The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-06-22
Making an Actress.

'POcta uascitur non IT." says the Latin
provcrb. and every poet believes IL is lit
orally true. Notwithstanding Ben Jonson
takes issue and says "a good poets made
as well as born" Il is much more sat
isfactory 20 think the divine anlatus is a
part Of ones nature. than that IL was
artidcially propagated: hence most poets,
especially those OF the early spring varie-
~. are quite sure that Ben Jonson was
wrong. The same is true in the case Of
most actors and actresses. They believe
that the actor (or actress IS born, and
not made. as firmly as they believe that
they are worth double the salary the
cold blooded managers offer them. But
however it may be with the poet. it has
been proved by expert testimony in
New York court that really competent
actress can be buided upon a very slight
foundation.
Some years ago David BelascO took Mrs.
Leslie Carter in hand to see what could
be made Of her in the way Of an act
ress. The physical basis was all right.
but that was all Belasco had 10 com
up. He and several other instructors in
acting testified that she was not even
clever amateur when he began. He had
TO teach her how to walk how to saun-
ter. how to trip lightly across the stage,
how TO climb ladder how to fly to meet
her STAGE lover etc. Then he had to
teach her what to do with her hands. and
elbows, and hair, and how to talk. and
to cry, and to get angry, and hystericaL
In short, Mr.. Belasco had to teach Mrs.
Garter everything about acting that she
did not know and nearly all of the tes-
timony tended to show that she did not
know anything at all at the beginning of
the lessons.
But Mr. Belasco was teaching her for
money; and her awkwardness and Occa-
sional tears did not make him desist I'M
til Mrs. Carter had become a frst-rate
actress and won a great success in a play
IN which her strongest act was catching
hold of the wooden clapper of a PAPER
mache bell and swinging out over the
stage, after the fashion of "Curfew shall
not ring tonight" 1t required a good
deal of athletic exercise on the part of
Mr.. Belasco to carry her to that point
of perfection. But he got there" event
ualy At times, so he testified, It was
necessary. to catch her by the hair and
swing her into proper position. At other
times he had to pick her up bodily and
place her where he wanted her to stand,
and in the correct position. Such hard
work was the training at about that
stage of the proceedings that Mr.. Belasco
never began lesson without pulling off
his coat and street shoes and putting on
a pair of rubber-soled pumps. It seems
that he would have hired Billy Muldoon to
help him, but, like the athletic little man
he is, he fought along alone and finally
won. Other instructors testified that his
services must have been worth no less
than $40 an hour. Mr.. Belasco himself
thought the lessons valuable. when he
made out his bill for $4,000 for teach
ing Mrs. Carter Whether THE figures
are too high or not it remains that Mr.
Belasco has proved that it isn't necessary
for the actress to be born genius. She
can have genius impaired to her by way
of bookings and hair pullings and seedlings,
at the rate of $40 an hour. more or less.