The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1899-12-30
DRAMATIC AsPIRANTs FACE MUCH
HARD WORK.

gs IL ..s
DifRcalties BE Sun mounted-When
Z. Young Girl Gets Stage Struck
ana Persuades Papa to Let Her
Try q Season Mt Dramatic
school She Generally Undertakes
Little More Than She Antici-
ilates Is the Cancellations That
Get Shattered Quickly.
When a girl tires Of the stupidity Of
existence in her own quiet home; when
her soul begins to long for the freedom,
excitement and adulation which do not
come to her from her Immediate circle;
when once the glitter Of the footlights
has flashed it's way across her little heri-
ION and dazzled for a moment her eager,
unaccustomed eyes, her mind turns as
naturally toward the stage and its myriad
of possibilities a sunhower toward the
sun. The very words dramatic school,
have q fascinating sound, and conjure
up dreams and visions Of flowers,
lights, alteration and costly gowns, sue
cess, newspaper, notoriety and hundred
other delights which accompany the life
of an actress In the mind Of STAGE
struck girl.
Cynthia is dazzled by the promises set
forth in the prospectus Of the Smith,
Brown or Jones school for acting in New
York, and by dint of persistent persua-
sions, long fits Of grumps and a constant
~ reproachful, sad-eyed look which spoils
her papa's meals She coaxes that worthy,
who never before refused her anything.
to allow her to try one term at the allur-
ing institution, ''just to see how she will
like It," She reads the long list Of the
wonderful engagements secured for
Smiths pupils with this star and that.
and the glittering accounts of the "hits"
made at smiths amateur performances;
and with visions Of herself in all the lead
ing roles, she packs her trunk and takes
a limited for the metropolis.
With bounding heart and hope swing
ing high, fas pictured by the Washing
ton Post, Cynthia enters the great city
and Is driven, In a dream, to the board
ing house, where. according to contract,
the school management has secured lodg-
ings for her. She is charmed with the
hustle, hustle and excitement of busy,
bad New York; she is enthusiastic over
the brilliancy of life in the throbbing city
and dazzled by the Rialto.
For Whole afternoon she prOmenades
up and down the latter's enchanted pave,
ments, picking out stars and chorus girls.
always fancying, of course, that the young
ladies' VII h the fluffy hair and 1bedraggleds
lace patnc0atss are the stars and. that the
quiet, srhdued-looking, little woman, who
hurries mod.st1y out Of the theater,
glancing around fearfully to see that she
is unobserved, and gets into cab or
%k1G -
or an understudy or something Of the
sort. Poor Cynthia! She has much to
learn of the ways of the actress kind.
Her first day in class is a never-to-be-
forgotten one. For absolutely the first
time she realizes the fact that some one
besides herself is TO enter the race for
honors, and she shrinl<s painfully before
that big throng Of girls. The girls who
go to make up, a class in dramatic
school are Of every possible classification
and description, and Cynthia sees before
her, In appalling array. tall girls, short
girls, modest girls, bold girls, fat girls,
skinny girls pretty girls. ugly girls.
made-girls, unaffected girls, girls over
towering with the odor of extract, girls
WIN l4.-... t.-.Ne 49,. ~;
and girls VINO are frisshte..t =. =
Of their, owa Voices Sir.s es lcIIu
comic opera chorus. ard cir fresh !.
the drawing room. She wonders w:,er*
in all TINS crowd of ambitious Iemis1i It
Ehere will be any room for her in the con
test
Her first week at the academy serev#
t. open Cynthia's eyes and mind TO the
vast number OF accomplishments required
OF an actress. Things which to the girl
down In the orchestra chairs looked $50
easy" are discovered to be the result Of
art and skill. acquired by long and patient
practice. She learns that an ordinary wo-
man must be practically made over in
order to appear to the greatest advantage
before the footlight; that the noise and
carriage of a Marlowe are attained only
through long hours Of hard practice: that
| the sinewy grace Of Mrs. Leslie Carter
Is the result Of rigid, incessant and care
fully prescribed physical exercises and
that the society nonchalence of Had
Ing Is produced not by nature, but by
severe courses OF dancing and stage de-
pertinent
Upon her second appearance in class.
cynthia Is assigned small part. Aston
tshed at the simplicity of the task, she
goes home and spends, at most half an
hour In ,nemorizing the words and getting
down thu business; then in evening ar
ray, she trots of to the opera to awake
next day feeling stupid and totally unfit
Tor work Book In hand, she enters the
long rehearsal room, and, conscious OF
twenty strange faces and twenty pairs
of eyes, turned full upon her. steps upon
the tiny stage.
10 her horror she discovers that she,
has knees. "Knees' is form Of
disease which attacks the actor, the
singer, and the public speaker, with ter
rifying force, upon his first appearance
before an audience and clings to some
OF our greatest dramatic geniuses
throughout lifetime. Tt is. horrible
shaking, that appears to start at the