The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1895-02-08
ACTORS 0LDAND NEW
TIMES HAVE CHANGED, AND THE kU-
DONATIONS HAVE GONE.

II
stand the Author and TO Learn the sto-
ry and object of the PIay-wnIiam II.
Crane Comes to the Rescue.
At gathering of men prominent in
the theatrical world the other night an
author who has had some success with
, one or two plays brought up the old argu-
ment that actors were, in great measure
| little better than automatous.
A star wanted play in a hurry. What
he was using was not 60 the public taste
! and the author sent him one of the many
which were knocking about in his trunk.
Some three weeks after the piece had been
produced he ran out to a little town in
New Jersey and saw the play. 1t was not
a bit like the play he planned and wrote.
The situations were all there, and so were
the lines, but ideas no had never dreamed
Of in connection with the play were being
conveyed by the actors This made him
furious, and he rallied at actors In gen
eral, saying that they had no ideas OF
their own, and there was not one actor
out Of ten who could tell you the story Of
the play in which he was appearing.
The poor actor has heard this claim re-
pented many times, When Henry Irving
was in this country, the American dram
1
responding to the pleasant things said
about him the English actor told how he
had been an actor for many years before
he had ever given any thought to the
general character of the plays in which he
was taking part. 1t had only been after
he had risen in his profession that he had
| understood the work Of the author and
| how close a relation one scene bore to an
| othor. When he became manager he
made study of these things, and the pro
| duction of play meant great deal more
( TO him than the memorizing of his lines
and of his cues.
/ To strengthen his argument that most
actors paid little attention to anything but
their own lines, Mr.. Irving told a story
about the famous Frenchman, Frederick
Lemaitre. The latter had made gigantic
hit in a new play the name of which
cannot now recall, and had been giving it
steadily for nearly two years In Paris.
While dining one afternoon with a friend
the latter as joke asked him what was
the story of the play in which he was be.
| ing seen. To his amazement the actor re-
piled that he had only remote idea
This will strike most people as being
| decidedly odd but Mr.. Irving's word is
not to be doubted. Lemaitre told the
truth, and while many actors of his day
might have answered like questions in the
same way the actor of today who would
say the same thing would be looked upon
| as a curiosity.
Actors are not automatons, and the
| man who could not tell you the story of
the play in which he is appearing would
| be an imbeCile. Such a man do not be-
lieve exists in the profession. What Mr..
| Irving says and what my friend the au-
| thor holds was true in a measure 10 or 15
years ago, but it is not today.
! Years ago, when l was a member of a
stock company, L frequently appeared in
| plays of which l knew very little. We
used to give four or five different plays
/ week, and we rehearsed every day. OF
| Monday morning l would be given several
| parts and told to memorize them. Some
| of these parts would consist of 50 OF more
] pages, and all of my time was put in
| studying, rehearsing and playing. had
no time for recreation.
| There was nothing but work and worry,
with a small salary thrown in and hope
that would pull through with the help
of heaven and the prompter. Had some
/ one asked me in those days the story of
any one of the plays in which L was ap-
| pearing l could not have told him. In
| fact, 1 was not expected to know All
that was required was that l should know
| my lines. But to use very old and mil
| dewed expression, times have changed
The production of plays today is reduc-
| ed to a scientific principle If Mr.. DAILY
or Mr. Frohman or any of our big man
ayers decides to produce new play, a call
is posted notifying the company to meet
at the theater at certain hour. The au-
thor is present, and it is his or her duty
to read the work to tho assem- bled company
and explain to it his or her ideas and where
and how he or she desires to obtain Ger.
tain effects Every point is made clear.
The stage manager has already cast the
play, and, the reading over, the parts are
handed around. The next day the really
hard work begins when the play is placed
in rehearsal
1t is the authors business to be present
at all these rehearsals Bronson Howard
rehearses all of his own plays. He takes
a seat down near the stage with copy OF
the manuscript in his hand and directs
every little bit of stage business and cor
rects every mistake. Clay Greene, David
Belasco, Augustus Thomas, Paul Potter,
Sydney Rosenfeld and all of our promi-
nent authors attend all of the rehearsals
of their plays, for they have learned the
| lesson that it is to their interest to do so.
Ny friend the author, who complained
SO much about actors being automatons
and being devoid of ideas, had neglected
to attend the rehearsals of his play and
was surprised when he saw it to find that
all of his ideas had not been carried out
The man who staged it drew his own de
duotions, the most reasonable perhaps
that he could, and then gave the ideas tC
the company. Such cases. however, arr
very rare
To my mind, the actors of today are az
enlightened body, and most authors VIII,
have been brought In contact with then
will bear out this statement. William II
Crane in New York World,