Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1901-04-03
FORGET THEIR LINES
ACTORS AND SINGERS OFTEN LOSE
PRESENCE OF MIND.
Embarrassing Breakdowns which
Occur ON the Stage and tho vari-
Gus Devices 20 which the Players
Resort TO Bridge the Gap.

04u D&VlC&8 ~ W MEN tnG AA8NE2s
Resort to Bridge the Gap.
ITS about the most embarrassing
thing that car happen to one" recently
declared well known actor when refer
ring to momentary lapses OF memory on
the stags.
"Soms players" he continued, "sre
peculiarly liable to forget their words,
and personally the longer have been
playing one character the more prone am
/ to run of the line You see, you, as
It were, &c. to know the words too well.
They are so familiar that they fail to
claim your attention, and then one night,
before you are aware of it, memory fails
you, and you find yourself staring at your
audience speeches..
"a tragedian told me rather peculiar
story as to a breakdown that. happened
to himself. In the middle Of one Of his
speeches q lady dressed In bright red
came into the stalls, and, watching the
patch Of brilliant color, the actor forgot
his words. The next evening kind Of
terror seized upon him lest some one In
red should again take seat and he re-
peat his previous nights unfortunate
performance. So strong had this feeling
become that, after three or four nights,
that man actually bought his wife q
bright red dress and got her to sit In the
stalls 90 that he might overcome his ap-
prehension.
Another man know plays in musical
comedy. He never forgets the lines Of
his spoken parts, but often makes a slip
In song. He comes to the end Of a line
and can recall nothing but the beginning
Of the next verse, and he has to stop the
nA haoi, ara Enrpe
singers, when in this predicament, just
sing on lum-ti-tum' to the tune till the
words come back. Some have told me
that having once been at sea with their
words they are sure, out of nervousness,
to make another slip the same evening.
They are so anxious to avoid another mis-
| take that their minds can think Of moth
ing but that they must remember their
words. In singing the tune, Of course,
somewhat assists you to remember the
lines.
AS you know, the prompter usually
comes to the rescue Of the player so
stranded. But occasionally that official
Is not at his post, and then the man on
| the stage has to wrestle with his brains.
| Sometimes one OF the company viii, per-
haps very audibly, supply the omission.
| While some players when they break
down resume as best they can and take
no notice Of the mishap, others gag or
| take the audience into their confidence.
Said one over the footlights: Now, those
| are Just the very words / thought l
should forget. The gas man called as
! was learning Them Another, on coming
| to one of these awkward full stops, said:
Pardon me, please. was thinking
whether there was enough Of that cold
! chop to do for supper and quite forgot
my words These things sound poor
! enough to relate. but at the same time
they go well enough.
Zone singer who broke down said:
Look here! Wen get over that difficulty
by dropping the verse altogether. You'll
still get your moneys worth, for III sing
the last verse twice. There is one little
trick that usually goes down well. Tho
singer has failed and has had to appeal
to the prompter. When he finishes his
song, he darts OF and drags ON the
prompter-probably In his shirt sleeves--
to share In the applause. which II usually
quite enthusiastic.
''Weli. as most players keep their MEM
cries in hand, as l must say, some pecul-
lar things have happened. In one play
an actor doubled two parts. He was
an old man In the prologue and young
one later on, and in each he had a longish
speech to make. These speeches he al
ways attempted to transpose, and one
night he got out some four or Eve lines
of the wrong speech ere he realized what
he was doing. Another man played In q
piece having darkened scene. Stepping
on to the gloom shrouded stage, he, to no
ones surprise more than his own, COM
menced a portion Of a part that he had
4 - l. r.
| lights low episode.
saThere are some vocalists who cannot
trust themselves to sing a single note In
public without the printed or written
words. This IL awkward il they obtain
engagements-and most seek them--on
the variety stage, for there as you know,
1t is not the custom to hold music in the
hands. Some ballad singers and others
write the words very small on card and
hold this In the palm of the hand. /
heard Of one man who, singing three new
| and rather difficult songs, adopted this
little device. He got so used to having
the words there that he was afraid to do
without them. When he changed to
other songs, he attempted to dispense
with the paper, but he found that he had
become so used to having it to look at
now and again that he was III at ease
and awkward before his audiences with
out 1t.
"In opera breakdowns are not, think.
frequent. You see, opera Is special work.
The opera season Is IN event that ex-
cites great interest, and all renderings are
Inevitably contrasted with those Of other
great singers. This puts the players on
their mettle and keeps them excited
about their work. They have no chance
| Of playing and singing mechanically, and
30 their memory does not often fail them
Any slips that do occur are usually caus-
| ed by nervousness. heard Of one prima
donna who, In q new opera, had a par
ticularly fine song to sing. So eager was
Ehe to get to this that by mistake she
started it instead Of one that should have
preceded it. The conductor luckily saw
the slip instantly, and, rousing his men,
he cleverly went with the singer. She
faltered a little as the truth flashed up
on her, but, having the music all cor
rect, she sang the song out and earned
great applause.