New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1895-05-22

OlblOuS UlrIIle I1dTtS ne plays, tIdG ne does
not hear the cues. &..s szS BIZ. az
i However, that is fact. Mr.. Holland
inherited deafness. His father was deaf,
and his brother, Mr. George Holland,
the Philadelphia manager, is also slight
~ affected that way. :&.s1'. /,
1t would seem to the average thinker
that Mr.. Holland would have found his
infirmity a serious handicap in the dra-
matte profession. On the contrary, so
cleverly has he managed it that it has
been almost an advantage to him. Triv-
lal noises do not disturb him, and in
consequence he is able to give his whole
mind, unaffected by any Interruptions, to
the work in hand. r. !. H.. z.{-
OF course Mr.. Holland is not absolute
ly stone deaf" as the saying goes. He
is what is generally termed ''hard of
hearing. :. =, To-,
Now as to how he picks up his cues
when he doesn It hear them. ~
He studies not only his own part, but
also the entire lines spoken by. other peo-
pie when he is on the stage He com
mits these to memory perfectly. lowell
does he learn them that he knows just
how long it takes for them to be spoken
When he is facing the actor of whom he
is to get his cue, of course he can readily
tell when his turn comes by the move
ment of the others lips Or the express
sion Of the face. He says, though, that
the expression of the face is what he re-
lies on most He pays very little atten-
ton to the lips, because most people
have habit of moving the lips involun-
tarily even when they are not speaking,
a trick that would easily lead him
astray. The expression of the face, how
ever, is a sure cue. 1t never fails him
and always is the same.
His main reliance, however, is on a
system Of counting. He knows just how
long it will take for each speech to be
said. He times that speech by certain
number Of counts. When he has counted
the right number of times for the speech,
he knows that it is his turn to speak
This is absolutely necessary when his
back is turned toward the other actor.
As, for instance, Mr.. Holland comes
on the stage, his line is:
well I've returned.''
He then turns around to lay down his
hat, and the other person says:
But you We're very late in getting
back. !
AS soon as Mr.. Holland turns he be-
gias to count. When he has reached
eight, he says in q nonchalant way, no
matter what is happening: u"
'Well, aren't you glad to see me
back?''
Long experience has shown him that
in this way he picks up his cue just as
promptly and perhaps more so than
though he had heard it. ~ ....-.
Mr.. Hollands adroitness in this line
has been the wonder of New York man
ayers. Probably no one else knows of it,
for, as is natural, Mr.. Holland is trife
sensitive on the subject. ~ "a.
The only drawback that he ever finds
to his system arises from other faults
than his own. He has never yet been
caught mapping except when some stage
hand made blunder or some unforeseen
accident occurred. This would only hap
pen when some noise was to be made,
as the ringing Of a bell or the firing Of a
gun. In such cases Mi. Holland sup
poses, of course, that the property man
or the stage hand is doing his duty. If,
however, the property man or the stage
hand does not do his duty promptly, Mr..
Holland is left in an embarrassing sitn-
alton. r + zss5<Tsz rs sze #s
~ = q b. = :. fAs.fEl-
Suppose, for instance, that in the bust
ness Of a piece a bell is to be rung. 1t
doesn It ring when it should. However,
that s none of Mr.. Hollands business.
He naturally supposes that it has rung,
and SO he calmly says: esz.,..= s.s .5..
't''Ah, there goes the bell Go to the
door, Maryp'' And just after he has said
it the bell rings #5 2s. zz.z= Fl BIS
Or If some one is to fire pistol and
Mr.. Holland is supposed to be listening
for the report with rapt attention, and
when it should go off says, s. AT last he.
has fired, and no one has fred as far as
the audience can discoy i, in such
cases the stage manager sWears and
somebody gets fined. New Y ork Her
aid.