The San Francisco call., 1896-08-02

ceive applause. It makes him feel better
and happier first of all. and applause Is
appreciated by the professional people,
! because they are thus made to feel tnat
| their services are rewarded-that their
hard study and the close attention given
| to their parts are appreciated
aFor instance, take the Frawley Com
pany. There are few people who have
any conception of the amount OF work
that the mem bers of this company are
compelled to do for the proper production
aud presentation of new play. They re-
hearse every day from 10 o'clock in the
morning without interruption, until
o'clock in the afternoon. They seldom, if
ever. take any lunch during the rehear-
sails, and all the time they have after the
rehearsal to themselves is between 4
o'clock and their dinner hour, and even
then they must study continually. Then
thew have to come to the theater not later
than o'clock to prepare for the nights
performance. And this company has
never even missed single Sunday re-
hearsal since their stay in San Francisco.
''This shows how very little time actors
have for rthemselves-their arduous duties
and the constant strain upon their minds.
Therefore, after the immense amount of
labor they undergo the public can easily
appreciate how much applause stimulates
and encourages them, particularly when
they make their first appearance on an
opening night or IN a new play.
Now, above all the managers value ap-
plause from an audience, as it shows con-
clusively that both the play and the
players work are appreciated and enjoyed,
and that means success for the manager as
well as for the play and the company.
cit is mistaken idea to imagine that
applause is ever instigated by a reputable
manager, as is sometimes charged. No
hrst-class house would permit such thing.
am sure that in this City it is always
entirely unsolicited and comes from the
hearts of those who witness the play.
every often, it is true, players are inter-
rupted during a fine scene. |, for one,
like to see that, as it shows in an unmis-
taxable way that the audience appreciates
and understands good points when they
are made by the players and the inherent
good qualities of the play.
''There is less effort made in fact in all
European cities to advertise plays and
players as rule than here, but the pro-
auctions there have been much superior,
| though they are not now. America is
| making more rapid progress than Ger
many and other foreign countries in the
matter of the production Of good plays
And while in past years the German actor
was not rewarded with applause, and did
not in fact look for it. he now seeks it,
and is Just as anxious for it as the histri-
onic artist in this country.
"There is an old saying that the gallery
gods are the best judges of performances.
That may be the case, for they are gen.
orally the first TO appreciate good point,
good actor or actress and the first to
applaud.
"T here are great many reasons why
| people start to leave the auditorium be-
| fore the curtain falls, continued Manager
| Friedlander, starting on another theme
that had been discussed by Mr.. Warde a
week ago.
First of all we have a great many
patrons from out of to wn-from Oakland
Alameda, Berkeley and from points
within radius of as much as 100 miles of
San Francisco. As a rule they are COM
PEELED to make very close calculations as
to the time for catching trains and
boats, and even certain streetcars that run
only up TO a certain hour. But | have al
ways found that if performance is over
within reasonable time and the audi
ence appreciates the play, especially in
San Francisco, the people remain seated
until the curtain drops on the last act.
"In this respect the audiences OF San
Francisco are superior in quality to those
of any other city in America, especially as
compared to New York City.
Every often it is the case that people have
luncheon or theater party and the hour
for dining or refreshments is set for a cer-
tain time and you cannot expect people
to remain seated if they have made en-
gagements that require them TO leave be-
fore the grand finale.
81 would add right here that in gen.
eral way San Francisco audiences are much
better behaved than those of any other
city in which l have been associated with
theaters, such as Baltimore, Washington,
Pittsburg, Cincinnati Louisville. Mime
apolis and st. Paul. The audiences here
are also much more consderate than in
the majority of cities and they are also
inteliigentiy discri iminative. They don't
want anything unless it is first-class in
every particular"
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