The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-07-09
JOSEPH .1efferScn'S I11dXimS
Veteran Actor Gives Six Which He Says Have Contributed
Most to His SucceSS-Dr. Shrady Adds Practical Sug-
geStOnS to Young Men-LessOnS Taught by Failure


For years he has striven to impress
his four actor sons with the notion
that the truth it contains is of the
greatest Importance to everyone desir-
Gus of winning and keeping a place
upon the stage. Yet it should by no
means be understood that he would
advise against a young actor studying
the work of a true artist; on the con-
trary, he believes such study very
beneficial, providing it is properly
directed. He explained his views upon
this point in detail last fall
Observe the Inner Man.
Mr.. jefferson took greatest interest,
perhaps, in preparing Tom for the Rip
Van Wrinkle scene, in which that char
acter regains consciousness after a
sleep of twenty years. Just before the
first rehearsal the older man explained
his plan of action.
Now, Tom, l will lie down as if
asleep" he said, in effect Then I
will waken, exactly as 1 would if L
were performing on the stage of a
crowded theatre. You must watch me
intently- But you must not try to
catch the gestures or the faScial
changes. Never mind the outer man;
ii is the inner man you must observe.
By that | mean that you must try to
discover the workings of my mind. For
when | begin to waken as Rip Van
Wrinkle l strive to put myself in the
mental attitude that would have been
his on recovering himself after half a
life times slumber. l try to express
the uncertainty, the confusion, the
hopes and the fears that would crowd
the mind of a person passing through
such an extraordinary experience.
1T isn't necessary that your interpre-
tation should be outwardly like mine:
in fact l should be extremely doubtful
OF your success II it were. There will
surely be some resemblance, since you,
like myself. are a jefferson. and SO
no matter how you try to do other
wise, you will probably be somewhat
initiative. But the great point viii be
to impress properly the thoughts and
emotions of the Weakening Rip Van
Wrinkle in your own way. Never mind
just how you do this, and don't try to
produce the desired effects in the same
way every time; the thing you must be
concerned with is your own notion of
the part and your personal feelings
when you are playing ii.
When 1t comes your turn to do the
Weakening act l will watch you criti-
cally, and i can certainly tell whether
you have succeeded in feeling the part
or not"
Six Rules For Success.
Here are more of Mr.. Jefferson's
maXims, as given by his son Charles
B. $50 named after the late Charles
Burke, half brother of Joseph Jefferson
and his predecessor in the part of Rip
Rip Van Wrinkle, to the writer:
Never act to or at your auditors;
always act for them"
Never try to gauge the intelligence
of your audience by the price of the
seats"
Always keep the promises you make
to the public
Always do the thing you can do
best"
1t is evident from his life long insist
ence upon the value OF his maXims, six
in all, including the one given at the
beginning of this article and his well
known rule never to allow vulgarity
or impurity to find place in his per-
formances, that he considers their OBJ
servanee q potent factor in his success.
With regard to his rule about keeping
faith with the public, he has said many
times that refunding the money at the
box office does not satisfy diSap-
pointed audience, and he prides himself
that no considerable number of thea
tergoers was ever disappointed by him
until last fall when his illness made il
impossible for him to go on
with his engagements.
But Joseph Jefferson may not prop
erly be spoken of as "a slave to rules. On
the contrary. his art has always been
in a state of evolution. He has been
on the lookouot for new
ideas as to effective business" and
many of the quiet touches that have
made him so strong with the public
have been the result of accident, pure
and simple.
On one occasion at least, however. an
accident from which he expected sat
isfactory results did more harm than
good. He was playing Mr.. Golightly in
Lend Me Five Shillings." his son,
Charles B., being also in the cast. In
that play Mr.. Golightly wears a but
terfiy necktie fastened to the collar
button by a loop of rubber string. One
night the loop became unbuttoned and
the butterfly fell to the ground Jeffer-
son was unconscious of the mishap but
he knew something had happened, for
scattered auditors were laughing all
over the house in that hesitating way
which show uncertainty as to whether
the cause of the laughter is designed
or accidental. Charles s. saw what was
the matter, of course. and made signs
which conveyed the truth to his father.
When he understood the situation
and highly cOmical look,
Expressing SUI DllSt-. anu It.
lief, passed quickly across his face. At
sight of this the audience. now assured
that the whole thing was part of the
business" and so legitimate cause for
laughter, burst into a hearty guffaw
Jefferson then picked up the tie and
buttoned if again to his collar, where
at there was more laughing and a
round of applause.
All this happened in less time than
. rn1y nd he no
ing ~ hit, jefferson determined to in
troduce that same business regularly
thereafter, and tried it next night. But
it was not in any sense a success. 1t !
seemed utterly impossible for the ac-
tor to counterfeit the facial expressions
Of perplexity and Impotence, followed
by whimsical comprehension, that had
been apparent when the business was
really an accident, and it had to be
abandoned before the week was over.
The Rip Van Wrinkle idea.
1t is one of the traditions of the JEFF
ferson family that Bouccicault did not
believe phenomenally successful piece !
could be evolved from the rip Van
idea. This view of the situa-
ton he placed definitely and frankly |
before Mr.. jefferson, when asked TO !
begin the work. When the piece was |
finished the playwright begged the ac-
tor not to attempt its production
You see" pleaded Bouccicault. al |
most in tears, the Rip Van Wrinkle of |
the play, though young and lusty in |
the first act. is old. gray-haireG, de- |
crepit and wrinkled later on. and. in |
fact, through all the best part of the |
piece. Now, 1 have studied the prefer |
ance of theatre-goers closely enough to |
know that they will not accept you as