Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1897-05-05
PAY OF ACTRESSES.
WOMEN ON THE STAGE RECEIVE, AS
A RULE, SMALL SALARIES.
There Are q Few Who Are Rewarded Lib
orally, but Generally the Business Is Not
Profitable. and Not Many In This Coun-
Have Mada

try Have Made Fortunes.
Into a room in an up town office
building there passed at irregular inter
walls young women who. after having
spent some time inside, reappeared at
the door and started down the flight of
steps that lead to A,e street. This hap
pened all Gay. A line of women was
continually going in and out. None of
them staid very long, and none Of
them left the room with expressions of
particular satisfaction.
| 81 don't think there could be any bet
ter warming" said theatrical man
who had an office opposite the door
through which the girls disappeared,
'to women who think of going on the
stage than the sight of that string Of
women. That is q theatrical exchange.
and in and out of that office they go ev-
cry day. Some of them-the lucky ones
disappear after awhile, and they seem
to have found places. But the majority
come and go for long time before any
thing is found for them. The best don't
come TO the exchanges, you know. Only
those who are not we'll enough known
to have their services always in demand
are compelled to look for positions
| through the agents The others can go
| to the managers, or, in some rare cases,
have the managers come to them.
There never was a subject about
which less was really known than that
of the rewards that a life Oh the stage
| bring to woman. l remember to have
seen once an interview with Lotta Crab
tree in The Sun in which she said that
the stage gave women more than any
other profession could. Lolita is one of
! the few very rich women of the stage,
and am afraid that optimistic opinion
was affected more or less by her own
| $500, coo or more, Lolita might not look
SO favorably upon the stage as a means
Of livelihood for women.
1.-The ideas that are prevalent about
! salaries, the general idea of the large
amounts paid and the prospects for saw
ing money that such occupation affords
are all based on very erroneous impress
sions. There are, Of course, actors that
make large SUMS, and some that make
fortunes. But there are not many of
them. There are very few people, for
instance, who would believe that the
+; leading lady of prominent New York
stock company gets only 500 week
that is, for about 80 weeks of the year,
or maybe 30 at the outside. On the road
she receives @125 week. A certain
amount is paid by her manager toward
her costumes, but when it happens that
| the plays are not successful and have 10
| he changed frequently, the expense of
| costumes uses up Il large proportion of
what she may make The most popular
| leading woman in American receives
only Sl25 week when she is III New
! York and III extra $50 on the road. Yet
as many Of the people at the theaters in
which she acts go to see her as go to see
the star with whom she's associated.
! But she's to be a star herself after
awhile, and then she will make enough
| to repay her for all the time she was
building up her popularity. even if she
was not getting rich.
'"These women that get the salaries l
spoke Of are the best paid in the cOun
try. Among all the women ON the stage
I doubt if there are 80 who receive as
much as that. One leading lady in q
New York theater gets only s65 week.
The women who act on the road with
stars get usually S75 or $50, and in some
cases 500. But, as I said. there are not
many of them III the last schedule The
prices range on down to $50, which is
about the smallest salary paid to any
woman in a first class company.
| "When they get TO be stars on their
own account, the case is different. Usu-
ally the women stars get certain sums
every week in salary and certain
amounts from the profits. Some of the
| best paid get $500 week in salary and
one-quarter of the profits. Then they
begin to make money. One-quarter Of
the profits may equal, under favorable
circumstances, $4,000. That makes the
salary Of the actor engaged on the terms
mentioned $500 week. But only the
lucky ones succeed in ever accomplish
ing such success as that. OF course there
arc others who take all the money and
merely hire their managers. But they
are still fewer III Sunlber.
! "Another thing that has to be taken
] into consideration is the fact that 4 wo-
man has only a certain time en- the
stage. She mast be Il genius TO last
much beyond 10, and she is not likely
to become famous much before 30. So
her time is rather short After certain
period the decline begins and salaries
begin TO go down, just as before the age,
+ sag of 40, they increased. Think of the
+ few rich or even comfortably Off women
| of the stage They could be cCuntsd Oh
! the fiuccrs -Lotta, Maggie Mitchell,
Fanny Davenport and Clara Morris.
There may be II few others, Eut they are
mighty few. Compare this with the
/ long list CT women that have been popu-
! lar and successful i'll their youth, and
Think you Will agree with me that the
women on the stage are not az we'll paid
rs the asrirarts think. New York
Sun.
A Lively Romen Sauce.
Garum, t!.c BLACK green sauce Of the
Romans, was specie of universal con-
| diniei:t, hut its princ.Qal use was for
fish. The recipe is as fellows: Let the
cook take several fishes, it matters not
much which, bat mac;erel are the best