The little country theater

In Short

This work chronicles the founding and philosophy of the Little Country Theater at the North Dakota Agricultural College. By transforming a dingy, unused chapel into a vibrant laboratory for rural performance, the author demonstrates how amateur drama can overcome social isolation and provide a vital outlet for local talent. Through stage directions, organizational tips, and examples of community-produced plays, it offers a blueprint for rural improvement. It has endured as a foundational text for the community theater movement, highlighting the transformative power of self-expression in the lives of ordinary citizens.

The Story

The narrative begins with a recognition of a pervasive problem: the "social stagnancy" of rural life. For generations, talented young people have been encouraged to abandon the countryside for the city to find success and self-expression. This migration, the author argues, has drained the heart out of rural communities, leaving them culturally hollow. The central premise is that this trend can be reversed, not by importing professional entertainment, but by fostering a "community consciousness" from within.

The story of this movement centers on the transformation of a discarded, grey attic in the administration building at the North Dakota Agricultural College into a beautiful, green-and-gold theater. This space becomes the "country-life laboratory." It is not designed for professional actors, but for farmers, teachers, and students who have never acted before. The theater’s success relies on simple, accessible plays—often one-act comedies—that can be staged in any schoolhouse, church basement, or village hall.

The book traces how this model spread, detailing the establishment of "county play days" and the use of pageants to involve entire regions. By organizing these spectacles—where hundreds of neighbors sew costumes, build sets, and perform together—communities rediscover their shared identity. The author shares accounts of farmers who, after discovering their own capacity for leadership and art on stage, became more engaged in local agriculture and community life.

The arc reaches its climax in the integration of the theater into the wider civic life of the state. It moves from the modest beginnings of a single stage in Fargo to a network of forty towns, eventually documenting how distant communities in places like West Virginia adopted similar methods. The final chapters broaden the scope to include technical guidance—how to build a stage, manage a box office, and select appropriate plays—ensuring that the reader understands that this is not a utopian dream but a replicable, mechanical process. The book concludes with a comprehensive list of resources, from suggested plays to architectural plans for community buildings, providing a practical toolkit for the reader to implement these ideas in their own town. It ends with the conviction that when people work together to create something beautiful, they find the "hidden life forces" necessary to transform their own neighborhoods into places where they truly want to live.

How It Unfolds

The philosophy of rural life The author diagnoses the decline of rural communities as a failure of imagination and social opportunity. He argues that the city has monopolized "expression" while the country has been forced into "repression."

The laboratory is built The narrative shifts to the physical creation of the theater in Fargo, detailing its modest, aesthetic design and unique features like the library of plays. This space serves as the headquarters for a statewide movement to encourage local talent.

Producing the play The text moves into the mechanics of success, showing how a community selects a play and executes its production. It emphasizes the importance of shared labor, from building scenery out of beaver board to selling advertising space on the curtain.

Expanding the reach The movement travels across the state, with the author visiting various towns and counties to organize festivals. These pageants serve as the ultimate expression of regional cooperation, involving thousands of participants in a single, unified celebration.

The practical legacy The book concludes with technical instructions and extensive, curated lists of plays and resources. This serves as a functional manual for any reader wishing to replicate the success of the Little Country Theater in their own locality.

The People

The author, Alfred G. Arvold, acts as the primary organizer and advocate, driven by the belief that drama is a "crucible of civilization." He wants to prove that rural people possess inherent artistic talent that is often stifled by lack of opportunity.

The "country folks"—the farmers, students, and rural workers—are the true protagonists. They often start as shy, skeptical participants who believe they have no creative skills. Through their involvement in the plays, they undergo a shift in perspective, moving from a sense of isolation to a feeling of shared ownership over their community's future.

Specific figures appear as examples, such as the "country doctors" in Minnesota who built a successful clinic without leaving their rural home, serving as a metaphor for the potential of rural leadership. Another is the young farmer who played "David Harum" with such conviction that he realized he could be a successful performer and a prosperous farmer simultaneously. These individuals stand in the way of the old, limiting narratives about the "dullness" of country life, eventually proving that a person can cultivate both a crop and a character.

In Its Own Voice

Regarding the theater's fundamental purpose:

“It is in the theater that the public soul is formed.”

The author explains the transformative nature of local performance:

“Nothing interests people in each other so much as habitually working together.”

A departing character reflects on the transient but meaningful nature of human connection:

“Perhaps we shall meet again—like the raindrops.”

What It's Really About

The book is a manifesto for the "social architecture" of rural life. It argues that the health of a community depends on its ability to create its own culture rather than consuming it from outside. The core question is not about the quality of the acting, but about the quality of the neighborly bond that is forged during the rehearsal process. It posits that "community consciousness" is a byproduct of collective creative labor. By treating the theater as a laboratory, the book suggests that the same organizational principles—cooperation, shared responsibility, and the use of local resources—can solve problems in agriculture, education, and civic engagement, ultimately turning the countryside into a place of intellectual and artistic self-sufficiency.

Why Read It Today

Readers interested in the history of the "Little Theater" movement, rural sociology, or the DIY ethos will find this book deeply rewarding. It reads with the earnest, optimistic energy of the early 20th century, feeling like a conversation with a visionary who is equally comfortable discussing the construction of a stage set and the social psychology of a village.

It is important to approach the book with an awareness of its period. The author’s language and his framing of "country life" reflect the specific, slightly paternalistic attitudes of the 1920s regarding "social betterment." Readers may find the extensive lists of plays and technical appendices to be dense, but they provide a fascinating window into the period’s cultural standards and organizational methods.

What lingers after finishing the book is the author’s unwavering belief in the "hidden life forces" of ordinary people. It is a warm, practical, and highly specific call to action that remains relevant for anyone living in a small community who feels that their town lacks a center of gravity. It serves as a reminder that culture is not something delivered to us by distant cities, but something we build, paint, and rehearse in our own attics and town halls.