Evening star., 1901-12-14

is constantly on the increase. The old
| time prejudice against the stage is passing,
| and the player Is now accorded q position
| In society commensurate with his breeding
| and attainments. Two conspicuous ex-
| amples of college-bred men who have at
| tafned prominence in the theatrical world
| are James K. Hackett, the actor-manager,
| at present starring in Don Caesars Re-
| turn" and Victor Mapes, the author of the
| play. Possibly there might have been a
| prejudice among theatrical folk against col
| legfanS. just as there used to be in journal
| Ism when Horace Greeley declared that
| "Ot all horned cattle, the college man was
the worst In newspaper Office" but such
! young men as Hackett and Mapes have
/ done much to remove this feeling. Instead
| of starting out with an assumption of SUI
| periority on account of their college educa-
| tion. they both started in at the bottom to
! learn the rudiments of their chosen pro-
| fessions. Hackett took his bachelors de-
/ gree at the college of the city of New York
| the same year that Mapes graduated from
/ Columbia. Both had been prominent in
| college athletics. Mapes being the president
| and Hackatt the secretary Of the Inter
| collegiate Athletic Association in 1890, and
! each was president of his class at the time
| he graduated. But Mapes went to Paris
| to study stagecraft and pIaywriting. while
| Hackett proceeded to acquire practical ex-
| perience In A M. Palmer's and other stock
| companies. They met again at the Lyceum
! Theater, when Hackett became leading man
| and MapeS stage director of the stock COM
| p3ny. IhSn t1acRett went starring ana
| Mapes took to writing plays: and Mr.. Hack
| ett's first production as an independent
| actormanager is a play especially arranged
| for him by his old college chum, Vic"
! Mapes.
Miss Percy Haswell has long been a
friend Of Mrs. Gilbert, the veteran ac-
tress. who shares with Joseph Jefferson
the honor Of being the best-loved player on
| the American stage, and for the last four
years they have spent their vacations to-
gether at the Fawcett summer home. 1t
| was Mrs. Gilbert who induced Miss Has
| well to undertake stock company work.
''She told me that it would do me good"
said Miss Haswell. smilingly to the writer.
~ once played in stock companies she
| said. and It was my making So I made
! the venture and have not regretted It,"
Then the querist dragged in the time
worn catechism. Did Miss Haswell like
stock work? Was she quick study? was
it not tiresome attempting a new part each
week. What parts were her favorites?
| When did she study? Did she have any
leisure time? If SO. how did she spend 1t?
| mo. am not an extraordinarily quick
| study" said Miss Haswell, though I sell
dom have much difficulty in remembering
my lines I prefer to study at night after
| two during the day. Yes, like stock COM
pany work. 1t is varied, and-well, 1
like IT.
| And then. like a good catechumen, Miss
Haswen passed On to the other questions.
Il like the more serious parts" she said.
| / prefer Catherine to my part in Because
She Loved Him So.' The latter is unpleas-
| ant because 1t requires me to depict a
woman who is unreasonable and disagree
| able. 1 prefer to be good, or at least to be
| less repellant. The Liars is my ideal of a
good comedy. though the leading part seems
to be for man. In most plays''-and Miss
Haswell smiled-"the men have the better
opportunities. Maybe this is because men
are better actors"
open book. 1 am so busy at the theater
| studying and with my dressmaker. l have
very little leisure time. On Sundays, of
course. l rest and in the morning 1 go to
| hardly want to do much calling or much
| of anything else"
| One of the brightest remarks ever made
| by John j. McNally. who writes the Rog-
! ers brothers vaudeville farces for the
klaw & Erlanger Comedy Company, is:
''If a man wants really serious vocation
/ let him adopt the profession OF writing
| funny shows" New ideas in fun shows are
valuable indeed and not easily worked
| out. AS one sits through performance
| like that OF the Rogers brothers, where
| three hours of laughter slip by SO quickly
| that they seem but ten minutes, one can
not realize the number of days, weeks and
| months of work such a humorous creation
i cost the producers. the author, the stage
| director and the stars and their company.
| First comes the shaping out of an original
| humorous story. with sufficiently strong
| and welI-defined comedy interest to hold
the attention Of the audience from act to
act. and then the building up of those hi
/ larious situations and comic climaxes
| which have always caused the fall of the
| curtain during a Rogers brothers per-
formance to be accompanied by shouts OF
laughter from the audience.
| Mr.. McNally having shaped out his story,
| the scenery and costume equipment is taken
\ up and models and designs are made under
the direction OF klaw & Erlanger. Then
| comes the engagement of the company, the
| creation OF novel speciality features, and.
| finally, the rehearsals, which represent six
weeks OF hard labor. During the re-
fullest development. new IDEAS which nat
| urally suggest themselves are carried out
| and the entire structure Is most laborious-
iy erected. with the result that even the
| first night a Rogers brothers farce is a
hit. Nothing is left to chance and every
thing and its effect in all it's aspects is
carefully considered. In their entire career
as producers Klaw & Erianger have never
yet had failure. Some Of their produc-
| tions have shown greater financial results
| than others, but every one deserves to be
| cl9SSeo as success.
r \ \
IAN actors mafl." said White whittle-
sey. the leading man OF the Bellows Stock
| Company, 'is very often a mixture Of queer
requests. SOME advice, and not infrequently 4
| few gentle compliments. II the actor is a
popular one and known to possess much OF
| this worlds goods he Is In receipt OF many
requests for little loan from people who.
Judging from the length OF their letters.
| have time In abundance upon their hands.
Even the good minister. who Is not averse
| to cudgeling the theater, Will, In time Of
| need. ask the aid OF the actor for money
for his church fair or at least for q box
TO one Of his marvellous impersonations
that he might sell II to help along the pay
| ment of the coal bill.
1T IS popular fallacy that the young
| actor OF fine appearance Is in constant re-
ceipt OF mash notes from susceptible
young women. There might have been a
| time when young women were addicted to
| this sort Of thing. but that time has passed
into oblivion. The patent medicine man
the maker OF face bleach and people OF
that like IN search Of testimonials for their