Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1888-05-10
REALISM ON THE STAGE.
"A Famous French Artist Discusses the
Error of NaturalisIn.

a Famous French Artist Discusses the
Error of Naturalisrn.
Terror and pity are the main-splinss
of the dramatic art, but not horror and
disgust. The stage is school of mar
ners; it ought not to be school OF
medicine.
Furthermore the repetition Of reali-
ty is impossible. Truth. it is said. may
sometimes seem not probable. This is
peculiarly exact in the special condi-
tions of the foot-lights, where the
light shines up from below ms 9 I'd Of
striking down from above, and where.
as if in a sort of magnifying appara-
tus, the measure of men, of things,
and even of time itself, is changed.
l have been guilty of naturalism
only once in my life-involuntary-
and yet shall always feel remorse.
l was acting with Q travelling compa-
ny; l had passed the night in the train,
then rehearsed IN the day, and after
the rehearsal 1 had gone on some ex-
cursion or another, so that was very
tired. In the evening / played the
role of Annibal in Anglers L'Advent-
urere The reader will remember that
ut the end of the second act Annibal
whom Fabrice has been enticing to
drink in order to make him talk, gets
drunk and then goes to sleep. 1
played the drunken scene as usual,
neither more nor less; but when it
came to the sleeping part, the act that
l was feigning seemed to me so sweet.
and l wanted to sleep so thoroughly,
that unconsciously l yielded to the
temptation. l went to sleep on the
stage, in presence of the public. and.
with shame be it recorded, l even
snored. This was exceeding orders;
but the public, hearing me snore, be-
lieved that it was in my role, and that
was endeavoring to make point.
Some laughed. others found the bust
ness" in doubtful taste. and there
were not wanting some who said that I
snored without naturalness, without
grace, that forced the note, in short.
that my snoring was not like real snor-
ing.
Alas! / was as Indifferent to applause
as l was to criticism. l think that
even volley of Kisses would not have
walked me. And when the curtain fell.
my companions had some difficulty in
recalling me to a sense of the reality.
However, this little nap did me much
good, and played the rest of my part
with alacrity.
Nevertheless, this sleeping was a
mistake, and mistake which might
have turned Out badly. OF course, if
ad to wake up before the end of the
act, should not have yielded to the
temptation; my baseness lies in the
fact that l knew had nothing more
to do until the curtin fell-except to
sleep-and instead of making believe
to sleep. l went to sleep really. This.
l repeat to my shame, was rank nat
uralism. And yet. you see!-for from
our mistakes it is fitting that we should
draw lessons-some spectators thought
that my sleep was badly acted; they
found it unreal. We have here another
illustration of the story, so often verb
fed, of the peasant and the mounte-
bank. The mountebank initiates the
squealing of a sucking pig. and he is
at once applauded. The peasant who
has made a bet that he will squeal as
well as the mountebank. and who has
cealed beneath his cloak real sucking
pig, pinches the animal on tie sly; the
pig squeals; the peasant is Kissed, and
loses his wager. Why is this so? Be-
cause the trial was made on the stage;
because the point of view is different
according as one looks at things from
the public street or from the audi
forum of theater. Que roulez-vous?
OF course the PEASANTS pig squealed
very well; but he squealed without art.
And here precisely is the error of nat
squeal all the time. Well. with all due
respect for my distinguished CONTRA
dictors, this mistake is also that of the
actors who maintain that one ought to
render. and that one renders well, only
such emotion and sensations as one
feels in reality. These are the men who
should be rightly accused of natural
ism. For if they must weep in earnest
in order to make the spectators weep,
logic demands that they should get
drunk in earnest in order to play the
drunkard' part; and consequently. in
order to play perfectly the part of an
assassin. they will get some hypnotizer
to suggest to them The idea of stabbing
the actor who is perfectly with them.
or the promptor, if that happens to be
more convenient. And all this with
the danger of appearing to play falsely.
&C Coquelin. az Harper's Magazine.