The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-01-01

you nave IN Lean AleEclla
Yes, even to a greater extent II
need be. ] am perfectly willing to play
the smallest kind of a part IL the play
seems a good one and the part fits me.
That same spirit. I am happy to say.
actuates our whole company II is the
result a perfect whole. not indi-
vidual triumphs. that we seek. and only
by working in that spirit can a stock
organization be made worth while"
How do you account for the differ
ence in your feelings in this respect
from those of other stars. who are gem
orally Jealous of their position. and in
sist that unless they constantly have
the center of the stage with the lime
light on them alone the play viii be a
failure?''
"An know is that I realize that the
Coincide Franchise was made the
great factor it has been in dramat tic
art by this principle alone. 1t is the
secret of the Coincide Franchises sue
cess-absOlute disregard of the number
of lines spoken, but untiring effort to
render them correctly. Star part plays
are apt to be very one sided affairs. II
they are written with the idea in mind
of having them star part plays it is a
handicap on the author that works
greatly to his disadvantage. In striv-
ing to make one part very strong and
very long he is apt TO neglect the 9TH
ers, and in the end turn out a much
poorer play than he would have done
ldu Nit star Only let MN alone anu
made no endeaVor to assert his rights
Don't you believe in the star system
or in star part plays at aII?"
Indeed. do not mean to say that
As to star part plays. there can be
nothing said again them when they
are the result Of circumstances. and
when the story of the play demands
that one character shall overshadOw all
the others. 1t is the striving to make
a false condition of this nature that /
simply because it had a star part than
would reject one because it did not"
You are your own stage director,
too. are you nOt2''
Yes. 1 am my own stage manager,
or director, you please to call it. al
ways with the guiding advice of Mr..
Fisl1e. and with. of course. the help of
the actors Competent actors heed
very little directing. They realize what
the situations are without having them
explained. and usually originate their
own business and 1 am always glad
to have them give me suggestions or
advise
This work in a theatre I enjoy very
much. but there are times in Tehearsing
play when ones patience is severely
tried. / mean when one is so unfortun-
ate as TO be associated with an actor
who is not competent.
Does it not tax your time pretty
severely to be the leading actor of a
TOO severely altogether when Mr..
F7iske is absent. Perhaps that is one
reason why I am so willing TO play
small parts In fact, l Etemplate
staying entirely out of the cast in some
of the productions and devoting my
time 10 the work here in this room. #
is a line of labor that 1 enjoy. more
than I do acting.
"Of course. you do not expect to do
anything OF that sort this season. right
az n n
Kleschna2 p -
NO; that's only a dream of the fu-
ture. an ideal existence I am planning,
when I shall act only when I feel like
il and where the part absolutely fits
me, and busy myself other times with
the art of mOlding the production into
the best shape I can for presentation
While nothing of the sort can very well
happen this season. I do hope to give
some special mauneeS of plays in
which I will not act, but give the
various leading members of the COM
pany opportunities to display their
talents individually. in plays specially
selected for each one
The success of Leah has prob
ably strengthened your faith in the
ability of American authors more than
ever?"
why shouldn't it? We do not look
for a market anywhere except from
Americans. and We have never found
trouble in getting plays here at home
do not follow the London stage at
all. L don't know what is going on
there, as l have no idea Of getting
plays from that source"
why do you think so many English
plays are brought to this country"
simply as n convenience to the pro-
Queer. He has had the benefit of the
London production and has some idea
in advance whether the play viii sue
coed or not. His risk. you see, is thus
leSSened about One-haf. Do not think
for moment that the New York pro-
ducers bring over foreign plays by the
ship load because they cannot get them
here. That's all nonsense They do il
for no other reason than to lessen the
risk and save themselves trouble
Miss Nance O'Neill ha.- made her re-
ply MISS O'Neill has also reasoned
why. And, i'm addition. Miss O'NeiA
does not conserve it as her duty to do
then to die. She will return to Broad
way, New York, she says and keep
returning until the villainous critics
W no told her she was not a great
tragedieune are cOnvinced-if not of her
art at least II her persistency. She be-
heVes that she mas been the victim of
an unjust assault; that her reviewers
have been ruled by prejudices. And
she is bitter.
Note her interviewer's-Che is a SYM
pathetic soul Of the TeIegraph's staff
ilOle MS description OF the actress when
she spoke of Ignoring the snarls of the
critics in favor of the verdict of the
audiences.
The voice s feline, with the purr Of
the great jungle cat that would rend
and devOuT, ne writes; there is more
than ever OF the Vikings daughter
about the daughter of California Then
she laughs and exclaims:
% But the public first. Always the
public first. IF the critics do not care
for my work / am sorry; but / shall
return TO New York; i shall come again
and again, and yet again. and L will
aim at the highest, and IL fail I shall
have had a noble ambition, and that is
something.
Truly. t is much to please an in
telligent New York audience The real
brains, force, and dominating enter
prise of New York compose an aggre-
gate OF power and brilliancy. and to
win its adherence is goal for which
one may well fight many campaigns
4" BY intelligent audiences l do not
mean those whom the first night critic
recognizes BY hundreds. composed of
wine agents, divorce speciaIties, GRIM
inaI attorneys. husbands of well known