Omaha daily bee., 1903-06-07

Amelia Bingham's Omaha dates having
been cancelled. Il Is All or now save for
the summer stock and the parks. As yet
the parks have not been able to turn a
wheel on account Of the weather, but they
hope to make a start today. The Ferris
Summer Stock company has been doing
record business and has also made a de-
cided impression on the people because OF
its merit as an organization. It's success
has been very gratifying to the managg-
ment, and It will remain at the Boyd
theater for an indefinite time.
SIOUX CITY, Ia. June ITO the Ora
matte Editor OF The Bee; wni you kindly
explain in your Sunday dramatic chronl lie
the difference between the a1Stins OF he
old school and the new2 This has be
wildered me for a long time; read thar
such an actor is OF the old school bpt, l
can't comprehend its meaning as totthe
method Of acting employed.
do not think | am alone in not under
you beforehand for any you
A READER.
Commonly, the phrase alluded to by "A
Reader is loosely used, and may be said
TO cover a scope of meaning entirely too
broad to be covered within the limits OF a
short newspaper article. To give It an
arbitrary meaning Is also a rather difficult
AAAANNA " Vim AAN'ANNe NAA1 NAN N
OF deciding just where old leaves Off and
new begins, a determination not to be
lightly undertaken in these times when
change IL more than ever the law, and
change frequently so sudden and so rad
ical that the most blase is not infrequently
startled by the metamorphosis.. Not to
put too fine a point on the definition, 1t is
within the limits to say that an actor OF
the 'old school" is one whose methods are
those of the day just passed; for just as
fashions change in other regHrds. 50 do
fashions in acting change, and the actor is
today, even as In. Shakespeare's time, ann
possibly before that, the abstract and
brief chronicle of the time" His art Is
to hold the mirror up to nature, and in
doing so he must appear natural on the
stage. To be natural on the stage, he must
counterfeit nature, and in counterfeiting
nature. he must be true to his surround
ings in every essential regard. In dress
and speech. in manners and action, he il
either a faithful copy of the men and
women around him. that is, of the time he
is representing, or he is no actor. And
just as the men and women OF one genera
ton linger and lap over into the next with
out divesting themselves of the distinctive
manners and customs of the passing, and
being apparently unable to take on the
newer manners of the people around them,
30 some actors find themselves unable to
adapt themselves to the change that comes
with time, and these earn for themselves
the distinction Of belonging to the "oId
school," In this way the expression is
passed on from one generation to the other.
Strictly speaking, actors are divided ac-
cording to the methods they employ into
two great classes, the classic and the TO-
mantle. In the classic certain canons are
observed with more or less fidelity, but the
departures are few. The classic actor
studies first hfs part for the purpose OF de-
termining the meaning OF the author; next
he studies for expression. His presenta-
ton of the role may seem spontaneity IT.
self, but It is the result Of the actors do
liberate planning. characteristic OF the
classic actor are the statuesque pose, the
graceful gesture and the magnificent ora
torical effect. These belong essentially to
the odd school" Edwin Booth OF blessed
memory, was first to break from the ira
ditions that had bound the classic actor
for centuries, and to undertake to give ex-
preston to the beautiful poesy tbs UNDER
lies the written word in Shakespeare's
plays. His methods were departures not
so RADICAL in detail as in result. On hts in
depreciation of the poets thought hangs
Booths claim to undying fame as an ae-
tor. The romantic actor undertakes more
to express the emotion. to portray the pas
sion involved, than to convey a studied IN
depreciation OF the lines. His methods vary
radically from the classic. 1t is his great
endeavor TO portray Just such a character
as he conceives the real man to have been,
or as he might have been. had he existed.
Very often his results are due directly to
inspiration, a faculty on which the classic
actor can not undertake to rely, for OBJ
vious reasons. On the stage today we have
far more types of the romantic than of
the classic actor. Then there is a third
school, recent OF birth, tut well recog-
nized, and which is undoubtedly entitled
to the distinction OF new" It undertakes
to combine the methods OF both classic and
romantic, and give the best OF both. Law
renee Barrett, student and actor, was the
earliest exponent Of thfs school. but he has
notable successors. Richard Mansfield, Ed
ward Sotherh and Otis Skinner are fine
types OF the new school that has grown out
of the effort to combine the romantic and
the classic.
Just as the methods Of the actor have
grown from theatricalism into naturalism,
and from naturalism into idealism. and
from idealism into realism, 30 the taste of
the public has advanced. The change in
the style Of the actor is but the reflection