The Saint Paul globe., 1905-04-30


rience that she could not forget it if
she would. 1t would underlie her
whole work in that play. -
That is what We call the psychol-
ogy of stage training"
A concerted sigh of relief takes the
attention again to the stage. where
\ the tired actors are resting One a
dance in the wings.
That is his way of relaxing says
| Mr.. Sargent "and that is another i'm
! portant point. That man takes the
! serious role in Mrs. Danes Defense,
| and yet he is a born comedian. The
gestures he employs in his moments
/ of relaxation prove IL. Watch him
now; he Is telling a funny story and
swinging his foot in time with his
| thought
The makeup room presents to the
! casual observer perhaps as great de-
parture from the old accepted stand
ards of stagecraft as any feature OF
the school The electric lighting, ac-
| cording to Mr.. Hart. one of the teach
| ers, has made the study of makeup a
| science.
In the olden time an actor could
! daub his cheeks with rouge, put some
black lines down his face and couple
about his eyes, and the friendly foot
| lights did the rest. Today, with the
glare of the calcium, every expression,
every tint of complexion and eyes
must be carefully noted and used as
| foundation for the ensemble.
Even the color of the eyes with the
new methods of makeupS seems to be
changed. They no longer employ the
black pencil to make facial lines, but
pencils of brown, gray and intermedi-
ate tints. These lines are carefully
rubbed in, as an artist would draw
lines in picture.
In the makeup room every pupil has
a separate mirror, before which a row
light and before this mirror he studies
the effects of the various grease
paints, pencils and other material.
The false mustache, for instance, Is
no longer used. Instead, a rope of diff
ferent colored strands, Stimulating hair,
is provided The lip is covered with
a specially prepared glue, and strand
by strand the false hair is pasted
firmly to this glue. The mustache or
beard is then trimmed to the charac-
ter part.
The makeup of the men is a more
elaborate process than that of the
women, for the character parts are
usually taken by them. Students are
encouraged to bring original makeups
character parts that they have studied
or imagined, and produce them for the
benefit of the class.
Sometimes the whole class turn
themselves with deft touch into New
England farmers and village people.
One is a squire, another the foolish
boy who fetches the wood. third the
postmaster, another the village beau.
Sometimes Japanese festival is on
the tapis and presently Pooh Bahs,
Nanki Poos, Yum Yums and other orr
entail types are portrayed. Some
times 1t is a London street scene and
r0Wne r<w1.
tention.
The makeup course is one of the IA
vorites in the school and actors and
actresses of the self-trained school
come simply for that special instruc-
ton.
In the. senior year the makeup
course develops into the science from
illustrative work. The method of DR..
Duchesne of Boulogne is followed
Every muscle is examined separately
and its action noted. Facial express
sion is studied and in one of the class
| rooms the lecturer to class of ad-
vanced pupils points out the evidences
OF certain traits of character, shown
by means of diagrams and charts.
In going from class to class one
notes that few teachers are from the
ranks of the profession. The explana-
ton given is given by the guide:
1t Is seldom that an old actor can
teach. The reason is that he usually
wants to act himself: his whole life
! has been one of portrayal of types.
and however successful he may have
been, when he comes to the point of
instruction the best he can do is TO
act the part himself and to expect the
pupil to initiate him.
This is all wrong. for if the Sar-
gent school stands for anything 1t is
the study and development of indi-
Troif a ic
permitted in any branch.
While the Paris cOnServatoire may
! be said to be the source of every in
| spiration for a school of acting. the
American School of Dramatic Art diff
fers from IL in he very essential point
| that the teacher in the conservatoire
| is supposed to teach everything.
The system of specialization does
not exist as it does with us. Here.
! every teacher has one, and only one
study, whether that is stage mechan-
| les, dancing, elocution, language,
makeup. costume, dramatic literature
| or life study.
For instance, the vocal training has
/ to be given by an Englishman because
the English speak more correctly than
we do" Mr.. Sargent gets quite pa
| thetic as he says this. In England a
person is classified by the language he
| speaks. Here man or woman can
use the vernacular of the Bowery and
not be debarred from good society.
Every part of our country has its
| popularity of speech and that is one
| of the most difficult things to obviate.
1t may take two or three years before
southern will stop using darkey talk.
THE southerner, by the way, is the
easiest pupil in one way. The temper
ament is more sensitive, gives way.
does not repress itself. But, on the
other hand, this patois, the tendency
toward languor and a quick coming
1 discouragement are noted.