The morning call., 1890-11-09
ELLEN TERRY.
She Says an Actor Must Feel to
Act and Learn to Be Natural.

l remember once, when l was about 10
years old. acting Prince Arthur at the Prin-
cess. Mrs. Charles kean was teaching me
my part, which was doing very badly. |
couldn't get up enough emotion when l was
going TO have my eyes put out-cOuld not
realize The situation. l can hear now Mrs.
Kean saying scornfully: "Doyou think you
would go on like that if your eyes were really
going to be put Out?" writes Ellen Terry
to THE Treasure Trove." "Why, you would
make more fuss if you had lost your doll"
But | could not rise to the occasion; and at
last Mrs. kean, kind as she usually was, lost
patience with mel think she did it ION
purpoSe"-and burst out into paroXysm
of sobDing and CRYING. That's it! Now
say the words and remember how you
say them. That's it," exclaimed Mrs. Kean,
delighted. Bravo! Keep that up and you'll
do capitally. Just initiate the way you
are crying now another time and you'll have
no more trouble" l was just intelligent
enough to catch her meaning. and have
ever since profted by the advice. My rea-
son for telling this anecdote is that it proves
how essential a genuine piece of feeling is as
model to initiate. l don't mean to say,
after run OF 500 nights, that you can feel
your part with the same intensity that you
did when the piece began to run. But you
must have wildly felt your part at first or
else you will-play fatty before many nights
are over. The truth is, at the end of a long
run you are Initiating your own emotions
which YOU felt at the beginning of it, and SO
the real touch is preserved.
There is at the same time, good deal of
mechanism in our art For instance, have
no more difficulty, by an effort Of will. in
turning deadly pale before my looking
glass than l have in eating my dinner No
actor has chance of giving the higher side
the emotional side, that is-a fair chance
unless he thoroughly masters the scientific.
the mechanical side OF his art. If an actor
wants to gain his audience he must lose
himself, and that he can never do unless he
is deeply and genuinely stirred. Why have
some actors the magnetic power and poetic
charms which Others, though in sense their
acting may be as good, entirely lack? Be
cause the former have the great gift of feel
ing their part while the latter only play it.
1t is very diff ulf, however, TO draw the
exact line where art begins and nature ends.
Before it is possible TO show that you feel
your part 1t is necessary to have learned the
art of being natural. This seems a contra
dictl0n In terms, for 1t might at least be sup
posed that nature could best teach you to be
natural. But she cannot OF course to
some actors this gift comes more easily than
to others, but all have to acquire it. In the
first place you have to learn to be uncon-
sc0us. 1t was Mrs kean, again, who gave
me my first lesson in this very difficult ac-
cOmpishment. One day could not have
been more than 11-sne told me to sing to
her. was seized with an awful fit of self
consciousness and said: II can't sing Mrs.
Kean." You'll make nice actress!' she
exclaimed, looking at me sternly-and, fond
as L was of her, those eagle eyes always had
a terrifying effect on me. Suppose a man
ager told you you were to play Ophelia,
would you tell him you couldn't sing? Go
and sing this, very moment. Anything
Yankee Doodle anything! Only singw
And sing had to, and was convinced by
Mrs. Kean that had been merely self-con-
scious.
Each actor may have some peculiar, par
ticular and different difficulty. One finds his
voice unmanageabe, another his walk, an
other this. another that. For myself l can
perambuate freely enough, and always re-
greet never learned dancmg-stage dancing,
l mean. My particular difficulty" is, or
rather was, my hands; but l manage them
better now. l was once rehearsing part
with man, a very clever actor, who used
his hands exceedingly well-but he had his
difficulty" We were discussing the best
way in which he should give me flower.
Why not do it like this?' said |. Yes,
see, l shall be there'-pointing to spot
about five feet off on the stage" and how
shall l get to where you are?" Take
hansom," l loosely replied, thinking he
was in fun; and it was long time before l
came to realize that it was a serious matter
to him to stir five feet on the stage unless he
had planned out his movements before
hand
But other qualities ara necessary before
the art of emotion can make itself felt; and
these are Imagination, individuality and in
dustry. Imagination will give the insight
required to make an actor one with the char
acter he Is assuming; individuality, if sufii-
GENTLY developed, will enable him to hold
any audience; and industry-well, without
that DO one ever became an artist on the
stage or in the studio. j do not mean to say
that beauty is not an immense aid to an ac-
treSS in a successful theatrical career. Still,
you can get on without beauty but it is i'm
possible for an actress to achieve any dis
tinction without imagination, individuality
and industry. After ALL as far as the stage
is concerned, beauty has not much more
power than favorable criticism; it can at
tract people-it can make them, perhaps,
come oncs-but it cannot make them stay.