The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1888-03-01
ACTORS MEMORIES.
THE FANTASTIC TRICKS THEY PLAY
THEIR PoSSESSORS.

THE FANTASTIC TRICKS THEY PLAY
THEIR PossEsSORs.
why Men Stumble in Familiar Roles.
Lines which win Not Stay Learned.
Improvising Part-Jumping q Whole
Act.
SIT always seemed queer to me-" said
an actor who had gray hair to give weight
to his opinion, s'that somebody doesn't
write book ON the psychological aspect
of life on the stage. Probably the actor
has as large an opportunity of becoming
acquainted with curious phenomena Of the
human intellect as any man that lives.
The curious freaks Of superstitious fancy
that afflict some Of the best known actors
are old themes of discussion. Some think
they can't act il they see horse Of a GER
tain color, or il they don't wear q certain
dress, or II they play In certain house.
Some actors have played one part so many
times that the work has become entirely
mechanical, and they forget how far along
they have got in the play. Under some
conditions Of mind-not induced by drink
either-the oldest actor is liable to miss
cue or cut q fellow actor out Of his lines,
no matter II he knows the play so well
that he can repeat the whole thing from
beginning to end. have known even so
careful and thorough an actor as Lawrence
Barrett, who has played sRichelieu'
thousands of times, suppose, to get
thrown OF the tracks in the first interview
between the cardinal and Julie, and have
to 60 back to his first speech to get it right.
Not long ago heard Frederick Warde, in
expatiating on his favorite play, Damon
and Pythias,' q Hlay in which he has acted
principal or subordinate parts for fifteen
years, utterly fail to recall three lines from
the very passage he was wont TO deliver
with the greatest effect from the stage.
"But the most curious freak Of the
actors memory, and the one to my mind
furtherest from any rational explanation,
Is the way IL will sometimes, and for no
apparent cause. utterly refuse to take any
impression at all. remember very well
the first experience Of that kind ! ever
had. I was in the company of a web
known tragedian Of this city. A change
I'm the cast had given me the part OF Bara-
das two days before 'Richelieu' was to be
performed. / was fairly familiar with the
part and thought would have no diff
Guilty in becoming dead letter perfect in 1t.
1 studied all my lengths that night until !
knew them pretty well, aad the next day
/ went at them again. To my speechless
horror / discovered that all that had
studied had escaped from my mind. Read
the lines over as many times as ] would
and strive as hard as / would to impress
them on my mind, not one would stick:
If should ever become a raving maniac
would never be more pitiable object than
/ was that day. l locked myself In my
room and refused Is cat while went over
the lines to myself as Nicholas Nickleby
went over the npOthecary's lines 70 p09r
Smike. Toward evening began to ger
the better Of then and when went TO the
theatre had them all pat. 1had regained
a great deal of my confidence and theugne
I should have no more trouble.
'Imagins my feelings when discov-
cred, as I heard my first cue, that the
whole part had set away from me. 1
stood before that sea Of upturned faces
with no idea Of what was going to say,
At last I found my voice, and said some
tIing-I don't know what. Such a YER
sion Of Bafsdas no audience ever listened
to as mise was that night. I struggled
oil making I1p sentences as went along,
and irving to keep what said within the
general plot Of the play, of which had o
fairly distinct impression. I don't sup
Dose what / ssid sounded half as bad to
others as it did to ple, for the people in
the wings told me aftefward that few per-
sons not familiar with the text would
have suspected there was anything serious
the matter.
"As soon as was of the stage made
q rush for the dressing room, grabbed
pl:,y book and laboriously studied my
rcxt lengths until was to go on again.
It was C no use. couldn't remember
word of my part when got before the
footliriitS. Desperation came to my aid,
however. I plunged in boldly and got
through m improvisation that would have
made BulvsY's hair stand on end, with
on. any bad bresks. That night when I
IVES getting into bed, utterly Disguised
with Iayself, ell those lines came back to
me 1a o heap, and for weeks and weeks
they harnted me. They took such COM
plcts possession of me that could
scarcely dr;Xs them out of my head when
the time came to learn another part.
''That was ten years ago. and never
had o touch of the malady again until
last winter. We were trying O new piece
son the dog in Providence. We had had
it in rehearsal for some time and I sup
posed knew Ill my part and business as
well rs knew my own name. ] was the
villain, and in the fourth act was to quar-
rel with and stab my accompiice in crime,
for which / was to be sentenced to death
after confessing all my villainy. In the
next act had . scene with the hero just
before the quarrel, and I'm blessed If I
didn't forget lines, business and every
thing else Jumping away down to the
end of the act, killed the hero. The
nntilcr of the play, who was sitting ~
box. uust have been paralyzed at the
liberty took with his text, and the an
ciencc must haye thought it very strange
that the hero should come to life SO readily
in the next act, and that should be sem
tenced to death for merely trying to kill
him. But the dog lived, and got off
with a searching from the manager."-
New York Commercial Advertiser.