Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1907-05-12


 under the best social auspices that en- joys a permanent home, profits from the encouragement and advice Of per sons of prominence in the three fields in which the students are engaged. Occasionally talks on topics related 10 the study of the arts involved are delivered before the club by persons prominent in the arts. and il was re- gently addressed by Harrison Grey Fiske, who spoke mainly of the stage and of the exaNions which counter balance the fascination which the theater exerts upon those who elect to adopt il as vocation.
 After noting the fact that there are strong bonds of sympathy and ties ff fellowship among the followers of the creative and the interpretative arts, and that in the purposes Of the Three Arts Club they find beautiful as well as practical expression MT. Fiske said
 s1n choosing profession, par ticularly that of the stage, the novice is prone to disregard the disadyan- tages, ambition and hope excluding these and limiting the view to the rose-tinted side There is often ne- glect to make certain of individual lit ness before taking the fatal step. The mind of the aspirant quite naturally ho oAv career. To begin with, there is the anticpatory joy of conquest The faculty of expression. which furnishes an instinctive delight 10 all human be- ;nps gives zest to contemplation If the theater, wherein 1t would seem that work is play and that there is pleasure in giving pleasure to others. There is, too, the prospect Of instant and audible recognition, which neither the painter and the sculptor, nor the poet and the composer can achleFe. The response is direct and immediate, and the popular acclaim is sweet Moreover, and this applies especially to women. there woHld seem to be greater material reward offered DS the stage than by many other pur- suits. But this is true only in meas ure. Few of the dramatic profession succeed in gathering the golden fruit of fortune To the majority 1t IS pjtiless struggle against the odds ot chance and adversity The greatest traeelies of the staCe are nlMrlttcn They are the tragedies or fal1re. of disappointment and of heart5reak. IT the breathless' race toward the goa. Of success, scores are trampled under foot, while the eager contestants sweep on oblivious to the crue, Giaa|'- tere hat have overwhelmed their com n 'es The acto. cannot escape the ,,Ysseauence of f:oure, |, IS n5t Ike .ne painter, who, if he ch 9se;, eAA destroy his canvas before | !s seeh by the critics eye, or the physician, who, i, has been said, can bury his mistakes. Even more lamentahle than outrisht failure is the fate of those who discover too late that tNS% foe sess abilities only of mediocre or der and who realize that 5aey' are condemned to an existence tliat = hopeless, and that is robbed even ol the satisfaction that crowns sc, work well done. Mludle-aSed madi ocrity, with it's blishted hopes a"a 1t; stony path stretching into the &eem inelv endless distance, is one of ,At most frequent, as well as one of tht most unhappy phases of the2te' ffe carions side of the dramatic pr2tes sion nor takes into account ihA i'ard ships and privations which are Int lot of the many. With the careless in difference or the reckless courage } youth she resolutely turns her eye away from the unlOvely, unromant.' and distasteful aspects of professions life
 Mir. Fiske quoted Edwin Booths ad vice to a young friend against tn stage as career, and set forth th' qualifications for success as follows
 "Onlv those who are certain sha they possess the necessary quailtlc:. tions should enter the portals or th' stage. for none but the strong e31 win the race.
 And what are these necessary qnal itications?
 .sFirs. of all talent sutficienl'. marked and sufficiently uncommon ( warrant the hope of ultimate suc>Es and distinction.
 "The actress. unlike the pal2se must exhibit herself as well as AeI art to the public. No matter wha her state of mind. feeling or health she must forget herself Tor thfe' hours every night; she must be the