Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1897-12-24
The Stock Company.

The term stock company Is in very
general use Just now, but its compre-
hensive meaning is hardly understood
by thcator patrons. The word stock
as applied to animals indicates general
excellence in herd In the same way
II should convey a good average OF ex-
perience and ability In an aggregation
OF actors. rather than high excellence of
the leads" with decided sticks" for
support. The star and sticks" system
mas FOR some years now been palling
hence there are at this time some 40 or
more stock companies this season dot
ted over the continent. A road compa-
ny can use well drilled one year old
stage treader to go on for the same
part throughout season. he's lust
hammered Tor days till he gets there.
But a new impersonation each and ev-
cry week requires sound experience and
hrst night footlight courage. Small Won
der then, that some of the old timers
have been receiving delicate attentions
OF late from managers. Thus, in the
somewhat notable Buffalo Music hall
stock company. directed by Charles ?.
Salisbury Of st. Louis. Harry St Maur
has been directing the stage with
highly satisfactory results and Henry
f'' - tF' ''"S us hiNi liiNus Dut II NIt
veterans can act, their memories are no
longer pristine, and getting the words"
is often severe strain when 1t is re-
membered that the play is changed
each week and matlnees take place dali
ly. Under such conditions Henry Pitt
found himself in n a highly humorous
predicament lately. The piece was a
familiar adaptation of the well known
French comedy "Bche." Pitt Derson-
ated a highly irritable heavy father
with a troublesome son and an alb
sorbng love of newspapers. in which
his nose Is buried nearly all through the
piece. The willy old soldier cached his
part among his newspapers, and while
affecting TO scan editorials on the
situation IN Europe. cribbed the neces-
sary replies to hts wife's numerous in
terrogations concerning the welfare OF
their only son. n rather Eighty voting
gentleman only kept In order because of
his ignorance OF the fact that he was
OF age.
Barring some visual difficulties In
resolving the rather grabbed calisraphy
of the part and losing his place pretty
often, trines he covered up with "er's"
and ''um's" and highly Judicious Sc
lection of the coughings and splutter-
Pitt faxed" along with magnificent
skill till he came TO his exit in one i'm
portant scene in the first act, when he
should have answered direct question
with florid speech OF some dozen lines,
delivered with point and emphasis and
which contained plot
what do / think" said Pitt, leav-
Ing the table where he had been seated
throughout the scene and moving to his
exit door Il think this" Then he gag
ged-"Let me see: what did that arti-
Gle say?"-to enable him to get look
ut the part. Alas, he had dropped 1t on
the stagel For an instant only he was
feazed Recovering. he turned to Miss
Vandenhoff. who was playing the wife.
and fired this with splendid spirit at
the highly perplexod lady: What do I
think" You're his mother. You ought
to know"
This brought Stage Director st. Maur
down on the resourceful Henry, and
now st. Maur is known TO express his
doubts MS to Henry's reliability for
stock business. while Henry insists that
st. Maur is tyrannicai and most ungen-
tlemanly.