Omaha daily bee., 1894-02-11
THE GLAMOUR OF THE STAGE
Lillian Russells Advice to Girls Aspiring
to Serve Mistress Art.
IT IS so tASf NOT TO BE AN ACTRESS
Genius, Talent and Industry tho Price of
Succession VIII Find an Anchorlte Hid
den Beneath the Splendid Stage
Gayety OF Every Great Artist.

II Is so easy not to write a fve-act trag-
edy, said NJ. Dumas. While he was in the
mood for making epigrams he might have
added IL Is so easy not to be an actress.
The difficulties in the way Of a stage ca
recr are not so great as they we're, | dare
say. but there Is no easy method OF becOm-
ing n great artist. 1t is a hard and steep
road Art Is an e~Xacting mistress. 1t does
not Natter much what the medium is-paint-
ing, sculpture, music. acting-eyery great
ach' vement pays the price OF patient work
ana earnest study.
OH! / know the old legend that stage sue
cess Is lightly won. lightly worn and lightly
lost. In n measure that is true. 1t Is
only true. however. when the success Is due
to some nippant and accidental circumstance,
writes Lillian Russell in the Philadelphia
Press. If 1t was due to art you may be
very sure IL was not lightly won. Any child
may be taught to act Just as any child may
be taught to paint. But all the instructions in
the world will not make a great artist of a
commonplace child. And the first requisite
for success on the stage is this aptitude for
the art. You may call 1t genius or talent or
what you will. 1t is the Indispensable stun
out of which the artist Is made. You can
not make a brocade gown out of linsey-wool-
sey.
How to be a great artist? One certainly
needs those two things They are the ma
torial out of which the brocade gown is
made.
| dc not suppose any of you has an ac-
Guaintance so small you do not know at least
one young girl who"want5 to go on the stage
She may be influenced by any one of u
dozen reasons. If she is a girl Of adventur-
Gus spirit, tired Of the calm. quiet and very
polite twilights OF home life, she thinks GO
Ing on the stage the EASIEST way out This
sort of a girl often becomes a good actress,
The spirit of adventure often leads her to
overcome all the obstacles to success. But
a great deal of the adventure, romance and
charm of the actress life vanishes when the
lights of the theater are turned out. The
rest of her life Is hard work. There is ex-
element and pleasure in it, Of course, as
there is in all artistic efforts, but 1t is not
without n due measure OF WEAKNESS and
anxiety. Love of adventure is not much use
here. The best thing one can have is a be-
lief in ones art and a love for it.
1t may be | have taken the young girl too
seriously. She may look upon the stage
merely as a desirable business. This it un-
doubtedly Is. The social conditions which
have forced so many women to make their
own way in the world have furnished the
means. There is a great deal of cant writ
ten about the stage. 1t is not a nursery for
young moralities.
1t is not likely to supersede the pulpit as
n moral agent" But 1t has undoubtedly
advanced. 1t has become as honorable as
my other of the artistic professions-music,
painting or literature. The young girl, if
she has strength to carry herself safely in
ANY eil-suDIOTlllB Wink U HE, HCcl never
hesitate to take up the stage as a profession.
Tho cant of stage perils is every whit as
foolish as the cant Of the stage as a moral
agent.
How shall we go about it?
There is no literature of the art of acting.
There are biographies and photographers
by the score. They may throw a little
light on the secret Of the stage success, but
It Is a confused and unsatisfactory way of
getting an education in the art of acting.
After all pnn lpnrpc tp npt nv optinp
There have been two ways of preparing
for the stage. One has but to begin.
There was the early strength, the continuous
lesson of daily work on the stage, to the
passage from the chryotis of the chorus to
the butterfly fame of the prima donna.
Then again, people have gone about it in
just the opposite fashion. All the prelim-
mary work-the years of study and culture
has been done in private. The artist has
made her first appearance at the top. l
can't see that much is to be said to the add
vantage of either method. Only this l be-
lieve is true: The practical school of the
theater has produced the truly great artists.
The opera singer has usually combined the
two methods; she has gained her musical
culture In the school and the stage makes
her an actress.
l do not think any one can give any valid
advice to an a~spirant for stage success. The
way to succeed is to succeed, and no indi-
vidual case can be set up for a model.
People of serious intellects, who always
want to know why they are amused, are
much given to bemoaning the fact that
beauty is such an important part of a sue
cessfpl artists equipment. But it is the
artist herself who is the canvas on which
she paints. Ono might as we'll quarrel with
the painter for desiring the best materials.
Some one says that beauty is genius-on the
stage. There is a half truth in the remark.
At all events beauty is the most efficient aid
talent can have.
These thoughts are desultory. Perhaps
they illustrate the reason why there is no
liberation of the actors art, an art so illu-
slve, so dependent on personality that it
defes all technical definitions.
1T doesn't seem to be an easy life,' the
typical young girl remarks rather gloomily.
Indeed II Is not. But then 1t Is a life
full OF color and the excitement which is
inevitable from all creative or interpretative
art.
And the rewards, Miss Russell?"
And when the young girl asks this ques-
ton, | think 1t all over-the hard work, the
interest, the triumph, the seclusion, and I
might almost say the exclusion of the artists
life. Yes, the rewards are great, but one
pays a great price. The artist whose me-
dunn In her voice, her beauty, In a word
herself, is forced to lead a life of seclusion.
She excludes the fiippancies of society, the
'joie de vivre," everything which might
tend to impair the charm of her art me-
dunn.
There are, no anchorites nowadays? My
dear and typical young girl friend, you will
find an anchorite hidden under the splendid
stage gayety Of every artist. She cannot
afford TO indulge in the dlssipations of So
ciety. She cannot afford to frltter away
her charm in little pleasures. In almost
all cases her home life is that of a recluse,
her life on the stage, a triumph it may be,
but an arduous triumph.
And the renown?
Yes, that is undoubtedly great. Put
the reward is for the few, and the hard
work and disappointments are for the
many.
Society, which takes every opportunity
offered for symbolism. from serving ices in
miniature pumpkins on Thanksgiving day to
eating them from lily cups at Easter dinners,
does not, of course, overlook it's chance on
February IA, and valentine teas, luncheons
and parties are planned for that date.
Hearts rule in decoration and emblems, vie-
ing with candied and floral cuplds.
At one party prizes are to be shot for.
A large heart-shaped frame is covered with
tissue paper, and In the center is gummed
a very small heart of a sharply contrasting
color. Every guest, and there is to be an
even number of bellies and beaus. Is offered
a chance with a beribboned and flower
wreathed bow and gay dart to strike the
center heart. Prizes are to be offered for
the first and second best records, and con-