The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1883-06-02
Stage-Struck Youths.

AN"iulCInS season mas opened,
said Manager Gilmore, of the Grand
Central Theater, yesterday, tossing over
to the reporter pile of letters from
amateurs who wanted positions as clog
dancers and banjo pickers. After tell
ing an attendant to send away a man
who had been importuning him for
months for a heavy salary in the role
Of the eXecutioner of Irish breakdowns,
and who had come to demand payment
for rehearsal which had satisfied even
the scene-shifters of his incompetency,
Mr.. Gilmore remarked that during the
past week he had received thirty-four
epistles from alleged artists of both
sexes. Nine of the writer's were ladies,
and one of them said she looked like
Mary Anderson. Another was, in her
own words, ''immured in a dark and
pitiful boarding-school, and her request
was that the courteous and obliging
manager should come with ladder,
release her from her tyrannical oppres-
sors and place her on the stage When
q school girl of romantic imagination
quarrels with her guardians about her
allowance of pocket money she in
variably threatens to take the stage and
become independent. The drug clerk
who is censured by coroner's jury for
selling prussic acid for cod-liver oil, and
who, as consequence, is thrown out
of work, PUSHES to a desk and writes
plaT or indtes letter to Manager Gil
moe. 81 used to be a night-watch-
man. remarks one of the letters which
hare come to the theater during the
past few days, ''and it made me
thoughtful | spent a great deal of my
time repeating verses from Shakespeare
in the lonely night, and l always chose
the solemn ones. l think | could act
tragedy" An answer was forthwith
sent offering the fellow a position of
fifteen dollars a month as bill-sticker.
The next item in the heap of letters
was one from man named Hancock,
who had spoiled siXty-eight sheets of
paper with fearful drama. He wanted
to play leading murderer. On the first
page occurred the sentence, "Stage di-
rection-Here de- on the second was
the inspiring remark, "Pinguet Stays
Mako;" and in another act a repeating
rifle plays havoc with lot of border
ruffians. "The other night felt wake
full, ;" Mr.. Gilmore remarked, throwing
the drama into the drawer, land | read
about thirty pages of it. l don't hest
tate to say that | wouldn't place it on
the boards for 81, 200 q performance.
The writer wrote to me day or two
ago to send the play back, and l neg
lected to do so. Yesterday received
lawyers letter, threatening a suit for
hundreds of dollars damages for will
fully preventing other managers from
swapping it up"
"We sometimes have a splendid time
with these amateurs Mr.. Gilmore re-
sumed, getting tired of the letters
"Stage madness, which is thing of
itself, deprives those afflicted with it of
all sense of being ridiculous. They
will let us daub them all over with mu-
cilage, paint them all the colors of the
rainbow, and bang them about at our
own sweet will. A week ago two broth
ers, who thought they could sing, hop
and perform great guitar act, got on
the boards by sheer gall to rehearse
before the stage carpenters, call boys
and few men who were cleaning from
bones and things. They screwed their
faces up and commenced together, L
90, my love, i 90, when suddenly they
both went. Where do you think they
went, though? 1t was through two
traps that had been purposely unfast-
ened and down into two crooks of thick
bill paste"
"A man came to me with a sealed
letter OF introduction from a Baltimore
manager" he continued. 1t was
worded to the effect that the bearer was
of no use to any one, and that might
kill him if l liked. l gave him the part
of good-goody dude, who was to go
into q saloon and discourse virtue and
morality to the assembled 'toughs.' His
speech was about four feet long, AS
soon as the saloonists saw him they
made in his direction. Well, sir, |
don't think 1 ever saw such used-up
man as he was after they got through
with him. They wasted bag of flour
over his clothes, rubbed his face in a
blacking-pot and rolled him around on
the stage. To all intents and purposes
they played base ball with him. He
came to me afterwards painting with
rage, but / explained that it was all in
the play. He said he had not been
warned, but had been made to learn
speech which it was never intended he
should deliver, and he went away"
Eyes, this is the time of year that
they all long for the stage the face
tious manager went on. Il believe
spring has some peculiar effect on the
brains not only of poets but of stage
struck heroes. Do dudes ever apply for
places at the theater. Certainly, l
should say so; but they want to play
dude roles, which makes them objec-
tionable. Once man named johnson
came to me and said that he liked to
visit the theater every night and not
pay anything. told him that l was
sorry | could not oblige him, but was
not doing business of that kind. He
fastened, however, to explain that he
wanted to be clacquer! Now, that is
position that is almost unknown in
this country, but | thought | would guy
him. l therefore told him to get brass
heels put on his shoes and come along.
After | had prompted him in waiting as
to when he should applaud, l gave him
a good front seat. Presently one of the
actors remarked: Il have an appoint
ment to keep, 1 must go At this our
friend with the metallic heels began