Los Angeles herald., 1907-06-30

Now for few notes as to selecting, pieces
or recitation. Search for novelty, and when
ou have found o treasure be jealous OF ~ es
ecially if it be comic one. Avoid 'dIaiecI
,ieces, however, unless both you and your
udience are accustomed to the dialect.
quarter of an hour is quite long en9uGn
or recitation, and if your selection IS nKeH
% exceed this limit. rather than sacrifice IL
altogether, it might be advisable to Judici,ouss,
" abridge- it by cutting out some OF the ory
From an authors point of view this would
Of course be extremely wicked, but audiences
have strong objection to being bored; and
You must remember that if your recitation IS
TO pe success. you must keep on good Terms
with your audience. Do not spoil yourself py
doing too much comic work. for if you do, you
VIII never get people to listen to anything
else
:, Now for few hints about the platform. In
lne hrst place, if you have any voice in the
matter, ~ see that it is at least three feet high,
I that the carpet and background are dark, and
tnat tnere are no gas burners in front likely
Nto oostruct the view. The decorations should
e extremely simple; plain crimson floor
/ nia,,o oae eKfround, with perhaps a few green
a.anoe IN the corners, will be found as effective
E aheement as you can desire.
to consa,t Possible artifice should be employed
mnon o"eentrate weae the attention Of your audience
tnre tboa t{bourseif so that the less platform furn
however. sn,naa S sae better. table and a chair,
sailor =, sometimes come in very useful for
tvne us,,oii, w@orkIngman.. w Gentlemen of this
tx iIsRe usually sit down to tell warn, with the
about = ire resting on the left thigh, and legs
ch.rIos mere n oe plenty of light upon your face
raad;nss. Dickens. when delivering his famous
rreaulngs used to have a row of lights re-
iiected upon him from above.
form nnt;i make your appearance upon the plat
lolIl uhtii your turn arrives-that is to saw. If
ahynoay .1s IS wanted to turn over music or move
'U,,i U stands, let somebody else do it.
me middle of each half of the nropram 10
t, nu pes. pace Tor recitation, the comic selec-
sonabIe H p,oa ln tne second part. Walk at rea-
centre OF the platform, and stand abont two
feet from the front. "'o"' WV
80 ~ you are greeted with applause, do not for
scht sGe 20 acknowiedge the compliment by a
bsI be- performa5 fa9ion OF the head (Which cannot
lnen announce the title of your selection.
away. anu 'heh nre
10y II you feel nervous don't let the audience
confused giggle or repeat what wo, La, XIV. ~,
nave Just said. but wait quietly and collect
your thoughts 1t is always wise to have the
in case nf IN the neighborhood, so that,
l., IT, oaoI oasJ vi hltch, you can make gentleman
apology and go and refer to it. Promnters
are as rule delusion and n snare Tbeu
are sure to make themselves heard inst az
nSuse nSu are e,d N the middle of fine dramatic
might be tempted to rely too much on tSe;r yGr
assistance. little extemporizine will often
heip you over shaky place.
AZ me conclusion, give a graceful bow. and
walk OH al moderate pace In making tbe
DOW u is the right thing to extend one foot to
70 e1e sue, and then draw the other toward It.
J,1 sne same tlme giving graceful bend of the
oody' ehe arms being easily dependent.
In case OF recall, you must return to bow
your ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS You will be wise To
escape from encores as often as YOU can: thew
are great temptation, but there are verv few
pieces TO be found which are suitable for en-.
core purposes, and unless you husband them
they Will become stale with repetition An
} emoOse e piece should not only be short and
tunny but also more ENJOYABLE than tbe reel
tation that precedes it,
never continue while the people are nm
roarious In Their laughter; the interval is hest
niieu Dy gesture of some kind a comic ex-
preston of the face. for instance
DO not be afraid to throw yourself heart and
soul INTO the work. The Characterization will
az nrs9 seem strange to you, but little prac-
ticc Will wear this feeling away. and Won will
soon begin to revel in lifelke representat;ons
OF the different people who speak in the course
of the story. " 'ie eoui' sc
A seafaring man always gives his utterances
IN deep voice, and thrusts his hands into the
utmost depths of his trousers pockets, occa-
sionaiy taxing one of them out to point over
ms nru sn0u.der with ms thumb or to hitch up his
trousers; pompous man thrusts his thumbs
IN the armholes of his vest; reckless man
speaks in What-do-I-care" sort of tone:
while tlmId man is nervous and somewhat
squeaky. Then there is the woman-a most
difficult, subject for study; now fiery, with
arms akimbo; now tearfdl, with a pocket
handkerchief; now smiling, now couuettine
now laughing with woman's musical laugh:
sometimes shy, sometimes timid and fright
ened, and sometimes daring and courageous