The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-10-14

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| lines. Speaking OF their success in vauGe~
| Vile to a Times interviewer. the othea
| night at Chase's. Mr.. Sidman said:
at is gratifying to Mrs. Sidman and
| myself to know that our efforts are so
! kindly appreciated, and to realize that CUP
little sketches have always been ono Of
the features OF the programmes Of the the-
aires in which We lave appeared. be-
| lieve-in fact, I know-that the audiences
| that fill the vaudeville houses today are az
capable of appreciating an artistic act az
the most cultured gatherings that attend
what are called In the theatrical world
| the legitimate theatres"
! "Will vaudeville continue to be as popus
| lar as it is at PRESENT." was asked by the
| newspaper man.
| I'm the best of houses. yes: there viii
always be one or more frst-class vaude-
willie theatres in every large city in this
country. The people want vaudeville as
| presented nowadays, but not as was fur
| nished in days gone by. Look at the class
Of houses devoted to 1t. For Instance
compare Mr. Chase's with any other thea
tire in your own city Vaudeville man>
ayers seem to realize that the public wants
service in theatre as well as in hotel,
Then again, the legitimate performer de-
serves great deal Of credit for the ele-
walton Of this branch Of the profession.
Even though some OF their efforts were
|
regulations brought people to the theatrs
| who had never seen a vaudeville PERFORM
ance. The ieSSiit,' as he Is termed by his
brother of the song and dance team may
have in some instances. failed to please,
but there were SO many good acts on the
bill that the newcomer to the vaudeville
wos well entertained, and in many cases
became regular patron"
Asked about his coming starring tour,
Mr.. Sidman said:
MY manager, Mr.. Fulgora, reasons thaS
II l can please an audience in twenty
minute sketch, that with the best Of sup-
port and good vehicle, can be made .
successful star. The play has been called
York State Folks and depicts life in q
little village in the Empire State. In fact.
the locale is the place Of my birth, and
most OF the characters are taken from
life. One thing, there are no town drunk-
ards. no villains, or anything Of the sort.
1t will require the services Of over 5ixtN
people, and some Of the best OF the metro
politan stage directors who have read the
piece say it is the best thing in its line
they have heard, but"
Mr.. Sidman paused, and finally finished
by saying that he really expected great
things Of York State Folks Contrary
to expectation. in real life Mr.. Sidman IL
not at all the old man seen on the stage.
but a well groomed man of thirty-fiye
retiring mien. Mrs. Sidman. off the stage,
Is much the same dainty little woman who
is seen in Back Home and "A Bit Of
Real Life
Two hobbies are ridden quite constantly
by William Faversham. These hobbies are
as dissimilar as possible. being the love
of dogs and an interest in astronomio
telescopes The latter Is gratified at
every opportunity during the tours OF the
Empire Theatre Company. while the un-
derstanding Of dogs is continually On the
increase by reason Of q big and mag
nificent canine of the bull variety,
which always accompanies Mr.. Faver-
sham on his trips. This animal ID
worth his weight in silver, and has pedi-
gree as long as a theatrical property list.
his ancestors dating back to about the
Mayfower period. Ribbons innumerabls
are the possessions OF his proud owner, for
the bull has woG prize after prize. both in
Europe and America After a performance
of Brother Officers the other evening, .
Times man sought Mr.. Faversham and was
invited to join him in a stroll about the
city, with the combined purpose OF get
ting exercise for the dog and to secure
some also for the actor. Conversation
drifted from affairs canine to things the
atrical. and relative to the query regard
ing his coming starring tour, Mr.. Faver-
sham said:
Eyes, it seems that am at LAST to sec
my name at the head Of the programme
as leading my own company. You know
what that means to a fellow. 1t is tho
initial climax Of his ambitions. for 70
man of intellect will rest until he Is the
best of his class. The difficulty which I
have met, in company with every other
man who sought stellar honors is TO Sc
cure a play at all suitable for my use. I
|. don't know if you have ever acted or not,
but il you could secure just the Kind Of
, a play you need, you could star and star
successfully. You see what mean. that
) plays make stars. OF course. one ought
to have some sort Of a reputation to aid
, him, and that am said to possess"
How about your play. MIR. Faver-
sham
well, have in mind a popular novel.
not a sword smashing, silly sort of
/. thing but really good piece of literature
which is susceptible of powerful dramatic
; zation. One thing about my play. it must
have more than one part in it. | read
my play to one of the oldest writers on
dramatic subjects in New York recently.
and he said: Goodness. Mr.. FaveT5fln n.
the leading woman has the centre OF the
; stage more than half the time. Her part is
as good as yours!' That is Just what I
want I do not care for piece which
gives no one else an opportunity. There
must be six or seven good parts. and
want the best people possible to fill them"
BY this time the walk had taken tbs
actor. the reviewer. and the bulldog up
l Vermont Avenue. around the Portland, and
: down Fourteenth Street The canine menu
her of the trip had energetically pursued
: three cats angered their owners, and
, caused no little excitement.
Miss Jessie Millward. leading woman Of
Charles Frohman's Empire Theatre Com.
, pany, chatted pleasantly to a Times rep
resentative one day last week in her thor
oughly English and. by the by, delightful
5 way about her work and herself.
'It is so hard to talk Of ones self. ]
used to think of ones life away from the
: theatre as of so little interest to outsiders,
. but since / have been in America / have
! changed my mind. I do not come from .
theatrical family, and in truth my people
|, were bitterly opposed to the idea OF my
adopting the stage. but 1 cannot remember
the time when did not act. I went direct
| from the schoolroom to the theatre max
ing my debut with Sir Henry Irving a l
playing the parts next to Miss Terry. VI /.
, was fortunate but that did not coE-s
about Immediately. I underwent most se-
we're and tedious training before I was al
lowed to appear. My voice had to be culti-
waited that I might use 1t correctly. and
, every morning had to be at the theatre
= at o'clock and for one hour walk across
= the stage with the stage manager. Acting.
I I think, is not only an art, but combina-
ton of all the arts. and to my mind q
knowledge Of them is absolutely necessary.
"And then the audience! II the people
: in front could only realize how dependent
( we are upon them believe they would ex-
I a. ttat. ri