Los Angeles herald., 1905-01-29
The Art of Acting
BY PAUL GILMORE.

In reply to several letters received
here from persons asking my advice
as to their adopting the stage for their
profession, I have only this to say
They must be born with talent. In
other words, the diamond, the gold or
the silver must be there, in the rough
to begin with I consider that there
are three grades of artists in this pro-
fession.
The rough diamond must first be cut
by years of experience under good
instruction, then polish the diamond
until it shines as star, and this pol
ishing process should last until the end
of time for no one can ever be per-
feet.
Then there is the actor who is born
with talent and by some unlucky
streak his appearance is made to
count against him. Many man born
with the golden talent has been kept
at the bottom of the ladder because
he could not look the parts"
AS Sir Henry Irving once said, Few
things can be said about the stage at
any LlllS, WHICH VIII IOl SACllC toh-
troversy." / think, however, one Of
the few is, that the influence of the
drama today is wider than it ever was.
To be sure, there is a vast increase in
play-goers, the Intellectual interest in
the stage is steadily growing. Acting
is one of the most fascinating of the
arts. To the actor the whole field of
human nature is open. Whether in
the ideal world of the stage, or in the
actual world of social intercourse, his
mind is continually accommodating i'm
pressions, which become part of his
artistic being. This experience is
common to the students of other arts,
but the actor has this advantage, that
all he learns is embodied in his own
personality, not translated through
some medium, like the painters can
vas or the novelist's page. AT the same
time, this purely personal art is sub
jected to the most severe tests.
1t is easier to detect flaw in an
actors impersonation than an improb-
ability in a book The man enacts
the character before many-a false in
tonation jars Immediately upon the
ear, an unnatural look or gesture is
promptly convicted by the eye.
The cooperation of sensibility
and intelligence has thus to be con-
Quoted under the most exacting condi-
tions. There must be no suggestion
of effort. The essence of acting is its
apparent spontaneity. Perfect illusion
is attained when every effect seems to
be an accident If the defamation is
too measured, the sense of truth is at
once impaired; if. on the other hand it
falls only the shadow below the level of
appropriate expression the auditors
sympathy is instantly checked. 1.-THE
union of grandeur without pomp, and
nature without triviality," is of all ar
tistic ideals the most difficult to at
tain; and with this goal before him no
actor can feel that his art is a play
thing.
The end of all acting is "to hold the
mirror up to Nature" Different ac.
tors have different methods, but that Is
their common purpose which can be
accomplished only by the closest study
and observation. Acting. like every
other art, has mechanism. No paint
er, however great his imaginative
power, can succeed i'm pure ignorance
OF the technicalities of his art; and no
actor can make much progress till he
has mastered certain mechanism
which is within the scope of patient in
telligence Beyond that is the sphere
in which magnetic personality exer-
cises a power of sympathy which is
Irresistible and indehnable. That is
great acting; but though 1t is inborn.
and cannot be taught. II can be brought