DRAMA NOT NEW

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume 60, Issue 4346, 20 October 1950, Page 9

DRAMA NOT NEW

INTERESTING ADDRESS

MISS ESCOTT AT THAMES

An interesting and informative address upon “drama in institutes” was given by Miss M. Escott, of Auckland, to the biannual meeting of the Thames-Hauraki Plains District Federation of Women’s Institutes held on Tuesday last at Thames. Much practical advice as well as entertainment was provided by the guest speaker, who held her audience’s closest attention during the whole of an address which sparkled with humour and sound advice. Drama was not a modern craze, said Miss Escott. Some 500 years before Christ, in Greece, the people flocked to see drarna and sat on stone seats. They did not enjoy their culture upon a cushion. Drama might die out for a period but it always returned again and drama was everywhere in every age. What was new, however, was the organising of drama groups.

In 1939, in Britain alone, there were 30,000 drama groups. “What do we see in drama?” asked the speaker. There was the pleasure of working together towards a common end. For both audience and performers it was

a social occasion and a happy getting together. Drama holds all the fascination of a story. It was a story packed out by living creatures and told before the very eyes of people. It created natural interest in other people’s eyes. Scandal was nothing .but interest in other peoples’ lives. “When you see a drama you begin to think that you might have been born someone else.

“A play cannot arise above its characterisations,” continued Miss Escott. Cause, action and effect were necessary to every story or drama. There had to be a simple story with cause, action and effect or as it had been put in another way, there had to be a beginning a middle and an end.

In real life the neat unit did not really happen for life was a jumble of events one after (another with no logical sequence. It was a mistake just to avoid a tragic play because it was tragic for such a play should leave a feeling of triumph that anyone should have

gone down to the bottom of life and still be able to write about it and <get

above it all. She was not referring to what she called the real “tear jerkers.” Selecting Plays The idea of selecting dramas and plays about happy events just for the sake of being happy disclosed a failure to face up to the facts of life, said the speaker. Tragedy was not always sordid. A murder was not sordid. There were murders at institute gatherings, sometimes as many as four, particularly when the playing of a character part was being carried out. Job. of the Dramatist The job of the dramatist was to express and tell his story in terms of love and joy and leave justice to the lawyers: The raw material for plays and stories was human there was a difference for with thb drama the author had to hold the audience from start to the finish of the play. That was done by the conflict between the characters. The essence of good drama was conflict between the characters.

In choosing a play and studying it they should try and discover what was the conflict and it might, as in Hamlet, be in the form of a conflict within and without a human being.

Whatever effect had to be given they must watch the main points, which was the buildii/g up to the climax. ■ Care must be taken not to move to a climax in the beginning. The Beauty of Words

Discussing dialogue Miss Escott pointed out that in a good play dialogue should either build character or be full of wit. Every sentence should be as full of flavour as a tasty apple. The beauty of words was once more coming back in drama and they should train themselves to be capable of using and expressing the beauties which could be found in the use of words.

Other points, made by the speaker were that if a small selection committee was appointed experience both in drama and in life was needed by those chosen for such a committee. It was a great mistake to choose a play with no suitable players to play the characters depicted. They should see that there was unity, cause, effect and climax in the play. Parts from major plays could be chosen with mush profit by drama groups, concluded Miss Escott.

A hearty vote of thanks was given Miss Escott for her interesting and instructive address.