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GRANVILLE BARKER IN TALK ON GREEK PLAYSAncient Athenian Audience Fortunate in Lack of “Tired Business Men” to Please.PLAYS TRUE ARTISTICALLY IF NOT ARCHEOLOGICALLYTo Give Two Plays in Stadium on Friday and Saturday,June n and 12.In the following interview especially granted for publication in the Princettonian, Granville Barker, the English producer who will present two Greek plays here on Friday and Saturday, June 11 and 12, describes the principles he has followed in making these productions.“I can see no reason why Greek drama, if presented with the vitality which it must have had when first put on the stage of Athens in those days of high effort and virility, should not interest the men and women of today, just as it interested those who sat upon the stones of the great out of door theatre in Athens. For at no two times in history have public points of view been so much alike as then and now.“Undoubtedly we have fallen into the habit of regarding Greek plays as the product of lecture roofs. We have raised about them a wholly wrong conception of their limitations. We have come to regard the drama of the Greeks as a bloodless tableau, rather than as dynamic action. We have listened to their words as poetry delivered from the mouths of characters representing, men and women as they should be rather than as living speech uttered by the lips of men and women as they ane. Somehow culture and archaeology have Come to suggest themselves when Greek plays are mentioned, instead of a vivid reflection of human life.. *High Dignity of Greek Drama.“Not for a moment would I deny that the high dignity of the Greek drama must always be held in respect. The Greeks never regarded a play simply as a mere entertainment. One modern element they obviously lacked,—“the tired business man.” To them a play was an expression of the universe. The stage did not represent a detail of life, but was the alembic in which the dramatist distilled the eternal truths of mankind; the tears, the joys, the heaven and the hell.“There is no reason, however, why this semi-religious atmosphere cannot be maintained while giving to the drama of the Greeks the life which it once had, and which it should still have to-day, if we are to he true to our original. By discovering an archeological detail here, or dwelling upon a word there, we make for ourselves rules for costumes and stage settings which hamper our productionsbeyond all reason. Why should we1 * •believe the Greek actors dressed in monotonous white when we know that their statuary bore the brightest of colors? Why place men of action forever in flowing robes, when a little understanding of their sculpture will show that for the most part they wore garments even closer fitting than those of to-day?Preserve Classic Spirit.“To carry out these two notes, therefore, in the spirit of the classic drama, I have endeavored to preserve an appropriate severity and simplicity of mass in arranging my stage as a whole. But when, for example, Euripides furnishes me with such characters as the Tauri, people whom every line describes as fierce savages, offering human sacrifice in a grim and austere temple, I see no reason why ■the doors of that temple should not open upon a blood-red interior. The King of that land must obviously have been the apotheosis of everything they stood for. Why should not I make him so, primitive and rudely gorgeous in dress and weapons? Of course the scholars will tell us that this is not Greek at all. But I console myself with the reflection that there were scholars in Athens whoWILL BREAK GROUND FOR COMMONS JUNE SIXTEENTHGround will be broken for the new University Commons on June 16, the day after college closes. Pending the letting of the contract for the construction of the new buildings the excavating will be done by the University.FIVE TRACK CUPS AWARDED FOR INDIVIDUAL PROGRESSBINGHAM ELECTED TO HEAD THE CRIMSON TRACK TEAMFour Men to Compete In A. A. U. Meet To-Day—List of Summer Meets.(Special to The Daily Princettonian)Cambridge, Mass., June 4.—WilliamJohn Bingham , .19-16, of Methuen, t . . „Mass., was electeir'capfam of^ the, awarded rto^ a Irian - 'iaing* the '.cupFive cups have been awarded to individual members of the track team, for general improvement and excellence exhibited during the competition of the 1915 track season. Each man will receive temporary possession of the cup for one year. Permanent ownership of these trophies is onlya 0 i ^University track team for the ensuing year at a meeting of the track men held last evening. He prepared at Exeter and since entering Harvard has proved a consistent point winner in the half-mile.TICKETS FOR TEA-DANCEAT INN STILL AVAILABLEEXAMINATION SCHEDULEFOR NEXT THREE DAYSP3lt;P3CM:M:There are still several tickets left for the tea-dance to be given at the Princeton Inn on the afternoon of Monday, June 14th, and students who have guests and intend to bring them are urged to purchase their tickets immediately as the number of girls’ tickets is definitely limited. The dancing will begin at four and will continue until seven and light refreshments will be served. Tickets may be obtained at the Princeton Inn and at Bri-ner’s. Admission will be 75 cents.UNIVERSITY NOTICESBric-a-Brac—Any who did not get their Bric-a-Bracs last winter may do so now by applying at the University Store. A new supply has just been received. Price $2.50. 5-2t.Glee Club—Final rehearsal for Commencement Concert on Thursday, June 10, at 6.45 sharp, in Alexander Hall. Double fines. Seniors are reminded that refunds on deposits will be made after this concert to those who take part in the concert.Mr. Pomeroy Awarded an A.M.Rev. Ralph B. Pomeroy, of the University Faculty, was recently awarded the degree of Master of Arts by Columbia. His was first of honorary degrees conferred by President Butler.made exactly the same kind of remark about the over-imaginative productions of Aeschylus. And what is more, as Euripides was nurtured on Aeschylus, I am conscientious in my belief that such a setting was just what Euripides would have sought in the case of “Iphigenia”. For though it may be difficult to find out what he meant in some places there is absolutely no doubt about his intention here to write a play of romance, of patriotism, of adventure, laid among barbarians who undoubtedly seemed quite as barbaric to his Athenian audiences as the inhabitants of Thibet would seem to us of to-day.”in ms event tor two years.This year three Sophomores and two Juniors receive the awards as follows:100-yard dash Cup; presented by Douglas A. Fiske; won by W. B. Moore 1917.440-yard dash Cup; presented by 1913 Tiger Board; won by H. J. Richardson 1916.Hurdle Cup; presented by Maitland Dwight; won by R. L. Crawford 1917.Hammer throw Cup; presented by 1913 Tiger Board; won by R. L. Nourse, Jr. 1917.Pole vault Cup; presented by Douglas A. Fiske; won by'J. M. Carey 1916.Entries in N. Y. A. C. Meet.Four men will compete in the N. Y. A. C. meet at New York to-day, in the following events: R. L. Nourse,Jr., in the javelin throw, J. M. Baker in the pole vault, W. M. Davy in the high jump and A. W. Stewart in the hurdles. This is the first of a series of track meets which will be held this summer in -the East and at the Exposition, in which Princeton men will enter individually. The official A. A. U. list is given below.July 10, Millrose A. A. at Celtic Park, L. I.; At the Exposition: July 30-31, Far Western Track and Field Championships; August 5, All round Championships of the A. A. U., open to the world’s amateurs; August 6, Junior Track and Field Championships of the A. A. U.; August 7, Senior Track and Field Championships of the A. A. U.; August 9-10, National Relay Racing; August 13-14. Panama-Pacific International Exposition Intercollegiate Championships; August 17-18, Decathlon (ten events); August 24-28, Modern Pentathlon for the Olympic Medal of the International Olympic Committee; September 6, Pentathlon (five events); September 9, Pacific Association Track and Field Championships.MDMThe following is the schedule of et animations for the three lower class* up to Wednesday, June 9:Saturday.juniors ■; (j,Elective Geodesy Experimental Physics J Honors Physics E PlatoSOPHOMORESIGreek 202 ;FRESHMEN /Mathematics 106 [‘ B.S.,'Litt.B..’ .A.B. • •C.E. Mathematics 108Monday.JUNIORS Honors Analytical Mechanics Graphical Statics HistoryC.E. Reinforced Conc.eteSOPHOMORESMathematics 202 C.E. Calculus 204Tuesday.JUNIORSOld Testament Literature English Philology Introductory Palaeontology Honors Mathematics-Geometry Elem. Differential Equations French BOrganic Chemistry (for Biol. Students)SOPHOMORESFrench 202MMMMiMG3MFrench 204FRESHMENFrench 102 French 104 French 106 C.E. Chemistry 102MMUNIVERSITY NOTICESPrincetonian—Business 'candidate0report at 2.Gatemen and Ushers—All men wiiing to act as gatemen or ushers the Yale game leave names at 51 L tie at once.Prom Tickets—Prom tickets will put on sale to-day from 1.30 to 2 at the Princettonian Office. Ticklt; will also be sold next week.Yale May Have “Student Council”Due to a feeling of dissatisfaction with the present system, a Student Council with the three upper classes represented has been proposed to replace the Senior Council. The matter will go to a vote of the three classes.Students’ Pressing Establishment-Wili be closed for the year on Saturday, June 12, at 12. 5-31The Weather.Clear and warmer with south to southeast winds.Penn Railroad—Those wishing take Broadway Limited on Saturd after the Yale game, leave names the ticket office by June 7. Also the leaving Friday or Sunday, leave nan to get $19 rate.Summer Employment—Men intested in obtaining good summer e ployment should call at 17 Sot West to-day between 9 and 12 from I to t. if oossihle.
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Princeton Daily Princetonian
Princeton, New Jersey, US
Sat, Jun 05, 1915
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GB 20 Dec 2018
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