Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1896-01-04
HOW HEGETS HIS CUE
HE DOESN'T HEAR THEM, BUT "PlCX5
THEM Up" PROMPTLY.

Physical Defect - @:ntlics the Faces
os the Other Pic;crs and Counts So as
to Tell V!-han to Speak
Perhaps the most important detail for
Gu actor to master i'll stage tochnicalitics
is the trick of picking up LIS cue quick
ly
Every stare manager knows how in.
Tortant it IL that that should be done
The slightc!t hcat:;my III IL quick COZ.
verSatlon between t,:r l:u"3 spoken by
different people Will sHre!v spoil the
scene
The regulation Way Cor actors and &C,
tresscs to learn their pats is to also
learn the cue, rs we'll a3t,!H:r OWL lines
Perhaps it is we'll to tell the ulinitiated
that tho cuc consists of the last few
words or the lat sentence spoken by the
other actor Livery I-:t Eot only con-
tains what Tie actor is to. speak, but
also the cue Mott st"%cfo!l, will tell
you that it is more difficult to learn the
cues than it is the lincs, us they often
convey no meaning to the mind
Everybo i'll New York who goes to
the theaters knows o. has seen .Joe Hol-
land, as he is familiarly called No one
would suspect, to see rtr. Hollands rem
dition of the parts he plays, that he does
not hear the cues
However, that is Il fact htr Holland
inherited deafness Ills f;ti!nr was deaf,
and his brother, Mr. George Holland,
the Philadelphia manager, IS also slight
ly affected that way
1t would seem to tho average thinker
that Mr.. Eol;andAyould have found his
irfirmity a Sag.ous handicap IL the dr:,-
matte profession. On tie contrary, so
clcverly ha; he managed It that it has
been almost an advantage ~ hiEl. Triv-
ial noises do not disturb him, and i'll
consequence he is able to E; We ll:3 whole
mind, unaffected by any Interruptions, to
the work in hand.
Of course Mr.. Holland is not aleolutc-
ly "stone deaf, as the s,;yiny goes He
is what is generally termed 'hald of
hearing" "
Now as to how he pic,;.' up his cues
when lie doesn't hear them.
He studies not only his Oh part, but
also the entire Ines spoken by ether pep
pie when he is ca The STAGE. He COM
mits these to mcl>u-y perfectly SO we'll
does he learn them that he knows Just
how long it tales for them to lie spoken
When lie is facing the actor Of whom he
is TO get his cue, Of course he can readily
tell when his turn cones by the move
ment of the othor's lips OF the express
sion of the FACE Ho says, though, that
the expression IF the face is what he re-
lies on most He pays very little atten-
tion to the lips, because most people
have habit Of moving tho lips involun-
tarily even when they are not speaking
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 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 the CHER person says:
But you We're very late in getting
back ~
AS soon as lIr Holland turns he be-
gins to c0unt, When he has reached
eight. he says in nonchalant way, no
matter what is happening:
"Well, aren't you glad to see mo
back?''
Long experience has shown him that
in this way he pic!:s Cp his cue just as
promptly and perhaps more so than
though he had heard it
Mr. Hollands adro;tness in this line
has been the wonder Of New York man.
ayers Probably no enc else knows of it,,
for, as is NATURAL Mr. Holland is trife
sensitive on the subject
The only drawback that he ever finds
to his system arises from other faults
than his OWL He has never yet been
caught mapping except when some stage
hand made ,a blCndcr or some unforeseen
accident occurred This would only hap
pen when $, me noise was to be made,
as the ring;r%O of bell or the firing of a
gun In surh cases Mr. Holland sup
poses, of coarse, that the property man
or the stage i!and is doing his duty If,
however, th property man or the stage
hand does rut do h:a duty promptly, Mr.
Holland is left i'll an embarrassing stu
! alton
Suppose, for in&t2ncc, that in the bust
ness of IL piece IL Bel is to be rung, 1t
doosn t ring when it should. However,
that's mono uf Mr. Hollands busincss
He naturally &C9p"ca that 1t has rung
and so he calmly says,
"Ah, there gees the bell Go to the
door, Mary ! And Just after lie has said
it the hell rings
Or If some one is to fire pistol and
Mr. HollalA is supposed to lie listening
for the report with rant attention, and
when it s!nn!d - Of says, "At last he
has fired and no enc h;r; fired us far as
the aud d'cncc can Discover we'll in such
cases the Stage manager Swears and
somebody gets fined New York Her
aid
4 Crime.