The San Francisco call., 1897-05-17
AROUND THE CORRIDORS

| Players are affected almost as deeply by hap
penings in the audience as is the audience by
happenings on the stage. Sometimes they are
moved 10 wrath, but more frequently to
laughter. Occasionally they are frightened
out OF their lines and wits.
| A man sat in an aisle seat, three rows from
the front. at performance of "El Captain" at
Baldwin Theater Saturday night He was fat
man, and he gave sneeze suddenly, terrific
| sneeze. 1t was followed by another that shook
| the plumes on the big hats of the women
| around and made the lights flicker. The audi
ence suspended attention and looked at
the sneezer, and the players paused just as he
snorted out third sneeze that ended in high
| note such as seldom ha d been heard in those
parts. Hopper stretched out his long arms To-
ward the man, rolled his eyes heavenward
| and said in sepulchral voice:
"Heaven bless you, sir"
This brought the audience back to the stage
with roar, and In second the performance
was running on at high pressure, while the
lat man chuckled over the fact that for brief
space he had been the star Of the evening. A
few minutes later CALL man asked Mr. Hop
per how he was affected by the funny things
that happen in the audiences. After getting
q grip on Ell Captains nose and throwing down
cup OF hot coffee, as he does between acts, he
answered.:
american audiences are not demonstra-
tive, and, as rule, things don't happen in
'front.' OF course. the man who sneezed to-
| night couldn't help ii, but he made such q
blasting success of it that 1t affected the whole
house, and. therefore, the players. If an actor
Is playing part where he can say something
1t Is the best thing to do 80, for it makes them
all laugh and keeps them from noticing q
pause. l remember one night when 1 was
playing at Palmer's Theater in New York,
when we lighted something suspended from
the scenery by string the flames ran up the
string, and in minute the audience was all
excitement. We had to ring the curtain down,
and as they couldn't see, the people were more
frightened than ever. Every body saw that
there would be panic if something wasn't
done, and the people behind the scenes began
to say: Hopper, for Gods sake say something.
You can think of something to say which will
quiet them. Get at 'em quick I ran out in
front and shouted:
"'There is absolutely no danger. I assure
you. You know am the greatest coward on
earth, and If there was any danger of my get
ting singed you can well imagine that would
not be cooling my heels here right now
$50 the audience remained perfectly quiet
'There was man in New York who GER
tainly affected me and got 10 be unpleasant,
TO say the least OF 1t. He was fat fellow and
always wore boys hat He kept hotel in
the Catskills. AS soon as my company would
open he'd come down for the season and come
every night. He never bought seat, but paid
Tor an admission, put his sassy little hat upon
the rail and took his stand back of it. He'd
begin to chuckle and then to laugh. There
was som ething about his laughter that struck
the people, and soon they would all begin to
look at him, and next they'd start into laugh
ing at him. Laughter is often as contagious
as tears, and his was certainly the most con-
tagious laugh | ever heard. He came to be
known as the laughing man. That was funny
for a while, but he came to be a nuisance, for
he anticipated every joke and would laugh SO
loudly that the audience nine tim es out of ten
lost the point. One night Andrew A. McCor-
mick, manager of the Broadway Theater,
found a man In the foyer doubled up over the
programme table. He had every appearance
of having eaten peck of green apples. with
the natural result; but when Mr.. Mccormick
asked If he was i'll, he said:
"'Oh, no; I'm just dead with laughing at
that laughing man. My sides ached so l
couldn't stand it another minute. l had to
get OUT
"After that we got rid of the hotal-keeper,
for we didn't like to run the risk OF his max
ing people sick.
"Then there is the chap who starts the ap-
plause too early. OF course applause is stimu-
latiug when 1t comes at the right time, and if
daily he naturally gives better perfor nance.
In short, the audience unconsciously does It's
share IN making the performance enjoyable,
but the man who anticipates is an uncontrol-
liable nuisance.
zone of the funniest things that ever hap
pened in an audience when / was playing
took place at the Columbia Theater In Chi
cago. All The persons in the gallery, men and
women, began to shout at the women in the
orchestra to take off their hats. 1t was anus
ing, because If every woman in the orchestra
had worn hat 40 feet high the gallery gods
would still have a perfect view of the stage.
But they howied and Kissed and hooted and
harangued until only three women in the
orchestra kept their hats on. That didn't sat-
isiy the gallery gods, and they kept at it until
an audie nee with uncovered heads faced me.
1t is unnecessary to state that the performance
stopped while the row going on. How
did it affect me? longed for the seclusion of
the Lambs Club, where can beat as loudly
and as long as l please, but I had 10 stand
there and look distressed. Lots OF funny
things happen in front, but actors, like
schoolteachers, must learn to see and yet be