Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-11-25

Of the abolition of the patent theaters, it is
noteworthy fact that every one of the
veteran actors prophecies has already been
fulfilled. Writing half century after
wards, we find distinguished dramatic
critic, the late George Henry Lewes,
saying: "The present condition OF the
English drama is deplored by all lovers
"of the art. We have many
"theaters nightly crowded by an eager but
uncritical public, and no one theater in
(which critical public can hope to enjoy
ga tolerable performance" And what
ever is said of the drama in England ap-
plies with the same force to the drama in
America.
We have never had patent theaters here,
but our stage has undergone the same de.
cline and deterioration as that of England,
and from causes which are analogous. The
absolute freedom OF competition in the
theatrical profession has produced eff
fects precisely such as would follow the
removal of the conditions and restrictions
from the practice of medicine. The stage
that is to say, is deluged with charlatans,
who are ignorant of the great art of
acting, and who seek to make up in course
impudence, or brutal indecency, for thsir
unfitness. And this is the natural conse.
quence of the foolish theory that histrionic
ability comes by nature, and requires no
education. If we were to abolish all our
schools and colleges, or all but the ele-
mentary departments, and adopt the theory
that it was only necessary, after teaching
children to read and wife. to turn them
into public libraries, and leave them
there, We should be pursuing a course
no whit more irrational than has
been followed with regard to the
profession OF acting. The truth is
that acting is a great, though almost
lost art and that it can only be mastered
by prolonged and laborious study under
competent instruction. To-day there is
but one dramatic school in the world, and
that is the Theatre Francois at Paris.
And the excellence of that theater is
explained by the fact that it is almost.a
close corporation, under government SUPER
vision, and managed with unique strictness
1t has fostered dramatic talent, and pro-
duced long succession of fine actors and
actresses; list with which no other
theater or country can compare.
Even the Theater Francois, however, has
declined of late years. It cannot contin.
ually hold out against the dsmoralizng in.
iuence of the tendencies ~ which it is
surrounded. But the history of the stage,
as illustrated in the old English theaters,
and in the Francois, shows conclusively
that there must not only be school of
acting, but that there is also needed that
homogeneity which can only be attained
where company has learn ed to play to-
gether for long time. Twenty years ago
there was some good acting in this country,
and on the Pacific Coast. That was the
time Of the old stock companies, the men,
bers of which had often been together
for several years. But the vicious starring
system has not only broken up the stock
companies, but utterly ruined the presenta-
ton of the drama. Every play in which
so-called " star appears is deformed One
part is thrust into unnaturally strong re-
lief and all the others are slurred. What
is still worse is that the so.called stars are
in nine cases out of ten actors and &C.
tresses of middling abilities, whose proper
place would be in modest positions in q
stock company. These mediocre per-
formers, however, assume the attitude of
people of talent, and, travelling about with
parcel of sticks for support, degrade the
drama wherever they go.
The public does not seem to know the
difference between good and bad acting
any more. This is to be expected, for the
well as actors learn, and the stage has for
go many years been teaching corrupt doc
trine that the public have become thor.
oughly demoralized. 1t now prefers the
most vulgar and meretricious display. 1t
tolerates school of acting In which the
characters appear only as pegs wherein to
hang snowy dresses. 1t delights in cemic
opera of the French kind It applsuds
fustian and rant, and thinks it proof of
genius. All this should have been ex-
pected, however, for in the absence of
education ignorance will prevail. And
what is more it is quite useless to expect
any improvement in the drama until both
the profession and the public learn to IN
derstand that the stage demands patient
and persistent training, and that whatever
is deserving Of approval in acting must be
the result of artistic development. Lswes
has observed that people generally over
"rate fine actors genius, and underrate
" his trained skill. They are apt to credit
him with power of intellectual concep-
:" ton and poetic creation to which he has
"reslly very slight claim, and fail to
recognize all the difficulties which his
'artistic training has enabled him to
master" a natural corollary of this
common fallacY is the idea that no special
training or special physique is necessary
to make an actor. Thousands OF young
people think they could be actors if they
tried. They could as easily play the violin
by mere force OF will.
But while such fallacies prevail, and
while Sc low a standard of taste exists, the
drama will continue to decline, supposiug