New-York tribune., 1905-01-01

49,
10 create character whose personality, views
and words shall bring sunlight into the hearts
and lives of hundreds of audiences and hundreds
of thousands of people is certainly as high
goal as any art-wOrker can ask for'-CIyde Fitch
but merely a few lines of self-reveIation, and
that If II proves Of benefit to any fellow-crafts-
man It viii not have been waste of energy and
of time.
have never 50 far as know, placed living person
upon the stage. | constantly observing l have
always been observing Men, women statesmen.
conductors, managers porters, buffers. chauffeurs
old ladies' young ladies, debutantes, shop-girls all
the infinite procession of figures which pass before
the eye in the progress OF a lifetime cannot help
observing. But / have never been able to use one
of these in its entirety it stood and so believe
that those who seek for living characters for novel
or for play which they propose transplant bodily
into literature viii waste their time and fail in their
quest. This, however, IS merely my personal view.
Another writer having different faculties, may do
differently.
The truth is that the art of the dramatst is much
similar Its way to that of the caricaturist. The
essential difference between novc-writing and play
writing lies IN the question of time. On the stage
has only and a half hours in which present
describe and make into convincing entities long list
of characters. In a novel may have for the
characters indefinite time four hundred pages and
one hundred and fifty thousand words 1t is obvious,
therefore that the stage character if he is to have
the effect of a real personality. speak directly
the point closely the point, and time
whatever in any words actions that do not bear
upon the point Time short and priceless that
the dramatist ike the caricaturst must seize upon
his salient mental moral feature that which diff
ferentiaes the character from all the rest of existing
men and
All the other characteristics, all which he she
has in common with human kind, must be elinin-
ated because the personality of the artist will
reveal them, because there is not time to tell
them. They unnecessary to the written
drama and will probably delay tn action and dimin-
ish the interest To over-elaborate in the least
uni1nportant character takes time which better may
be employed in the exposition in greater detail OF
a character of supreme Importance and Of greater
charm The law of proportion OF composition, al
wavs runs It was Emerson who said that the laws
underlying ali the identical
1t seems to me- therefore that while this habit of
observation never gives me a complete ready-to-use
character | still get something from many and may
get something from all This may be a look, trick
of facial expression peculiarty OF view Peculiarity
of manner, pecuiar1ty OF speech, any individual
peculiaritv whatever These store themselves
IN nv memory to coalesce and form new groupings
making new composite characters which seem to
appear when wanted.
In Lovers Lane " when the little girl, Simplicity
IS asked how she IS, she SAYS. My health IS very
good thank you. This phrase and her quaint way
of saving It. are always received with ripple OF
laughter But | never heard any child say that or
any person say 1t in that particular way. 1t IS