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Washington Square Players
The Washington Square Players (WSP) was a theatre troupe and production company that existed from 1915 to 1918 in Manhattan, New York City. It started as a semi-amateur Little Theatre then matured into a Repertory theatre with its own touring company and drama school. It received national newspaper coverage and sparked like-minded companies across the country. After it ceased operating, three of its members founded the Theatre Guild.
At the "Washington Square Bookshop" owned by the Boni brothers and the adjacent building housing the Liberal Club, an eclectic group of locals used to gather and criticize the state of American theatre. Sometime in late 1914 or early 1915 this group of creative types decided to join forces and produce their own plays. The company was formally organized in 1915, with playwright Edward Goodman as its director and Lawrence Langner as business manager. The New York Tribune referred to the troupe members as both professionals and semi-professionals. An article on the finances of the WSP from 1917 clarified its nature:
The Washington Square Players are a corporation, but they pay no dividends. That is, their stockholders are stockholders in name only, and there is a general understanding that all profits must be turned back into future productions.
According to a "manifesto" that was given out to the press, the company's goal was to present works of artistic merit, regardless of provenance though giving weight to American dramatists, that might not otherwise be performed in commercial theatres. New works by American playwrights were encouraged to be submitted, and new ideas for staging and setting would be considered.
Their original venue was to be a barn in an alley off Washington Square. Unable to afford anywhere closer to Greenwich Village, the company took a sub-lease on the Bandbox Theatre, which seated less than 300. It stood at East 57th Street just east of Third Avenue in Manhattan. Originally Adolph Phillips' Theater, where German plays were presented, it was renamed by new owners who leased it to the "New York Play Actors" corporation, headed by Douglas J. Wood. They had the same idea as the WSP but charged $2 a seat and could not make it work, so they sublet to the WSP.
The WSP plan was for performances to be given on Fridays and Saturdays only, for four weekends running. After these eight performances finished, a new program would be offered for the next four weeks. All seats were only 50 cents, a considerable discount over commercial theatres of the time. The troupe preferred tickets to be purchased on a subscriber basis rather than at performance time. One reviewer noted that Edna Ferber and Fola La Follette were subscribers. There were no salaried performers among the WSP that first season. All money raised went to the rent of the theatre, lighting, and other production expenses. The membership was described as composed of dramatic, musical, and literary people who lived in the "art colony" around Washington Square.
The debut production was given on February 19, 1915, consisting of some one-act playlets and a pantomime, three of which had been written for the event. The program was preceded by a little charade between Edward Goodman and two shills in the audience, whose complaints about the tardy curtain raising allowed for exposition on what the WSP were trying to accomplish. Reviewers from major newspapers covered the opening night; all praised the performances and lauded the experiment it represented. One mentioned that the pantomime was performed by "young mimes gathered from the Italian quarter near the square". Another listed all twenty-seven performers by name, though without ascribing playlets or roles for most.
The Bandbox was filled completely for every subsequent performance of that first program. On one weekend, nearly 150 people were turned away from the box office, so that the first bill was extended for another week, with matinees and weekday performances added. For amateur performers, many who had other careers to pursue, this unexpected success was proving very demanding. The news about the debut of the WSP was also spread around the country in the drama columns of newspapers in other states.
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Washington Square Players
The Washington Square Players (WSP) was a theatre troupe and production company that existed from 1915 to 1918 in Manhattan, New York City. It started as a semi-amateur Little Theatre then matured into a Repertory theatre with its own touring company and drama school. It received national newspaper coverage and sparked like-minded companies across the country. After it ceased operating, three of its members founded the Theatre Guild.
At the "Washington Square Bookshop" owned by the Boni brothers and the adjacent building housing the Liberal Club, an eclectic group of locals used to gather and criticize the state of American theatre. Sometime in late 1914 or early 1915 this group of creative types decided to join forces and produce their own plays. The company was formally organized in 1915, with playwright Edward Goodman as its director and Lawrence Langner as business manager. The New York Tribune referred to the troupe members as both professionals and semi-professionals. An article on the finances of the WSP from 1917 clarified its nature:
The Washington Square Players are a corporation, but they pay no dividends. That is, their stockholders are stockholders in name only, and there is a general understanding that all profits must be turned back into future productions.
According to a "manifesto" that was given out to the press, the company's goal was to present works of artistic merit, regardless of provenance though giving weight to American dramatists, that might not otherwise be performed in commercial theatres. New works by American playwrights were encouraged to be submitted, and new ideas for staging and setting would be considered.
Their original venue was to be a barn in an alley off Washington Square. Unable to afford anywhere closer to Greenwich Village, the company took a sub-lease on the Bandbox Theatre, which seated less than 300. It stood at East 57th Street just east of Third Avenue in Manhattan. Originally Adolph Phillips' Theater, where German plays were presented, it was renamed by new owners who leased it to the "New York Play Actors" corporation, headed by Douglas J. Wood. They had the same idea as the WSP but charged $2 a seat and could not make it work, so they sublet to the WSP.
The WSP plan was for performances to be given on Fridays and Saturdays only, for four weekends running. After these eight performances finished, a new program would be offered for the next four weeks. All seats were only 50 cents, a considerable discount over commercial theatres of the time. The troupe preferred tickets to be purchased on a subscriber basis rather than at performance time. One reviewer noted that Edna Ferber and Fola La Follette were subscribers. There were no salaried performers among the WSP that first season. All money raised went to the rent of the theatre, lighting, and other production expenses. The membership was described as composed of dramatic, musical, and literary people who lived in the "art colony" around Washington Square.
The debut production was given on February 19, 1915, consisting of some one-act playlets and a pantomime, three of which had been written for the event. The program was preceded by a little charade between Edward Goodman and two shills in the audience, whose complaints about the tardy curtain raising allowed for exposition on what the WSP were trying to accomplish. Reviewers from major newspapers covered the opening night; all praised the performances and lauded the experiment it represented. One mentioned that the pantomime was performed by "young mimes gathered from the Italian quarter near the square". Another listed all twenty-seven performers by name, though without ascribing playlets or roles for most.
The Bandbox was filled completely for every subsequent performance of that first program. On one weekend, nearly 150 people were turned away from the box office, so that the first bill was extended for another week, with matinees and weekday performances added. For amateur performers, many who had other careers to pursue, this unexpected success was proving very demanding. The news about the debut of the WSP was also spread around the country in the drama columns of newspapers in other states.