The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1884-12-15
LEARNING THEIR LINES.
HOW STAGE ACTORS MoMoRlzE.
Tisr Trials and Disadvantages AZ Com
pared With Opera singers-Hard
AID Easy PlsyS--Eesuiss Of
Treacherous Memory.

reliance of the actors, and the cultiva-
tion aud use Of this. faculty by them is,
10 say the least, very singular. The
singer III the opera, who also depends
en- memory, has the advantage of the
actor; for instance, il Adeina Patti in
her reno ering of Vl0letta in ala rrayi-
alta" should Ia d the very b9st artists
are liable to it) omit few notes, the
tenor lam 10 reach the high c easily, or
the chorus get out OF time, one
wave o. Sig. Ardit,'s baton aud the
fault is hidoen from the audience. Not
so with ne dramatic performer He has
10 speak PLAIN English, and there are no
bars OF music or anything to hide his
imperleetlons, except he has the voice
oil the pronpter, which, in the majority
OF cases, only make his imperiections
still more prominent. 1t is, therefore,
interest ug 10 note the diif rent methods
actors adopt 10 study ana retain their
lines. No man can tell you mora about
the vagsries Of memory than member
OF the sock AID buSkin la the first
place, here arc what are called "quick
studies"-men or women who can
very "quick study "a a rule, can
not retaln-that Is, If no has studied
part very quickly and played tiff he is
called upon to repeat the same part
after am interval OF a few months or
even weeks. He has to restudy it as
though it was an entirely new role
Then comes the ''slow siudy"-those
who have to labor at IL carefully and pa
tiently, word 10y word, line by line, be-
fore they can utter the words STRIP
pingly on the Tongues" butt is singu-
lar Fact that the "SlOW study" is, as a
rule, the best actor. The "quick study ,
is too sure; he can gable out the words
with ease; III suurt ne is parrot like
salviui, the great Italian tragedian once
SAID, that nothing so spoiled dra-
matte entertainment than when the ac
tors appeared to anticipate the dialogue
or tine aCiIou'--this is exactly what the
"quick study" does. The slow one is
nervous. 10 memOrize tho words of
his part has been hard work; with him
theru ~ an effort to retain them, and
TINS very effort gives him fire and
he ats his character with
an impulse which is, after
all, the very eSsenca OF the histrionlc
art. 10 commit b. memory long part
say, for instance, Hamlet, and VIII ch
next 10 Ia y 10 The longest in the legili
mate draua--is no easy task. A man
playing thaJ character has q recall TO
mind thousands o. words-noU onl,
whai no Ia 70 say himself, but the cues
given ~ hln by others, "adyice 10 the
players" vi "suiting the action To the
word, tue word 10 the dctun,n and til,
special observance that follows. Differ
6nt actors have different methods Of
com WI.tug their lines To in mory: One
VIII Keep ia close seCiuSiUn, locking
himself IA room TO study another will
studN ms part anywhere aud at any
time, ana IL Is not by any moans an un.
common occurrence Tor a puespiai
to be memOriz' ny his lines while
he Is talking 10 friend. The late
Charles n,riG used TO boast OF the fac
OF having studied some of his best parts
while waking along the street. Gher,
Is fbneral Impression that Shake
speare Is Gillicult to commit TO memory
whereas, hH is far easier than man,
either authors, for there is musica
rhS thm II, his Language that Is easil,
hXed upon the recollection. AmOng tn,
comparatively modern authors Bulwe
is fur moro difficult to Nom rize, bu
there il no dramatic writer whose ARE al
hard to nenOriZ9 as those of knOwle--
Tor Ms blank verse, beautiful as il is, il
SO cIampeG that old and experienced ac
tors dread 10 study t. AciOrs have, bN
constant usd OF the memory, accom-
plished Hune strange frats. Som,
twenty years ago Ny. John Rydei
in Engl md, undertOok 10 memo
paper and recite H. in public
anu he olu it, rtelging the whole papr
from legiuning to end. The comedy 0
THE GamG OF Speculation" was rams
lated irun the french, rehearS cd an,
produced at The Lyceum theatre in Lnn
don IN luur days. Mr.. Charles Mat
thews, WHO pl yed the leading part
Ahanlo HAH x, and W . GA the stag
thr ughout four long acts withOu
hardly uuy lniCrmissiun, committed tn,
character perfectly 10 memory il
twenty tour hours, or to make usa OF hi
ewn words after the iirsf night, ~ swal
lowed TIE whole 0se and don't think
spilled Il drop" When the cdrtain ros,
en the tirsl production Of "pi2arro" tn,
last act of the drama WAS nOJ written
and BrnSlcv Sheridan wrote Off tn,
fifth ncC ia the L een-rCum, tha cal
boy tHSipS tt from him and thnr
distrl Utrug 10 b. The diilpreR
aeters a, me first four acts wore heini
play ca, 10 no smiigd 10y them as hos
they could. Tine exercise of Lhe think
ipg u'Wure by mcmbrrs Of the PROBES
Biol iSat times something wonderful
and u proves how that organ, lil>v ANY
other, can be trained and hC relied Erpn
III happens ~ times that an actor il
called HpuO w enact part at a very
short notice aud q character he is total
unhcglC,iutni wi h, Dut perhaps iguur
auL oi tlu gDrY sense OF The play Itself
Not long ago, IN ono o. tine uptown
theatres in this city, ap ,n'ur wa
brought 60 The theatre AZ go GL uight Il
take the place OF % hlpther professions
who was SICK. lie knew nothing of tn
piece and had never Necu it, for it wa
anew one from london. 10 arrived
~ tho theatre a few minutes OUl,
bitUrU the play would huLiu, aud h. hat