New-York tribune., 1907-10-13
The ART OF ACHING

sity. Marcn 81, 1850.
What is the Art OF Acting? I speak a, ..
in its highest sense, the art TO which Eosoi
BettertOn and Garrick owed their fame II S. -
art of embodyins the poets creations OF srt.
them flesh and blood, OF making the figures 80
appeal to your minds eye in the printed dra,,a
live before you on the stage. To fathom -,
depths of character 10 trace its latent motives -
feel its finest quiverings OF emotion 10 conn-o
hend the thoughts that hidden under vords
and thus possess ourselves OF the actual mind -
the individual man."-such was Macready's desnf
tion Of the players art; and to this we may add
the testimony OF Talma. lie describes tragic act
ing as the union OF grandeur without pomp and
nature without triviality." II demands he saws
the endowment Of high sensibility and intsn-
gence.
We are sometimes told that to read the best dra.
matte poetry IS educating than TO sea " aetad
do not think this theory is very widely held fo-
it is in conflict with the dramatic instinct which
everybody possesses IN a greater less degree.
The actors art is TO act. and the trus
acting of any Character is OF most dfhcuI,
accomplishments. 1 challenge the acute student to
ponder over Hamlets remuneration of Ophelia,-ons
Of the most complex scenes in all the drama,-and
say that he has learned more from mis- mediIaIions
than he could be taught by players whose inteIE.
Sence IS equal 10 his own To present the man
thinking aloud is the most diticuit achievement OF
our art. Here the actor who has no resI grip Of
the character. but simply rectes the speeches with
| a certain grace and intelligence. will be untrue.
The more intent he is upon The words. and less
on ideas that dictated them. the more likely Ia
Is 10 lay himself open TO the charge of mechanical
Interpretation. 1t perfectly possible TO express
| TO audience all the InvoiuIOns OF thought ths
speculation, doubt. waverinS, which reveal the
meditative but irresolute mind AS tie varying
shades of fancy pass and repass the mirror the
face, they may yield material to the studiouS
pIaygoer than he IS likely get by a dingens
pcrine over the text In short. as We understand
the people around much better by personal
terCourse than by all the revelations OF written
wOrds.-for words. Tennyson says. half reveal
and half conceal the soul Within the drama
has. the whole. infinitely more suggestions when
It is we'll acted than when it is interpreted by tina
unaided judgment OF the student IN the
practice OF acting. a most important point IS the
study Of eocutions and in elocutOn great dim
Guilty is the OF sufficient force 10 be generally
heard without being unnaturaly loud. anu witnOuE
acquiring stlted delivery The ADVICE CT the old
actors that you should pitch your voice so as
to be heard by the back rOw OF the gsIery-no
easy task to accomplish without offending the ears
Of the front the orchestra
Ana L should tell you thar this exaggeEation ap-
plies everything ths stage. 10 appear %
be natural, you must il reality be much broader
than nature 10 act the stage You really
would in q rpOm would Do Ineffective and color
less never knew ACTOR who brought the ari
OF eIocution greater perfection than the lats
Charles Mathews, whose uLLerance on the stage
appeared So natural that you were surprised 20
ma. when him. that ne was really speaking
in a very loud key. on the question of
pronunciation there something 10 be said which,
1 think. IN ordinary teaching is not sufficiently
considered Pronunciation the stage should be
simple and unaffected, but not always fashioned
rightly according 10 the dictionary standard. No
less authority than Cicero points out Ihat pro-
nuncIation must vary widely, according to the
emotions to be expressed; ThaJ II may be broken
or cut, with varying OF direct sound, and that
IL serves for the actor the purpose OF color 10
the painter. frUul which TO draw bis variations
Take the simplest illustration; tns formal proRuR-
citation OF "A-h' is 'An,' OF oh is on, baE
you cannot stereotype Jne expression Of emotion
like this. These eXciamaIi0ns words Of one
syllable. but Ine speaker who IS sounding tina
gamuJ of human feeling Will not be restricted N
tlis pronunciation by dictionary rule. Il Is
said OF Edmund ksan that ne never SpOEe sueA
calculations. but always signed OF gTOGRed them
Fancy al actor saying mus: My Desdemona.
Oh, on, on" words are intended to cypress Ieel-
ing and ideas, not TO bind them IN rigid letters.
.cS1 accents OF Measure GInsrent from the ae-
J>--s - pain, and II a feeling is more accurately
oppressed. in nature, by a variation of sound
provided for by the laws ~ pronunciation, than
such imperfect laws must be disregaFOed and nat
vindicated- The word should be the echo Of
the
With regard 20 gesture, Shakespears's ad-
vice is all-eElbracilg- suit the action the word.
the word TO the action. with this special observance
that you o'er-SteP not the modesty OF naLure
And here comes the consideration OK VerJ ma~
terial part Of the actors DnsiRess-byplay- This
is the very essence of true art IL is. more Khan
anything else. significant of the extent to which
the actor has identified himself with the Character
he represents Recall the scenes between IagO and
OthehO and consider how the hole interest OF ths
situation depends On the skill vita which the grad
ual effect or the poisonous suspicion insted INTO
the MoOrs mind is depicted in look and tone. slight
o. themselves but ali contributing the intensity
OF the situation one OF the greatest tests OF an
actor is hjs capacity for listening Byplay must
be unobtrusive. student should remember that
the most minute expression attracts sttennons that
nothing Is lost tilat byplay is mischieyOuS when
1t Is inJudicious as it is enectye when rightly con-
ceived; and IhaI, while tribes make PERFECTION. per
lection is tribe. That lesson Was eDjoined
ME, when 4 was verY young man, by that re-
markable actress. Charlotte CushEnan- remember
that when she played Meg Merrilies was cast fcr
Henry Bertram. the principle seemingly, tnAk
an actor with no singing voice IS admirably htteo
tor singing part. h my duty 70 give Neg
Merriiies q piece of money. and did il after tns
traditional fashion. by handing 10 her large purse
full OF coin OF the realm IN the shape Of broken
crockery. which was generally used in financial
transactions the stage. because when tina vtrta-
Gus maiden rejected with seorn the advances OK
the lordy hbertne, and threw his pe-naciouS brios
upon the ground. the cater OF the broken crocssry
suggested fabulous wealth. After the play Miss
Cushman. In the course OF some kindly advice. saiu
TO me: Instead of giving that purse don't ycu
think 1t would have been much more nafnrai
you had taken q number OF coins froM your peeSs-r
and given the smallest, That is the Way We
give aims to begsar. and it would have ADDED "
the realism u the scene" / have never forgo,e7
tRat lesson for simple It II contained many
elements of dramatic truth IT Is most fmportsn@
that an actor should learn that he Is rS1rs N :
picture and that the least undue exaGgeratioo a.