[2] There he was asked to sign a pledge to forsake dens of iniquity like theaters, taverns, dance halls, and billiard rooms.

[3][4] At college, Fiske often wrote short stories and sketches for magazines and soon became an editorial writer and dramatic critic for the daily newspaper the Jersey City Argus.

After achieving success as a contributor to the Dramatic Mirror, Fiske decided to leave college after his freshman year with hopes of becoming a journalist.

Though he disapproved of industry efforts to organize an actors' union, Fiske did help to secure the passage of the Cummings Act of 1896 and subsequent laws to protect playwrights against literary piracy.

The theater became home to the "Manhattan Company" whose players included the well-known actors Tyrone Power Sr., George Arliss and John B. Mason.

He first saw her when at the age of twelve he attended a local production of King John in which his eight-year-old future bride played a boy’s part.

Mrs. Fiske, as she was often professionally known, appeared in a number of plays directed by her husband, including Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Salvation Neil, Becky Sharp and Mary of Magdala.