Laugh on Vacation

"Beneath the weight of our ordinary daily life the springs of joy stir restlessly and the sources of gladness seethe. When the little hours of vacation draw near and permit us to set them free, we come forward to feed our hungry spirits and lavish upon them every variety of amusement; without them, we waste away — as ease vanishes within us — in the poison of seriousness and harshness."

So said an expert in the art of entertainment who was entrusted with directing light spoken dialogues and sketches, or silent comic ones, in various European camps and in our own country. And now that we are on the point of spending some part of three months — whether on scout trips or school excursions, outside the country or within it, charity camps or touring circuits — we cannot do without a program by which, from one evening to the next, we amuse one another with innocent, laughable entertainment. We must therefore keep everything that bears any relation to seriousness out of all the subjects chosen for the "village scene," as we have called it, and hold fast to everything that leads to gladness and good cheer.

What are the merits of the village scene?

1 — Simplicity: let simplicity be the motto in every department: décor and furniture, dress, the piece itself, the acting, the delivery, the movements.

2 — Promptness: no breaking of the announced starting times. For example, if we announce nine o'clock, there is no excuse whatever — even on vacation — for beginning at half past nine; for either some of the spectators will walk out while the rest stay on with nerves on edge. Let us beware of slowness in changing the furniture, or of intermissions. It is best that the piece always be of a single act.

3 — Brevity: or not exhausting the audience. Its members have spent their afternoon swimming or walking or camping; the ruins of Baalbek have made their heads swim, and the sight of the towering peaks has drawn out all the astonishment they possess. After all that, let us present before them a brief scene — and if we see them slipping away by stealth or repeatedly consulting their watches: beware!

4 — Variety: let us present pieces of dialogue, one-act comic sketches, or what they call a "numéro," taking from twelve to fifteen minutes. In this way we win the admiration of the audience, who see theatrical worth in us, without leaving them room to notice the mistakes — to say nothing of renewing their desire to watch whenever the program changes and varies.

5 — Self-confidence: let us cast hesitation aside by knowing our parts by heart — and the parts of the others, if possible — and by knowing our positions in the scene: right or left, back or front.

And that success may be our ally, let us heed the five following counsels:

1 — Exchanging roles: today's spectator among us is tomorrow's actor, and the day after that the decorator of the scene. He amuses today and is amused tomorrow. Interchanged functions are the first element in renewing desire.

2 — Let good temper prevail in us: good humour — for everything we have said above about the necessary preparations amounts to nothing if we come to it with lukewarm zeal or against our will.

3 — Let our word be binding: that is, if one of us promises to take a part, he may not withdraw his word five minutes before the appointed time. True, there is nothing by which he can be compelled to do it, but he will have thrown the whole act into confusion and charged with electricity an atmosphere that needs complete calm.

4 — Let us laugh at fear: remembering that even the great actors are seized by the trembling of standing on the stage, and that these muscular contractions soon fade away as we grow familiar with the scene and bring to it an acting neither swollen with swagger nor stumbling in timidity.

5 — Let us accustom ourselves to order: as soon as we have chosen the scene and the parts are distributed, we must follow the directions of the trainer or prompter we have chosen. And let us attend to décor and neatness of dress, for that increases our self-confidence.