ng, the
effects, the tricks, the acting as a whole, the acting of single
persons, the music, the dancing, the costumes--anything connected with
the production--but the idea must be big enough to carry the entire
report and to be the gist of what the critic has to say about the play.
It must be his complete, concise opinion of the performance.

When, as the critic watches the play, some idea comes to him for his
report he should jot it down. As the play progresses he should develop
this idea and watch for details that carry it out. There is no reason to
be ashamed of taking notes in the theater and the notes will prove very
useful at the office afterward. Perhaps after the play is over the
critic finds that his jottings contain another idea that is of greater
importance than the first; then he may incorporate the second into the
first or discard the first altogether. Even after one has crystallized
his judgment into a concise opinion he must elaborate and illustrate it
and the program of the play is always of value in enabling one to refer
definitely to the individual actors, characters, and other persons, by
name. But, however complete the final judgment and the notes may be, it
is always well to write the report immediately. When one leaves the
theater his mind is teeming with things to say about the play, thousands
of them, but after a night's sleep it is doubtful if a single full-grown
idea will remain and the jottings will be absolutely lifeless and
unsuggestive.

This is the positive instruction that may be given to young dramatic
critics. It is so important and is unknown to so many young theatrical
reporters, that it may be well to sum it up again. A dramatic criticism
must be coherent; it must be unified. It must be the embodiment of a
single idea about the play and every detail in the report must be
attached to that idea. It is not sufficient to state the idea in a
clever way; it must be expanded and elaborated with examples and reasons
and must show careful thought. It is well to outline the report before
it is written and to arrange a logical sequence of thought so that the
result may be well-rounded and coherent.

The following is an example of a dramatic criticism in which this course
is followed. It neither praises nor condemns but it points out gently
wherein the play is strong or weak--and every sentence is attached to
one central idea:

| A POLITE LITTLE PLAY. |