The Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1885-1886, 1886-06-17
A DRAMATIC WORKSHOP.
HOW YOUNG WOMEN ARE MOULDED
INTO STAGE JULlETS, ETC.

Developing Grace in Classic Skirts-In-
shilling Elasticity Through the Agency
Of Fencing Foiis-A veritable Human
Workshop-Picturesgu Wives.
The first thing to be done with the young
lady-but, by the way, having paid for her
trst course, she is no longer young lady,
she is an "Aspirant'-is to get her clothes to
hang. They never do in real life. In real
life women dress. In professional life they
drape A lady has plaits and things An
actress has folds If she has embarked on
the sea of high comedy she might as we'll lie,
gin by getting her sheets in the wind. She
must look like Juliet before she can talk like
her
Here she is, learning sweep" pose" re
pose' and impose" Fer first lines are in
her skirts She has to get these before she
gets shakespeare S, III her lessons are
taken in costume She has to manage her
train while the teacher manages the train
ing. She may be said to be hanging on the
the skirt of the drama Dress first, idress
afterwards. Tragedy begins with the monu-
Httutdt all tnuo Wlth WIG oVhtiiliShtuL
After the aspirant has learned how to have
things hang right she must learn to have
them move right She has got to loosen our
her joints, and it is proverbial that every
social young lady who has not become an
aspirant uses her arms from the elbow and
her elbow from the wrist and her wrist from
the tinger-tips She cannot strike out nor
stride. She is charming combination of
side, slope and slump She melt; from one
action to another in snow flake fashion
without muscular purpose She has de-
| ightful inclination to glide when she ought
| to step out aggressively.
HOW To STAND, MOVE AND SPEAK
So she has the foils put into her hands to
| loosen her up and astonish some OF the girl
muscles that have been lying dormant For
| this exercise she dispenses with her skirts
] and dons pair of short trousers and blouse
jacket She looks very pretty in it If she
has trim figure. and it is interesting to
note how rapidly her supple body adapts
| itself to the rules of the art At first she
is little timid She is afraid of having
| her eyes put out and winks with her head
averted, and reminds you Of girl on a
washstand killing MOSQUITOES But as soon
as she finds out that she has texors there is
| fine vital grace gets into her limbs, and a
fine glow comes into her cheeks-two shades
excitement and one shade muscular exercise.
| Of late, boxing lessons have become quite
fashionable at the dramatic schools, most OF
the aspirants preferring the gloves TO the
toils, though as a rule they do not take to
them so well, and certainly do not appear
to the same picturesque advantage as with
the duellists weapons.
| Having learned how to stand and how to
move the next thing is to learn how to
peak Here comes in the whole elocution-
ary business. Most of the theatrical coaches
have cut the old recitation nonsense. Aux
ltalien," and the Maniac have no place in
their text books, They put the 'spiran'
into an acting role at once, and make hei
10 through it with all the stage business, as
| If she were before an audience. The pro
lessor always lets her do it her own way
| first and euieavors to make her think II
out with her own intelligence, thus preserv-
ing, il possible, her individuality and or
iSinality.
1t is very pretty sight to watch some Of
these girls developing into stage pictures
from neophytes to nymphs- A natura
nvmph is of no account it seems, for The
stage She has to be reconstructed, have
her feet turned out, her knees strengthened,
her toes pointed, her arms bent into curves,
Tut it all comes about by degrees, She
gets structural ease and pcise after awhile
finds out that she has legs instead OF limbs
and begins to have a pictorial sense Of
things And it is the achievement of thes,
technical graces that marks the aplomb Of
the professional actress
| tn .rxIxI. rop pICTirpEspITF WIFEVODn
This human workshop deals with TIVE
kinds of material OF late new order o
'spirant has crowded into the field. She i
the social declaimer-the amateur profes
sional who doesn't want TO so on the stage
only to make sensation in the salon with
'Ostler joe and similar sentiment Bu
she wants 10 do it with the air of an acires
who knows all about it This order o
'spirant is distinct from the girls who mear
business But II is interesting to know thai
she he gins with the same methods and put.
on the gloves before she puts on the sock AMI
buskin.
If YOU could drop in some morning on tn
pupils YOU would see Juliet in all stages o
construction Kate, ethereal, voluble, quiz
crinc with intelligence, would have climbe,
Uast the bal ony and arrived at the potion
scene ruth, trim and graceful as spra.
OF golden rod, would be hanging at Romeo
bread basket and Cora would be har
arguing the nurse or asking the wall paper
wherefore art thou" Alter which sh
would throw herself into q cushioned chai
ami present to us the pit ture of elegant re
lose out of VIII CHI stuck a little foot tina
had more eocution in it than you can tins
in some people whole bodies.
mutt
these lessons even if the 'spirants neye
reach the Parnas5us of the stage door, am
only fall by the way into some matrimonial
pitfall They tecome at least picturesque
wives, and 1t is generally understood tina
that Is what men want. There is certain
charm in having a wife who can receive" lik
Melt a and entertain Ii Lady Macbeth VIII
can play the piano as if she We're playin
Lucreaia borgia, and read the mornin:
payer a. If sh, were reading Dantes in
ieino 10 be able to make soup with
What no. and order the milk with
"Prithee come up and discharge the red
headed cook with a grand "Me thinks thi
is too mucn,7 and wave away the gas maj
with an arm-sweep superb, are attainment
Al q" not come by nature New Y or
World
III g,I.tt IA. 49, Ion try