The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-12-15

an actors part requires that he make
speech he has then TO become the orator
and relies entirely on his speaking powers
TO produce his effect. Now, there are times
in Hamlet when one can become very
colloquial. Take, for instance, his scenes
with Ophelia, POonius and even with the
Queen, his mother. BY an actors adopting
the natural tone of speech he does not
necessarily show any dsrespect to the
verse he is speaking. In fact he can use
very ordinary tone of voice and yet give
the verses the full power of their mean
ing
at takes a great deal of practice and ex-
perience for an actor to entirely under
stand how to use his voice does it not?''
THE whole thing of achieving success in
any art is practice and experience One
who does not take UP an art a profess
sion cannot imagine how much constant
practice it takes to make any kind of sue
cess with it. Now, L have rules by
which l use my voice. / have known of ac-
tors who said that they cultivated and used
their voices according to certain rules of
their own, but | could never do this. 1t is
also a wel-known fact that there is a
method for cultiVating the voice, for there
people who instruct along this line and
accomplish what they en0eaVor, but L could
not tell the method that they use, neither
could j describe any method for training
the voice. Now, this is a very strange
thing, which L cannot account for. j know
how TO use my own voice. but | don't know
how do it, and it would also be impossible
for me TO tell any one else how | do il. And
practice and experience before | knew how
to control my voice. There was a time in
my career that my voice would break down
every season, but | am not troubled with
that now. because / understand how to use
my vocal chords. The trouble was in my
earlier days / would put too great a stress
on the vocal chords and consequently [
strained my whole throat But since l have
learned how not to do this | have no more
trouble with my throat.
Edwin Booth was a man who might cas-
IA o. n1n TIn
his lines easily and was very near to being
colloquial. yet with all of this he relied
mostly on his acting to gain the proper in
fluencc over his audience. Lawrence Bar
rett was also known among the great elo-
cutionists. And the truth of the matter
was that there Barrett eXcelled all of the
tragedians, not excepting Booth Barrett
was an elOcutionist as much as he was an
actor. 1t has very often been attributed to
him that he was STACY in his movements
and that this staginess prevailed in all of
his acting. That, however, was his elocu-
ton, which he certainly used to a great adj
vantage. Murdoch was also a fine reader
of the old school. i believe. however tina
Edwin Forrest, although ] never heard him,
was the foremost of them all. 1t is said
that he was the most powerful elocutionist
that was ever on the stage
1--WE have to-day Henry Irving, who does
a great many tragedies and is a great
tragedian, but he is elocutionist or ora
tor. Why, no one would ever think of TAX
ing him for a model of all that is good and
virtuous in this line, but still he is a fine
actor. To gain his desired effect on his
audience he relies on what he suggests
rather than what he says in so many clear
cut tones. 1 will say that the actor is
nearer to-day to nature and further away
from OratOry.
1.-The audiences we now have seem to
have changed from those the earlier actors
had and have become used to the natural
acting that makes them see life as it really
is. People, | have found, like to witness
a mans passions as they really are. find
that the methods used now are Just as
effective as the methods the old tragedians
used when they stuck close to the rules of
oratorY.
81 know what | am saying about stage
oratory Is enough to make all of the
ghosts of the old tragedians rise out of
their graves and denounce me, but never
theless 1T is true. The effects which we
gain are not the result of any huge vocal
volumes, but we sometimes reach our
greatest points by pause or a hesitancy
in speech, which was known as false
OratOry. BY this false Oratory' we very
often complete our most perfect illusions,
because it suggests more than il really i'm
plies | have found in my experience that
the nearer to nature we get the greater the
effect will be. Stage art is what we have
TO study so that we can complete the
illusion which we must practice on the
audience, and when we have done this We
have accomplished what we intended
Ranting such used to be practiced TO a
great extent is now almost entirely done
away with because il is useless and stupid
and does not create any illusion.
An grafton is something that is prac-
ticed in sermons and that sort Of declama-
lions. An orator when he gets up 10 de-
liver sermon or speech does not do il in
the same way an actor coming in upon
a scene. He relies wholly upon his vocal
powers TO control his audiences. Now with
all / have said about stage oratory l do
not mean that an actor should not learn to
speak his lines in clear and distinct tone,
for this should always be his first duty
What advice would you give a young
man who desired TO go on the stage?
Should he first be a graduate Of a dra-
matte SCHOOL,"
We'll. about dramatic schools I cannot
say because | don't know anything about
them. But / would by all means advise
young man 10 go directly on the stage and
get the actual experience In preference 10
going TO school. He viii find afterward
that il is a greater advantage TO him. Ii
has always been my experience whenever
| get a young man In nay company who
has been trained in scnool OF oratory