Los Angeles herald., 1906-01-28
Tells of First Performance

Tells Of First Performance
Speaking of fads and fancies, fear
1t would be hard to find many women
in Miss Lawton's profession who have
so few as this simple, unaffected girl.
She has one ambition which stands
out vividly-always before her. A deep
desire to get as far up the professional
ladder as possible.
1t was only four years ago that she
made her first appearance on the stage,
at the age of eighteen years.
Tell me about your first perform
ance," I begged her. What led you to
chose the stage as a profession"
well, there is almost nothing to
TELL" she replied. ''I never was stage
struck and 1 went into the work with
few decisions about having an easy
time. I really owe all that I am to the
Associated Press dispatches. was ed
ucated in Kentucky and in the high
school Shakespeare classes I was al
graduated it suddenly became neces-
sary for me to earn my living and my
opening came. A friend of mine was
staging Romeo and Juliet and he
trained me for the part of Juliet. A re-
port of the first performance was sent
out by the Associated Press and man
ayers prominent in the theatrical world
read it and came down to Louisville to
see me. They made me an offer and
ever since / have been working.
1T was all very commonplace, you
see."
AngeIenos Are Reserved
I am not at all sure that I did see.
but Miss Lawton has a convincing
manner and L did not argue the ques-
ton with her.
For two years have been with the
Belasco management and L have en-
joyed those two years more than I can
say" she continued. when I first
came to Los Angeles 1 felt just a little
bit blue. You see 1 had been In San
Francisco and San Francisco audiences
are not just like Los Angeles audi
ences.
Il suppose it is because there is such
a mixture of people there. 1t was much
more easy to move them. The people
here like you but they are rather slow
in letting you know-more conventional
perhaps.
ITO tell the truth, I was afraid I
would not be able to make them like
me-"
In just such a confidential manner
Miss Lawton chatted on, removing
makeup as she talked.
Still under the spell of her MARY
Tudor" l could not help contrasting
the actress and the woman. 1 confess,
/ caught myself wondering once or
twice if she would not say the DEVIL"
in the same impetous way that MARY
Tudor says 1t.
She did not, however, and before we
had finished talking was quite sure
that Eugene That's Lawton and MARY
Tudor are not just alike.
Likes Mary Tudor
Miss Lawton admitted that It might
sometimes be relief to say "the devil"
as the young princess says 1t, but ev-
erything about her denied the POSSIBLE
ity of any such temptation.
How do you like the part?" asked,
but I knew what the answer would be
before she uttered it.
Like It'll love it," she said, "but,
/ also liked my part last week as Mrs.
Deering in Mrs. behring's Divorce"
When 1 first heard the two plays
were to be put on, one right after the
other, I thought should never get
through. / am on the stage nearly all
the time, and then it is study-study-
study. From 10 o'clock In the morning
until o'clock we rehearse-that is not
all the time, but when we have very
difficult productions. In the evening
there is always a performance of the
play which was rehearsed the previous
week and the lines must all be learned
In the few spare moments between
times.
II sometimes wonder why my poor
mother does not go mad-I am sure /
would II / were In her place. 1 do all
my studying aloud and she has to listen
to 1t all.
"She is calm and collected, always
calm, while l am never quiet What a
terrible world this would be If we were
all alike
TT makes all the difference in the