Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-02-17

rehearsing Mr.. Faversham In THE Squaw
Man" To both great heads of the amuse-
ment business it was apparent that the
psychological moment had arrived when the
east demanded a greater knowledge of her
western cousins How Miss Blanche Bates
was rushed to New York and Mr.. Faver-
sEam's opening at the Grand Opera House
in Chicago cut short proved the intense
rivalry between the managers and the fear
that the success of either would mean fall
ure to the other. Both, however, were great
successes. The latest of all the western
plays is The Love Route"
WILLIAM GILLETTE SAWS WOOD
When he alludes to his star, William Gill
lette, Charles Frohman Is wont to point to
! two short lengths of common white wood,
each nicked saw-like, that repose on his
personal desk. These couple of unntelli-
gible ordinary sticks mean nothing to the
outsider, save perhaps that at some musing
time some one with moderately sharp
knife had whitfield each piece into the
semblance of a double-edged saw, not I'M
like, in effect, the general aspect of the
business end of a large-sized sword.
Those sticks" Mr.. Frohman would OBJ
serve, ARE symbols of William Gillette's
ability to say nothing but saw wood.
When Gillette is thinking his hardest in
evoking the plot of one of his plays, or in
to whiting. It's safe to say" continued
Mr.. Frohman, that every tooth in each Of
these wooden saws stands for characte
or a situation that Gillette has worked out
in his mind as he cut and cut away at the
particular tooth. William Gillette can think
harder and say less than any actor I
know"
GILLETTE AS BOY PLAYWRIGHT
William Gillette began to write plays at q
very early age. AS a matter of record he
was about eleven years Of age when he
first turned his attention seriously toward
the drama At that time. as might be ex-
pected, he was living under the parental
roof at Hartford, Conn. He astonished his
family on this occasion by rigging up
miniature theater. 1t was made of large
box with the front cut out and the top
taken off. In the front he built a pro-
scenium about three feet high and Of much
the same width, fully equipped with drops,
borders and wings.N He had footlights of
small candles arranged on the frame under
meath 80 that they could be operated UP
and down. and thus he got the lighting
effects which he had seen in real theaters.
The scenes slid in from the top and were
all painted by the youthful Gillette. The
various characters in the play were worked
In q number of ways. Some were sus-
pended by very fine black threads or wives
anu Otuerss Wueu the mature Oh inc Ucon0o
would permit, were worked from below.
The first entertainment that Gillette gave
| In this miniature theatsr was Marionette
minstrel performance. -
Two or three years later Gillette organ
| lied q juvenile company among his chums,
built a stage In the large attic of his home
and gave a performance Of an orfgial play
on the stage after his school years. He
| first tried the entertainment platform and
gave public readings and recitations, In
tors, among them Booth, the elder Sothsrn,
Jefferson and John T. Raymond. From his
father, United States senator from Conuec-
uS1s ns piSke a.; up coms i INIT g The