Producing amateur entertainments
varied stunts and other numbers with program plans and directions
The ideas here presented have been collected primarily for lighter moments, in response to a demand often expressed by individuals and organizations interested in Amateur Dramatics; for in these, as in all human activity, lighter moments have their place. They are not a substitute for serious and sustained dramatic endeavour: rather are they a supplement to that endeavour, for evenings of frolic when good spirits reign supreme. Programs, of the types described in this book, maybe definitely and constructively be useful as training for other dramatic work. A "take-off stunt," cleverly executed, is essentially a character portrayal.
The popular song-and-dance number can convey to its performers a sense of rhythm, stage action, of colour-combination. Topical songs can reveal the intimate connection between the musical theme, the words, and the singer's own interpretation. Any pantomime, however informal, must contain pantomime essentials in order to be intelligible to the audience.
Experience in directing, planning costumes, and in other phases of production, even for an informal performance, is valuable in proportion as these are typical of more artistic and ambitious efforts. In short, this book is set forth in the hope that it will help "to perform better those desirable activities that are likely to be performed anyway" and* "to reveal higher types of activity, making this latter both desirable and possible,"
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