This fall, the boon was on! Eliot House announced the formation of its Drama Group to produce plays meeting the demand for an "intimate theatre;" Adams House went beyond the traditional scope of House productions to present Alcestis in Sanders Theatre and its Music Society gave Virgil Thomson and Gertrude Stein's opera The Mother of Us All. The Eliot group gave three productions this year, The Tempest, Richard II, and The Merchant of Venice, all of which were very favorably received.
Eliot's Interpretation
The Eliot Drama Group has provoked much discussion this year, through its interpretation of a "House group." Up until last spring, a House group generally consisted of House members with the necessary Radcliffe contributions. The group's main function was to provide an intra-House activity for those in the House so inclines, and to attract freshmen who might be interested in such an organization.
However, the stimulus of directors and actors like Aaron, Scot, Colgate Salsbury '57, D.J. Sullivan '57, and john H. Poppy '57--students with more than amateur interest in drama--caused a re-evaluation of House productions. Quality became so important that every effort was made to "get the best man for the part," even if he were not a member of the particular House.
'As Many as Possible'
Donald Tashjian '56 one of the founders of the Eliot Drama Group, says the club tries "to get as many men as possible in a play, and if two people are equal for a part, we usually take the Eliot House man."
In the past, House groups generally have given just one production per year, but this year Eliot gave three. The reason for this was simple. By drawing its personnel from the whole University, the Drama Group was just another HDC in disguise. It had the added advantage of having a definite place to rehearse, whereas the HDC has had to move around to find adequate rehearsal space. Tashjian points out that "the support of Master Finley has been inestimable," referring to the fact that a House group has "an angel" in its Master who can usually appropriate House funds to help the group out if it is in financial trouble, as well as being ready to provide additional assistance.
This amazing success of the House Groups, which try to appeal to the same audiences as does the HDC, and which have consistently produced high quality performances, has presented theatre people with a dilemma. On one hand they recognize the "present prosperity" of drama, but on the other hand they believe Harvard must have its own University Theatre.
Ingenuity
The success of the House productions has appealed to the romantic and creative natures of drama people here. They are quick to respond to the ingenuity that a stage designer must evince every time a play is produced. Seats have been pulled from Sanders to make way for Alcestic and Willy Loman; the whole concept of leisurely dining has been disrupted by the energetic stage hands who work while the rest of the House eats. A producer must be a jack-of-all-trades at Harvard. He must know where he can rent lights for the cheapest rates, what printer will put out his program with the least delays, and he must be an architect, painter, and electrician to ready his show for an opening.
In past weeks it has become evident that the exuberance and pure number of