The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-12-09

Its Rudfments Learned More Easily
Now Than Formerly.

New Orleans Times-Democrat.
1.-The dramatic schools have made 1t
surprisingly easy for any young man OF
ability to break into the profession" said
an old actor after the performance a few
nights ago. II don't undertake to speak
for the women, because with them good
looks or the absence of good looks will
upset any calculation; but i'll the case Of
the man it is generally a plain business
proposition, and the way has been wonder
fully SmoOthed-wonderfully smoothed! A
young fellow nowadays is taught the techni-
cal part of stage work, just as he would
be taught bookkeeping or engineering, and
then a letter from the head of the school,
stating that he has talent and is sober and
industrious, is morally certain 10 get MIN
a job in a good company. Afterward every
thing depends on himself; but, whether lac
succeeds or fails, he has missed all the
hard knocks that fell TO beginners when l
was young. They don't appreciate 1t, of
course, because they don't know what
they've escaped. When L made my start
there was only one possible way for an
outsider to get on the stage, and that was
BY joining some troupe or transformers. l
was only eighteen at the time 1 took the
plunge, and L slipped out or my little nome
town with d queer, tenth-rate company
called the Criterion Comedians. They
adopted that title because ii happened 10
be on a lot of secondhand show bills they
had picked up cheap, but the repertoire
was really old-line drama, boiled down and
recast to fit a small party. Even then all
hands had to double and take
from two to four roles. The only person
OF any ability III the crowd was a frlghtfut
drunkard named Morgan. who had once
stood well in the profession, but they all
knew the ropes so to speak,, and as soon
as they saw I was absolutely green they
proceeded to make my life a burden.
When 1 recall that experience, the
actor went on, musingly, Il maryei at my
sand in sticking 10 it. hat sounds egotist-
ical, L know, but the ordeal was frishtfuI-
| had been regarded as the crack amateur
of my home and imagined L knew some
thing about the business; but L soon dis
covered | was ignorant OF Its very A, b,
C's. and. instead OF giving me a heiping
hand, the company seemed to combine TO
make il as hard as possible Tor me TO
learn. That. by the way, Is never the case
In u frst-ciass organizations put these peo-
pie, you must remember. were the dregs
of the profession-ignorant, soured, bitter
ly enyious, intensely suspicious and at the
same time as vain as peacockS. Tnere were
only ten of US altogether. yet the troupe
was split into ferocious little cliques, and
the amount OF tale-bear1ng, malicious SoS-
sip and petty conspiring that was constant
ly afoot was beyond beIe1. IL was III tnat
XII of an atmosphere that L had TO PICK
up the rudiments of the craft. 1t was an
atmosphere of sneers and jeers and cheap
sarcasms that cut to the quick. LII 1 mace
a blunder-and, the Lord knows, l made
lots of them-it was a standing joke until
l did something worse; but 1 honestly De-
lieve il was that very spirit OF persecu-
ton and studied unfriendliness that kept
liC giving
my mettle. and l determined grimly
that L would succeed in spite of them AT
any rate, l stayed with the Crtterions the
whole season, or, rather. until the company
went to pieces toward the end of the sea-
son In a little town in Iowa. BY that time
l had picked up a general idea OF how TO
get about the stage; l knew the exits and
the entrances how to take my cues,
something about making up3n short,
about as much as a smart pupil will learn
In three or four lessons at a good modern
school. To acquire. that i had not only
suffered personally the things have
briefly outlined, but we had experienced
as a company all the heaFt-breaking vicis-
STUDIES. notifications. hufniliations and ac-
tuaI physical distress that generally fell TO
the lot of transformers thirty years ago.
That went on, in greater or less degree,
for six or seven seasons before L got q
chance to take d minor role in a good COM
many. and the same struggle, assure you,
has been the history OF ninety-nine middle
aged actors out of every hundred. o say
that such an ordeal is improving or neces-
sary to develop an actor. as some of the
Veterans still claim, Is all rot 1t was
merely the longest way around TO q given
point. and many a bright young man has
been broken and ruined on the journey.
For a woman who depended on her ability
alone, it was awful-indescribabiy AWFUL