Morgan County republican. (Versailles, Mo.) 1906-1914, 1906-12-27

dialogue. The line may be inartistic,
the situation unreal. but II It Is good
for a laugh or a hand the star will
demand It. Recently in staging n
Of my own plays l selected q woman
of SO to play the role Of a woman
aged IS. The actress objected. I
don't want to play middle-aged roles
yet she exclaimed.
but you are 81 and more I In.
sisted, perhaps a bit cruelty, but for
the good Of the piece. She flung me
q look Of scorn and replied: Yes. but
we are not here to exploit our de-
fects. We expect to gloss them over
And that is the true attitude Of the
average woman On the stage. % She 10
placed on a pedestal by the public,
and in private life she Is on the
ground with other women-she 10
what she really is. Her vanity for.
bids this, and SO private life pals and
the stage calls"
May lrwin's Testimony.
May Irwin, the richest actress in
America to-day. whose New York real
estate holdings are enormous, says:
why did | return to the stage? l
have never analysed my feelings on
the subject. II started when my
friends kept asking me why I had re-
tired when ! could still attract the
public, why I placed myself in the
class with theatrical has-beens when
l could still draw laughs-and dollars
to the box Office. ] had no sincere
answer for their very pertinent ques-
tions, and SO I came back.
During my two years Of retire
ment | was always busy. You know
| have two boys to occupy my
thoughts. ! am naturally very do
nestle, and am my own housekeeper
with a big home to manage, and yet.
particularly when | was In town.
there was something missing, a void
which ] cannot explain in my life. In
the evening II over the retired
actress. that peculiar yearning to get
ready for the nights work. In ina.
gination she can smell the contents
Of her makeup box. she can hear the
hurrying feet OF the stage hands. the
orchestra and 15-minute call. she sees
the lights go up, the curtain rise; but
another woman Is there getting the
applause that wa once hers, and the
first you know she Is back at work,
back drinking In the appreciation OF
the audiences, the appreciation that ID
more than bread and butter to her,
the very red corpuscles OF her exist.
ence."
Fascination About stage Life.
Joe Weber, under whose direction
many chorus girls have earned dis
tinction, says:
There Is no denying that there Is
a fascination about stage life which
outweighs any other inclination in
many minds. From the time ] saw
my first theatrical performance. when
was not quite seven years old. l de.
cided life could have no charms for
me unless ! could act out on the
stage and make people laugh and ap.
plaud. The sweetest music In the
world to an actor Is the sound of
laughter and applause earned by his
individual effort. To give up all
thoughts Of acting would seem like
blottfng out n OF the principal Joys
Of living.
AN actress may leave the stage
because she has fallen In love and her
fiance will not consent to her contin.
uing In that atmosphere, or she may
have lost her ambition and deter
mined on a quieter existence. 1t may
be months or even years later. but
this girl Is almost certain to hear,
and. II possible. heed the call OF the
stage. Her mind naturally turns that
way at the slightest mishap In her
new life. That's the practical side OF
the call Of the stage. The sentimen.
tai side Of It comes 10 aid the practk
cal eide when she thinks Of the lights,
the gayety. the pretty costumes. the
music. and. what IL sweetest and
most alluring Of all. the applause. 30,
| suppose the definition OF tho call OF
no stage might be summed up into