Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-01-11

TIOCs EINAIs JARRETT
Acting can be taught as readily as music or
PAINTING" said well-knovn actor and skillful
stage manager, man distinguished by his pro-
found knowledge OF everything pertaining to
dramatic art. TO become an actor, he con-
tinuel, the pupil must be able 20 recognize
emotion and must have the initiative quality to
represent IL"
''1Ou think. then. that any one can be taught
10 be an actor" asked The STAB reporter.
Yes, provided he has the initiative quality.
Generally speaking, that is The sine qua non,
just as the recognition OF tone and time Is 10
the student of music. There are exceptions
% al rules and know men wholly destitute OF
initiative quality VINO are very acceptable on
the stage, simply because they do not try to
act at all but appear in their own persons just
Nes they do IN private lie, being so fortunate
has 20 have parts which merely embody their
own individuality. II a man can appear
gracefully d gentleman IN modern soclety
lie ought TO appear to equal advantage in the
same character on the stage. Men OF this kind
sometimes achieve a moderate success in the
dramatic profession because they recognize
all that they are capable OF and do not strive
beyond II"
How TO TEACH The ART.
What method do you think the best for
teaching people 70 act!"
First of all, make them understand def
nitely what We mean by acting. To 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 quantity of voice,
lnheXiOn and mOdulatiOn Of voice and rate OF
movement in speaking. Natural language is
raal oV,1i "a anna 1ax- tDfa aud
forever among all the people of the earth. There
n a German prOverb which says: Love under
stands all languages, meaning that the natural
language of love is the same among all races and
natlOnalitIes and it is equally true of all other
emotions. Artificial language Is OF many differ
ent kInds-French. German, English. Natural
language may completely destroy the effect of
ARTIFICIAL language. II a man speaks words OF
sOrrowful sympathy with laughing couLte-
nance facial expression, which Is his natural
language, gives the lie to the words he utters.
which comprise his artificial language. In
acting the natural and artificial language must
be made to harmonize. This is what Shak-
speare meant when he made Hamlet say to the
PAYERS: Suit the action TO the word, the word
10 the action
BOTH A SCIENCE AND AN ART.
Acting is both a science and an art As a
science it recognizes emotion, dissects it, ar
ranges it and studies the factors which produce
it. AS an art it puts into practice the appro-
PIRATE, natural and artificial means by which
emotion can be expressed. This being under
stood the student of acting should then be
taught that emotion is the expression of pas
SION aroused by some external circumstance,
and must learn to analyze the physical effects
which the various emotions produce and the
natural language by which they express them
selves. Thus exhllaratlon of mind causes ten
sion of body, and We say of person expert
eneing the emotion of 10y, He jumps for Joy;
he shouts for joy The natural language of this
emotion Is smiling face, a full, strong voice
and rapid rate of movement. Depression of
mind causes relaxation of body, and hence Its
natural language is a sad facial expression,
weak, low-pltched voice and slow rate of
movement Horror paralyses. The face is
blanched, the eyes prOtrude, the vocal organs
refuse to perform their Office. And SO on
through the whole gamut of human feeling.
when the pupil has been made to analyze
the physical effects of all the various emotions
and consequently the natural language in which
they md 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 be-
comes sorrow, sorrow becomes sadness. &C.
Let him then take up some dramatic author,
read passage and having decided what emo
ton II Is meant to express, let HIM interpret
the author 3 artificial language with appropri-
ate natural language OF his own. This should
be practiced till he is as familiar with the nat
ural language of all the emotions of the human
mind as he is with the alphabet and can repre-
sent every one of them by that language with
as much readiness and facility as he can repeat
the multiplication table.
TRAINING THE VOICE.
when he has mastered the natural forms of
emotional expression turn his attention to the
artificial ones. Artificial language should be
most carefully articulated. that its every word
may be distinctly heard by even the most dis
tant auditor. The most powerful voice is nil
without distinct articulation. How often We
see actors, clergymen and other public speak
ers who, though they have the voices of stem
tors. fail to make themselves understood simply
because they have never learned to articulate
their words clearly and distinctly. Though all
graduates Of colleges should understand how
TO do this, / am surprised to find how many of
them are wholly ignorant with regard to it,"
We'll, admitting that all men can be taught
10 act" said The STAR reporter, ~ u surely
do not think they can all be taught to act
equally welR That every man can be taught
10 act as well as Booth, Barrett or Irving, Tor
example? You must allow something for
genIus!"
''Genius Is simply an intensely earnest desire
10 do. with constant application to the doing
There Is nothing beyond these. ANY man pos
sesslng the physical requisites OF an actor in
the same degree with Booth, Barrett or Irving
and having the same amount OF initiative quail
ATTY. can, by earnest desire and constant aupIi-
cation. make himself as great an actor. Ambi-
ton and hard work-of which the 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 woTO in the world
whether IN literature or stone, poetry or pyra-
Eulds. One great stumbling block in the wa
.. actors Is the false idea, so largely enter
t.llned both by themselves aud by dramatic
critics. that acting II "a matter of feeling Now
II the actor feels HIS part and merely portrays
his own feelings. he does not act "a all but that
hs does not feel IT Is proven by the tact that
after POrtraying emotion which caused serious
IiInes, and perhaps death 20 the character he
i acting he will completely recover his equ.-
nimity the moment lac comes of the stage
Dumas play OF Camille Is founded upon a
story Of real lite and he tells Us that the orig
maj OF CuHtite after her parting with Aru1ui
sick almost unto death for SIX weeks. Did
any actress VINO has played CGDsaLe ever feel
the part 10 that extent. l think not. Eve.y
CdUttlg i have ever seen, after gong through the
most heartrending agony at paE: n8 with ar
7isdHi, would come OH tine stage and immediately
cOmmeuse to rail at her dressing maid in GOOD
SCI terms for some real or Imaginary fault
The stories you hear about some actor SO feel
lug the part OF Richard III that he fancied HIM
self really that parsonage ana rushed into the
street Ia his stage clothes, brandishing his
sword and calling Tor a horse. are simply nom
sense. II any actor ever did ANYTHING of the
kind IL was because he felt the whisky ne had
imbiOed good dea! more than he felt his part
lou will often read of actors losing themselves
an their roles The only way in which an actor
does tuat IL that he Is OyerpOyerad he H..