The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-03-20

There was a lesson for those who
Think "actin's easy" in the amateur eff
forts at the Metropolitan during the
past two weeks. To be more exact,
there were lessons for those who wit
messed the performances as well as
those who participated in them.
Amateurs are justly absolved from
criticism and none is intended in the
reflections which follow. Suffice 1t to
say that the performances given at the
Metropolitan, under the auspices of the
Elks and the Knights of Pythias and
the Roosevelt club, were the creditable
results Of intelligent, painstaking eff
fort on the part of young men and
women more or less endowed with
aptitude for the stage.
The notion is altogether too preva-
lent that acting is not an art. That is
to say, the spectator who views the
facile easy demeanor of such con-
summate artists as Joseph Jefferson,
Julia Marlowe Mary Shaw, Ada Re
han, Ellen Terry, Nat Goodwin and
others very naturally falls into the be-
lief that acting is easy" This falla-
cious idea is in itself tribute to the
art that conceals art.
The most convincing refutation Of
the common delusion concerning the
actors art is any amateur show-no
matter how much natural ability the
participants may possess.
Strange, isn't it, that, while no law
student, no medical student, no en-
bryonic engineer, though fired with a
consuming ambition, would presume to
think he could conduct a complicated
lawsuit, perform a delicate operation.
with death the penalty for a mistake,
or superintend the construction of a
tunnel under the North river, yet the
would-be actor will jump at chance
to play "Hamlet''-in public, too.
He knows he has the dramatic in
stinct. He feels it knocking on his
insides and struggling to break forth.
He wonders at and pities the unappre-
ciative manager who knows better
than to turn him loose.
He or she-it is more often She
hasn't stopped to think how varied
and numerous the requirements of an
accomplished player are.
Passing over the intellectual essen
tials, Sthe ability to study, absorb and
assimtlate, the possession Of the
mimetic faculty, the capacity to lay
aside ones own individuality for that
of the character to be assumed, the
genius of close observation of human
foibles and Nccentricities, that impart
color and spice to life-just passing
these by-what of the physical body?
Perhaps our amateur has forgotten
that he has a body, and that 1t looks
twiceMas large as it is and mighty I'M
naturalsthe first few times he obtrudes
1t on the stage.
If he has the slightest mannerism of
gait or accent, If he raises his hand
to his face or puts it into his pocket in
way to distinguish him from the
ordinary man, If he talks out of one
side of his mouth-Just the least bit
In short If he exhibits the slightest
personal popularity, it will loom up
like a typographical error in news
paper that blemishes the whole page.
The body-weH, that of the actor
must be under perfect control. If of
the male persuasion, he should be able
to fence. So should the actress, not
necessarily for exhibition purposes, but
for the agility and responsiveness the
exercise develops The training afford
ed by a gymnasium is invaluable to the
player, who should have every volun-
fary muscle under perfect command.
Danoing-it is an accomplishment that
no actor can afford to neglect-for
IWullG he Inlay nOL De TGQuITSQ 10 per
form terpSichorean stunt more than
once In five seasons it's practice Guilt
Yates graceful bearing. and how all
essential that is!
It's a mighty simple proposition, this
equipping ones self for the stage, but
an arduous task. True actors, like
poets, are born, not made, but it will
be found upon investigation that the
worlds great poets wrote lots of stuff
that never saw the light of day, and
labored many, many hours polishing
their immortal verse
1t is the function Of the actor to give
the world the counterfeit PRESENT.
snent" of man and woman. The world
knows man and woman" pretty well,
and when the presentiment is patent
counterfeit, it refuses to accept it.
Then the actor retires to the extreme
rear and seats himself Sometimes
he insists on retaining the center of