San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1891-06-06
ANY ONE CAN BE AN ACTOR.
Comedian Sol Smith Russell Tells or the
Trials of Theatrical Life.

Trials of Theatrical Life.
"Queer idea the public has of stage folk
and their life," said Sol Smith Russell.
1.-THE opinion is almost universally held
that theatrical people live in the most lux
urious fashion, eat pie every ten minutes
and never do any work. The hardships of
travel, the hours of soul wearying rehears-
ais and study, and the thousand and one
trials that beset the actors life are not rec
ognized because they do not appear in the
performance They are behind the scenes,
and therefore not movable to the public
But they exist and are very narrowing.
| remember little incident which
brought all this home to me. In making
jump between large cities it was necessary
to put in a week among the smaller towns,
playing one night in town. We had
played in one place, and after the perform
Ince had packed everything for fitting to
the next stop, and were ready to go to the
train, which was due at midnight When
we arrived at the station, however, we,
found that the train was late.
How lat,Y we inquired.
"'Don't know said the comforting in
dividual at the station. May be one hour,
may be two; might be three
1--WE didn't dare go back to the hotel to
sleep because of the uncertainty of the
time when the train would come along, so
we sat around the waiting room, miserably
tired and sleepy, trying to find comfortable
positions on the barbarOus seats.
1--WE waited there until nearly O'Clock,
and at last the train came and we bounded
aboard, disguised, cross, sour. The run to
our next town was something less than
uran
train except to catch enough of nap to be
aggravating and wholly discomposing. 1t
was about o'clock when we turned out
of the car at the town where we were to
amuse folks that evening. 1t was the gray
of dawn, and in the pale light we were
ghastly lot The baggage smashers hurled
our trunks and boxes out upon the plat
form with geeful savagery, and as looked
about for some sort Of hack to take us to
hotel heard the station agent, who was
assisting the baggageman to get our
trunks out, say to the trainman:
What is all this baggage, anyway"
"'Oh,' said the baggage man, with in.
finite disgust in his tone, it belongs to
some show company, l reckon. Anything
to get out of wOrkiu'.'
"'That's fact, blame EN- growled the
4
and went and Informed the company that
we would have to walk with our hand bag
gage to the hotel about eight blocks. Any
tbinr 10 re: ont of working! Dear me, if
| Rad told that story to the company
think the station agent would have been
m0bbed.
"On another occasion, some years ago
Nc y, played in "a small town, and did not
s 10, foIl u,
the forenoon an elderly countryman saw
me about the hotel office, and after some
little hesitation came up and said:
BE you the man that played last night
at the opry house,
Il told him was the Culprit.
"Name's Russell, aren't it2'
81 said it was.
"'Well, want to speak to you about a
boy o. mine. I'vo tried to make farmer
of him, an I've 'prentced him out twice to
learn trades. even put him in livery
stable an III hardware store, but it wan'
no use. hain't been able to make nothin'
of him When | seen you last night
kinder thought maybe he'd make a good
actor He's pretty much the same kind OF
a fool you be-
II took this guieless person into a cor
ncr and told him lies, for which am still
doing penauce. | assured him that the
stage was just the thing for his son; that
it required no intelligence, no mental bal
anCc, no sort of acumen whatever to be a
successful actor that it was something
any body could do without half trying, and
that it was of all professions the most
gilded, luxurious and profitable in the
known world. He seemed to believe it
too. The Lord forgive me! But that's a
fair illustration the way we actor folk are
-!:siTd ced. Chicago Post.