YOUR DRAMATIC CLUB

New Zealand Times, Volume LIV, Issue 12650, 10 January 1927, Page 4

YOUR DRAMATIC CLUB

(By Mary Briton.)

The dramatio club of to-day bears no resemblance to the comic amateur theatrical party of old. It is composed of people who aro genuinely interested in some aspect of the drama —it may be the acting; it may be the scenepainting or the designing of costumes ; quite often., it is the technique of playwriting. But, more than anything else, the ideas presented by amateurplaywrights make a definite appeal to the members. The modern dramatic club, to be successful, needs all the brains and enthusiasm it can obtain; and those who want to form an “exclusive club” for something or other would do better to stick to bridge or badminton I The wider the variety of experience represented in a dramatic club, the livelier will be the interchange and production cf ideas, and the greater rill be tho likelihood of till departments being in the hands of members who are able to manage them successfully 3!. Though public performances should be frequent, the real test of the vitality of a dramatic club is the interest taken in rehearsals, preliminary readings of plays before selection, discussions of interpretation and method of presentation, and the trial performance by groups of members before the rest of the club.

Crowd-acting in amateur shows is usually better than in professional shows. The professional aspirant is of doubtful value. as a member of an amateur club since he, more than ajiy other, is likely to desire to shine rather than to enjoy the team-play of the co-operative effort for its own sake.

The professional producer may be an advantage sometimes, but the club that is large enough to pay for one usually has a few capable amateur producers amongst its members. It goes without saying that the amateur should not try to emulate the actormanager, but should bo content to be a player in one play, and the producer, of another. If the plav can be produced without the producer’s wife, sweetheart, parent or child playing a good part in it. so much the better.