Telegram-herald., 1891-11-29

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dred as Romeo; when the girl Who has
been told that her potion seems y equal
20 Neilson's begins % think q ssaewed
txiamphs as Juliet
II Is curious fact that snatsurs stop
ss nothing Shakespeare, Acliere.
eheridan-nothingd daunts them OF all
Ohskespcare's characters the unhappy
lovers Of Verona h2ve suffered most At
the hanAs Of dramatic debaterA Poor
culpriti Poor Msntagr,e!.
But AmAtsuss are fast becoming moro
discriminating Ia their selection Of plays
and are willing to ay little nearer
earth Many amateur clubs, moreover.
are doing capital work, and the ranka
OF professionals ara constantly being
recruited from these associations Of
clever and pzinsssking people.
Yet there are SO many things to learn
In this line Of amusement and cultiva-
tion. . few hints from professionals
may be of value to those who are
threatening thsatrieals. What clsss of
plays TO select; tbs duties Of q stage
manager; how tS knock mp . stage in q
drswing-rooEn. are interesting topics to
people who fer sweet charity or simply
for fun are going in for entertainment
Of this sort
Perhaps the most famous amateur of
this country next 70 the late lanented
Cora Urquhart Potter. was Miss Elsie
De Wolfe. now full l-aedgsd profession
al To get any hints the young lady
might be willing TO give to stage anna
tsurs, called upon her the other morn
ing Miss De Wolfe lives In the most
marvellous and picturesque house imag-
inable- II u an old-time mansion In
Irving place. You step from New York
into bit Of Paria When the doors are
closed behind you and you end yourself
In the salon with its tapestries, its
ormolu. its saarquetris. It's Loais Quinze
cabinets, it's tiny gilt table, sits quaint
columns, and thousand and one bits Of
Parisian bric-a-brac. you could swear
that should you 10 ,k ou. Of the window
yonder you would see the boulevards
and catch . glimpse Of the Arc De III
omphe
"Will you come up to Miss De Wolfe's
bedroom?" asked q soft-voiced maid.
and followed her up the rambling
stairs and into bijou of q bedchambor
all pink and white and silver. Tho
walls are crowded with pictures Of
A.
ling fire glows in the CRATE and Fabi-
enne. bolstered up with an array of pill
lows. holds out her hand to me with ono
of those strange. sweet smiles
"A tip for the stage amateur" said
the young lady. thoughtfully. AL
WAYS to have the best possible stage
manager A professional. If practic-
able. il not, the best equipped amateur
60 be secured | have really been con-
sidered unreasonable on this point.
When playee with amateurs / always
insisted upon having the services of n
man like Belasco To stage and direct
the play. remember when | was be-
sought TO appear In such plays as
school for Scandal and Contrast 1
said frankly TO the ladies' who
begged me 10 play: Yes, I viii play,
hsve Belasco - stage manager To
this many demurred, declaring that his
services would be so expensive. but /
Insisted You say that I can Gil the
theater at five dollars ticket. urged
Then you should certainly consult my
wishes In the matter and expcnd some
OF the money can bring you in havirg
the play properly managed carried
nv point and the wisdom of my
determination was plainly demonstrst-
ed. l should always recommend anna
teurs to have a competent stage man
sgcr above everything else As 10 the
choice of plays. | would sugrest Tho
Loan of q Lover still Waters Run
Deep and that charming comedietta.
"A Cup OF Tea As to costumes and
stage settings and properties, make
them as elegant as possible have re-
pestedly denuded ny drawing-room OF
my pet bits of bric-a-srsc tn make .
stage drawing~roen attractive. and
have tried always to have my costumes
appropriate and as handsome - my
purse would allow. OF drawing-room
theatrica.s | know nothing. ! never
appeared but once in q drawing room,
and that was In one of those old-tirne
Washington square houses. whore .
platform was built iu the back parior.
But Of the accessories recall nothing
Bessie Tyne. whose beautiful face
looks out from under the dear little
Quaker cap in The Dancing Girl, ;"
was famous Washington amateur and
went frcm the crack club Of that city
into professional ranks ''f amateurs
are playing for improvement or self
edacasior." she said. II would advise
them always TO select from Shakespeare,
Sheridan or some other standard
aushe~ n for fan simply. then By al
means choose sorse comedy lire Home.
Caste. schec.--in fact anT of Robert
son's eesusifil plays Take play al
ways which has ~ star role. whers the
psrsa are qnite evenly distributed A
drawinx-room stage can Be easily
arranged Give me . screen or two,
some drsceriss. few palms ssd ] ~ill
tnrroviss . stsas N ssy drawing
r,cu OF csurse. " amateurs ere se
appe.r in shester or hsIl. n Z. nesssssry
20 haze . capable sseee sssnae~
~I sAevld advise srnascurs - take up
pssv~ ssnyts - e~~ewvss<,n ard -
auirsrs nc insvscsts ssne- sssss.ez"
safa 1r Da.ssf FroAe~A "A PLAY
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