POSTSCRIPT





In connection with this play there is a story which should be told,
for reasons which will be revealed in the telling.

"The Pot-boiler" was written in 1912, and entered for copyright in
February, 1913. I took the manuscript to a friend, Edwin Bjorkman,
editor of the "Modern Drama Series," and the most widely read
student of dramatic literature known to me; also to Edgar Selwyn and
Margaret Mayo, who knew thoroughly the contemporary stage. These
friends confirmed me in my belief that I had hit upon that rare
phenomenon--an entirely new idea to the stage. There are many
examples of the "play within a play," but up to that time there had
never been a play which showed the WRITING of a play: the processes
which go on in the mind of a playwright, and how he uses his
personal experiences in his work.

"The Pot-boiler" was accepted for production by William Harris, Jr.,
at the Hudson Theatre, New York. After many delays, Mr. Harris came
to the conclusion that the play needed some rewriting to give it
that "punch" which is essential to production in the neighborhood of
Broadway. He sought to interest a certain well-known playwright, who
will be here designated as Mr. X, in the idea of collaborating with
me on the play. Mr. X read the manuscript and offered to collaborate
on condition that two changes should be made: first, the play should
be changed from a "shirt-sleeve play" to a "dress-suit play"--that