College News, 1919-03-12, Vol. 05, No. 20

              The College News
Volume V.   No. 20
BRYN MAWR, PA., WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12, 1919
Price 5 Cent*
"A  MERRY DEATH'
MADAME BRESHKOVSKAYA
WILL TELL OF RUSSIAN
REVOLUTION
Has Spent Life in Effort to Route
Peasants to Overthrow Aristocracy
DENOUNCES BOLSHEVISM
"I'm a Social Revolutionist and I will
be till I die, but God save us from the
Bolaheriki," quotes the "Literary Digest"
from Madame Catherine Breshkovskaya,
"the little grandmother" of the Russian
revolution, who will speak Saturday eve-
ning in the gymnasium on "the Russian
Revolution as I Have Seen It."
Madame Breshkovskaya's mission in
America Is to tell the American people
the truth about Russia, and to organise
help for the 4,000,000 Russian children
orphaned by the war and the Bolshevlkl
regime. She wants education, books, and
a chance for the new generation in Rus-
sia.
Has  Joyful  Welcome at  Wellesley
Wellesley College greeted Madame
Breshkovskaya for the second time two
weeks ago. The undergraduates sang to
her outside President Pendleton's house,
where she was staying, and three stu-
dents gave a Greek dance. After a
speech of welcome from the president of
the Students' Association, Madame
Breshkovskaya was presented with $100
from the Wellesley War Chest for the
Russian Orphan Fund.
Siberian   Exile  for  30  Years
Born of the nobility, Madame Bresh-
kovskaya has devoted her life to bringing
about the Russian revolution. Distressed
even as a child at the condition of the
peasants, she labored to teach and ele-
vate them. Soon after her marriage to
(Continued on page 2, column 3.)
Miss Ailard Awarded Fellowship
Beatrice Ailard, last year's president of
the Graduate Club, has been awarded the
Alice Freeman Palmer Research Fellow-
ship by Wellesley College for the year
1919-30. Miss Ailard Is Mt. Holyoke '15.
and for the past four years she has been
doing graduate work in Semitic lan-
guages at Bryn Mawr under the direction
of Dr. Barton. Former holders of this
scholarship are Mrs. Pell. Associate Pro-
fessor of Mathematics, and Mrs. de
Laguna. Associate Professor of Philoso-
phy
COMMUNITY SINGING TO BE
ORGANIZED BY[HALLS
May Day Sing Planned as^Climax of
Weekly  Practices
Community singing organised by halls,
a special "conference" under a Y. M. C.
A.   leader on March 28 and 29, and an
inter-hall competition on May Day are in-
cluded in a schedule drawn up last week
at a Joint meeting of the Athletic Board,
class-presidents, song-leaders and the
present singing committee.
('lass singing will be In no way inter-
fered with by the community singing,
which is open to everyone and makes no
distinction between mutes and others.
Song-leaders, elected by halls from
nominations made by the present com-
mittee, will make up next year's college
song committee. The chairman will be
the college song mistress, chosen as usual
at the annual elections of the Athletic
Associations. It is probable that part of
the hall drills will be given up to hall
singing, and each hall will compose a col-
lege song for the competition held in the
spring.
The nominations for hall song-leaders
will be made from those attending the
normal classes in song-leading to be given
in the gymnasium by Mr. Robert Law-
rejpce on the afternoons of March 28 and
29. Mr. I^awrenc, who is at the head of
all Y. M. C. A. camp and community sing-
ing, will speak on singing and its place in
the life of a community on the evening of
March 28. His lecture will be followed
by a sing. He may also lead an all-
college sing the next evening.
The climax of the weekly college sings
to be held throughout the spring, will
come on the afternoon of May Day, in a
special celebration on the lower athletic
field, probably In connection with outdoor
folk dancing. The halls will come on the
field by companies, and sing the college
song composed by them before a commit-
tee of Judges. The winning hall will re
ceive a trophy to be kept In the hall.
Ninety people came out for the Com-
munity Sing on Tuesday. Lois Kellogg
'20, the Junior member of the committee,
led. Several students were picked from
the ranks to lead In turn on the platform.
The committee decided on the following
people for the normal class:   E. Cecil '21.
B.  Krech It. L Ward 11. L Reinhardt
11. E. Taylor 11. A Harrison '30. Others
will be chosen later.
C. SKINNER STARS AS BARRIES " ROSALIND " IN VARIETY SERIES
" Merry Death " Distinctively Staged�" Maid of France
Proves Poor Choke
A MERRY DEATH
A harlequinade in onr ;u 1. by Nuholas Evrritiov.
Pierrot                                      I.ucilc Babrotk. graduate.
Harlequin............           Bertha Perguson '21
Doctor................___   Bessie Ostroff '21.
Columbine                    . .         Sidney Be'ville '18.
Death.............Helene Zmmer '20.
Stage Manager. Marguerite Kranlx '19.
THE MAID OP FRANCE
A play in one act. by Harold Brighouse.
Jeanne d'Arc..............Lou Kellogg  20.
Blanche, a Plower Girl.....Virginia Park '20.
Paul, a Poilu.....                   Victoria Evans '21.
Fred, a Tommy........       Marjonc Warren '.' I.
Gerald   Soamea.  an  English
Lieutenant..............Mary S. Goggm '21.
A Verger..............         Bettina Warburg   .'I
i Rebecca Reinhardt '19.
Milli.-ent Carey '20.
Elizabeth Mattevm '21.
elen D. Hill 71.
ROSALIND
A comedy in one act. by J. M. Barne.
Dame Quickly    ...........Mary Ramsay '19.
Mrs. Page........                 Cornelia Skinner '.'.'.
Charles                                     Emily Anderson
Stage Manager. Mar tone Martin '19.
The "Rosalind" of Cornelia Skinner 12,
and the effective, impressionistic staging
of the first play on the program, Evrei-
nov's harlequinade. "A Merry Death,"
made Varsity Dramatics last Friday and
Saturday, the subject of unanimous con-
gratulations to all the producers, notably
M re. Howard Rollins Patch, who coached.
and Dr. Gertrude Rand, who managed the
lighting. The actors in the second pluy,
"The Maid of France," by Harold Brig-
house, labored under tremendous difficul-
ties imposed by the mawkish sentimental-
ity of plot and lines.
"A Merry Death" Skilfully Staged
The striking setting for the Russian
play in red-, purples, black and white.
toned by skilful lighting to produce a
definite single effect of luminous dark-
ness, won "A Merry Death" the distinr
tlon of artis:ic novelty.
Lucille Babcock, as the malicious
"innocent." Pierrot, characterised her
part more completely than any of the
actors in the play. Bertha Ferguson '-'1
Interpreted Harlequin, trifling with Pier-
rot's Columbine to the minute of his
death, more by movement and attitude
than by speech. A Columbine of great
grace and vivacity, though of small range
of emotion, was pictured by Sidney Bel
ville 'IS. Passya Ostroff '31 proved a
highly satisfactory doctor.
In the grim antics of the difficult death
dance, Helene Zinsser '20 created the Il-
lusion of the skeleton with unusual skill.
Maid of Francs Realistic
The Jeanne d'Arc of Lois Kellogg 10,
at first immovably realistic as the stone
statue, and later the living Maid, saved
"The Maid of France" from worse than
mediocrity.
The stained glass saints of the cathe-
dral windows were worthy a better set-
ting than the distractlngly spotty stone
wall in which they were set.
The actors and managers of this play
are to be commiserated on Its unfortunate
choice, for which i hey were not responsi-
ble.
Rosalind Nearly Professional
i'ornelia Skinner's spirited and niag
Mtlfl i'haraeteiixation of Barrie's popular
,ii-tr,as, middle-aged In private life, Is a
memorable one for the Bryn Mawr stage.
Her acting had the savoir-faire of the
professional with very great spontaneity
and <-li;ii in
Miss Skinnn's great >kill made Hie
Charles of Knilly Anderson 'L'2 se�-m ex-
ceptionally callow and boyishly sincere,
qualities wholly in keeping with the part.
Mary Ramsay '19 proved a satisfying and
matronly old housekeeper for the famous
Miss Skinner la Hie dauKhter of Otis
Skinner Mrs skinner helped to make
up tin              i Friday evening.
B. M. THEATRE A POSSIBILITY
The possibility of huildirfg a cheap the-
atre for college dramatics will be dis-
cussed at an I'ndergraduate meeting.
The classes would lend the necessary
money to the Undergraduate Association,
which wouUI borrow on a corporation
basis instead of paying the office each
time for the erection of a stage. Starting
the auditorium wing of the Students'
Building immediately will be an alternate
possibility considered.
The question of enlarging the scope of
the Schedule Committee to include con-
ference with the Office Committee about
dates of plays and other entertainments
will be discussed.