William .Vaughn Moody8s;The Great Divide
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William Vaughn Moody's The Great Divide; a production and production book Item Type text; Thesis-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Fritsch, Jon Edgar, 1938- Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 09/10/2021 15:03:14 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/551571 WILLIAM .VAUGHN MOODY8 S; THE GREAT DIVIDE: A PRODUOTION AND PRODUCTION BOOK % Jon Eo Fritsoh A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF DRAMA ■ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the degree of MASTER OF ARTS 1 In the Graduate Oollege . UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA ' 1962 The joy of ' that ■ large faltli America In the high will which turns the human tide He blazed across the sun-crowned Great Divide To make in art a new meridian, Stretching the puny man Of our pent theatre’s roof, to arch a flood Of mightier passion cosmopolitan And build, in nobler urgings of our blood. The excellent democracy of man. Percy Mackaye STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This thesis has been submitted in partial ful fillment of requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in The Universi ty Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this thesis are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgment of source is made. Requests for per mission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the head of the major department or the Dean of the Graduate College when in their judgment the proposed use of the material is in the interests of scholarship. In all other instances, however, permission must be obtained from the author. SIGNED:_____ Q W ) APPROVAL BY THESIS DIRECTOR This thesis has been approved on the date shown below: ____ PETER R. MARRONEY ' Date Professor of Dramatics Head of the Department of Dramatic Arts DR. JOHN A. MILLS Associate Professor of Drama fiBLE OB, CpiSTENTS ' \ : ' P¥e INTRODUCTION ■ v : i PiRT ONE; THE DIRECTOR'S PRELIMINARY STUDIES 1 Chapter ' . ' I. WILLIAM VAUGHN MOODY AND THE GREAT DIVIDE 1 IIo THE DIRECTOR’S ANALYSIS; OF THE PLAY 0,24 Preliminary Considerations ; 24 Analysis of the Plot ■»«„.» P. .......... o. „ 25 III, THE DIRECTOR’S APPROACH TO. PRODUCING- T HE PLA Y" O O O O O O O O © 0 0 © O O O O © O O O O O O O O O O COO O o' 45 PART W O : ■ THE PRODUCTION .y© o . ©t © © „ © „ , ©, © ©, © 0© 0 ©, . 49 IVo ■THE PROMPT .BOOK'FOR THE .GREAT DIVIDE „© © ©,„„ 58 V© SUMMARY OF THE REHEARSAL PERIOD. ©,,. .. ... ... 113 ■ VI © - THE: DIRECTOR’S EVALUATION OF THE ^ 1 COMPLETED PRODUCTION © ©,,,. ©. ©. © © . © © o.© © © 1.28 IllostrataoHs oeoooooooo©©:,©©©©©'©®©©©©©©© 153 Ba bliography © © © © © © © © © © o © © © © © © © ©■ o, © © © © © © o © 153 iCKItOTODQMENTS The writer wishes to express appreciation to Professor PeterMarroney, head of the Drama Depart ment, a,nd Dr . John Mills for their suggestions ' and assistance i n ■the preparation of this thesis. He would also like to; thank. Mr.' Dennis Wilkerson for , designing the settings, Mrs? Joan Brinokerhoff, who served as assistant 'director, and the cast and crews of The Great Divide for their cooperation and work. ; ' -* ■ \ ' ■'introduction ' William -Vaughti Moody; born in 18699 has earned a respected reputation for his sizable contribution to American literature. His poetry5 verse dramas, prose..plays/ and letters reflect the age and the time in which he lived 'and- are worthy of study by students today! Moody's works ■ . include several volumes, of poetry, a trilogy of verse ' ; \ dramas, and two- prose plays, The.Great Divide and The .Faith 1 ■ Hoalerc That his, works are seldom read today is Understand able, for he wrote.with subtlety,: Used extensive . imagery and symbolism, and generally tended to be both academic and esoteric. - These are features which are not easily per- ■; :: eeIved-by the,,maeses ^nor do they promote general popularity. However, his sineerity, restrained emotionalism, and; puritanical thought give his writings a quality rarely found in current literature. t; : ' ^ ‘X," 1 r\':v-l: The Great Divide, in particular $ holds' an important and significant place in the history of American drama,- bridglhg; the ; "old:" melodrama with the "new" •realism. It .was first produced in,Chicago in the spring of 1906 under the title of The Sabine Woman. Following several revisions, In cluding, a new '.title, it toured for a. short period, finally ' opehing in New York on October 3, 19.06, with Miss Margaret ■ teg 1 in and Henry Miller In the principal rolese- After an overwhelmingly favorable reception, the play continued its Hew York run until April of 1909° After more than one thousand professional American performances, the play moved to London and Paris for an additional run. Although Moody died in 1910, the play continued to retain its repu tation as popular theatre fare. Henry Miller, in the spring of 1917s revived the play in Hew York and it was again acclaimed as a "Great American’ Drama.” The possibility of again reviving The Great Divide, to determine its theatrical effectiveness for contemporary audiences, presents an educational and artistic challenge for the writer. ;'' Therefore, it is the purpose of this thesis to study the author and history of The Great Divide. to analyze and establish a production procedure, and to pro duce, direct and record the production of the play. The writer believes that this study can best be treated by dividing it into two, main sections; the director's pre- . liminary studies and the production. PART OME .' ■THE DIRECTOR8 S ;PRELIMINARY STUDIES : ;¥IL$Iii '-VWii MOODY AMD. ,®g G H M DIVIDE ; ■ : . , William Vaughn Moody was born in Spencer., Indiana, ■ ' ' July ,8$ 1869», the son of Francis Burdette Moody9- a steamboat .: captainand, Henrietta Stoy Moody0 Shortly after his birth :. Moody* s family moved to Mew Albany/ Indiana^ where the young - Moody received his early edueation. - . Moody' was first introduced to good literature: by his father3 but it was his mother who most greatly influenced , and inspired him during his formative years» . In The . ; Daguerreotype 9 Moody pays tribute to his mother and the ■ ' • understanding and devotion which she gave him; / • . ; o o « the sweet and heavy years ■ . ¥hen by her bed and chair / . ’ : . ‘ ■ We children gathered jealously to share v The sunlit aura breathing myrrh and thyme* Where ' the ' so re-stricken body made . a. clime - - ■ ; : ■ y Gentler than Mary and'pleasanter than rhyme^ ' Ho Her and more mystical than prayer.1 : Following the death of his parents. Moody taught for a- Short time in- a rural school, attended the Riverview Academy in Poughkeepsie, Mew York, and, in. 1889,; entered Harvard vHniyersitya . His .course of study at Harvard eentered in the classics and medieval literature. In the spring of 1890 , , 1 The Poems and: Plays of William Vaughn Moodv, I, (Mew YorkW 1912); p,: 105.1 , 1 I Ms'odj became one of the editors of a campus literary magazine where his .poetry was first published= ; Serving as a tutors Moody made his first journey abroad at the close of his senior yearo.' In the autumn of I893 he returned to Harvard and completed a Master's degree : the following springe For the year 1894=95* he was elected 'to the staff of the Department of English at Harvard= The . following year* Moody accepted a position as Instructor of English, at the University .of Chicago where he remained until 1903= His second trip to Europe took place before assuming this new-appointment o Moody did not easily adjust to life in Chicago or to the task of teaching* believing that they interfered with his creative spirit0 Moody’s distaste for teaching* however* did not impede his academic contributions^ Horae© Soudder* representing the Houghton'Mifflin Company* publishers of the Riverside Literature series* invited Moody to edit The Pilgrim’s Progress and an edition of Milton’s poetical works» These he completed in 1897 1899 respectively» He also edited or assisted in editing* seven works in the Lake English Classic series published by the Scott-Foresman Company. His most notable academic effort* however* was The History of English Literature written in 'collaboration with Robert Morss Lovett and published in 1902. This book* together with a volume of poetry published the same year* and The Masque o f . Judgment in 1900* firmly established Moody as a man of, letters. v In 1897* wliile traveling in Austria and Italy, Moody 'began working on a trilogy of lyrical dramas which eventually included The Masque of Judgment, The Fire- Brlnger, and The Death of Eve»- ''The;unifying element in- the -trilogy, is found in Moody' s thesis: G-od .and Man are ' inseparable o".. • : ■ ' ■ /- .y '.;- .' Moody completed the writing Of The Masque in y January, 1900,y but it did: not appear ..in published form . until the following November. Though it received mixed reviews, it was consistently critized for being over- wrought in its form* David Henry,' in his study of Moody, provides. thiS;r-:ex:planation f or its -general re jection's - "The masque as a type has not found popular acceptance in America because of its use of materials too "far removed y;' from reasonableness. The Pi re -Br Inge r j ''Moody's se cond" p lay, appearedin March, 1904, with the'following forewords y • - '7 The /Pjre“■Br l n g e r is ihtended as .the first 7 member Of a trilogy on the-Promethean theme, , of whleh The Masque of-Judgment is the■ second memberj ‘.