Rock Island Argus., 1895-12-05
AN ACTORS MATINEE.
GENERALLY THE SPECTATORS TEAR
THEIR HOST TO PIECES.


Actors Are the Harshest Sort of Critics Of
Members Of Their Own Profession-Ths
Have Bcens end Those Who will He
Smile 1t the Efforts Of tho Star.
The soubrette came clinging to the
arm Of the villain. She was glorious in
o yellow silk waist and he was glorious
in high hat and patent leather shoes.
Thus armed they felt quite sure of con-
quering the world, which means that
they expected to "star" together some
day.
Nine ont Of ten persons in every audi
ence which consists entirely Of players
have like expectations, and right here
hes the structural weakness Of the act
ors' matinee. Your future star begins
criticising the performance as soon as
the curtain is lifted for the first act. In
every movement of the star, in every
word spoken by the star, he sees how
much better he could have done the
part if he had had the chance. As it is
not half satisfying to have half of the
house whispering when one is in the
midst of his loftiest flight in the third
act, the stars first actors matinee is
usually his last.
There are three reasons for giving a
professional matinee" said an old man.
ager. First, for the self qualification
Of the actor, who wants his colleagues
to know what fine work he is doing;
second, out of courtesy to the profession,
and third, to get a little advertising.
The second is the most common. The
manager Of every production which has
a long run gets many requests from act
ors who say they want very much to see
it, but can't, because they're engaged.
"The first thing a manager does when
he determines upon professional matt
nee is to ask the different managers of
attractions playing in town how many
seats they can use. Usually every per-
son in every company wants two or
three seats. Their extra seats are gener-
ally occupied by some stanch admirer
of theirs who will believe that every
criticism they utter upon the perform
ance is true. This person is called the
sympathetic ear.
"Ticket sellers complain about fin
icky people, who always insist upon
such and such seat. But an actor,
when the seats are given to him, will
come and raise terrible hnllabaloo un-
less they are in a certain, exact spot in
the house. I've even known a manager
to send back a dozen seats because he
couldn't get them six instead of twelve
rows back. There's line of would be
actors waiting outside your door all day
long. who want anywhere from one to
twenty seats apiece, and you don't get
a moments peace until the thing over
You don't get much peace even then"
After all Of their trouble to get seats
to please them, many of the actors who
have engaged seats do not come. If
who gives the matinee they present the
tickets to a boarding house keeper; if
they hold an actual grutige, they give
them to bootblack. Consequently the
we'll dressed leading man doesn' t always
find the persons at his elbows exactly
the sort of company he would choose.
The most important figure at the pro-
fessional matinee is by all odds the mid
die aged lady who is relative of q
soubrette. The more distant the relation
the more important she is. If she is an
eighth cousin she expects the great doors
to swing open when she is within a
block of the theater, and eight ushers
come out to meet her. She is fat and
comfortable looking, and she always
has temper.
The old time actor, who has barn
stormed it in the legitimate as long as
he could, comes to see how low the
stage has fallen. Maybe one of these fat
and comfortable boarding house keepers
is his sympathetic ear. He tells her that
things We're far different when he and
Booth were starring it; these young
actors don't know much, and the stage
has gone to the bowwows.
Between the acts the corridors swarm.
Acquaintances meet, and then they be-
gin to talk in this way:
How did it happen?"
Don't ask inc, dear boy. Bullhead
luckv'
And, do you know, he really thinks
he can act"
1cS. suppose tnaG ne tDOught he
| was going to astonish the natives. Cad
Did You notice that entrance?''
Horrible. Conception is all wrong.
Now, if p
And if r.
But they break right there-each be-
ing Immediately convinced that the
other does not know anything about it.
But there are exceptions. They arc
usually the most prominent actors.
Sometimes the hand Of the star is
graspcd warmly between the acts, and
he feels the thrill Of triumph with the
| words: Its immense, old man You
are a revelation
The reporter had on his right side the
soubrette and the villain, and on his
left very nice old lady with white
curls, who had come with her son. The
| young man was very critical He picked
out flaw after flaw, and RECALLED his
mother with them. The old lady was
/ an actress herself-a very good actress,
apparently. And finally she said to this
( y Al