St Josephs College - Argus Yearbook (Emmitsburg, MD)

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l ,ff w, 1 i .-x 1. i p .. ., g y ,. , , A . , . , v ' U T w , , 0 e 9 5 g it fri . i . . N . if '1'1,'ff 5 fiJ:Tf.'1L ii g 1 1 1 A R 1 gU,,S y, 13 .355 3 miffk? N. r' Q X N Shakespeare who seems to have grasped the situation and is pondering a remedy- Aigiixil which he hopes will not only save the boy from the pit of student suicide,'7 but also free his soul from its earthly fetish. An idea strikes his ghostly brain-he joins T the other three ghosts and communicates his plan. The four great dramatists form a circle lin the manner of a basketball team before the whistle for 'fpositionsi' is blowni-they mutter apparently meaningless phrases and gaze fixedly at the ground before them. The tension becomes. greater every secondand when It can no longer be sustained, a queer little figure 1S discerned in the middle of the gro-up-as th1s Qpwigsjiil form rises Qfor it seems to emerge from the Hoorj-the four playwrightsx' open their circle-each points a bony foreiinger and hisses at the 'ghost of Doctor Did. He is very small and thing shriveled is the word to express this'ghost's appearance- ,ll the head is pressed in a frightened manner against the shoulder. It is a most tragic 6 t- ghost. He stands, or rather seems to Mstickn there in center-stage, with the four A if igifh ghosts piercing him with fiery orbs. . Q p :ral , ' After a three-minute silence Shakespeare approaches him and opens a lengthy tirade, Which, by the way, is couched in the most Shakespearian language. William in ' V 5' speaks for himself and for his companions in ART-explaining their earthly Hell ,ioflsi to which he fDoctor Didb and his followers daily condemn them. As he. talks his Kwrath increases until he is forced to, stop from sheer exhaustion. Sheridan now lf takes the center of the stage and in a very cool manner appeals for redress. Shakes- peare and Sheridan discuss the pros andcons of several suggestions that are made ip but find that none are sufficiently severe. Finally Barrie comes forward-he 1S l1ttle g pg, changed from the Barrie we all loveg' even in their ghostly sockets his eyes are the , li 5'l'j eyes of the dreamer Barrie, the creator of Peter Pan-he is calm, unruflied, but his -' f by manner is not that'of worldly coolness and sophistication-as Sher1dan's. He has X' a suggestion to offer-and he gives it in few words-it is that the culprit be con- . ly demned to an eternity of Acting. The old Doctor makes an effort to. raise his head PM l-E, at these words and we see by his expression that his relief IS great indeed. Barrie QW use V notes the expression, too, and the corners of his mouth reveal h1s amusement. Shakespeare sees it and he is indignant. lbsen and Sheridan see it and act their gh haughty disapproval of the suggestion made by that new member among them. D But Sir James is unperturbed. The Sentence is m.ore than ACTING--he ex- QB plains that the culprit must act in plays written by. amateurs, and.not merely by 'I 6 P any amateurs either ffor there may be some with genius who will write good Plays, ,EJ but by those who cannot write plays, who do not want to write plays and yet are forced to 'write plays. This is the punishment. g ii L 5' . A, y 9 gn e. 'Playwright and dramatist used here interchangeably. JSO i f5210f T ,

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u K K.. 4 f, !,. Y, 1 J E i .,., t s ,-..-.W, '1 O G - V i X A -A if , E4 J A, stir. 75 , A f .nslwa-+ L1-Q -Ql b ills! its 41 to-so as T O arrows WS, Tffs-rr' n fi fr A QI A Q' tsl f I A f ,ff ' ' 1 I ff i' '-,' 5 T -Nfjll Soalgsslf T' 2 f Scenario of a One-Act Play - ffifafi QW 'T LIST OF CHARACTERS I 44753 l 14151, f HELPLESS STUDENT le .lfngigt GHOST OF SHAKESPEARE A. lu ' ,A GHOST OF SHERIDAN ' QW GHOST OF IRSEN ,N U' ' GHOST OF BARRIE GHOST OF DOCTOR DID figs TIME: NOW - tx ' 'Rf' PLACE -PLANET EARTH -'D 4 Yi The Stage is heavily draped and presents avery gloomy face to the audience. There are Openings in the curtains, swhioh, however, are not visible. A candle sheds K.. a faint glow over a desk, at left, piled high W1th.papers-and shows. us the shadow ,Gigs of a boy stooped over a large sheet of manuscript paper. His attitude is abject, 1 113, 1 his eyes darkly circledg his thin face reflects a deathly pallor. Though his pen 1S A A-172. 0, A poised for Writing there is no movement-his fingers seem to be- frozen to the spot. is 'SQ' He remains thus for about three minutes after the curtain rises fa legato beginningl T T519 f' J then there is a rustle of the curtains and a dim ethereal figure glides upstage from if wif' l' ' A center-back. This is the ghost of William Shakespeare, who addresses the boy in wget Sl Q Sad tones, complaining of his fate, Which, his laments reveal, is to haunt the earth T5 A as long as pseudo playwrights disturb the ether with their foolish prattle. The boy, startled at first, becomes alternately terrified and angry. As his anger increases the A 'S'-'li ghost's querulous Words cease and the boy undertakes a serious monologue-in the good old tones of a virtuoso fthis is the only medium by which his pent-up spirits , can be freedj . This monologue embraces the fact that the Boy has no desire to pass Q S as a playwright-hates the hours he has spent writing Worthless phrases, striving for ideas, Searching for Words! But he has been commanded by the inexorable Doctor Did to compose a Drama., At this point the ghost of our noble Shakespeare ,!i,,.li 'ZX bursts into a ghostly cackle. Ghosts of Sheridan, lbsen and Barrie rustle on'to the stage, and convey their Q utter lack of sympathy for the floundering student, but are quickly silenced bv . 'fi Q' KT? f' 3 .- 1 ft wfugitii iiii 5 TT'TiwT35T: A1 TT 't l':4'fffsF1E ?fT'-mf?.T'Tt'ffEffg T '.i 'f5 T- .xl il

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