The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-02-28
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THE WORLDS DRAMA.


THE WORLDS DRAMA.
The great dramatist has said that FALL the
worlds stage, and all the men and women
Merely players 1t is pity that the play on
khis broad stage does not move so smoothly
and agreeably as that on the mimic stage of
the theater. 1t is to be regretted that all the
men and women who are players in LIES
drama are not as proficient as are the few who
draw thousands night after night to see the
counterfeit of what real life should be. It is
q cruel paradox that art should improve on
nature Either that or it is a shame
that humanity is not art instead
of what it is. If Mary Ander-
son or Modjeska can put on the
beautiful as Juliet, a Galatea, or Rosalind,
why cannot Mary Anderson and Modjeska be
either or all of these in real life? If the subtle
witchery of these creations softens and fills
human hearts with the vap regret that they
are not tangible and enduring, but must pass
away as pleasing phantasm, why may not
these artistes let their natures flow into the
characters they portray and appropriate their
1cyeliness? And from these as teachers, why
might not all womankind acquire much of
that simulated sweetness of disposition and
apply it to everyday experience? The stage
might become great training school, and so
- II ~
kind is not what it might be- not what it
should be- The world should be peopled
with the Salvinis. the Barrels and the Irvings
Of the stage as they appear impersonating
noble characters. If these men can compel
the worlds admiration of the counterfeit,
why may they not appropriate the noble quail
tiles they delineate and in turn impart
knowledge of the alchemy that changes the
dross of humanity to the pure goldG What
is the matter with humanity that it can
not grow up to the stage? Or shall
such an admission be suppressed in
the interest, the pride, of self-respects
But confessed or repressed, it remains that the
great body Of humanity is wofully below man
kind and womankind as portrayed on the
stage. 1t may be confessed that there are
rare exceptions in the herd Of humanity that
nearly or quite measure up to the ideals which
for centuries have delighted the world of men
and women. But why with centuries of
hammering, chiseling and modelling, has not
humanity more nearly appropriated these
conceptions of perfection and loneliness? Of
human origin, they certainly can be dupli-
Gated, and the courtliness and grace of the
stage could be incorporated into the daily life
of the world before the footlights and beyond
the walls of the play house.
Of course, there is much rubbish and worse
presented on the stage, that does no good in
the hearing and must be forgotten as soon as
witnessed Close up to the excellent and ele-
waited is the fustian and prunella But it is
easy to discriminate, and it is reflection on
human progress and the accumulated expe-
rience of generations to say that mankind
may not approach the highest ideals. One of
she'great impedments is humanity iil-mated.
The half-shell Of gentleness and grace too
often fails to find its counterpart. Usually
joined to coarseness, ifnot brutality, the result
Is the loss of that fine excellence that might
have hourished and been perpetaated. The del
icate flower of refinement is trampled down and
pvergrown by the weeds that run riot every
where. But, making allowance for loss
through unhappy combinations, it remains
that good must result from an honest assump-
ton Of the social graces and manly attributes
portrayed in the best dramas The suavity
Of manners and speech, the employment of
language fitted to noble thought and refined
lives can but have effect for good, in bringing
careless nature back to its true estate The
best way to come into possession Of any grace
or excellence is to put it on and wear it until
Its nature is wosen into its beautiful fabric
The refinement of polite society can never be
attained by the boorish until its rules are
complied with. Nor win the grace and excel
lence of the characters portrayed by the mas
fers come to anyone without close study and
imitation OF the same. Those who attend
places Of amusement with this end in view,
Fho 60 there as young artists 60 to Paris,