The Indianapolis sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1880-1904, 1885-02-01
STUDYING FOR THE STAGE.
Exchanged

Nothing could be more interesting"
said one of the managers of New York
school of acting to Sun reporter, than
to sit here as do all day and see the
people who want to go upon the stage.
Hundreds of young women all over the
country long to become actresses. Some
pretty girl on the east side, after rolling
cigarettes or measuring off ribbon all
day, goes to the theater IN the evening
and her head il turned by the lights, the
finery, and the excitement. The APP
plause that meets the prima donna
makes her position seem the proude,t in
the world, aud the shop girl up in the
gallery looks and longs and says To her
self: she wouldn't look bit better
than do without her makeup and her
fine things; why shouldn't be like that,
instead of working hard all nv life to
make just enough to liveI Then the
pretty girls eyes fash ss she leans back
and pictures To herself her future
triumphs. She shows scarcely any ex
element when her young man mentions
ice cream on the way home, and she
goes home and goes To bed and dreams
all night of silk and bouquets, and clap
ping and stamping of feet. She doesn't
see the actress whom she envies going
home late every night, rehearsing every
day and worried and perplexed as she
has never dreamt of being. Some of
these girls conquer their infatusIion and
go on with their old life contentedly.
Others plunge into theatrical career
without foreshought, ard while an in
tinitely small number furnish the
Rachels and Bernhsrdts to the profess
sion, the majority fair miserably and
get more and more discouraged, until
they look back with regret upon their
old life.
"But pretty shop girls are not the
only novices we have to deal with, by
great deal. Although the majority of
those who select the stage for career
are poor, yet the rule doesn't always
hold good, and many daughter of
wealthy parents drives down in her
fathers carriage, and comes in here 10
see what she could do, and how soon we
think she would be at the head of her
profession. Few of this class of aspir-
ants are apt to get along we'll; they take
the rosiest kind of a rosy view of the
life before them, and when they see any.
thing that isn't rosy they get discouraged
very quickly. II they are full of am
bition and have lots of pluck they may
get along, but when a young girl has
failed dozen times, and has seen others
climbing far above her, and herself not
as far advanced in year as she expected
to be in a month, che is apt to 60 back
to her comfortable home. if it is still
open to her, A rich mans daughter be-
coming an actress with her fathers con-
sent is almost an unknown occurrence in
this or any other country"
(Which turn out the best among act
resses, the pretty or the plain oness"
"Well. that's funny thing, too. OF
course, almost al! the girls who 90 on
the stage are pretty. They imagine that
beauty is the first requisite of a first-class
actress, and pretty girls are more apt
than others to become stage-struck. Still,
there are just enough of the other kind
to make up the larger number of the
celebrities: If you look at the very
great actresses (take, for example. the
two whom / mentioned before, Rachel
and Bernhardt) you will find that they
are not the beautiful women of the pro-
fession. l don't know why, unless it is
because the great amount of character
necessary to make a genius is incompati-
BILE with beauty"
There is one great advantage which
the plain woman has over the beauty.
| woman always knows when she Is
handsome; that is always safe to bet on.
She knows that she is good looking, and
she depends too much on that. If she
has to render part demanding great
| passion, she is apt to tone ii down lit
| tie, so as not to lose the effect of some
dimple or curve. which she considers
sufficient in itself to carry the house.
She may be moderately successful and
| her picture may be for sale everywhere,
but she isn't likely to set thu newspapers
talking, and doesn't stand much chance
| to be presented to royalty.
"The plain or ugly girl, on the other
hand, feels that she is handicapped in
| the race, and works hard 10 make up for
| il. She sees at first her hardest work
pass unnoticed, and mere beauty of face
and figure applauded more than all her
hard work. Then, if she has the true
| stuff in her, she works all the harder,
and whatever she has in her is bound to
| come out. With successful actresses,
big mouths, thinness, and other physical
disadvantages pass unnoticed. But now
| come and have a look at the classes, and
see how the actors of the future are being
turned out"
In one room were n dozen young men
under the tuition of an elderly gentle
man with perfectly smooth face.
Attention. gentlemen" the instruc-
tor said. "Fll now show you how Ia
come into room with an expression OF
surprise up'n your features" He went
out, and walked leisurely in. Suddenly
he stopped, raised his hards with bis
fingers pointing upward, and said;
"Ham
A careless observer would have
though from bis air that he bad seen
a cow walking up the side of house.
"Now." said he, 'sgo out and do as