Drama League of America,
Chicago, Ill.
In the last three years the American people as a whole have begun to awaken to a realization of the vast importance of our amusements in the nation's life. We are realizing that we are far behind the other civilized countries in the development of our dramatic taste, and we are beginning to be uneasy over the danger of being too careless in regard to our recreation. The people at large are commencing to take a genuine interest in the problems presented by our theater, and the character of the plays they give.
We have arrived at a period of prosperity when we have time, at last, to pay attention to the arts, and especially the last to be developed, the dramatic art. We are uneasy over the conditions in our theaters today.
Vaguely the people as a whole are feeling around for one means or another to correct these conditions, to create a great national art and to restore drama to her proper place among the arts. One movement after another has aimed to meet these conditions—new theaters—municipal theaters, censorship laws,—every sort of reform. It has remained for the Drama League of America to place its finger upon the really vital issue. For the actual fault of the present situation lies with the easy going American public. You cannot create a New Theater without a public to support it; you cannot force art on an unwilling public no matter how large an A you use in spelling it. In fact, your reforms must begin the other side of the footlights; and if we are to have better plays upon our stage, if we are to do away with the meretricious plays now too frequently there, we must work with this great pleasure-loving good-natured public, and cultivate in it a taste for better drama.
We must create a demand for good drama and the supply will follow—the dramatist, actor and manager are only too willing to fall into line, if the public can be induced to refuse the worthless play and support better drama. The really vital and necessary thing is to secure a public which will enjoy and support good plays. Hence, it has become an important and basic matter to improve the dramatic tastes of the country. In fact, in the opinion of many, this is one of the great problems we have before us as a nation today.
Organized with this very object, the Drama League of America has worked for three years on the problem. In those three years it has discovered many things. One of these is, that there is a real and genuine response to the appeal of the written drama; that the message of the play need not be restricted to the city with a theater, but that through the printed play every community may be reached. Another point worked out by the league is the absolute assurance that the best and in fact the only way to improve the dramatic taste of the country is to inculcate a thorough knowledge of good drama—an intimate acquaintance with the best plays written. As many of these plays are rarely acted now, or if acted are confined to the big cities, the third point easily follows, that by means of the printed play we can gradually so inoculate the entire nation with a knowledge of good drama and what it really is that it will turn instinctively from the cheap and worthless play and demand better things. Consequently the first and most important matter is to make good drama accessible to every one. By spreading knowledge of the best plays of the past and present, all over the country, we are improving the dramatic taste of the nation and paving the way for better conditions in the theaters.
In this effort to increase the reading of plays the Drama League not unnaturally turned early in its career to the libraries, feeling itself largely dependent upon them for the full development of its work. The keenest response has come in return. Over 73 libraries are represented in our membership and keep on file the league literature. The testimony from these libraries is most encouraging. On every side we find the libraries eager to help in this development of public dramatic taste.
Since the only way to improve dramatic taste is by acquiring a thorough knowledge of plays, it is palpably apparent that the libraries can be the greatest possible help in this new movement. To illustrate concretely—The Drama League enters a medium sized town with one public library, inducing the two or three women's clubs to take up each a course in modern drama, interesting the teachers in the high school in the league's high school course, even persuading the grade school to do drama work with the younger pupils. Usually there are formed also several little reading circles. Of course, the first demand is for the published plays. The students flock to the libraries to get the desired dramas.
In Chicago the testimony has come many times that since the organization of The Drama League public interest has been so keen that the demand for dramas has been phenomenal. Is the library content merely to recognize this condition? By no means. The Drama Department has had to quadruple its supply, and even then is frequently obliged to hold the books in for reference only in order to meet the demand. But see what this has meant to the league to have that quadruple supply of the dramas demanded by its members. From Washington comes the testimony that the organization of the league has increased the demand for drama books; from Los Angeles came a large order for special dramas and reference books needed by our members. The Massachusetts State Library has offered to meet any demands made upon it. Librarians in various communities are officers and directors in this new movement.
May I suggest a few ways in which the libraries can help us? In the first place, it will be a real benefit to any community if its library will become a member of The Drama League and keep its literature on file. In this way the community is kept informed through the Drama League bulletins of the best current plays by its critical analysis; it has access also to the study courses and bibliographies on drama prepared by the league's experts. Secondly, it would be an inestimable help in this task of improving dramatic taste of the community if the library would be sure to have on hand all the dramas listed in our study and reading courses. Thirdly, if the libraries would arrange a handy shelf of worthy drama where "he who runs may read," where the passerby would be attracted by a drama and pick it up to read it, it might induce a taste for better plays, a knowledge of good drama in a previously heedless theater goer. In Evanston, Illinois, for three years this shelf has been maintained in the library by the Drama Club. Every few weeks a new selection of dramas is placed on this little book rack which stands near the main call desk. It is much used and very popular.