William Gillette (1853-1937) was a real person who was very influential in early American theatre. After being approached by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in the late 1890's he wrote a play Sherlock Holmes, or The Strange Case of Miss Faulkner. He then played the part of Sherlock Holmes more than 1300 times over a 30 year period. It was Gillette who established the deerstalker hat and curved pipe which, because of this play, are forever linked to Sherlock Holmes.

Gillette's major contribution, though, was in the actual staging of a play. He was raised in the age of melodrama with its grand gestures and ultr emphasized moments. Gillette introduced realism into theatrical sets, costumes, props, sound effects and the concept of fade-in and fade-out for scene changes. Just as significantly, he introduced real characters in real situations with dramatic action achieved through character development. He wrote an essay on acting, Illusion of the First Time, which is still quoted today. I hope you enjoy this play which featuresone of the founders of modern theatre.