The times., 1901-05-26
KISSING ON THE STAGE.
osculatioh by No Means Pleasant to
the Actors.
(From the sketch.)

In reality. a stage kiss is a thing of lit
tie ecstacy to the parties concerned. 1t
Is, as rule, dreaded by both. Where the
artists are of a nervous temperament, the
thought of the stage kiss keeps them
awake at nights. Never since the days OF
Judas has anything in kisses been In
vented so completely giving the lie to the
real article. In the first place, however
IL may seem from the front, it is not
easy to put much soul" into the affair
under the eyes of several hundred specta-
tors. 1t would not be easy, l imagine, in
actual life; it is doubly difficult when all
these hundreds of peOple-many of them
themselves experienced in the art of oScu-
lation-have nothing else to attract their
attention, and, having paid their money,
mean to see the tIing properly done. The
audience fOrgets that which is probably
the case, these ardent lovers are the mer-
est acquaintances, possibly even not on
speaking terms outside the theatre, es-
pecially If there be a great discrepancy
In their respective salaries. No, the dress
circle sees nothing but a sweet. pretty
girl cliuging to her iover, her blue eyes
wet with tears, her sunny ringletS fallinS
on his manly bosom
is the earnest lover. He has exchanged
vows with her, three inches from her nose,
baWling into her face in order that the
gods may hear and understand. She
has assured him, in the same below, that
his love is not in vain; she has loved MN,
on! ever since before she saw him. He
Thrills stage thrill is comparatively
easy-and starts on the kiss. He looks her
fun in the face tfor now ne Is pouho to)'
and what does he see?
CIaring into his, two unearthly looking
eyes the lids painted dark blue, with a
touch of red body color in each OF the IN
side corners. The IaShes are thtckly coat
ed with black substance not unlike
burnt cork on her brow he can discern
the line of the wig with the sunny ring
let's attached. He knows the siekly taste
of the a-sanguine, rosebud lips. But,
loyal to his author, he plays the man.
He strains the yielding form to his heart;
he kisses her; the curtain falls on a
picture of unexampied love, and, as the
lights in the auditorium are switched on,
Edwin and Angelina yearn again And
lot AnSelinas soft eyes are filled with
tears. she is that happy!
Who, who can question the stage low
er's right to a bottle of stout. or any 9TH
er refreshment he may require. after this2
And surely the CHASTITY business is no less
disagreeable to the poor feminine victim,
fresh, very likely, from all the comforts
of refined home, with flowers and things.
If only in a stage kiss each wasn't so
near TO the other! If-only each could not
see the other But. by Jove! he can, and
that is where the trouble of stage kisses
comes in.
The crowning torture Of stage kiss may
be-and, where possible, is-aVOided by the
kiss implied method. Here the authors
victims shoot their head over each others
shoulder. and, by their ecstatic thrills. give
the audience to understand that kiss is
going on somewhere in the region of the
ear But the kiss implied must be done
very adroitly, or the implication viii be
missing; and he must carefully guard the
lapel of his dress coat from contact with
her cheek. for both their sakes. But IL is
a cowardly subterfuge at the best. Or II
may be that a mere planting of the lips
on her brow. just near the wig, VIII suf-
fee: but this kiss paternaF denotes
flabby. degenerate sort of lover. Again,
If matters have not gone to extremes, the
young man may get Off with kissing the
lady's hand; the kiss reverentiaf' Is a
good way out of the difficulty when prac-
ticable. But the best way of all, from the
actors point OF view, is to cut out the
Objectionable lines and episode. or to re-
write the play. This last remedy should
not, however, be attempted In London