The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-10-25
ACTORS OLD AND NEW
TIMES HAVE CHANGED, AND THE AL
DONATIONS HAVE GONE.
Nowadays Performers Endeavor to Under
stand the Author and to Learn the Sto-
ry and Object of the Play-william II.
Crane Comes to the Rescue.

ny and Object of the Piay-wiiliam ii.
Crane Comes to the Rescue.
At gathering of men prominent In
the theatrical world the other night an
author who has had some success with
one or two plays brought up the old argu-
ment that actors were in great measure,
little better than automatons
A star.wanted play in hurry. What
he was using was not TO the public taste,
and the author sent him one of the many
which were knocking about in his trunk.
Some three weeks after the piece had been
produced he ran out TO little town in
New Jersey and saw the play. 1t was not
| bit like the play he planned and wrote.
| The situations were all there, and so were
the lines, but ideas he had never dreamed
of in connection with the play were being
conveyed by the actors. This made him
furious, and he rallied at actors in gen.
eral, saying that they had no ideas of
their own, and there was not one actor
out of ten who could tell you the story of
the play in which he was appearing.
The poor actor has heard this claim re-
peated many times. When Henry Irving
was in this country, the American dram
atists gave a dinner In his honor. In
responding to the pleasant things said
about him the English actor told how he
had been an actor for many years before
he had ever given any thought to the
general character of the plays in which he
was taking part. 1t had only been after
he had risen in his profession that he had
understood the work of the author and
how close a relation one scene bore to an
other. When he became a manager he
10 CT, - q H.. 81.
duction of play meant a great deal more
to him than the memorizing of his lines
and of his cues.
To strengthen his argument that most
actors paid little attention to anything but
their own lines, Mr.. Irving told a story
about the famous Frenchman, Frederick
Lenaitre. The latter had made a gigantic
hit in new play, the name Of which l
cannot now recall, and had been giving it
steadily for nearly two years in Paris.
While dining one afternoon with friend
the latter as a joke asked him what was
the story of the play in which ne was be-
ing seen. To his amazement the actor re-
piled that he had only remote idea.
This will strike most people as being
decidedly odd, but Mr.. Irving's word is
not TO be doubted. Lemaitre told tho
truth, and while many actors of his day
might have answered like questions in the
same way the actor of today who would
say the same thing would be looked upon
as curiosity
Actors arc not automatons, and the
man who could not tell you the story of
the play in which he is appearing would
be an imbccilc Such man l do not be-
lieve exists in the profession. What Mr..
Irving says and what my friend the au-
thor holds was true 81 measure 10 or 10
years ago, bet il is not today.
Years ago, when i was a member of
stock company, J frequently appeared in
plays of which | knew very little. We
used to give four or five different plays a
week, and VIC rc-carsod every day. OF n
Monday morning ! would be given several
parts and told to memorize them. Some
of these parts would consist of 80 or moro
pages, and all OF my time was put in
studying, rehearsing and playing. l had
no time for recreation.
There was nothing but work and worry,
with q small salary thrown in AID q hope
that l would pull through with the help
OF heaven and tie promptcr. Had somc
one asked me in those days the story Of
any one Of the plays in which ! was APP
pearing / could not have told him In
fact, was not expected TO know Ali
that was required was that I should know |
my lines. Bat, 60 use q very Old ana mil !
dewed expression, times have changed
The production Of PLAYS today is rcduc- !
cd 20 a scientific principle. IL Mr. DAILY |
or Mr.. Frohman or any Of our big man !
ayers decides to produce a new play call !
IS posted notifying the company 10 meet !
at the the8rcr aU a certain hour The au- |
thor is present, and II Is his or her duty |
70 rcld tho wo.k 10 the assembled company |
and explain to DO bis OF her ideas ana where I
and how nc or she desires to obtain GER |
tain effects Every point Is made clear |
The stage manager has already cast tho |
play, and, the reading over, the parts are |
banded around. The next day the really |
hard work begins when the play is placed |
IN rehearsal
IL is the authors business to be present |
DO AT these rChcarsais. Bronson Howard |
rghcarzes al Of hi- own plays. He takes |
b scat down near The stage with a copy of |
-he manuscript in his hand and directs !
every little biz Of stage business and cor |
reefs every mistake. Clay Greene, David |
BeIasco, Augustus Thomas, Paul Potter,
sydney Rosenfeld and all of our promi-
lcnt authors attend all of the rehearsals |
)f their plays, for they have learned the
essOn that il is TO their interest to do so.
My friend the author, who complained
20 much about actors being automatons |
md being devoid Of ideas, had neglected
20 attend the rehearsals of his play and |
vas surprised when he saw it TO find that
al Of his ideas had not been carried ont.
The man who staged it drew his own des
luctions, the most reasonable perhaps
Int he could and thCn nave tho ideas IN
lie company. such cases, however, are
'cry rare.
To my mind, the actors Of today arc an
body, and most authors who
ave been brought in contact with them
will bear out this statement. William H.
-rane in New York World.
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90 o..