The Washington herald., 1908-03-15

about him. When she saw him he seemed
so little, just as everything seems little
to you when you Ngo back 10 where you
were born; the houses are lower and the
| streets are narrower: even the people
seem smaller.
! OF all Ibsens women Hilda Wangel is
the one I like best to play and am glad
that this year we have been able 70 put
The Master Builder" on the American
stage.
/ In Ghosts / always play Regina in
stead Of the more important part OF Mrs.
| Alving. / do not think l could play Mrs
! Alving yet: but Regina is an interesting
and important part. although she only has
about twenty-five lines D. say. ] went
/ 10 the theater !n Vienna on purpose to
| see how Regina was played before I be-
gan TO study the part but Mrs. Alving
was so beautiful that I did not notice Re
gina al all. and when I came home
could not tell a thing about her But Re-
gina has a good deal 70 do on the stage
/ IN the course Of the drama Do YOU re-
member how she sits on the edge Of her
/ chair and sips champagne vislbly enjoy
! ing every drop as IL goes down? She.
! like Hilda, is fun of the spirit Of youth,
/ but she is the opposite of Hilda in char
acter. Hilda is for all that is highest and
purest in life. Regina loves the frou-
! frou Of silk and the sparkle of wine: she
longs for a big house, a mad life, and a
gay time
1 wanted to play Regina for my gradu-
alton piece at the dramatic school Of
Moscow, but they would not let me.
/ Ghosts" was at that -,me prohibited by
the censor, because il reflects on the
I 80
ders is a silly one and they would not
stand that. There Is difference be
tween Russia and America In Russia
you can make love on the stage in the
widest way. but you must not touch on
politics or religion. Here you have 20 be
very conventional in lOvcmakinE but you
can say anything YOU please about poll
tics and religion. Since j could not have
/ Regina I took Little Ryolf' for my
graduation exercise. Since then I have
played Hedda Nora Regina Petra,
Irene. almost all the best-known Ibsen
] women. except Rebecca West in Rose
mersholm." That requires a great actor
| in the part OF ROsmer or il is a failure.
It is like "The Master Builder in mat
respect but Nora or Hedda could carry
the whole play by herself If necessary.
The Lady OF the Sea" is a great play
to read but not to act. It is too long
drawn-out and tedious. You could cut
out whole scenes and not miss them.
Petra in An Enemy OF the People" is
the most advanced Of Ibsen's women. bUt
a straightforward character, easy 10 act.
Irene, in Ibsen's last play. "WheE We
! Dead Awake" Is a symbol an abstrac-
tion. She is a ghost, not the photograph
Of a ghost. The audience is never for a
moment deceived into thinking she is a
real woman. In this play Ibsen has re-
| hearsed all his thoughts. 1t is a dra-
matized resume of his life
Is Ibsen difficult to understand as some
people seem to think? Here in America
you always say. "Ah. Ibsent' with little
side smile. But you see how the people
turn out 10 hear him when they get a
chance. I think the fault is in making a
mystery Of him. He must be played sim
ply. then people recognize the truth of
the pictures he presents. I do not think
any other writer understands the soul OF
women as he does. He picks out some
/ little thing that you do not notice and
opens It and shows you whole world in
IT, There is no end to Ibsen. But we are
afraid 10 see the things as they are
We shut our eyes that we may not see
what we do not like. Ibsen forces them
open. That hurts. Then we say that we
do not like Ibsen or we pretend that we
do not understand him.