The sun., 1881-11-27
A 1RAGEDIAN OFF THE STAGE.

Then. too. had n very responsive audience to-
night. and abandoned myself to the require
ments OF u character which Is at least an exact
ing ono. After such evening the character
eings to me after I leave tho theatre. and
need some agreeable distraction II l would
avoid numbering my daughter all night or
thrc,tline the knave that sought to harm her."
Il should have thought a healthy traRedian
would Law of the character with the costume"
Not at all. Often when I play Lear re-
main Lear half the night. and awake next
morning weary and nervous and unrefreshed."
And can only a responsive audience excite
your emotions to such degree"
"Only n responsive audience can. No PLAYER
can give himself up to unsy m path etic listeners
On such occasions only his art saves him from
being uninteresting; and he then reaps the re-
ward OF patient study. He at least seems to
abandon himeelf to his role. even II he does not
But there can be nothing thrilling about such
aperformance. sometimes when have acted
uuder such circumstances have had to ask
elyself when it was all over what had boon
saying and what part had been acting. 1t
was superficial stimulation and nothing more"
But when 1t takes you long while to free
yourself from the influence OF q performance.
you have really expsrieneed the same emotions
as those which the author attributes to tho char-
acter you have been acting"
moan u say. 1Or INSTANCE, INT
sometimes when l act Vroini,is. 1 feel at the
moment l despatch Vir0inia though were
killing my own child"
Then what prevents you from rushing upon
6laudius and burying the knife in his breast 2''
Reason aud art are never divorced; but 1t ie
Just in such scenes that art plays its moet Inn
portant part. II. for instance. Deedeinona is
killed. in a brutal and revolving manner. OthelIo
becomes object of aversion. and his death
would no more be a cause for regret than the
retributive taking of Of a murderer; and an
actor who exhibits brutality In this scene de-
prives the tragedy Of hall it's power. because he
deprives the death Of Otheiio OF nil its pathos.
But let him show his love for Desdemond even
while killing her, and his death will be ns pitia
bic as hers"
Then you cannot approve OF Rossi and Sal
vlni In this scene"
II have not been ab!e to hoar Rossi but from
what others tell me should think his concep-
tion differs considerably from mine. saIvini's
does. and have told him quite frank KY"
did he make any comments upon your con-
eepiion and acting OF the situation7"
Oh. yes. He introduced the subject by say
Ing that he could not understand how could
stab Des,ieD,ond. He thought It brutal. re-
piled by frankly telling him I thought 1t more
merciful to etab her than to smother her slowly
whlio she was writhinG in tho agony. Then
you know In tho play the statbins Ia indicated
and after he has stabbed her she fingers long
enough TO speak to Emilia. Now. II she had
merely been smothered. and had breath enough
lett to talk. shc would have recovered entirely.
Any physician would tell you that. When
called Salvini's attention TO this objection he
could make no reply. rather think that it ad-
mits OF much discussio ion.
Then you consider his concention unnat-
ural MS vol as n-Shak es pearenn ~
l certainly consider IL un-Shak pea rean.
just as consider ali realism un-snaSesp pearean.
shakespeare Is poet. AMI should hs poeiieally
DesdenonI with the brutality OF a Bill Sykes.
ihave been told that Rossi in Hamlet" tears a
locket containing his uncle's picture from his
mothers neck aud stamps II ander nd % ms leet;
eae. ast either ". addrssses s % mas
wall Moreover Hanlet who acts win so much
violence toward his mother would kill his uncle
much earlier than the closing scene"
Then you object to the Latin Interpretation
Decidedly do; ,ShakesDeare's diction is
nowhere preserved in its purity except iu tho
ieets In both countries have pondsred over him
and thrown their light upon him. Nowhere is
understood. He was an Englishmau, writing
with the emotions OF an Eng nman Tor Eng
md beievs the ideal OF those who would Nv
Natu re sympathize with him TO be truer than
that OF those who belong TO a foreign race:
lad many able oInmentators OF ShakespeareP
"Certainly. l doubt not Edwin Forrest un-
larstood the Shakespearean plays In which he
acted as thoroughly as any commentator."
There were parts-Hdlntet. for instance
which Forrest did not act with success: do you
suppose he Jailed because he did not under
Not at ali. There was not n part he played
10 which he had not given profound study. His
reading OF some PASSAGES In HdMtr!Inotaoly
again. he would deliver other lines so that felt
gke sisnpine out from the wings and leading
ibid not thai show that he did not understand
:" Not necessarily. He may have understood
the character perfectly. vet not hava been aOa 10
give expression TO that understanding. tie hai
certain wel-drhned NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. which
he could not adapt to IA character ike Hamlet"
Then an actor may not or able to play part
&c Certainly. lis Intel. ect may grasp a char
ace. completely ye, no may not sg "o1e TO yse
many actors VINO at the beginning Of their
career have appeared in plays yery different IN
CHARACTER gradually Limit thsir reHer,ofy to one one
bar line having but ind tferent success In others.
You see the artor,s physiquo or voice may have
calling Tor the expression Of ons class OF emo
tions. Finally such emotions become almost
Strange and repucnant to him. You will
how what say applied to Forrest" >,
Forrest WAS not a successful ldgo! Z!
Mo-, although. as in Han.iefs case. he
grasped it intellectually. But while We are on
Iaoolet me call your attention 70 what eonsid-
tual and subtle zoe, though these epitheis are
rarely APPLIED TO 0h,ello. Now. they are really
appli abba to OthelO. Tor the Interpretation re-
Quires more suhtisty and thought than the IN
terpretation OF ldJo. for Iaco is one OF the
most clearly defined OF Shakespearean charac;
ters. The text suggests every gesture nnd vocal
moduation. whereas tho part OF Ohe,Lo may lie
variously conceived and Interpreted.
Do you consider yourself q pupil OF For
rest p
No. My theories we're all formed and tested
before l joined his company. l was. thins
with him three years. ! Joined him In Phl!a-
Selphia and remained in San Francisco after
his engagement there. He played only two or
three times week. and on the off nights
played leading parts"
You probably saw him play the part you
Yes" said Mr. Mccullough. Il hsye fire.
srently played Icili1s to his FTgtnius. lie Was
a. his best in this character.
And do you think that he would be able to
hold his own now 2"
"Notwithsanding much that has been said to
the contrary, | do. Forrest grew less out OF
fashion than any actor have ever known.
think his unpnpularity during his latter years
was owing TO physical decadence. moi because
his methods were antlquated. -,
You were in san Francisco and other cities
with Forrest good many years ago. lou htve