While Washington has been putting on a continuing spring and summer show, Martha’s Vineyard has had one of its own, and the show is Jaws. Not only has just about every resident been fascinated by what is going on, but nearly half the population has been actively involved.

Therefore, when the Monday night lectures for the benefit of the Old Sculpin Gallery and the Martha’s Vineyard Art Association had a program this week on Jaws, it was a howling success. (The howling was done, unfortunately, bu all those who just couldn’t get in).

The Methodist Church in Edgartown is one of the largest, if not the largest indoor hall on the Island, but even this was not enough, and when the fire marshal said “enough,” he meant “enough!” So, irritated persons should go clobber the fire marshal and not Mrs. George T. Dunlop, who was at the door.

For those lucky enough to get in, the evening was great, and like everything else connected with Jaws, will long be remembered. Al Ebner, the movie’s public relations man, and Boston television star Douglas Garron handled the program which Mr. Garron began by singing a song he had written called The Big One They Call Jaws, accompanying himself on guitar.

Mr. Ebner showed 80 slides taken during the filming of Jaws, and in many were batches of Islanders.

He also brought along seemingly with difficulty (because they tended to get lost) the three male stars, Roy Scheider, who plays the worried-to-death-all-the-time police chief of Amity Island; Robert Shaw, who plays the disgusting shark killer, Quint; and Richard Dreyfus, who is the man from Woods Hole. These three, along with Mr. Ebner, explained the slides, and the explanations started out in the most customary of manners, only to work their relaxed way into a happy banter between the actors which continually brought down the house.

After the slides, each of the actors gave a speech of sense and nonsense, teasing his fellow actors in the process, so that one came to feel the camaraderie and began to understand why this entire crew is so pleasant. Its team relations are good.

It was nice to see MR. Scheider not looking worried to death and to find out he really has a lighter comedic side, and to learn that Mr. Shaw is not the grungy wharf rat he portrays, but there was nothing new about Mr. Dreyfus, who continually bubbles his way across the set, whether he is working or not.

Jo Alves, the art director, came on stage, saying, “It’s always dangerous to get on stage with actors,” and told why the Island had been chosen over the many other New England places available. During the slides he explained some of the beautiful sites he had chosen as sets, and it almost seems as if Mr. Alves had designed all of Edgartown and Menemsha, since he pictorially has worked them into his composition.

Mr. Alves also brought along his book of scenes for the sea shooting, which he has drawn up. This looks like a comic strip, titled underneath with shooting directions or actors’ lines. Since, while bounding on the briny, one can’t dash about deciding which angle looks best through the view finder, the camera will follow these pictures by Mr. Alves through all the intricate filming. It also means that scenes can be shot out of sequence so that time and energy are not wasted moving the camera from Orca’s bridge to the cockpit or water level. All the water level shots can be made at the same time, and all the bridge shots in a bunch. What this does to actors and their continuity of plot apparently bothers no one but the actors.

All the participants were pleased that, regardless of difficulties (and there certainly have been difficulties), the movie is being made at sea rather than in a studio tank where it would have been easier, but would have looked like bathtub scenery. They have been beset with problems, but then, no one has done anything to compare with this before.

Some questions were asked about sharks, particularly a new breed called a mechanical shark, but the actors, even Mr. Dreyfus, the Woods Hole expert, seemed badly informed on the subject.

The program lasted for an hour, which was much too short, but just maybe the gallery can coerce Mr. Garron, Mr. Ebner, Mr. Dreyfus, Mr. Shaw and Mr. Scheider into doing it again.

Next week Jonny Cassel will again present his wild and wonderful combo playing good stimulating ragtime, which in the Methodist Church with its great acoustics will resound that full-bodied rhythm throughout the Island.