With the Players
The season of 1932-1933 promises to be one of the most successful in the history of the Dartmouth Players according to Warner Bentley, the director. With the help of Henry Williams, technical director, Mr. Bentley has built the Players into one of the most popular organizations on campus.
The class of 1936 has offered a large number of capable actors and production men and there seems to be a greater manifestation of interest in the work throughout the College in general. This growth in material has done away with the necessity of duplication in casting, so that now Hanover audiences are able to see a variety of faces over the footlights. Varied casting also has the advantage of giving greater opportunity to those who are lured by the smell of the grease-paint.
The present season has already uncovered two students of dramatic ability. It will be a long time before the College forgets the performance of H. S. Ackerman '35 as the mayor in Merry-Go-Round and the interpretation of "Puff" given by D. F. Pierce '35 in Sheridan's The Critic. These two men seem to have that essential feeling for the drama that makes able actors. Mr. Pierce has proven himself a talented comedian, while Mr. Ackerman has shown marked ability in the more serious type of role.
In production work H. Weitz '33, C. H. Colton '35, and R. S. Hirschland '35 have been working for the past two years under the direction of Henry Williams. The sets designed and executed by them for TheCritic speak well for their ability. There are other men, too numerous to mention, who have been in large measure responsible for the success of the fall productions. Merry-Go-Round was thoroughly popular while the farcial Critic gained such praise that it is to be repeated at the Alumni Winter Carnival on February 24.
For the undergraduate Winter Carnival, the Players are offering The Last of Mrs.Cheny. Rehearsals for this production have already begun and it is understood that an experienced cast is expected to give a worthy performance of this English success. At the present time Mr. Bentley is considering Brown of Harvard for the Green Key week-end. The College has not yet given official sanction to this party, but if it does an excellent production is promised since all the men associated with the Players are naturally well versed in collegiate atmosphere and can be counted upon to give an accurate rendition of it. For the spring play, to be given late in May, an attempt is going to be made at something that Mr. Bentley has called "different." No final choice has been made to date, but some of the works of Shaw, Chekov, and Galsworthy are under consideration. There has also been some discussion of a thirteenth-century Chinese drama and for complete difference from former productions, this certainly would be an excellent selection.
Last year's Inter-fraternity one-act play contest was such a success that it is to be repeated this year. In this contest the selection of the play, its staging, costuming, acting, and directing are left entirely in the hands of each fraternity, although the Players have offered the use of any of their material, as well as help in direction where it is needed. Last year's contest was won by Pi Lambda Phi for the production of Release under the direction of A. E. Hewitt '34. Mr. Hewitt is a member of the Players and has had important parts in June Moon, Berkley Square, The Streets ofNew York, and The Critic.
