Farmington High School - Laurel Yearbook (Farmington, ME)

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THE LAUREL 21 the recommendation of the advisory jury, it was presented the Pulitzer award. This season's prize play is Idiot's De- light by Robert Sherwood. Starred to- gether in it is that inimitable pair, Lynn Fontanne and Alfred Lunt. The most outstanding and most discussed of the prize-winning plays is Strange In- terlude which was produced by the The- ater Guild, at the Guild Theater, New York, january 31, 1928. This is the third play of O'Neill's to win the Pulitzer prize. The other two were Beyond the Horizon which which The in the won in 1919 and Anna Christie won in 1921. author inherited a profound interest theater, as his father was an actor. He, himself, appeared on the stage during a short interval of time, but it was not this phase of the theater which he preferred. His first play was published in 1914. With unbelievable rapidity, he rose to national and international fame. He now holds the position unchallenged of being the foremost of American dramatists. In Strange In- terlude, O'Neill experimented with an en- tirely new style. He reverts to the style of the novel in which the thoughts of the characters are revealed. Because of its originality, this production caused a tre- mendous sensation. Because of its length, the play commenced in the late afternoon and the audience was given an intermission around 6:00 o'clock. Even then it con- tinued late into the night. While the plot is excellent, to me, the spoken thoughts constitute the most outstanding part. As an illustration, Madeline, the ingenue, is look- ing at Charlie, one of the character leads, and she is thinking, What a queer crea- ture!-there's something uncanny! Oh! don't 'be silly! it's only poor old Charlie. Then in acknowledgment of the flowers he has just given her she says to him, Thank you, Uncle Charlie. This idea was original to O'Neill. Two possible reasons for this are that it must be difficult to write and difficult to act. It takes great skill and experience to be able to make the audience distinguish be- tween the thought andthe speech. In the movies, they did away with this diiificulty by having the thoughts come out of the atmosphere somewhere instead of being spoken by a character. To many, it took away from the desired effect and made it somewhat ridiculous. Strange Interlude has had its share of adverse critics, but because of its originality it will live forever as one of the foremost American dramas. CLASSMA1-Es: The last four years of our education may be regarded as a play containing four acts and many scenes. The plot began when we were freshmen and has continued to de- velop during these years. Now, we have reached the climax. Let us hope it will be considered worthy of a Pulitzer prize. The curtain is about to fall, but the theme will live on forever. It is only natural that the parting be sorrowful. There is a chance that some of us may never meet again. Life is stretching out before us full of oppor- tunity. We must start out in this new phase of our lives with a determination to con- quer, not to be conquered. You can make what you wish out of your lives if you will only have courage, faith, determination and a fervor for hard work. Soon we will be coming into ourown, be the ruling genera- tion. Let us show the world that this generation has what it takes to succeed. In farewell, I can best express-myself by the first lines of the poem by William Make- peace Thackeray, The End of the Play 1 The play is done,-the curtain drops., Slow falling to the prompter's bell, A moment yet the actor stops, And looks around, to say farewell. It is an irksome word and task, And when he's laughed and said his say, He shows, as he removes the mask, A face that's anything but gayf' Virginia Trumbull '36.

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20 THE LAUREL for the award of annual prizes for the best pieces of work in all literary fields. The prize-winning play had to best represent the educational value and power of the stage to raise the standards of morals, taste, and manners. The provisions of the will were changed in 1928 under the powers of the advisory board of the School of Journalism at Columbia University. It left out the clause concerning raising the standards of morals, taste, and manners. Another change was made in 1934. This was that a play dealing with American life was preferable. A committee of three is appointed by Columbia. This committee submits its recommendations to the advisory board of the School of journalism. Then the board gives its opinion to the trustees of the university. A slight change was re- cently made in this procedure. The com- mittee of three now submits a written list of several dramas in the order of prefer- ence. The Pulitzer award for the drama is awaited with a great deal of excitement. Often there is more controversy and criti- cism over this award than over any other. There has been an award presented each year since 1917 with but one exception. No prize was given in 1918. It will be of in- terest to give a brief resume of a few of the more recent, outstanding Pulitzer prize- winning plays. The play which won the 1929 and 1930 award was The Green Pastures by Marc Connelly. It has been called the divine comedy of the modern theater. 'f The Green Pastures is the negro's naive ver- sion of the Old Testament. The book Ol' Man Adam an' His Chillun by Roark Bradford stimulated Marc Connelly's in- terest concerning the subject and gave him the idea for the play. There are two things needed for the full appreciation of it. First, one must be acquainted with a back- ground religiously puritanical. Secondly, one must have a deep understanding and sympathy for the negro. For these reasons The Green Pastures is an American play for American people. The producers were, at first, wary of putting it on. Finally Rowland Stebbins, because of his love for the theater, took the risk caring little whether he made money or lost it. He pro- duced it under the cognomen of Laurence Rivers, Inc., at the Mansfield Theater, in New York, February 26, 1930. Its popular- ity is acclaimed by the fact that the produc- tion of it has continued for six years and has been presented throughout Europe. The simplicity and frankness of style takes away from any sacrilegious aspect it might other- wise have. I' Of Thee I Sing, a musical show by George Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind with music and lyrics by George and Ira Gersh- win, won the award in 1931 and 1932. This is a hilarious satire on the organization of our government. It was called by one critic America's most sophisticated and intelligent musical comedy. It takes one through the campaign, election and part of the term of a President of the United States, John Wintergreen. The presidential candi- date, Wintergreen, goes through a whirl- wind campaign on a platform of Love. The most ridiculous character is the Vice- President, Alexander Throttlebottom. He is the only one who can ever remember who the vice president is, and he doesn't find out his duties until the end of the play. Of Thee I Sing is a unique and educational comedy. Through its subtle satire one gets an excellent view of the absurdities and also some worthwhile facts concerning our government. In the season of 1934 and 1935 the prize- winning play was The Old Maid by Zoe Atkins. This was based on a novel by Edith Wharton. At first, the critics gave it a very lukewarm reception. They thought its plot, based on maternal love, too senti- mental and too much like the older form of emotional drama. It is purely a woman's play appealing to natural mother love. Slowly throughout its season business in- creased. Finally, overcoming a division in

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22 THE LAUREL SALUTATORY PARENTS, friends, teachers, and schoolmates: As the spokesman of the Class of 1936, I am here to extend a welcome to you and to express our appreciation of your presence at this event which forms a milestone in our career. As the solicitous mother bird encourages her hesitant fledglings to the exploration of the unknown spheres, so the understanding of those gathered here will inspire courage in us to try out our new wings and take fiight into the awe-inspiring future into which we are about to wing. It is largely through your encouraging assistance and cooperation that we have successfully terminated our period of prepa- ration for the more fruitful and serious part of our lives. Therefore, in class of 1936, it is my happy privilege to convey to you a sincere and heartfelt wel- behalf of the graduating COIHC. - The Warrior Saint SAINT person, virtueg one blessed in heaven. Authority quoted-Noah Webster. A saint is a person of heroic virtue whose private judgement is privileged. Authority quoted-'George Bernard Shaw. Controversies arise out of these diverse opinions of the qualities of a true saint, yet Ioan of Arc, the Holy Heroine, em- bodies all these as well as other saintly at- tributes and was duly canonized May 16, 1920, in the words of the Pope, for her heroic virtue, glory, and blessedness. Today Saint Joan of Arc is perhaps the most widely admired, well-known heroine and saint. But how was she regarded in the fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth and -eighteenth centuries? What are the con- flicting views of poets, novelists, dramatists and ecclesiastics as to her character and sanctity? 'They are widely divergent in their views. Witness the two extremes: Mark Twain's Joan clothed in a romantic, is a holy or sanctified eminent for piety and dazzling garbg and George Bernard Shaw's joan in a plain, unornamented frock. Joan of Arc was born January 6, 1412, in the province of Lorraine, in the little village of Domremy in the valley of the Meuse, of a family that were honest, good Catholics and well reputed. It was when she was thirteen, the day after her first communion, that she first heard her voices. She was in her father's gardeng the Angelus tolled its pious chantg the vision of Saint Michael, the Archangel, came to her saying, 'K Be good, Jeanne, be good. Finally, after frequent visitations from Saint Michael, Saint Marguerite and Saint Catherine, it was revealed to her that she was to fulfill the old prophecy of Merlin: By a woman shall France be lost, by a Maid shall it be redeemed. The heavenly mission she was destined to fulfill was twofold: CU She was ordained to win back France from her enemies, the English, by raising the siege of Orleans. Q25 She was ordained to consecrate and anoint at Reims the Dauphin, Charles, who had been disinherited by his mother. We are all familiar with the raising of the siege of Orleans, the Bloodless March to Reimsg the magnificence of the ceremony at the Cathedral of Reims where Charles VII, King of France, was anointed with the sacred oils, the capture of joan effected by treachery, the severities in- Hicted upon her in the dungeon-like tower of the Rouen castleg the trial by the corrupt courtg and finally, the burning of the di- vinely iinspired maid as a miserable witch, a victim of vengeance, May 30, 1431. Yet, when she was on the scaffold with the fiames bursting around her sanctified body, 'the entire mob, touched to the heart by her last supplication, burst into weeping and lamentation. The judges and the soldiers weptg even Cauchon, the chief figure in her condemnation, was overwhelmed with emotion. From her executioners at the foot of the scaffold, the cry went up, For- give us, O Lord, we have burned a saint!