The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1908-03-29


ship-for Mr.. Thompson was awfully busy
at that time made II seem the only thing
possible for them 10 do TO get married right
away, 30 when the subject Of Polly came
up again they would be conveniently placed
TO- talk II over,
Miss Margaret Mayo, having written
Polly and thinking Of Mabel Taliaierro
"a a possible heroine, read the play 10 her,
and afterwaTd she and Mr.. Thompson dis
cussed Its possibilities and probabilities.
Later on, after the marital filings were out
Of the road, they settled down to the idea
Of the circus lady In good earnest, and from
their united eh orts the play was evolved.
/. When the play was first put on a double
represented the star In the bareback riding
scene and consequent fall. Here is where
one Of tho difficulties Of being 30 small thai
one cannot easily find a counterpart came
in. After a few nights the comments made
10 the orchestra and gallery were 40 audible
that the scene was changed to a more
artistic finish.
Think Of it, whispers Miss Taliaferro,
L actually heard one horrid man say right
out WHEN the double came on: Why, those
amt her legs Isn't that CHASTITY? And
| thought until then that they matched
PERFECTLY. That's when | commenced to
take matted milk, but there vas no appre-
ciable effect, and not being able to change
er--them-well, We simply changed the
finale Of the piece instead. II was a good
deal easier
To return to the fact Of Miss Taliaierro's
strength Of character and purpose, she
la~ughingly confesses that she has absolutely
no ambitions to play Lady Macbeth.
Miss Taliaferro Is about %, and says
that her wide experience has taught her
many lessons which she hopes 10 put into
working use. She refers 10 her dramatic
aims, discusses plays and says among other
things;
Of do not object to the immoral play II
II is written ny a master hand-Shake-
speare, for example, for | think he wrote
one or two, although many do not, Ber-
uard Shaw is ali right for the library table.
but not for the stage. He teaches yol no
great lesson, which Is the only excuse for a
risque play. I think
Speaking of rieuus situations. she admits
that her first enga cement was made under
circumstances which, unless a full en-
PLANTATION were given, might carse un-
pleasant comment. She was sitting on the
knee Of the author 81 the piece in which
she made her debut when the oher was
presented TO her.
Joseph Arthur was the playwright and
she was al that time p, years old. In a
photograph NJ that time she is shown as a
smiling young person holding her foot in
her hand.
She had been playing. with a niece Of
Mr.. ATthur's that special day and Mr..
Arthur had been listening TO their baby
talk. II suddenly occurred IN him that
her special brand ~ conversation was rather
remarkably enunciated. and HI. lifted her W
and told her m say several things, among
the rest There goes Santa claus and
other lines n bis piece, Blue Jeans in
which abe afterwsrd took the part Of BABY
Rdnscombe with a long page to he memo
rized.
At ~ years most youngsters are still
10 the high chair stage. as likely As not
strapped IN, and their vocabulary ia limited
to a link OF water" or something equally
hromidian. Her training for her part was
conducted on the plan that has succeeded
we'll with horses, seals and fuzzy kittenN.
II she did wen she got A present any
thing on which she had set her childial
heart, and the plan worked admirably.
Her memory Of the time is very clear. show
ing her ]precocious in that respect also.
Il remember it as II il we're yesterday
she says. sitting forward on the edge Cf
her chair and holding her knee with her
enclosed arms. AN the rehe2rsals AZ
home had gone along beautifully. 7 wasn't
a bit afraid and remembered my lines all
right,
THE one rehearsal attended in the
theatre vas the one before the final dress
rehearsal. The curtain was down and the
place was 10 me just ike any room
Il was successful there, too, and eve-v-
body vas crazy over rue. You know chill
dren were not very common on the stage
al that time which Of course accounted for
my popularity
LIZ LanropnI a1pnathtnw nnF faOfIyv aurfrl
For years ! Used to wake up with q night
mare in my baby mind at the recollection
Of it.
Il was supposed 10 be sitting in my chair
when the curtain went up with my eyes
closed, Then | was 10 open them and begin
my lines.
ION this occasion the curtain was up and
when opened my yes instead of the
familiar side az a room which | had expected
there was a horrible black hole, for the
lights In the audito Drum were not on. H.
was the most awful thing | had ever seen.
II seemed 10 he something that was going
to swallow me up or was going 10 tall
into. and with all the might of my young
lungs I screamed and kicked and choked
and did all sorts Of original things not done
in the business Of the play.
The cast we're completely demoraliaed
II a going 10 act that way the whole
niece would he a failure. Naturally they
didn't know what 10 do, but they colXed and
pleaded with me and gave me presents and
Tried 10 make Themselves believe that II
wouldn't be quite SO bad the night OF the
opening,
when that came and I repeated my
performance of opening my eyes, 10 my
surprise and delight the awful black hole
that had so terrified was no longer there.
Instead I looked OFT on a world filled With
the incest, kindest faces, who all smiled at
me, and ! cooed and waved my hands and
was lust too pleased to see them for any
thing. and they laughed back at me and the
members Of the cas- laughed too and the
terrible ordeal was over. and it wasn't until
grew older that I could make them realize
what it was that had 90 frightened me.
Before ] was six years old | had played
before more than a million people in all the
towns and cities Of America and had
travelled 5000 miles. learned to play
Irish character parts with Chauncey Olcott
and with Andrew Mack and Katie Emmett,
I put on long dresses for the first time when
| played LOrey Mory in Mrs. Wigs OF the
Cabbage Patch and had 10 obtain permits
sion from the Children's society before
could appear. Just a little time before
m y marriage | toured through Australia
playing leads with Mr.. Willie Collier in
The Dictator and On the Quiet.
How did you know that Mr.. Thompson
was writing a play all by himself in which
perhaps | might appear" asks the smallest
star ingenuOusly, as II she had not been
telling that all through the interview when
she seemed TO be talking Of other things.