Page Four

THE COLLEGE NEWS

 

 

 

 

  
 

 

 

~ THE COLLEGE NEWS

Christmas and Easter Holidays, and during examination. weeks) in the interest of
Bryn Mawr College at the Maguire Building, Wayne. Pa., and Bryn Mawr College.

 

 

 

The College News ia fully protected by copyright. Nothing that appears in
it may be reprinted either wholly or in part witheut written permission of the
Editor-in-Chief. Ke ve

 

ats Sor par vention 2

Editor-in-Chief -
HELEN FISHER, 37 . o
Copy Editor
ANNE MARBURY, By
Editors

%

ELIZABETH LM, "37
JEAN MORRILL, 39
MARGARET OcIS, ’39

ELEANOR BAILENSON, ’39

MARGERY HARTMAN, '38

MARGARET Howson, '38

Mary H. HUTCHINGS, ’37 JANE SIMPSON, ’37

ABBIE INGALLS, ’38 JANET THOM, ’38
SUZANNE WILLIAMS, ’38

: ‘Sports Editor
s Sytvia H. Evans, ’37

Business Manager
CORDELIA STONE, ’37

Assistant for Pictorial Section
EURETTA SIMONS, ’36

Advertising Manager “9 Subscription Manager
AGNES ALLINSON, ’37 DEWILDA NARAMORE, ’38

Assistants
ETHEL HENKELMAN, ’38 ALICE GORE KING, ’37
ee LOUISE STENGEL, ’37 ~

' SUBSCRIPTION, $2.50 MAILING PRICE, $3.00
SUBSCRIPTIONS MAY BEGIN AT ANY TIME

Entered as second-class matter at the Wayne, Pa.. Post Office

**Gentles, Perchance You Wonder at This Show—”

Friends new and old, parents and cousins, returning alumnae and
prospective fellow-students—to all of you the undergraduates of Bryn Mawr
offer their heartiest welcome. We trust that by now you have forgotten
the train or motor car which brought you here and that you firmly believe
the ox and horse to be noble beasts of transport. We hope that even if the
day is hot you do not long for air conditioning or that even if it is raining
you find this Elizabethan world a pleasant one. It has been glorious fun
preparing it; it is even more fun to perform for you; we only hope that
you enjoy it one-half as much as we ourselves.

What you see today is a curious blend of sport and scholarship, of
tradition and spontaneity. May Day has become so completely a part of
Bryn Mawr that its growth has followed closely that of the college itself.
This year it is undoubtedly more authentically Elizabethan than ever before,
but the costuming has advanced with the modern theatre and the spirit of
the entire pageant is. definitely that of Bryn Mawr, 1936. The principal
inspiration and the form are, of course, traditional to the college, but three
new plays and a host of new ideas make with the production itself an
entirely original performance. :

Despite the predominance of their presence on the Greene, the students
are not the primary reason for May Day’s success, if such it prove to be.
These laurels belong not to us, but to the able directors who have handled
every difficult problem and have labored night and day to create these
revels at the appointed date. Particularly we wish you to realize our grati-
tude to those regularly at Bryn Mawr who have given freely and will-
ingly of their time. Mrs. Chadwick-Collins, after a strenuous year raising
money for the Fiftieth Anniversary Fund and managing the Celebration,
shouldered this new task and with unflagging enthusiasm has marshalled all
forces to a united production. Miss Petts, Miss Brady and Miss Grant
haye spent long hours preparing the Greene, and their tolerance with our
antics and stupidities at endless rehearsals is duly appreciated. Mr. Wil-

loughby has this year been taxed more than before with music for plays
and the Greene, and the result will make this May Day outstanding in the
quality of the music. Mr. Wyckoff and Miss Dyer have’ not only coached
the plays with skill, but have volunteered their services and advice wherever
they could be of use. Without Miss Sherman’s. ingenious and willing
handiness and Miss Grayson’s artistic brilliance, there would be no pageant
and no plays. The debt of gratitude which everyone owes to the many
assistants who at every turn hawe given kind attention and help, can never
be estimated. Miss Térrien is one who without official May Day title has
been a constant and accurate source of information, and has saved by her
knowledge and enthusiasm hours of time for every student and assistant.
"i of all, to a faculty tolerant of spring revels, who have so arranged
their courses that May Day has not decreased the amount or quality of work
and at the same time has not inconvenienced us unduly, we make a grateful
bow. All of these and many others have been so integral a part of May
Day that their importance cannot be overlooked even by parents anxious
only to see the efforts of their offspring: The pageant is partly tradition,
partly the cooperative effort of the students, but predominantly the result of
these skilled directors, coaches and managers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

version of an old bandit story with
Warner Baxter as the desperado.
Chestnut: The Great Ziegfeld car-
ries on.
Earle: Florida Special with Jack
Oakie,, A dish of odds and ends.
Eufopa: Maria Chapdelaine star-
ring Madelaine Renauld, begins
Thursday.
Fox: Under Two Flags, Ronald Col-
man stages a tour de force-by giving

In Philadelphia

 

Theatres

Broad: Fresh Fields, Ivor Novello’s
feeble comedy played by Miss Mar-
garet Anglin-in a return appearance
after several years absence from the
stage, during which time she seems
to have forgotten none of the old, old
tricks of the acting trade.

Garrick. The hilarious Three Men
on a Horse continues its successful
run. ¢- Ouida role.

Karlton: Beginning Friday, Panic
in the Air, with Lew Ayres, which ex-
plains it. :

Keith’s: Mr. Deeds sia to Town,
Gary Cooper, who has the perfect lips
fot the part of a rustic tuba-player,
has the lead. Quite worthwhile. —

I Married a “Doctor, Sin-

Movies
Aldine: Things to Come, H. G. Wells
pessimistic but spectacular prediction
of the future, acted by a fine cast
Ae Boyd. Beginning Friday, Till We

    

 

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Ran POURS
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F

WIT?S END

 

 

a perfect performance in a sloppy

THE UNCOOPERATIVE SENIOR
Sumer is icumen in,

Lhude sing cuccu! ¢
Gosh yes! and while I vainly seek re-
pose

I ask myself, “‘Couldn’t it even have
waited until Phoebus gan arose?”

Scram cuccu!

I might be Elizabethan about this and
encourage it to cheep,

But I won’t. And I want to go back
to sleep.

I postively refuse to open the window
and show my head to you girls

As I still have some pride and don’t
like to publicize the mechanics

‘ that are responsible for the suc-
cess of my curls.

Furthermore I should like to state
that I feel that anyone who.makes
noises lhudely

Before 8 A. M. is beyond the pale so-
cially and behaving extremely
rhudely.

I like to lie thus musing,

Life’s sweet delight refusing.

I find it very agreeable and ‘it’s none
of your business if I linger so
long in bed,

And what do I care anyway if over
the meadows the sun comes red

And nature calls to work and play.

Shut up then, my comrades and for
heaven’s sake GO AWAY!

Erp Wuzzy

=

 

Our Janie’s in a Pagan Festival

Oh, May Day’s so authentic dear.
You know Janie says we couldn’t miss
it. It’s only given every four years
and everything even the stilt walkers
has tradition behind it. That’s what
she says. Doesn’t it interest you to
think that all those lovely, dances and
pretty Maypoles were once parts of
wild pagan festivals? Aren’t you
glad that our Janie has a chance to be
in a wild pagan festival—Oh, Bill,
you never did have’ imagination. It’s
not a waste of time. After all, you
weren’t going to do anything but play
golf this afternoon.—What’s this play,
Old Wives’ Tale? . Well, dear, I
don’t understand it either. A wizard
is entangled with some forlorn lovers,
he’s practicing necromancy or some-
thing on that lovely girl. . OF
course, it’s hot. - I’m hot, too, and
naturally the ground is uncomfort-
able. You shouldn’t mind a few rocks
while you’re watching your own
daughter act. If I can stand it you
certainly can. Now this is Gammer
Gurton. Bill—really this is all the
scenery they ever had. Yes darling.
Those screens they’re rolling out are
houses. ‘There that man goes stepping
all over us—you’d think people could
watch where they are going. I know,
my shoes are filthy too. But you
shouldn’t mind, this is May Day. En-
ter into the spirit of things more,
Bill. Here’s The Deluge.—lIt isn’t a

bit foolish, it’s traditional. God al-
ways sat up there. You have no
appreciation for anything. Touches

like that make the art of a play. I
don’t see why everyone has to push so.
Even the Elizabethans -couldn’t have
liked their audiences on the verge of
a stampede as this one is. Where do
you-suppose all the chairs are? The
sun here isn’t any worse than at one
of your football games, and this is a
much more worth while thing to see.
Oh, be careful. There goes your hat.
Over there, by those two ladies with
parasols. Goodness, don’t knock them
over while you’re getting it. Do be
eareful. Bill, Bill, where are you
going? Oh, well, wait a minute and
T’ll come with you. But, it was au-
thentic, wasn’t it, dear?

Cheerio,
THE MAD HATTER.

 

ephine Hutchinson and Pat O’Brien.

Stanton: Preview Murder,.a very
minor program piece with Reginald
Denny.

Local Movies

-<Ardmore: Thursday, Love Before
Breakfast, with Carole Lombard; Fri-
day and Saturday, Dick Powell in
Colleen; Monday and Tuesday, Mae
West in Klondike Annie; Wednesday
and Thursday, Robert Montgomery
and Myrna Loy in Petticoat Fever;
Seville: Thursday, Wife vs. Secre-
tary; Friday and Saturday, Eddie
Cantor in Strike. Me Pink; Wayne:
Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Lit-

TUMBLING FOR GIRLS.
LIVELY, INSTRUCTIVE

The keynote of Marna V. Brady’s
book, Tumbling for Girls, is that
tumbling is fun. Miss Petts says ‘so
‘in her delightful preface to the book..
Miss Brady says so in her introduc-
tion, and it is implied throughout. A
book that is little more than a series
of instructions might reasonably be
expected to be dry and catalogued,
but Miss Brady: has -performed ‘the
difficult feat of transferring her én-
thusiasm to the printed page so that
the whole book fairly lives. —

The body of the book is concerned
with instructions as to how to do the
various stunts. The author. begins
with a description of basic feats for

 

 

individuals. Then she goes on to more _—

advanced ones for individuals, to pair
stunts, to feats requiring three or
more people and finally, to. pyramids.
Besides her actual instructions, she
gives suggestions of the sort that ean
be learned only by long experience with
tumbling and tumblers. The book
very fittingly ends with a description
of the Bryn Mawr tumblers’ per-
formance in the 1932 May Day. *

Many of the stunts have been
worked out by Miss Brady and the
Bryn Mawr tumbling class, and the
book is profusely illustrated.with ex-
cellent photographs of the Bryn Mawr
tumblers.
physical education teachers in girls’
schools and colleges, will find this
book instructive and inspiring.

S. H. E.

 

Tradition of Big May Day at Bryn Mawr
Progressed to New Magnificence in 1932

 

 

Peasant Atmosphere is
Dominant Feature
of Greene

FIRST HELD IN 1900

 

In the year 1900 a group of Bryn
Mawr seniors met in the home of
Elizabeth Walker Andrews, ’93, to
discuss ways and means of raisiny
funds for a students’ building. It was
Mrs. Andrews who first recognized
the possibility of transforming the
campus into an Elizabethan village
and suggested that the college give an
Old: English May Day.

This suggestion was enthusiastically

accepted by the student body and in
order not to interrupt the regular
academic routine, all agreed not to
take any cuts. The alumnae took
charge of costumes, properties, re-
hearsals and financial arrangements
so that the undergraduates could de-
vote their time to rehearsals.
Six weeks of intensive work fol-
lowed, under the guidance of Mrs. Ah-
drews. She revived the peasant sports
and dances of sixteenth-century Eng-
land, after painstaking research into
the period. (Years later Cecil Sharpe
gave the college books of accurate
music and figures of the traditional
country dances, more authentic and
more lively than those of the first
May Day.) aN

The graduates and the alumnae
presented Ye Tragical Interlude of
Pyramus and Thisby, Ye St. George
Plays and Florizel and Perdita (from
A Winter’s Tale). The undergradu-
ates were divided into groups accord-
ing to classes, and the seniors began
rehearsal on Ye Lady of Ye Maie, the
juniors on Some Mery Gestes of Rob-
in Hood, the sophomores on The Ar-
raignments of Paris, and the freshmen
on The Revesby Sword Play or Morris
Dances. The pageant was brought to
a close by an old English supper—
“sallett of chickenys” and jamme
tartes.”

It was difficult to suit the tradi-
tional May Day costumes to the rigid
Victorian standard of dress. Doubt
whether girls should wear men’s cos-
tumes in public was partly appeased
by covering them with smocks and
cloaks. The costumes were passed by
a costuming committee, and yet the |
farmer who brought his oxen from!
Lancaster exclaimed, “Never again
will I allow my oxen to see such a
sight as this.”

Newspapers were not permitted to
take photographs, but had to use the
official plates of the college. These
had to be returned and no participants
were to be identified in the pictures |
or in the printed accounts, because
the committees wished to avoid per-
sonal publicity. (It is worthy of note
that the papers gave their promise
and kept it.)

 

strike against the long hours of the
Elizabethan revels. The music clubs
of Haverford College averted the near
catastrophe by donning cloaks and
caps and furnishing the pageant with
music. :

The procession formed on_ the
grounds of Wyndham with permission
of the owner, Theodore N. Ely. The
pageant, marshalled by two heralds
from each class, started from Pem-
broke Arch, and thus the first May
Day at Bryn Mawr began.

In 1906 six months of preparation
were devoted to the pageant, and
Masques were first presented in the
newly-completed Cloisters. The Eliz-
abethan banners flying from _ the
towers also date from this‘year.

The pageants of 1910 and 1914 were
directed by Elizabeth Daly, 1901, who
was during her college career Editor-
in-Chief of the Philistine. She dra-
matized the life of Robin Hood in
Sherwood forest, making the adapta-
tion from plays written by Anthony
Munday in 1597 and Robert Greene in
1587.

Cornelia Otis Skinner made:her de-
but in the 1910 May Day as Moth in
A Midsummer Night’s Dream and ap-
peared again in 1920 as Sacrapant in
The Old Wives’ Tale. With her began
the tradition of using an alumna, suc-
cessful in dramatics, in the role of
Queen Elizabeth. This was begun in
19382.

In 1918 the War interfered with the
usual performance which .was there-
fore given in 1920. This fete was the
first occasion in which the faculty
took part; it was directed, as was also
the next, by Mrs. Otis Skinner, mother
of the actress, to whom in great part
the present magnitude and beauty of
the pageant is due.

Mrs. Chadwick-Collins, Miss Ap-
plebee and Mr. King, who has been di-
recting plays at Bryn Mawr since
1906, managed the presentation of
1928. This festival coincided with the
completion of Goodhart and also in-
troduced Katharine Hepburn as an
actress in the role of Pandora in The
Woman in the Moon. .

Unfortunately it was necessary in
that year to use brown oxen which
were shipped from Baltimore by
truck. They arrived in the middle of
the night, and the driver awakened
the warden of Pembroke East in his
attempt to deliver them. The animals
caused further consternation by de-
veloping a case of homesickness and
refusing to eat.

In 1932 white oxen were procured
from Virginia, and after all arrange-
ments had béen made, a second pair
were offered. Their ninety-year-old

| attendant wished to accompany them

as an added attraction.

Elizabethan tents were erected to
serve as headquarters for refresh-
ments, and genuine thatched roofs
were provided by an old Irishman who
lived near the campus. Five big

 

Violet Oakley, of Philadelphia, de-
signed the cover for the program, and
this was so popular that it was used
again in 1906, 1910 and 1914. Since
the best color printing was then done
in Boston, the design for the cover
was sent theré and through some error

as never returned. Since then the

gram has become far more elabor-
ate and complete.

One of the difficult tasks of the
first pageant was to organize the
Elizabethan’ music. The late Dr. Hug
Clark froni the University of Penn-,
sylvanhia kindly aided in orchestrat-
ing the music for the songs and
dances. He trained and directed the
musicians and directed the orchestra.

At this point some of the musicians

 

 

   
 

Lord Fauntleroy.

who belonged to the union went on

movie companies were upon the scene
| to make sound recordings of the
events. For the first time selected
parts of the festival were seen all
over the country and helped to verify
the statement that a Bryn Mawr Big
May Day is “one of the few really
beautiful spectacles in America.”

 

_ Jugglers Pleased Elizabethans
”’Dressed in suits with bells on them,
sometimes ringing hand-bells, the
xteenth century jugglers or jocula-
tors did sleight-of-hand tricks which

or to the agency of the devil. The
entertainers were often so popular
that they were given apartments in
the royal household and had many
Rot pet aime :

 

 

 

The amateur, as well as.

were sometimes attributed to magic’