The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-08-02
JAMES t. POWERS COMEDY.
He Talks Of the Hard Work of
Being Funny.

Being Funny.
Orchard Duffy in August AinsIee's.)
Mr.. Daily? A tradition?' repeated
James T. Powers. Perhaps so. Not many
OF US though, can be a tradition when
that tine comes. lost my best friend
quickest man 1 ever knew to grasp an
luea Ior business or a situation. [ be
neVe l am one of the few he permitted
70 invent business in a piece. I used
some OF my own lyrics in The Circus
Girl ana The Runaway Girl" OF
course, ! had always done that, but I
nked MIN better for the way he took it,
lie was very particular in many things
you know, and he had right to be.
During the run of La POupee" I had
asked aim so many times 10 put in new
business that / began to be ashamed 10
make any more suggestions. But I had
what 1 thought bully idea. l walked up
70 MIN this day and said: Mr.. Daily. I
nad a funny dream last night Did YOU?
what was II, Powers He was as cool
as ice water, but I went on. Yes,
oreamt the performance was on, and that
IN the last act made my entrance on a
oonkey- L m, dreamt II, did your
He looked up in the flies tired-lfke
the way he always did when he didn't
care L got away in hurry. But The
next day when l came to the theatre |
IoqnG a donkey ready for me. He had
paid SO for it, too.
The hard work of being funny?
suppose every man thinks his work is the
hardest. But there's a peculiar thing
about musical comedy. Now. in Straight
comedy man has a comparatively easy
time. The play is built on situations and
they carry the man through Every line
even When II not funny, is interesting
on account Of thef situation In straight
comedy man may walk in one door and
or another If the situation demands il
ne gets screams of laughter In musical
comedy more depends on the actor. He is
usually the author of the funny things he
says he makes up lines, jokes and bust
ness. He changes them frequently during
the run of the piece. He is always on the
LOOKOUT for suggestions. He finds them
n the street. on car, IL d store, any
where. There must be lots of them on a
desert isle, As / find them l jOt them
down IN my notebook 1 can't tell just
when III use them, but they're handy TO
have round. Did you ever notice the
funny ideas that come to you Just before
you fall asleep2 l always jump out and
write them down They'd be forgotten if
l waited till morning
You're a kind of playwright, then?'
Hardly, although Mr.. DAILY had given
me a comedy to fix up for his company a
little while before he died But a musical
comedy needs twice IS much rearranging
as an ordinary piece after the first night
sometimes when IT gets going wei, all
that's left Of the original is the skeleton.
First night2 Don't mention it. L al
ways feel as though I was going to be
hanged OF course you understand,
never have been hanged. but And a
New York first night is the worst of all.
Many good actors have holy dread of t,
even after the play has been success on
the road.
You see, there's no telling how the
lines and business will take on the first
night That's the worst of it with me.
l m so nervous my face freezes over. 1t
won't work, and while it's not pretty, It
mas certain automobile quality that
makes II go. He paused autOma tically,
the result of habit, to let the line sink
in. It seems to me the critics Oughtn
to judge comedian by the first night
alone. He goes through the piece like a
man on trial, all the time hoping to get
the audience The first good laugh they
give MIN, he 5 as happy as the boy that
nnds ripe apple-inside the fence-on his
grain of consolation the whole evening.
Twelve o clock has got to come and then
the agony's over.
So OF course. I ike applause. We all do.
II nerves US to better work. Long ago I
managed sometimes to do without my
salary. but l never could do without ap
plause. There's something I've noticed
about audiences. the more stylish they
are the better they treat you On Monday
night. though all audiences are rather
SLOW. Tuesday they're better. and they
improve right along. Saturday the best
night In the week. No, speeches
are not in my line I made one in Phila-
delphia q couple of seasons ago, when,
taking Joe Jefferson 5 way of limiting dell
cateiy at my age. I told them that my
hrst appearance on any stage had been
made in that theatre just twenty years
ago. Il was carried on as a baby. And
thank you all on behalf Of Managers
Stevens x Price, klaw & Granger, Nixon
& Zimmerman Rich & Harris. Daniel q
Charles Frohman and Al Hayman. BY
mentioning all these names got the syn
dictate in, offended nobody and added 70
the number OF the COMPANY / must
90,