The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-01-18


have to engage audiences-not actors
and actresses. The difficulty viii be to
get anybody to watch plays. We shall
all be acting in them.
Now, want to come to the rescue of
Mr.. Belasco. want to help him in
these dire and troublous moments of
too-much-stage-gir He doesn't de-
serve it, because, as 1 said before, he
has made a target of himself, but on
general principles this is really time
to say something.
Nobody who has watched Mrs. Carter
from the start can believe for one mo-
ment that she is an actress made by
what is called schooling, All the pre-
ceptOrS in the world all the schools in
the universe, all the drilling Of book
writers and critics could: not have
taught her to act Zaza as she acted it
Monday night. The marvellous results
were all due to temperament, to an in
nate gift with which she was presum-
ably born, but which languishedc while
she was dilly-daliying' ia drawing rooms
perhaps to discipline. IT is all very well
to say that Mrs. Carter enjoyed the. adj
vantage of seeing Rejane play Zaza,
and copied Rejane's business" There
was no Rejane responsible for the gor-
geous denouement of this New York
Zaza. 1t was a distinct creation. in
which, as I said Tuesday.the delicatesse4
of Rejane was blended with the tragedy
of Bernhardt-the very .rarest sort of
combination. The mechanical, school
made actress is very easily distinguish
II
spirit. She has no ability to move you
to tears. AT the Garrick theater Mon
day night old-timers cried, and girls
who would sooner stay at, home than
get red noses grew blotchy with emo
ton. The schools might turn out wo-
man who could walk through the part
of Zaza. initiate all Mrs. Carriers DC
tons, wear all her clothes charnlingly
and behave with the utmost discretion.
But it would not be the. Zaza we saw at
the Garrick-a Zaza who crept beneath
your cuticle and forced you by sheer
ma gnetiSm to do her homage.
Belasco declares that all the training
in the world could not have given to
this community such a. performance.
And if you will remembe this, We stage
sick maidens, you will save yourselves
many moments of agony and disap-
pOintment. Belasco is a wonder, but
he can not make silk purse out of a
Sow'S ears any more than the children
of Israel were able to make bricks for
Pharaoh without a straw.
In addition to which undoubted facts q
let stage aspirants remember that such q
result as that achieved by Mrs Carter
permanent, without hard work. Nobody
that causes the pores Of vitality to t ooze
You say of an actress, '-Oh. all she has to
Of a famous variety w woman. 9'she sq has
cinch. Ten minutes work and a good
fortabiy down at his desk and iii nils cup up
space. Nobody does these things sue
airy training and incessant thought that
is far more wearying than brick-laying or
results only. The see Mrs Garter nesting
among the flowers thrown at her by de-
ious for her to indorse certain pbG brands Of
corsets, hats. wines. face bleaches, hair
restorers. They never look at the other
side of the picture-the futile struggles,
the the, rank contests with prejudice and big
ances. What foolish Women these STAGE
in re- nf a f16yr
write to Belasco just the same lines and
1t is the lazy people in this world who
believe that success is such a simple thing
such a mere question of chance-and the
tacular Inducements. For the stage, weak,
their NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. in a very bad
investment Not one woman in five hum
bred ever reaches Mrs Carriers pinnacle.
and IL she does, hard work has removed
the gilt from the gingerbread, and she
A great deal has been written about sue
cess; but to the actress of temperament
such tangible thing. Success for them
means death. Success-as somebody has
last step before the descent Beware of
the man with temperament who tells you
that at last he has achieved success. and
signs sig SIN in the sweet eomPlacency of having
is the horror of the whole thing. Success |
to ESQ t g5g9 nth The girls wh9 wrote
ress not only has to gain a place, but to |
mold It. She can never rest her lau-
curses
placed by fool-applauders on the heads of |
their victims. Laurels are the drugs ad- !
sit still and die. Laurels are deadly OPT
ates.
BernharGt has held her position for two |
decades by. sheer CONTINUOUS work She |
won what the world called success when
she created Fedora But the crags still |
lowered above her. Then came "Theo-
dora dora, And still there We're crags. La |
today plods laboriously on. She laughs |
at az the 1nsldious enemies who tell her. that |
aloft and sees that there are steps still to |
labor means the numbneSS of inertia To |
women of temperament and to men of !
temperament there is no '1et up as the |
m Mrs; Garter is bound by the terror of |
of Maryland was a splendid bit of work |
but 1t was molecular compared with the |
m m fId IcR Of .'zaza" We always cry
can be imagined. When the ocean grew
hounds reduced the Journey from the Old |
gasped and thought of the wonder Of the
thing. Now we do the trip in five days |
fish it in three. Later on we NAV y'G break
fast in New York and dine in London
There is no let up.
Let stage aspirants ponder over these
tnlngs beIore they kneel a poor Belasco's |
feet. for Belasco knows the truth of ali I
the power of hard work to batter down
apparently insuperable difficulties Let
worth the candle. 1t means so much. No |
g XII, wants 10 go upon the stage to play a
carriage watts F 20 say my lord the
for the honors that have fallen to Zaza
ana these mean life of labor the per-
knowledge that there is no rest in this
world. Success is tragedy. for you
take for success. a temporary elevation
above your fellows-is merely a cruel sort