Reed College - Griffin Yearbook (Portland, OR)

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DRAMATICS

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REED COLLEGE ANNUAL 19 1 5 WI DRAMA CLUB HE Drama Club had its beginnings during the sec- ond year of the college. when a group of women I interested in dramatics formd the Cothurnian Club $ with the purpose of arousing interest in dramatics among the students and of presenting plays for the K9 college and its trends. Owing to stage limitations and t0 the fact that the membership at that time consisted of women only, but one play, The Piperis Pay, was given during the year. However, this play, presented in the social room of the Arts Bilding on a small stage improvised for the occasion, was sufficient to arouse considerable interest in the possibilities of dramatics at the college. In the folloing' year the membership was thrown open to men, and the work was undertaken more seriusly. During this second year the Drama Club was fortunate enuf to num- ber among its frends Professor Hammond, whose experienst advice was invaluable to the organization. Under her super- vision the Drama Club presented a group of Irish plays by Lady Gregory. and Bernard Shawis 111011 of Destiny in the social room of the men's dormitory. These wer given first before the students and wet repeated later in the year to an audience of trends of the college from off the campus. The third year markt an even greater step in the life of the Drama Club as an organization. In the two former years the sole interest had been in the formal presentation of plays, and the club met, as a club, merely at stated intervals to transact business. At the beginning of the current year, however, the Drama Club decided to hold evening meetings once a month, at which informal dramatic programs would be given by its members. Lady Gregory's VVorlelzousc Ward, Maeterlinck's Barbe Blcu, Shakespeareis songs in their settings, and Shaw's Pygmalion she the diversity of subjects in which the members hav tried their skil. Besides these informal affairs, Galsworthyis Pigeon was given in the auditorium of the Lincoln High Seool, being the first play to be presented off the campus. Interest has stedily increast in dramatics with each suc- ceeding year of college life. From its unpretentius beginnings the Drama Club has grown until it has come to hold a promi- nent place in student life. XVith the erection of the new VVomenE Bilding and the subsequent provision of an adequate place for staging its plays, there can be no dout that the field wil be opend for greater accomplishments. Irish Plays Early in December, 1913, two of Lady Gregory's one-act plays wer presented by the Drama Club in the social room of the men's dormitory. The dominant cord struck by them was simplicity, and the students tried, as the Irish players hav tried, to make up for the lack of setting and elaborate costuming by .-..fu tum ,..i..,i a .., w-Y'Nti-Y'LH'ECLH'; ' ' H t 57. ii; if r? n...- n. L. i N