The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-05-01
McDavid, Terry g Co.
HUNTER M. SMITH, Salesman
Plays as Seen from the
Players Viewpoint

actress los to be an artist, and a consci-
entious one also, not to give mediocre
finish to the play.
&. She realizes that something is wrong.
She has no time to analyze the matter and
| find out what it is. She appeals again
and again for the missing appreciation,
and finally concludes that it Is stu
nid house. Between the acts, however,
she is just, for in some latent feel
ing, never expressed in words, she real
ICES, that perhaps she is not playing UP
to her usual standard and she gener-
ously divides the blame.
Actors Love Applause
Just as the people in private life like
to have their stories appreciated, their
dinners enjoyed, and their gifts cher
ished, SO the actor lives on the ripples
Of laughter and the patter of human
hands 1t Is the only manner In which
the audience can show its appreciation,
and is quite as encouraging to the per-
| former as the raise in salary of any
other employee. for after all is said and
done, it Is the financial guarantee that
Mounts.
In the melodrama houses the audi
ences seem to care more for thrills than
ripples of entertainment. 1t is the
house of climax and the audience en-
courages and educates the actor to 1t.
| In the dressing room of one of the
leading theatres a visitor listened to
the star give minute directions to the
maid in dressing her hair. 1t was the
occasion Of a matinee. PIN the braid
very, close to the head" she said "And
put fresh bow In my hair. Matinee
girls are 50 critical, and no one notices
detail as they do"
AS usual thing, aside from the pro-
fession, matinees are not as largely at
tended as evening performances, and
widely differ In temperament. The COL
lege girl, the young mother and the
busy wife attend the matinee as a
means of entertainment at which they
may copy as we'll as admire. The days
| OF signs and admiration for a herois
young lover or a dainty leading lady
will never be spent SO long as the
blessed state of romance and rose-col
vision helps to make youth attractive
to the matinee girl
She is credit to the theatrical au-
dience. She accepts and comedies with
all the varied emotions that center
around the love interest. She ZEN
thuses'' with her numerous adjectives,
laughs with her merry heart and weeps
with sincere eyes.
In short, the matinee girl, as she
energies from the theatre, Is a pretty
fair advertisement of the play, for she
is frequently wealth ering in reality
many Of the storms and Gains in the
|
The banker, the politician and the
financier, In spite of their fast gath
ering gray hairs, have some romance
alive within them to the end, but while
they appreciate the young lovers, q
careful scrutiny of them at the play
will show that q well-handled domestic
scene or commercial situation wrings
from them the most genuine apprecia-
tion and heartiest applause.
| The actor and his audience are de-
pendent one upon the other. The actor
cannot give his efforts to an audience
which refuses them any more than an
audience can accept what he Is in no
mood to give. The actor cannot afford
to slight his art for lack of apprecia-
tion, neither can the individual become
interested In the Interpretation of a
story that does not appeal to his taste.
1t resolves itself at last into good for
tune when q man buys seat for a
performance that rings true to him,
and 1t is only when such people form
the majority of the audience that thu
actor feels the necessity Of doing his
best, and does 1t.