The Washington weekly post., 1900-05-08
An ACTRESS WARNING.
Clara Morris Cautions Young Girls Nha
Wish to 60 pom the stage.

Clara Morris. IN lie CsEtgry.
! know OF but three powers that can
open the stage door 10 a girl who comes
straight from private life-a fortune. great
influence, or sUperlative beauty. With
large amount 0f money a girl can un-
questionabiy tempt a manager whose
business Is not too good 10 give her an
engagement. II influence Is used II must.
indeed, be OF a high social order 10 De
strong enough 20 sfisct favOrably the box
Office receipts. and thus win an opening
for the young debutante. As for beauty
Il aug be sol=iL.Hg very, YER reInar kd-
Die that viii on its strength alone secure
girl an engagement. Mere prettiness
will not do; nearly all American girls are
pretty Il must be a radiant and COM
peiling beauty, ana every one knows that
there are not many such beauties, stage
struck Or otherwise.
You viii say goOd-by 10 mothers pet
ting; you will live in your trunk The
time will come when that poor hotel trunk
tso called To distinguish II from the trunk
that goes 10 the theater. when you are
travelling or en- rOUte) with its dents and
scars. Will be the only friendly object 10
greet you in your desOlate boarding
house, with its one wizened. unwilling
gas burner, and its outlook upon back
yards and eats, or roofs and sparrows, it.
sullen, hard-featUTed bed. its despairing
carpet: for, you see, you Will not have
the money that might take you 10 the
/ front Of the house and four burners. Rain
/ or shine. you will have TO make your
! lonely, often frightened, way to and from
| the theater. At rehearsals you will have
10 stand about. YEARLY waiting hours
While n-UETE TRnQ4rs4 and
their more important scenes; yet you may
not leave for i walk or i chat. Tor you
do not know at what moment your scene
may be called. No4 will not be made
much Of. You will receive "GOUd-mOrn-
ing or "GOOd-evsning' from the com
Fany. PROBABLY nothing more. II you are
travelling, you will literally live in your
hat and cloak You Will breakfast ia
them many and many time, you wall
dine in them regularly, that you may rise
q once and go 10 the theaJer or car. ! on
Will see no one. 90 nowhere.
If you are in earnest, you Will simply
endure the first year-enduTe and study
and all for WHAT That, after dressing in
glass, in a dismal room you would
scarcely use for your hOusemaid's brooms
and busters at home, you may stand Tor
q few moments in the background OF
some scene, and watch the leading lady
making the hit in the foreground. Will
iC-thTilled moments repay you Tor the loss
of home love, home comfort, home star
dom?
We are not the radiant winged crea-
tureS, we actors. that 50 many fighty
young St3ge-Struck girls think We are.
Our wings only unfold in the calcium
light; IN the daytime We are merely hard
working, everyday men and women,
with. here and there. one who carries the
magic wand of Imagination. a whose
waving all sOrdidness disappears. ana
y no bears lightly the trials and tribU.a-
tons of this truly hard life.
But, little stage-struck girl. you who
think 10 frisk gayly mp to the head of
the profession, pause before YOU try TO
force your way into the theateT, where
acting is either a Veritable high art or
a drudgeTy. There is nO middle course
| between these extremes Better. then, TO
| be patient at home. Find occupation
there. # it is nothing more than the
weekly putting in order Of bareau draw
crS for some unusually careless member
of the family. But having good home.
thank God and your parents for it, and
stay in it,