Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-06-21

1 AEMNvMV rum IN llIetline. Gfeu
J. J ] ! J |. | . ]. ]. !: ; ! !. ! !
fMlNEWXM> ~ chorus girls are
1Afk#|H|HR HM rarely called upon
| HEMgMlN MKM to go through SO
NntIIAlHMvINHNM much in so short a
HIInIH RINl ,lkNM time"
Hi aAlnHH& lEANW The speaker was
|Nh DlANHSlEa'l 'lVVMWW ayoung woman of
I1RHMHlN'|1 ,EANWM perhaps %. Of
IANsiHhHNlli III .SANNlNSM medium height,
HIhHHIHHNh l4lymlAIAl we'll -round e d,
MIsEHANINN sNM|IkGAN 1.-the figure,
ThBENNHH| NB iNlyMElY straight as an ar
NVGhlUlINNhHal 4p row, a rather pret-
:: !! =: :;;:::: !: !: :;;::
snap with latent
purpose. Her attire, In good but ine1pen-
sive taste, is symphony in blue. Her
voice, firm, cultured, but abrupt and in
cisive like her manners, betrays the calm,
self-reliant woman who has cut out a career,
who expects difficulties and expects to over
come them.
Full OF Courage and Confidence.
She is a Western product, a growth of the
farm, the country school, the village high
school, the normal school, the Metropolitan
Conservatory Of Music She is alone in the
world, but is not afraid of it. She is a
student of Delsarte, she sings, she dances,
she plays with the foils She is but a
chorus girl in big, strange city, out of a
job, running in debt for her board. But she
meets the issue with courage and strength
of purpose of which heroes and heroines are
made. Her stakes are set ahead.
eff it was to be but chorus" she con-
tinued, 81 would quit the business-in fact,
I never should have entered it. I am de-
termined to know my business thoroughly
and the chorus is but means to that end.
I fill in every interim of idleness with
study, with dancing lessons, music and OBJ
servances of the best methods at the leading
theaters. I have no means and am even
now living on the firm confidence of the
landlady and my dancing lessons are on
credit They know I will succeed and
trust me. / know their confidence is not
misplaced.
The Stage for Its Promises.
IT have been out but a year. The first
play I ever saw was 'Pinafore, in st. Louis.
No, was not stage-struck, in the ordinary
acceptation of that term. I had to make my
own living. Typewriting, store clerking,
teaching and all the other avenues of a
livelihood were calmly considered. I went
into this in cold blood and with q cool head,
lust as a man would 60 into other lines of
business. Having trained voice and good
figure could here best turn them to ac-
count. My mother was very much averse
to my going on the stage, and, weI-shs
yet thinks I am singing in concert.
Gas soon as decided the matter studied
Delsarte and passed year at the Conserva-
tory of Music in New York. My resources
were then exhausted and got an introduction
to Manager Duff 1t was IN Chicago and
after preliminary examination I was in
vited to join the Red Hussar' company, then
at Palmer's. That was .last August and
there and then I made my debut. 1t was
my first appearance upon any stage and I
was pumped right into tights tho first
scare was at the first rehearsal, and there I
was
Frightened Nearly to Death.
.'sMr. Duff is very severe, very brusque.
The girls were deathly afraid of him. I'll
never forget his manner when he came up
from the front at my very last rehearsal,
after we had been nearly drilled to pieces,
and declared 1T was the most rotten chorus
he ever saw or heard. He came on the stage
and singled me out and asked me coarsely if
my hand was made of wood. was COM
pletely upset, but managed sharp retort.
That Duff is terror. He treats women as
SO many cattle, in every way but actually
announcement more than at any other
period. have found out since that had
the luck to fall at the start into the hands
of the very worst manager, so far as patience
and gentleness is concerned, there is in the
business.
"My greatest surprise, however, was in
entering the dressing room for the first
time. My ideas of that place were rather
hazy and gained from the front of the house.
When went into that dirty hole under the
stage at Palmer's and found myself one of
ten girls who had to change clothes there,
all at once my neart sank within me. About
the makeup knew absolutely nothing.
She Found Friend.
$50 had to take one of the girls into my
confidence. She had seen me at daily re-
hearsal and had been playing in the piece
every night (it had been running about q
month when I joined) and knew all the
business. When told her I had never
been before an audience, she was as
tonished and whispered to me not
to say anything about it to the
other girls, as they were apt to throw
every mistake on the green hands. She
showed me how to put on my tights. had
taken lessons in Delsarte and fencing and
had pretty good use of my body and limbs,
and went through my first performance Just
like the rest. The tights didn't bother my
mind a bit. for knew not single soul in
New York, and. then those thick woolen
tights don't leave the wearer the sense of
being uncovered. They were a new sensa-
tion which was swallowed up in other new
sensations.
'T signed a contract with Mr. Duff for the
season of 81 and '92 at $17 a week, and I
was in great spirits. All seemed now plain
sailing. I thought of the stenographers
and typewriters drudging for 81 and SO q
week, and congratulated myself upon q
level head for business. We had q nice
stage manager and 20 of US were happy.
Her First Disaster.
'1n this condition we went on the road
and played the Red Hussar' five weeks.
All at once in PhiIadeIphia we received
disbanded. This was just before the holi-
days. The girls were in panic. Many of
them, supposing that the play would run
through the season and that our contracts
would last as long, were improvident and
hadn't cent-that is, when they got the
notice. In the innocence of my unsophisti-
Gated heart supposed from my contract
Mr.. Duff you'd see my all right. So I
came bacH to New York and to my old
boarding house (where I now am AGAIN.,
and waited to hear from Mr.. Duff. I had
enough money after settling up to pay two
weeks in advance, and expected by that time
that he would get me placed. You can see
how exceedingly green L was.
ttWe11 was ont of an apoorovn>r& i,.k