UNDERGRADUATE DRAMATICS.

We are glad to see that the English Department is not resting upon its laurels in the matter of providing in Cambridge plays of real merit. It is some years since Forbes Robertson played "Hamlet" in Sanders Theatre; but there is no reason why we should wait several more years for a similar performance. Miss Maude Adams's first performance on a Harvard stage should be the fore-runner of the appearance of many other actors and actresses who are willing to appear before Harvard audiences in Cambridge, rather than have a few undergraduates see them each night in Boston. Our audiences are critical, but they appreciate a good play and can give as good a reception to an actor of real merit as the general public.

Plays every year or every few years will meet with a warm reception in Cambridge, but they will not have as much effect as more frequent exhibitions of talent, even if it is amateurish. At present the inspiration to future play-wrights comes from club theatricals and Boston performances. Would it not be possible to develop, with the assistance of the English Department, a series of plays which would open opportunities to talent representing the entire University? As a centre for this activity we should suggest the Union. Monthly plays would be of value to the embryo writers and actors of the University and would also provide a regular and drawing attraction for the Union.

We should cease to look upon actors as a class who turn to the stage from a want of anything better. The American stage depends upon more than transient stars for its real value as an educational influence and a transmittendum to posterity. Should not Harvard with its recognized advantages do its part toward developing actors of recognized ability? We demand the highest qualifications for teachers and members of other professions. Is there any real reason why we should not demand an equally high standard for the men who divert us in our leisure hours, and, since demands alone are generally ineffective, should we not back them up by some tangible organization which will have for its sole object the encouragement of undergraduate dramatics?