The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1895-06-10
HOW HEGETS HIS CUE
ne DOESN'T HEAR THEM, BUT "PickS
THEM TUpn PROMPTLY. =;
"A New York Actors Way Of Overcoming
. Physical Defect-He Studies the Faces
OF the Other Players and Counts So ~
to Tell When TO Speak.

Perhaps the most important detail for
an actor to master in stage technicalities
is the trick of picking up his cue quick
ly.
Every stage manager knows how i'm
portant it is that that should be done.
The slightest hesitancy in a quick con-
versation between the lines spoken by
different people will surely spoil the
scene.
The regulation way for actors and &C
tresses to learn their parts is to also
learn the cue, as well as their W lines.
Perhaps it is well to tell the uninitiated
that the cue consists Of the last few
words or the last sentence spoken by the
other actor. Every part not only con-
eains what the actor is to speak, but
also the cue. Most stagefolk will tell
you that it is more difficult to learn the
cues than it is the lines, as they often
convey no meaning to the mind.
Everybody in New York who goes to
the theaters knows or has seen Joe Hol-
land, as he is Familiarity called. No one
would suspect, to see Mr.. Hollands rem
dition Of the parts he plays, that he does
not near the cues.
However, that is a fact. Mr.. Holland
inherited deafness. His father was deaf,
and his brother, Mr.. George Holland,
the Philadelphia manager, is also slight
~ affected that way.
1t would seem to the average thinker
that Nh. 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-
ial 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.
Of course Mr.. Holland is not absolute
~ "stone deaf" as the saying goes. He
is what is generally termed "hard of
hearing"
Now IS to how he picks up his cues
when he doesn't 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. Sowell
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 OF 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 a 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. It never fails him
and always is the same.
His main reliance, however, is on q
system of counting. He knows Just how
long it will take for each speech to be
said. He times that speech by a 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 h other person says:
but you were very late in getting
back"
As OOH as Mr.. Holland turns he be-
gins to count. When he has reached
eight, he says in a n%onchalant way, no
matter what is happening:
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 a trife
sensitive on the subject.
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 a 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 Mr.. 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 stu
alton.
Suppose, for instance, that in the bust
ness Of a piece a bell is to be ung 1t
doesn't ring when it should. However,
that's ION of Mr.. Hollands business.
He naturally supposes that it has rung,
and SO he calmly says:
: "Ah, there goes the bell Go to the
door, Nary" AID just after he has said
it the bell rings
Or il some is to fire q pistol and
Mr.. Holland is supposed to be listening
for the report with rapt attention, and
when il should go of says, "At last he
has fired, and no one has fred as far as
the audience can discover-well, in such
cases the stage manager swears and
somebody gets fined--New York Her.
aid