the drudgery of the farm might be done by machinery instead of man power. The crowd which witnessed this play was a very responsive one. “The New Country Woman,” written by a girl of French descent, brought out the leadership of woman in improving the social conditions in the country. There were ten characters in the play. The action took place in three scenes. The existing rural conditions in the state were splendidly portrayed in “The Country Side.” It was exceptionally well written, the thought and the English well nigh perfect.
Scene—“American Beauties”—A One-Act Play by A. Seaman
Whenever possible, the young people who are competent are broken in as directors on the original plays as well as on the others. This is done to give them the experience, so that they can help when called upon in their communities to assist. It also develops leadership. In other words, The Little Country Theater is not only a laboratory to try out different kinds of plays and entertainments for country folks, but also a place to train country-life workers.
One could go on indefinitely with hundreds of incidents which show the magnitude of the work of this particular country-life laboratory in the Northwest.
A BEE IN A DRONE’S HIVE
Just a few years past a young man from near Edmunds, North Dakota, came to see me. He said he wanted to try a hand at writing a play. When asked what was the most interesting thing in his life at that particular time, he told me about two people who had lived on the farm the greater share of their lives. One wanted to retire and the other to remain. I asked him how he stood on the subject and he said if he were to make a decision he would stay on the farm. “Good,” said I, “there’s the theme for your play, country life versus city life. Lay the scene of the first act in the city and have the farmer retired, showing that all the advantages of real life are not found in the city. Place the second act out in the country and demonstrate the social possibilities of life on the farm.”