LES TROIS COUPS

There have been rumblings presaging serious dramatic activity at Harvard ever since the famous Forty Seven Workshop was discontinued. Within the last year these innuendos have gathered momentum and the chances for a revival of a former dramatic glory is looming up with a considerable show of realism. Although nothing definite has appeared, the general undergraduate feeling has certainly grown stronger, and it should be but a matter of time until something material is produced.

With the situation here in its present uncertain state, many men of distinct dramatic talent are discouraged from coming to this supposedly anti-theatrical college. There is a growing belief that Harvard is neglecting one of the major outlets of human expression, and in a civilization so obviously effected by the theatre as that of the present day, this impression can not continue without ultimately retarding the progress of the University.

Once in a not too distant past Harvard did look favorably upon the theatrical arts. This is demonstrable by the fact that the present American stage is largely controlled by former members of the Forty Seven Workshop. The ante-dated conservative atmosphere which the teaching of the drama has now assumed at Harvard indicates that its present predominance in the theatre can not help but be short lived.

The unfortunate aspect of this fading power is not that Harvard will eventually lose its firm grasp on the American stage, but that what was once a fertile field of capable dramatists has suddenly become barren for want of cultivation. The tradition which established theatrical activity has fortunately not had time to become extinct as is definitely indicated by the recurring undergraduate efforts to cause some sort of dramatic revival. But the impetus necessary to materialize these feelings must come before the fire is smothered in the obliterating blanket of opposition and neglect.