Cincinnati daily press. [volume] (Cincinnati [Ohio]) 1860-1862, 1860-04-04
Dramatic Actors ana Their n Remuneration.

Dramatic Actors ana Their Remuneration
,r The New York Tribune has lengthy arti-
Gle on this theme from which we extract;
Actors are usually engaged for certain
Igines of business" that is, each one engages
to perform only such style of characters as
he is best qualified to personate, Unless en-
gagements were made with certain definite
understanding on this point, 1t Is probable
that when the manager came to distribute the
characters of the play for his opening night
he would discover that all his men would in
sist on being "Romeos," and that no woman
would consent that any other than she herself
should be the Juliet of the evening, and so,
the subordinate characters finding no repre-
sentatives altogether the play would be in
bad way. This difficulty is obyiated, as be-
fore stated, by engaging each actor for GER
tain style Of characters, the remuneration Of
course varying with the different degrees of
artistic ability and excellence required. The
principal 'lines Of business" in a legitimate
theater, are technically named as follows;
Leading man. Heavy man, Juvenile man,
Light comedian, LIST Walking gentleman, ID
walking gentleman, lst Old man, I'd old man,
"a lst Low comedian, I'd low comedian,l Re-
spectacle utility, General utility, Leading
woman, Heavy woman, lst Old woman, I'd
old woman, Juvenile woman, Walking lady,
Chambermaid. el.# .,.
The requirements of the Leading man, the
Light comedian, the Old men, and the low
comedians, need no explanation, the names
being suggestive of their various duties. The
Heavy mani is not required to rival Daniel
Lambert in physical ponderosity-but he is so
called from having much Of the disagreeable
duty of the drama to do-he plays all the viii
lains of the pieces, and consequently has
much heavey work on his hands in the shape
of curses, threats Of vengeance, howls for
'"R-r-r-r-r-revenege," and the utterance of u
Of rnalpflictiOn9 Imprppn-
tions, and anathemas, and also tremendous
sight of violent duty for the knees in the way
of fdying .agonies, and prolonged mortal strug-
giles. --rlg L.al... ~. ... .,
The Juvenile man" plays the lovers in
heroic pieces, and the walking gentlemen
enact small speaking parts that require GER
tain amount of stage experience. "Respecta-
bic utility" men do the servants and other in
significant parts of a few lines, and the "Gen-
eral utility are supposed to be ready to un-
dertake any very subordinate characters;
when not employed in removing or placing
chairs and tables for the proper dlsposi-
ton of the scenes--they generally do their
acting in groups or squads-doing duty
as villagers, citizens, soldiers, mobs, or what
ever other style of crowd may be called for
by the exigences of the play.
On the female side of the house, the busi-
ness is distributed in like manner; the
"Chambermaid" answering to the list Low
ludLi dhu SAoih1ih6 Wv .bAc"Nis
funny parts in all the plays.
The remuneration of actors comes next
into consideration and the scale has wide
range, from three dollars a week, up to two
hundred dollars night. This last sum was
for years the demand of Mr. Edwin Forrest.
Other stars are generally content with GER
tain Sharing terms:" that is, the gross re-
cepts after a certain specific amount has been
deducted for the expenses of the theater Is
equally divided between the Star and the
Manager. Thus, for example, if the expenses
of the house are three hundred dollars per
night, and the receipts four hundred dollars,
the lucky Star and the fortunate Manager
pocket fifty dollars each per night. This is
the fairest basis on which to conduct the
starring system, because by this plan the
salaries of all the stock company are assured
first and the profit to the Star depends on
his own power of attracting the public to the
, theater. -s...L = ..... .s..-.L .aJllI..
In New York the saleries paid to stock
actors are higher on the average, than those
in any other city in the United States The
. managers ingore, to great extent, the tech
nical Zines of business" and engage the best
artists that can be had and then have plays
specially written in which each of their lead
ing actors shall have part suited to his pc
cular powers. f...,. ...-..,,...r =,
lars TO one hundred dollars per week. The
other salaries vary from fifteen dollars to
forty dollars per week. Saleries for women
are about hall, or perhaps two-thirds of what
are paid to men holding corresponding posi-
tions. General utility men, supernumaries
and ballet girls receive from three dollars to
ten dollars per week. When an unusual
number of "ladies of the ballet or supernu-
maries of the other sex are required on some
extra occasion, they are specially engaged al
fifty cents night, or sometimes for even
less money. The saleries on the east side OF
the city at the Bowery Theater are lower than
Broadway, the principle actors seldom receiv-
ing more than thirty-6ye dollars, or forty
dollars, per week, and the others in proper
ton. In smaller cities the highest sum paid
dollars per week. rl- -lrl1- L.J -.