Misplaced Pages

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33-572: The Grove Play is an annual theatrical production written, produced and performed by and for Bohemian Club members, and staged outdoors in California at the Bohemian Grove each summer. In 1878, the Bohemian Club of San Francisco first took to the woods for a summer celebration that they called midsummer High Jinks. Poems were recited, songs were sung, and dramatic readings were given. In 1881,

66-442: A city large enough to have the somewhat cruel atmosphere of all great cities. Despite his purist views, Sterling associated very closely with the Bohemian Club and caroused with artist and industrialist alike at the Bohemian Grove . Oscar Wilde , upon visiting the club in 1882, is reported to have said, "I never saw so many well-dressed, well-fed, business-looking Bohemians in my life." A number of past membership lists are in

99-540: A form of "institutional inertia." Philip Boone Bohemian Club The City Club is located in a six-story masonry building at the corner of Post Street and Taylor Street, two blocks west of Union Square, and on the same block as both the Olympic Club and the Marines Memorial Club . The clubhouse contains dining rooms, meeting rooms, a bar, a library, an art gallery, a theater, and guest rooms. Every year,

132-477: A right to be called a Bohemian. But that is not a valid claim. There are two elements, at least, that are essential to Bohemianism. The first is devotion or addiction to one or more of the Seven Arts ; the other is poverty. Other factors suggest themselves: for instance, I like to think of my Bohemians as young, as radical in their outlook on art and life; as unconventional, and, though this is debatable, as dwellers in

165-590: A sort of Bohemia of the West. Mark Twain called himself and poet Charles Warren Stoddard bohemians in 1867. The Bohemian Club was originally formed in April 1872 by and for journalists who wished to promote a fraternal connection among men who enjoyed the arts . Michael Henry de Young , proprietor of the San Francisco Chronicle , provided this description of its formation in a 1915 interview: The Bohemian Club

198-411: Is "Weaving Spiders Come Not Here", a line taken from Act 2, Scene 2, of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream . The club motto implies that outside concerns and business deals are to be left outside. When gathered in groups, Bohemians usually adhere to the injunction, though discussion of business often occurs between pairs of members. A bronze relief by Jo Mora is installed on the exterior of

231-478: Is a minor actor in a play or, by extension, a person whose actions are of little significance. In the world of opera , the term is sometimes used literally: When a male chorus is required, as in Aida , for example, the onstage "army", armed with spears or swords, usually consists of several singers and as many who remain silent, filling out the group. The silent ones are known as spear carriers, to differentiate them from

264-428: Is inscribed: Proper left, upper corner: Proper left, lower edge: Top center wreath: followed by the founder's mark for L. De Rome. When the original building was torn down, the relief was removed. In 1934, it was reinstalled on the building that stands today. 37°47′17″N 122°24′42″W  /  37.78814°N 122.41160°W  / 37.78814; -122.41160 Spear carrier A spear carrier

297-512: The Federal Reserve ), utilities, and national media have high-ranking officials as club members or guests. Many members are, or have been, on the board of directors of several of these corporations; however, artists and lovers of art are among the most active members. The club's bylaws require ten percent of the membership be accomplished artists of all types (composers, musicians, singers, actors, lighting artists, painters, authors, etc.). During

330-567: The 1906 production of The Owl and Care , which is listed in Grove's dictionary as "Not strictly a Grove-Play." The Triumph of Bohemia was already planned, but the 1906 San Francisco earthquake changed the club's priorities in favor of a more elaborate cremation ceremony called The Owl and Care . Two plays have been staged twice for the club members: St. Patrick at Tara in 1909 and 1934, and A Gest of Robin Hood in 1929 and 1954. 1912's The Atonement of Pan

363-419: The Bohemian Club. Including orchestra members, costumers, stage crew and carpenters, some 300 people are involved with the production each year. The cost of each play was reported in the range of $ 20,000–30,000 in 1975, as much as $ 170,000 in current value. No salaries are given to club members who take part and no admission is charged the audience. Rehearsals begin a year in advance. Observers have characterized

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396-462: The Grove Plays as massive, predictable and slow. Author John van der Zee has described the Grove Plays as "lumbering pageants." Commenting on the plot, he said, "We know in advance that the hero will be a king or commander adored by his men, and that he will see his duty and do it." Journalist Philip Weiss , writing in 1989 for Spy magazine, said that the high point of the two-week summer encampment

429-635: The High Jinks but it was never staged; it was described as too difficult to set to music. Beginning around 1920 with the installation of a large Austin pipe organ , the productions became more professional in tone. In 1922, a sophisticated lighting system was installed at the Main Stage, the venue for the Grove Play. During the World War II years 1943–1945, no Grove Plays were staged. Unusual performances include

462-514: The background, and the term was used to describe the guards who just escorted the main characters. The term has survived verbatim but evolved in meaning from its metaphorical use, and today carries the general meaning of satellite in Modern Greek (for example, a natural satellite/moon orbiting another heavenly body or an artificial satellite orbiting the earth). The 1968 Nebula Award -winning novel Rite of Passage , by Alexei Panshin , mentions

495-433: The building. It serves as a memorial to author and poet Bret Harte . The relief, which is 3 ft 3 + 7 ⁄ 8  in (101.3 cm) by 7 ft 11 + 5 ⁄ 8  in (242.9 cm) by 2 + 1 ⁄ 2  in (6.4 cm), was first dedicated on August 15, 1919, as a tribute by Mora, who was a member, to fellow Bohemian Club member Harte. The relief shows fifteen characters from books by Harte. It

528-614: The ceremony of the Cremation of Care was first conducted after the various individual performances. Eventually, the readings and songs were woven into a theme or framework, such as in the solemn Orientalism -themed Buddha Jinks of 1892 and the Christianity -triumphs-over- paganism -themed Druid Jinks the next year. In 1897, the Faust Jinks were constructed within the musical form of Charles Gounod 's opera Faust . Finally, in 1902, both

561-747: The club and to use as a hunting lodge. In New York City and other American metropolises in the late 1850s, groups of young, cultured journalists flourished as self-described "bohemians", until the American Civil War broke them up and sent them out as war correspondents. During the war, reporters began to assume the title "bohemian", and newspapermen in general took up the moniker. "Bohemian" became synonymous with "newspaper writer". California journalist Bret Harte first wrote as "The Bohemian" in The Golden Era in 1861, with this persona taking part in many satirical doings. Harte described San Francisco as

594-643: The club hosts a two-week-long (three weekends) camp at Bohemian Grove , which is notable for its illustrious guest list and its eclectic Cremation of Care ceremony which mockingly burns an effigy of "Care" (the normal woes of life) with grand pageantry, pyrotechnics, and brilliant costumes, all done at the edge of a lake and at the base of a forty-foot "stone" owl statue (actually made of concrete). In addition to that ceremony, devised by co-founder James F. Bowman in 1881, there are also two outdoor performances (dramatic and comedic plays), often with elaborate set design and orchestral accompaniment. The more elaborate of

627-453: The dialog and song lyrics, but remains responsible for the overall theme and final form of the spectacle. In the earliest productions of the Grove Play, several restrictions were imposed upon the Sire including that the stage setting be the natural forest backdrop and that the "malign character Care" be introduced in the plot, to wreak havoc with the characters and then be faced down and vanquished by

660-559: The first half of the 20th century, membership in the club was especially valued by painters and sculptors, who exhibited their work on the premises, in both permanent displays and special exhibitions, and did not pay any commissions on sales to members. Many of the club's artists were nationally recognized figures, such as William Keith , Arthur Frank Mathews , Xavier Martinez , Jules Eugene Pages , Edwin Deakin , William Ritschel , Jo Mora , Maynard Dixon and Arthur Putnam . The club motto

693-542: The first night of the summer encampment. The Grove Play was set for the final weekend. A different Sire was appointed for the Cremation, and some concerns were raised in subsequent years that the Cremation of Care was growing into its own secondary Grove Play. Some Sires experimented with a satirical treatment, or topical themes such as a patriotic World War I treatment in 1918 and an unpopular Prohibition script in 1919. "Care"

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726-467: The hero. In these early productions, the Cremation of Care immediately followed, and lasted until midnight. The end of the ceremony was signaled by a lively Jinks Band rendition of There'll Be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight , and the club members sat down to a late dinner and revelry into the wee hours. From 1913, the Cremation of Care was disengaged from the Grove Play, and rescheduled for

759-454: The male chorus members. The Ancient Greek term for spear carrier (δορυφόρος doryphóros , from δόρυ, "spear," and φέρω, "to carry") originally meant a soldier armed with a spear acting as a bodyguard or ceremonial guard to noblemen. The modern meaning has its roots in classical Greek tragedy ; as plays such as Antigone and Oedipus Rex concerned the tragic fate of nobles, several nondescript soldiers or guards were required to appear in

792-409: The music and the libretto were composed by club members, setting the "Bohemian grove-play as a distinct genre of stage art." Each year a Sire and a musical Sire are selected by the club's Jinks Committee, part of the club's Board of Directors. The Sire is responsible for producing the script and libretto of the Grove Play, and the musical Sire composes the music. The Sire may select others to write

825-423: The office. Very often when Dan O'Connell sat down to a good dinner there he would forget that he had a pocketful of notes for an important story. Journalists were to be regular members; artists and musicians were to be honorary members. The group quickly relaxed its rules for membership to permit some people to join who had little artistic talent, but enjoyed the arts and had greater financial resources. Eventually,

858-453: The original "bohemian" members were in the minority and the wealthy and powerful controlled the club. Club members who were established and successful, respectable family men, defined for themselves their own form of bohemianism, which included men who were bon vivants , sometime outdoorsmen, and appreciators of the arts. Club member and poet George Sterling responded to this redefinition: Any good mixer of convivial habits considers he has

891-603: The protagonist's observations of the role of spear carriers in real life: A spear carrier is somebody who stands in the hall when Caesar passes, comes to attention and thumps his spear. A spear carrier is the anonymous character cut down by the hero as he advances to save the menaced heroine. A spear carrier is a character put in a story to be used like a piece of disposable tissue. In a story, spear carriers never suddenly assert themselves by throwing their spears aside and saying, "I resign. I don't want to be used." They are there to be used, either for atmosphere or as minor obstacles in

924-432: The public domain, but modern club membership lists are private. Some prominent figures have been given honorary membership, such as Richard Nixon and William Randolph Hearst . Members have included some U.S. presidents (usually before they are elected to office), many cabinet officials, and CEOs of large corporations, including major financial institutions. Major military contractors , oil companies, banks (including

957-715: The two is the Grove Play , or High Jinks ; the more ribald is called Low Jinks . More often than not, the productions are original creations of the Associate members, but active participation of hundreds of members of all backgrounds is traditional. Nathaniel J. Brittan co-founded the Bohemian Club of San Francisco in 1872 and by 1892 was the president of the club. He built the Nathanial Brittan Party House in San Carlos , California, in order to entertain his friends from

990-466: Was not killed, let alone cremated, in the 1922 version. In response to member complaints about the unpredictable quality of the opening night fare, Charles K. Field was asked in 1923 to write the script for what became the basis for every subsequent Cremation of Care ceremony. From 1902 to 1923, a central theme of most Grove Plays was the mystique of the ancient Coast Redwood tree grove. Jack London wrote The Acorn Planter: A California Forest Play for

1023-543: Was organized in the Chronicle office by Tommy Newcombe, Sutherland, Dan O'Connell , Harry Dam, J.Limon and others who were members of the staff. The boys wanted a place where they could get together after work, and they took a room on Sacramento street below Kearny. That was the start of the Bohemian Club, and it was not an unmixed blessing for the Chronicle because the boys would go there sometimes when they should have reported at

List of Grove Plays - Misplaced Pages Continue

1056-421: Was performed once for club members and again two weeks later for members' wives and women friends. In 2008, the treatment of The Count of Monte Cristo was staged even though it had been published four years prior. The cast for a Grove Play averages 75–100 actors, many appearing as so-called " spear carriers " in crowd scenes. Roles for female characters are played by men, since women are not allowed as members of

1089-412: Was the "vigorously lowbrow" Low Jinks, a musical comedy staged during the middle weekend, not the "mannered and ponderous Grove Play." Journalism professor Richard Reinhardt argued in 1980 that the showy bombast of Broadway theatre producer David Belasco helped form in the early Grove Plays a taste for majestic and astounding visual effects, and that this aesthetic sense has continued to the present in

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