Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-01-10
ACTING FOR ACTORS.
Madame Del Sarte Talks Entertain
ingly of Her Fathers Art.
LECTURE WITH ILLUSTRATIONS.
Members of the New York Society of 0ratory
Get Interested.
INTELLIGENT AND STUDIED ACTION

New YORK, Jan. 9.-The graceful young
women and the artistic young men who at
tend the Lvceum School of Acting listened
for nearly two hours yesterday afternoon to
an informal talk by Nine. Marie Grady
Del Sarte, the elder of Del Sartes two sur
viving daughters, who advised them how to
become more graceful and more artistic. 1t
could hardly be called a lecture. Nine. Del
Sarte remained seated in wooden arm
chair most of the time, rising every now and
then to illustrate her remarks by gestures.
In appearance Nine. Del Sarte is typical
French woman. In repose her face is un-
interesting, but the moment her attention is
aroused it becomes full of animation, and
all her movements are interesting. She
spoke in French, which, sad to say, very
few of her audience understood. But no
one was at loss to follow her meaning
The expression OF her face, the poise of her
head, the motion of her arms and her hands
were kind of universal language which
none could fail to understand. There were
several members of the New York Society
of Oratory present. Some of the pupils
who understood French took notes.
Training for Every Muscle.
Mme Del Sarte began with brief outline
of her fathers ideas, and then proceeded to
illustrate them. After explaining how
nearly every voluntary muscle of the body
could be trained to express the moods and
lenses of action or passion, she began with
the fingers and said:
'The thumb, for instance, is almost a
thermometer of life My father noticed
that the thumb of corpse is always |
bent inward toward the center of the |
palm. He used to go to the Tuilleries gar
dens on bright afternoon and watch the |
way the little children held their thumbs. |
Then he would notice how the grown |
women who carried the babies held their
thumbs. 1t was like this"
Nine. Del Sarte rose from her chair and |
folded her arms as if she were holding a |
gether, with the thumb close to the fore |
finger.
''That," she said, 'tis the way the young
nurses carried their charges"
She swayed slightly from side to side, as
if she were rocking the imaginary infant to
sleep, and the mischievous, careless ex-
preston of her face was so suggestive of an
easy-going nurse flirting with policeman,
that the spectators laughed and burst into
applause. With comic, deprecatory look
of horror Nine. Del Sarte threw up her
hands, and said:
'sNo, no. That's only the way my father
showed me. Here is how the mother holds
her baby"
Granma's Way Described.
She folded her arms in almost the same
position, but spread her fingers slightly
apart. Then, changing, she drew up her
arms and spread her fingers and thumbs
into tight, convulsive sprawl that was ir-
comic. 'Grandma" was all she
said, but everyone understood.
$50 you see" Nine. Del Sarte went on. "a
great deal depends upon the disposition of
the fingers. Now take the elbow. Ny
father noticed that in the army the corporal
always sticks his elbows out as far as he can
rhen he walks. 1t is sure sign that man
has just been raised one degree from the
ranks. They walk like this. F."
She got up again and swung her arms in q
ludicrous fashion. Then she drew the ell
bows in few inches and said
''That is the way the sergeant walks. He
has already become accustomed to his au-
thority over the men, and he doesn't put on
SO many airs. But still he has to show
them his dignity little, and this is how he
does it. The General, ON the other hand,
who is supreme in the army and who knows
his word is law, walks along with his arms
hanging unostentatiously at his side, like
q |
dignity of department.
"Now, my father in laying out his prin-
ciples of gestures of the arm began bv
making two lines, vertical and hori-
zontal." 1
Emotions by Head and Eyes,
Suiting the action to the word Nine. Del
Sarte drew her arm straight up and down
md then across. Then she made circles
md quadrants with each arm until COM
olicated geometrical diagram stood COM
olete-in the air. Then she explained the
meaning of the gesture which resulted
ghen the arm was put through each of
hese lines and then their combinations.
Nine. Del Sarte explained the emotions
he head and eyes alone. Astonishment,
enderness, love, pride, horror, rage-she
them all without uttering word
,r raising an arm.
"Without understanding these princi- d, ,
,les, she said, sit is impossible to express
my of the passions or feelings. Imagine I
over saying, 4 love you" '
She threw her head back and tried to '
crew up look of tenderness, but the +
audience laughed.
Exactly" she continued. 'tNow sup t
posing he throws his head forward, like
his, and smiles so-and Sole t'aimep' j
There was q burst of applause Q
s"That's how it is. My father spent a q
yhole day repeating the sentence III est v
eau, chien.' (That dog is beautiful
Iou can hardly imagine in how NAV ways
his simple sentence may be expressed
Nine. Del Sarte tried it in half dozen I
-ays that were all expressive, but differing
realty from one another. She then ex-
lained how the idea of grandeur could be
expressed by the hands and how the various o
egrees of size could best be expressed by a
esture. T
Much Learned From Gladiators, T.
"My father always said that he learned II
reat deal from the pose of the gladiator, in 3
he statue which all of you doubtlessly have 7
cen. 1t is like this" X
She arose, stretched one arm before her 81
nd the other behind, and bent her head o.
,rward. She laughed cheerily as she said u
''It isn't a very imposing attitude for L
oman, but in a man think it is splendid
ose. You will observe how the forward
rm expresses strength and power"
After some further discourse ON the sub-
,ct, she said: m
'I am going to recite for you Lafontaine's W
ble of the rat that came out into the world la
nd marveled at its size. Probably many of IL
on will not understand the words, but a
ust the gestures will make them clear to al
ou" re
The audience followed her closely and
ere surprised to find that they understood
le fable perfectly. The poor little rats
lrprise, and his joyful recognition of an II
1als which his mother had told him about :,