St Johns College - Ozanam Yearbook (Toledo, OH)

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illlllllllllllllIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIllIlllllllIIIIIIIllllllllllIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIllllIIllllIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIllllllllllIIIIHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIllllllllllllllllllIlllllIIIIIIIlllllllllllllllilliliillliliillllilg glllllllllllllllllllIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIlIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIllllllllllllIIIIIIIIIIIlllllllllllllllllllllllIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIl1IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE just what is meant by the term dramatic or theatrical ? What is the essential ele- ment that makes a situation dramatic? How would you go about writing a one-act play and just what difference is there between a one-act play and a several-act play? You don't know? Then you should read The Technique of the One-Act Play by Robert I. Cannon, S. J. There you will find de- veloped the characteristic qualities of the one- act play. The book does not lay down the rules for successful play writing in general but rather limits itself to a study of the one- act play. As the author says in his preface: We should then. never think of saying, 'follow these instructions and produce a mas- terpiece,' but rather, 'Look at a masterpiece with care and this is what you will proba- bly see'. Intended for college men the book sup- poses the presence of a professor who will explain and amplify many things that are briefly put down in a sentence or a short paragraph. Great latitude is allowed the professor in making his own explanations of disputed theories or definitions and even the class, usually held down by tyrannical dic- tatorship in text-books and denied the right of protest is conceded the right to substitute its own definitions where those of the author seem inadequate or inferior. While the book is small, it supposes a great deal of collateral reading and the appendix contains a list of plays suggested for study. From time to time exercises and topics for discussion are included in the text and these are recommended as class assignments. It is supposed that once the technique of the play is mastered, exercise in playwriting will follow. The body of the book is divided into four chief parts. The Grst part discusses the na- ture of the one-act play. Under this head- ing are included the plot. In part one, also are included the various factors that go to make the presentation on the stage interesting and effective. Here, as elsewhere, selected bits from successful plays are interposed in the text. This is perhaps one of the most valuable features of the book. It not only tells how to accomplish a certain effect, it also tells how successful playwrights have secured that desired eifect. In part two, the beginning, the middle, and the end of the play are treated. This is the most important part of the book. When writing a play it is very difhcult to know how, and where to begin, where to place the cli- max and how to finish. All these things are fully discussed and explained in this section. Part three contains the analysis of a one-act play. The text of the play, The Rising of the Moon, by Lady Gregory is given, and opposite it appear notes explaining and eluci- dating the text. The actual writing of the play is the theme of part four. The book is well written and is published in an attractive fashion. Large type is used making reading easier and more interesting. Intended for class work, the exercises detract from the continuity if the book is read, yet it affords quite agreeable reading, the text being considerably enlivened by examples. Certainly a class should prefer a work of this type to the clumsy, large, closely printed vol- umes they have usually been forced to use in their study of this kind of play. Only a few days after the appearance of Mere Mortals, word was received of the sudden death of the author, Dr. Charles MacLaurin. Dr. MacLaurin had seen ser- vice in France as a surgeon but because of ill-health he had to return to Australia. Here

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50 THE OZANAM bathing and boating while others took part in various other diversions. This picnic constituted the formal closing of the year for the Freshmen and is some- thing of an agreeable innovation from the usual routine of class banquets. Class Banquets On Wednesday even- Are Held ing, May 27, the members of the grad- uating class were the guests at a banquet tendered in their honor by the Junior class at the University Club. The students were addressed by Jean Howard and Bill Comte, who represented the Alumni Association: the distinguished members of both classes proffered short talks on various subjects. William Coyle, president of the Junior class, was master of ceremonies. The same evening at 6 p. m. the members of the Sophomore class met at an informal banquet at the Oliver Twist Tea Room to bid a sad farewell to the year l924-25. The entire class was present as were two of the professors: Mr. Madaras, S. J., and Mr. Gibbons, S. Several members of the class gave short speeches in which they recounted the happen- ings and pleasant memories of the year. The professors also said a few words. Everything was over by about 7 :30 p. m., when the members of the class were free to fulfill any engagements they may have made for later in the evening. Cggnmengement The following mem- Exercises bers of the SCl'li0l' class of St. John's College will receive degrees as Bachelors of Arts at the Commencement exercises to be held Monday, June l5th: Robert Heatly, M. D., Howard Bruss, Francis Buckley, Leo Griffin, Clarence Mellen, Jerome Je- sionowski, Julius Pilliod, James Schaal, John Schmit and Otto Wenzler. The exercises will begin with a Pontifical High Mass at St. Mary's Church on Sunday, June l4th, and will close with the awarding of degrees to the graduates on the follow- ing evening. Honors won by the high school students will also be awarded at this time. as will the medals for elocution and oratory. The formal address to the graduates will be given by Edward McCormick, A. B., M. D., F. A. C. S.: Julius Pilliod will cle- liver the valedictory oration,'and Rev. Fr. O'Callaghan, S. J., and the Rt. Rev. Bishop will speak. The College orchestra directed by James Gibbons, S. J., will furnish the music for the occasion. The Annual St. John's annual picnic, Excursion an event looked forward to not only by students but also by the Catholic youth of the city in general, will be held this year at Cedar Point. The steamer Greyhound will leave the dock at 8:30 a. m. It is needless to say that a good time will be had by all who attend, as those who have been on former excursions sponsored by our Alma Mater can amply testify.

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52 THE OZANAM he tumed his attention to literature and wrote many magazine articles. He usually dealt with medico-historical subjects and finally evolved a theory that actions are greatly de- termined by health, and that people's actions can often be explained by examining their physical condition. His earlier book, Post Mortem, pub- lished in 1923, had already discussed the theory. As the author says it is not unlikely that some physical ailment in some important person has changed the history of nations, and even if the results were not so great, yet disease probably had some control over the character of the afflicted person. Of course it is difficult to diagnose the dis- eases of the ancients at this late date but often symptoms are revealed in writings, and from these a strong case can at times be built up. The doctor admits that no medical man ought to offer a diagnosis without having seen the patient. At times due to too much guess- work and occasionally superficiality his de- scriptions seem to lack truth but in general they are very well done. The characters in- cluded for discussion are Dr. Johnson, King Henry VIII, Martin Luther, Ivan the Terri- ble, Mary Tudor, Queen Elizabeth, Henry Fielding, Frederick the Great, Arthur Scho- penhauer, and several others. Martin Luther was suffering from a disease of the labyrinth, a disease of the inner ear, that caused him to hear dreadful noises and served to instil in him a fear of the devil. Dr. MacLaurin claims that this probably changed the course of history. Dr. Johnson is said tohave suffered from an ailment closely resembled to neurasthemia and generally the result of heredity and ab- normal education in early youth. This is attributed to the gloomy disposition of John- son's father and an incident that happened when Johnson was a child. He was taken before Queen Anne to be touched as a cure for a disease of the neck. His nervous ex- citement as he stood before everyone is said by the doctor to have had probably a lifelong effect. The latter declares that it was lucky it did not make him stammer, and claims that this probably caused what Boswell considered a kind of St. Vitus Dance. The book is very interesting and well worth while, especially to those students of history who wish to gain more knowledge of men's motives for their actions. The book attempts to show that history has not dealt fairly with many important persons whose crimes are as attributable to disease as to defects of their character. Perhaps those of us who, since the World War have been shouting isolation and strenu- ously opposing everything that might tend to interdependence of our nation with others, will be surprised at the statements contained in Perry BeImont's new book Isolation an Illusion. The writer affirms that the United States has never been, and cannot be isolated from Europe, and that an interde- pendence has existed from the very founda- tion of our government. Furthermore, whether the United States enters the League of Na- tions or not that interdependence will neither be increased nor diminished but will remain inevitable and permanent. A serious fault can be found with the book. It seems as if the author had jotted down every thought that occurred to him while he was engaged in its composition, and frequently valuable space is wasted in proclaiming the merits of the Democratic party. To show the interdependence of nations an example is cited. The French Emperor was desirous of taking possession of New Orleans. President Jefferson sent a letter to Robert Livingston, then Minister to France, in which he stated that if the French Em- peror insisted on taking possession of New Orleans we should ally ourselves to England and marry ourselves to the British Heat. And in another letter which he sent to Presi- dent Monroe. he said, Great Britain is the