Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1894-01-27

| signed by her appeared in one of the more
| important reviews A paragraph in it re-
| ferred with something of slight or con-
| tempt to Mrs. James Brown Potter, then
| just about beginning her professional ca
reer. Mrs. Potter and Mary Anderson had
been warm personal friends, so that Mrs
Potter was deeply hurt by this formal
slight. When she next met Mary Ander-
son, her manner was excessively cool toward
the famous actress, and Miss Anderson in
turn became offended, knowing of no reason
why she should have been treated thus.
Asking an explanation later. Miss Anderson
discovered that the otfense which had been
given to Mrs. Potter was caused by the
paragraph in the magazine article.
With that impetuOsity and frankness
which characterize Mary Anderson, she
Immediately sought her old friend and
said: why, | never wrote the article. l
have never even read it. a certain critic
told me that he had been asked to procure
an article from me. that he knew l was
busy, and that he had written something
which he thought expressed my opinions,
and that it would be great personal favor
as we'll as pecuniary one if l would sign
it. He had written kind things about me,
and so l thOughtlessly signed the article
without even having looked at it,"
And with this explanation the friendship
was restored.
But publishers who now are seeking from
famous actors literary contributions will
no longer accept anything which does not
bear the stamp of the actors own literary
composition.
There have been two or three private eX-
hibitionS given by the schools of dramatic
culture which in recent years have been
established in New York city, and these en-
tertainments have afforded the most CON
spicuous illustration OF the intimate aSSo-
citation which has been developed between
those who have to do with the drama and
those whose vocation is literature.
At the latest exhibition of this kind it
was announced that the actors and actresses
who We're to appear had i'll no case received
more dramatic training than had been pos
sible TO give i'll course of some three
mont hs. Not of them had ever APP
peared in public upon the stage. All of
them were young men and women of re-
spectacle life, some of them coming even
from wealthy families. 1t was also an
nounced that two new plays written by lit
terateurS-One Il woman and one man
would be produced.
Before the curtain rose the auditorium of
the Empire theater was we'll filled with
notables. Mr.. llowells was there chatting
with Mr.. Daniel Frohman, and with the
manner of eager expectancy in his glance
and speech, and he was object of inter
est because there is no actor of ability and
scarcely any writer Of reputation who does
not know that it is Mr.. Howells' ambition
to write a great acting play.
Professor Brander Matthews of Columbia |
college, who is a writer of romances, essays, |
professor of literature and a magazine ed |
itor, chatted merrily with little Charles |
Frohman, who Is so diminutive in size that
he presents a strange contrast with his tall |
and scholastic looking brother Daniel. |
Both of these managers and Mr.. A. NJ. |
Palmer are intensely interested In the de |
velopmeub OF these dramatic schools, be- |
lleVing that they will ultimately furnish |
the American stage with splendid com |
pany of American actors and actresses
Mr.. Franklin Ftles, a dramatic critic, |
successful playwright and charming writer; |
Miss Martha Morton, q young woman who |
N day leaped from Ubsourfty to high re-
puce as a dramatist; Mr.. franklin Sar- |
geart, Mr.. Nelson Wheatcroft, Mr.. Robert |
p. Porter, who of late has taken as much |
interest in literature and the drama as he |
did in dry figures when superintendent of |
the census Mark Twain, who is growing
very gray and very leonine because his
head is crowned with a splendid mass of !
hair tumbled about with careless care, and,
in fact, n majority of those who have
kdueu ldLAo as auInoIs, uTdudIlSLS anu
critics, were in that theater, seated side by |
side with actors and actresses of high char
acter and great ability.
These institutions are patroniZed, sup
ported and most enthusiastically encour-
aged by the ablest litterateurs of New York
and vicinity. Mr.. Howells, Mr.. Frank
Stockton, Thomas Bailey Aldrich, Richard
Henry Stoddard, Edmund Clarence Sted-
man, Franklin Sergeant, are among those
of distinction who give encouragement to
these experiments and who believe that the
outcome of them will be noble develop
ment not only of the American stage, but
Of the American art Of acting, and that the
men and women who graduate will be able
TO do much to lift the profession of acting
put of the disrepute into which, by reason
Of the follies of some of those who have been |
associated with the stage, it has fallen.
Z. j. EDWARDS.