Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1890-02-14
HOW TO BECOME AN ACTOR
INITIATIVE FACULTY AND PHYSICAL
FITNESS REQUIRED.
Suggestions for Persons Ambitious to Ri
val EootL, Barrett and Irving-Some of


initiative quality to represent 1t.
"Ycu think, then, that any one can be
Taught 10 be an actorn asked the reporter.
.sYes. provided he has the initiative quality.
Generally speaking, that is the sine qua non,
Just as the recognition of tone and time is to
the student of music. There are exceptions
to ali rules and know men wholly destitute
of initiative quality who are very acceptable
on the stage, simply because they do not try
to act at all, but appear in their own persons
just rs they do i'll private life, being so for
tunate as to have parts which merely en-
body their own individuality. If man can
appear gracefully as gentleman in modern
society he ought to appear TO equal advant-
age ia the same character on the stage. Men
OF this kind sometimes achieve moderate sue
cess in the dramatic profession because they
recognize all that they are capable Of ana do
not strive beyond it."
Tow TO TEACH ACTING.
"Wllat method DO you think the best for
Teaching the people to act."
First of all make them understand def
nitely what we mean by acting. 70 my mind
it is the representation Of human emotion by
means of artificial and natural language.
The former consists OF the words which we
employ as a medium to express our ideas.
The latter is made up OF facial expression,
gesticulation, tone of voice, quality and GUAM
tity of voice. infection and meditation of
voice and rate of movement in speaking.
Natural language is universal, ard is the
same yesterday, today and forever among all
the people OF the earth. There is a German
proverb which says: Love understands oil
languages meaning that the natural Ian
guage of love is the same among all races
and nationalites, and it is equally true of oil
other emotions. Artificial language is of
many different kinds-French, German, En-
glish. In acting, tie natural and artificial
language must be made 10 harmonic. This
is what Shakespeare meant when he made
Hamlet san to the players: Suit the action
to the word, the word to the action
''When the pupil has been made TO analyze
the physical effects OF all the various emo
tons, and consequently the natural language
il which they find expression, he should be
taught their various grades and their
mode Of passing from one grade to another.
Thus joy subsidies, first into gladness, then
into happiness; grief becomes sorrow, sorrow
becomes sadness, etc Let him then take up
some dramatic author, read passage, and,
having decided what emotion it is meant to
express, let him interpret the authors artifi-
cial language with appropriate natural lam
guage of his own. This should be practiced
till be is as familiar with the natural language
of all the emotions of the human mind as he
is with the alphabet, and can represent every
one OF them by that language with as much
readiness and facility az he can repeat the
table.
"When he has mastered the natural forms
Of emotional expression. turn his attention to
tho artificial ones. Artificial language should
be most carefully articulated, that it's every
word may be distinctly heard by the most
distant auditor. The most powerful voice is
nil without distinct articulation. How often
we see actors, ciergy1nen and other public
speakers who. though they have the voices Of
stentors, fail to make themselves understood
simply because they have never learned 10
their words clearly and distinctly.
Though all graduates of colleges should I'M
derstand hoy to do this. am surprised to
find how many Of them are wholly ignorant
with regard to it."
SO CALLED "FEELNG."
"WelI, admitting that all men can be
taught to act" said the reporter, you surely
do not think they can all be taught to act
equally well; that every man can be taught
to act as well as Booth, Barrett Or Irving, for
example,? You must allow something for
genIus:n
Genius is simply an intensely earnest &c
sire to do, with constant application to the
doing. There is nothing beyond these. Any
man possessing the physical requisites OF an
actor In the same degree with Booth, Barrett
or Irving, and, having the same amount OF
initiative quality, can, by earnest desire and
constant application, make himself as great
ON actor. Ambition and hard work-of
which tho latter, in the actors case, means
study and practice-are the only factors Of
success in anything. Tom Moore says, IN his
Life of Sheridan:' Labor is the father of al
the great works IL the world, whotherin lit
erature OF stone, poetry or pyramids One
great stumbling block i'll the way OF actors is
the false idea, 50 largely entertained both by
themselves and by dramatic critics, that act
ing is matter of feeling. Now, if the actor
feels his part ard merely portrays his own
feelings he does not act at eli, but that he
does not feel il is proven by the fact that az
ter portrayinG emotion which caused serious
illness and perhaps death to the character
he is acting, he will completely recover his
the moment he comes CD the
stage.
Dumas play OF Camille is founded upon
a story Of real life, and he tells us that the
original OF Camille, after the parting with
was sick almost unto death for six
weeks. Did any actress who has played
Camille ever feel the part 50 that extents l
think not. Every Camille l have ever seen,
after going through the most heartrending
agony at parting with Armand, would come
OF the stage and immediately commence TO
rail ct her dressing maid in good set terms
for some real or imaginary fsult.
The stories You hear about some actor
SO feeling the part of Richard III that ha
faIcicd himself really that parsonage and
ru5hed into the street IN his stage clothes,
brGadisGing his sword and calling for horse,
are simply nonsense W ashingtpI Star.