Drama in Uniform

"This is an urgent request. It is important that the National Theatre Conference have available without delay certain facts to submit to the national government. Please send to this office the names of those of your recent graduates who are qualified to direct plays and supervise dramatics in military training camps."

With this letter a month ago, the National Theatre Conference began to prepare to entertain the troops. A kind of holding company for the non-Broadway stage, the National Theatre Conference is supported by the Rockefeller Foundation, has its roots in every high school, university and community theatre in the country. Having brooded long over the haphazard entertainment that was dished up to the doughboys in World War I, the directors of the Conference are getting set for future war.

Among the first to respond to the Conference's request were the Baylor students in the Southwest Summer Theatre, who signed up in a body for war work last fortnight. Last week into the Conference's offices at Western Reserve University in Cleveland had come responses from 169 other colleges submitting the names of 1,028 men and women.

The Conference plan for keeping conscripts happy is simply to provide good entertainment. Usually pretty highbrow, the directors do not intend to try to force Greek drama on the soldiers. With plenty of music, roaring shows, the Conference sees a chance (with Government cooperation) to build up interest in good American theatre.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.