The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-04-22
JEFFERSON TALKS
 OF HISTRION|C ART
Great Crowd ofLadles Hear 0is-
 tinguIshed Actors Lecture
TELLS HUMOROUS STORIES
Does Not Believe That a National The atre Would Be a suecess-Makes Comprehensive Distinction Be-
 tween Art and Genius.

Joseph Jefferson. the distinguished ac- tor. gave a complimentary lecture at the Jefferson theatre yesterday afternoon at 4:30 o'clock on the art and technique of acting. The lecture was under the aus plces of the ladies of the Free Kinder garten association. and there was an im- mense gathering of the club women of the city and their friends.
 MT. Jefferson interspersed his remarks with anecdotes of the stage and extracts from various plays of a humorous na- ture that helped to make the occasion the more enjoyable for those present. He was introduced by Gen. Rufus N. Rhodes, who paid him some high compliments. MT. Jefferson in response to the generous ap- plause accorded him. said that he was duly grateful for such reception. and that there was nothing an actor enjoyed more than applause, because 1t gave him time to think what he was going to say next Continuing. the speaker said in part:
 Preparation Necessary.
 "The first requisite of an actor is thorough preparation and the understand ing of every detail of the play and char acter to be presented. The actor must be prepared to do his part on the spur of the moment. Herein he differs from the writer or artist. Either of these can finish up his product before presenting 1t to the public. He can add all the finish Ing touches before any one else sees 1t. If there is an imperfection he can rem edy it. In the case of the actor, if L for instance, should act scene badly. which I fear l often do, how would look coming down to the footlights and saying, Excuse me, ladies and gentle men, but I would like to do that over again."
 MT. Jefferson then said that while prep aration was always necessary, that 1t was sometimes in vain, and told how he and his partner carefully worked out an extemporaneous curtain call, which they would get that night. rehearsing 1t over and over. They had 1t down to a fine point, and the only difficulty in It's pre- sentation was that the audience failed to call them.
 Genius and Art.
 ''There is a marked difference between genius and art" said MT. Jefferson. "The actor may be said to typify the one and the orator the other. There Is tendency among men of genius to dspise art. This should not be so. Art is the handmaid of genius Genius must court her If he is harsh to her she will desert him and 1 then goodbye to genius.
 "The art of the actor lies largely In making the part he is playing seem fresh and as though 1t were being produced for the first time at each production. You may realize how much study have | given this subject when say that have not played more than half dozen parts | in several years
 He said in illustration of the difference between tragedy and comedy that MT, | Garrick was once asked which was the too tired and never feel so badly that l can't do tragedy" he replied, bat comedy-comedy is serious business MT. Jefferson gave extracts of comedy from King Lear, Much Ado About Noth- ing, and Hamlet.
 The speaker had requested that ques- tions be asked him. The first question | young lady who considers herself fitted to go on the stage?"
 Answers Questions. why go on the stage" said MT. Jeffer- | son. 'First go to a dramatic school to find if your judgment Is correct If you show up well there the managers will | find 1t out and do the rest
 The next question was "Will the turn | ing of attention to the subjects of the early morality plays cause retrogression | of the moral tendency of the modern | play?
 His answer to the question was inter- esting. Among other things he said: There will always be good plays and | bad plays just as in the past. But the actor is not so much to blame as the audience He will give them Just what they want man once asked me if l didn't think The Girl from Paris should be prohibited. I asked how he knew any thing about 1t and how many times he had seen it. He said only twice." Another question asked MT. Jefferson was: ''Do you think the movement for a national theater will be a success?' T do not think. so," he replied. The idea is un-American. It may be all right in Paris or London, for Paris is France and London Is England.
 ''The first difficulty would be in locating such a theater. Every city would want 1t. Another objection would be that the best actors would not cooperate in such a movement.
 .I would be very glad to see national theater if 1t could be a success, but think if would be a failure