New-York tribune., 1908-01-12
THE DRAMA.
A SAD CASE.

Abuse of the profession of acting is not unusual,
but generally it proceeds from persons ignorant OF
the subject and unfamiliar with the stage froih
time TO time, however, persons who happen 10 oe
employed actors but who lack the aplii'y 10 at
tract attention in their pursuit, seek TO OBTAIN
notice according to the counsel given by Shake
speare's Maria by putting themselves into the
trick of sngulaTity," and decrying their Noca''ii'
4 young woman just now before the pubic aloIu-
ing a conspicuous example of vanity and folly mas
recently done this. That interesting female CON
fess,s TO being two-and-twenty years Of age ana
TO having been four years on the stage Ihat oels
So she is of course, in position 10 SPEAK win O
solute authority to the stage and as 10 NE oe
of her impartments is: This game tslc1 OF the
stage makes selfish. 1t has maze me seilia,'
and ambitious How very sad! AS TO hei a"
btion she is perhaps, the best judge AS 10 seNsN
ness-"nature's above art, dramatic OF otiiel"
in the creation of that attribute performer VINO
refers the art of acting as TINS game VI ~. ,'
obviously is not possessed of signal llteili-
gence. Il believe in the dangers of the stage
claims this prodigy of experience: the ole-nisit
stand of Sunday, when you have nothlhs 10 u'
but think, think when even the best Dooh ooie7
the continuously stifed cry for human companion
ship-if it is continuously stifed No ma" OF
toonan in the other ,cGrks Of life io0s tenp'at'oa
as is kno,on on the stdge-on those terrible sun
days-alone alone, alone-dHd it must be diohe' JoF
aElCdus there is one todittng.
How dreadful. When such statements enahate
from bigots who do not attend the theatre they
are bad enough: when they are made by prole9-
sfonal actor no matter how trivial in position they
are sickening in their folly. What does woman
of Twenty-Five who has been on the stage four
years know about .the other walks of lite' OF
about the knowledge possessed by other men anu
women temptation What is the teilpld-
ton that has afflicted this juvenile female? "hat
"temptatiOn is there in the wish for human coi-
nsnionsbip" on Sunday or on any other day? Who
is it that is always waiting" ?-and what for AS
to "one-night stands''-actors, when playing IN
those places. as rule, tired almost 10 eA-
hausion. if they try attend TO their business;
and the companionship most frequently and ear
| nestIy desired IS that of sleep 1t is nonsense 10
talk in that way about the profession Of acting
The danger the temptation generally pro
claimed as existent in the theatre more than any
where else is the temptation TO Illicit conduct as
between men and women, and temptation Of that
kind is practically the same everywhere. Men
and women not different, whether they labor IN
/ a theatre in church, in a dockyard or in a
factory. in the field in a department store. Men
and CT the stage. pre-eminently, reflect the
state Of the society in which they exist They are
neither better If the society is vicious,
the proportion of vice is the in the theatre
| out Of it Bat that is the fault OF human nature
and of society-not the fault of the institution of
! the theatre or of the of acting.
There are observers of the theatre and students
of social conditiOus-pesOns who travelled through
/ ''One-nght stands" before this interesting young
born, well as since then,-who could
that 3ainht surprise her. Competent comparison
of social conditions in the various walks of life
might be nearly possible for her If. as q be
ginning she examined and studied for example,
the divorce court records and those OF suicides,
/ especially by There is faculty called
taste but il is altogether surprising to observe
! the complete lack OF it in woman OF twenty-five,
possessed of four years experience in the theatre
who announces, for publication, that she has re-
Gently played Leah Kleschna, and everybody said
pIaved il better than Mrs. Flske had done" Man
ayers should wake up to their great opportunity.
a modest young woman, who has scarcely had
time to learn the A-B-C Of acting, surprising one
of the most intellectual and resOurceful OF ConteH-
porarv actresses, in Of her best performances,
should not be allowed to die in oblivion! The
voice of everybody indeed. does not always
travel far. In the time a woman who hndS
the pathway of the stage beset with terrible
temptations. should either retire TO the secluson
that private life abundantly grants. or, If she
will persist in her struggles, cease to decry the
profession by which, presumably. she earns Nv
ing and which is the hOnored and loved art OF
many honest and worthy persons w w