238 RURAL SOCIOLOGY 



The work of the Little Country Theater has more than justi- 

 fied its existence. It has produced scores of plays and com- 

 munity programs. The people who have participated in them 

 seem to have caught the spirit. One group of young people 

 from various sections of the State represented five different na- 

 tionalities Scotch, Irish, English, Norwegian and Swedish 

 successfully staging "The Fatal Message," a one-act comedy 

 by John Kendrick Bangs. In order to depict Russian life, one 

 of the dramatic clubs in the institution gave "A Russian Honey- 

 moon." Another cast of characters from the country presented 

 "Cherry Tree Farm," an English comedy, in a most accept- 

 able manner. "Leonarda," a play by Bjornsterne Bjornson, 

 was presented by the Edwin Booth Dramatic Club and was un- 

 doubtedly one of the best plays ever staged in the Little Coun- 

 try Theater. An orchestra played Norwegian music between 

 the acts. 



An illustration to demonstrate that a home-talent play is a 

 dynamic force in helping people to find themselves is afforded 

 in the presentation of "The Country Life Minstrels" by the 

 Agricultural Club, an organization of young men coming en- 

 tirely from country districts. The story reads like a romance. 

 The club decided to give a minstrel show. At the first re- 

 hearsal, nobody exhibited any talent except one young man. 

 He could clog. At the second rehearsal a tenor and a mandolin 

 player were discovered; at the third, several good voices were 

 found; whereupon a quartet and a twelve-piece band were 

 organized. When the play was presented, twenty-eight young 

 men furnished an excellent entertainment. During the last three 

 years nearly twenty young ladies, the majority from country 

 districts, have presented short plays. Each of them has also 

 selected the production, but they have promoted the play and 

 trained the cast of characters as well. When Percy MacKaye, 

 the well-known dramatist, visited the Little Country Theater, 

 four young men presented "Sam Average." "The Traveling 

 Man," a miracle play, was presented, in honor of Lady Gregory, 

 of Ireland, on her last tour of America. Many other stand- 

 ard plays have also been presented by these rural amateurs as 

 well as a number of original productions. 



