The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-04-09
GIRL ASP|RANTS 4
FOR THE STAGE
.Ehie Shannon Gives Advice to
Young Women Seeking
HistriOnic HOnOrS.
QUALIFICATIONS FOR STAGE
SUCCESS ARE ANALYZED
Miss Shannon Has Fought Her
Way to Front Rank of Amer
lean Actresses.

There arc hundreds of young women
seriously considering stage career Tor
themselves, and there are perhaps FEW
women on the American stage better
qualified TO offer advice on tins subject
than Miss Effie Shannon, who is playing
the misguided wife in the Bernstein
play. The Thief,H at the Salt Lake
theater Miss Shannon has fought her
way to the front rank Of American
actresses through years of unswervng
effort. aud she was associated WITH
Daniel Frohman s Lyceum Theater
Stock company in its balcyon days.
In talk with The Tribune on Friday,
Miss Shannon thus analysed the quail
fications for q stage success. SAID the
charming actress:
The stage offers the strangest para
doN Of ali professions, The stage lis at
once remarkably real aud remarkably un
real The stage demands and gives
everything; the stage demands and gives
and mpersonal. One might say on
hand that physical beauty is the FIRST
requirement. OF success, II is also true
that physical beauty is of the least i'm
portance. 4 woman contemplating the
life OF an actress must stand prepared
TO surrender everything on the altar OF
her ART.
Two Kinds of Success.
There are two distinct sorts OF sue
cess. One is the success Of personality,
and the other Is the success of chardc-
ter The former rarely survives len
Years the latter Is eternal. One has
only 80 look over tho programmes Of five
wears ago and see how many of the ia
NOUS ones OF those days have passed
into complete oblivion. believe no one
would care for this form OF success
which vanishes so quickly and leaves so
much bitterness in its wake. This tenn
po,ary prominence is inspired usually by
rare physical gifts, by the allurement of
youth. OF course. these arc passing ad-
Nantaees.
Physical beauty might he compared to
fire or water. being admirable SER
want. but a tyrannical master Posses
sion OF physical beauty often generates
an inordinate degree OF vanity. inc
Young woman seriously adopting the life
OF an actress should. first of all, cultivate
her sense of sincerity. She should learn
the lesson which philosophers nave
preached. She should be true to her
self. She should keep herself above the
petty lying and all minor deceits when
are annoying features OF our lives She
should resist smallness in all things and
she should allow nothing TO swamp her
idealism.
Cannot Conceal Character.
IL is true that no woman on the stage
can conceal her underlying character. III
her character is small. If she is unfor-
giving or insincere or unkind- she can
never read the speeches OF the stage
heroine with conviction. She must un
aerstand human emotion 10 he a really
GOOD actress. This demands experience,
ono ono by experience ] mean suffering,
wor'S. and it is true that great achieve
..n1c In an artistic way is obtained
"nnogh heartaches uuspeakablc.
"rhn" women entering a profession say
70 themselves: "T win not suffer; will
rontIol my feelings, and l will allow
LII noiu,itne 90 worry me. She might as
81. Sn i, cnt The tSroat OF her artistic self
She VIII never \succeed except in the
most most superhraI way. How can such a
she U.''sn sne eAPeet TO depict poignant grief II
WI she know ,Le/ depths of despair, the
asonL OF suspenTS. II she is resisting the
teachings Of liN itself?
etsS Success EFFORTS High Price.
II may be the cruel truth that success
EFFORTS so high price. but / believe
there was never superior achievement
without a payment in advance OF life
blood. in preparing for a stage career
q girl must-rcserNe- her best thoughts
and the best cndeavors of her work. She
must not dissipate these priceless gifts
on 4 casual acquaintance, She must hold
herself in check and not give too freely,
too generously TO any one who might In
vi,e her confidence.
on the other hand ] do not think any
thing so necessary 10 The swift and sub
stantial fru!tion OF stage ambition as
q cultivation oil superior persons. n Eirl
can gain more by discussing life with
4 thorough artist for one hour than by
applying a year to the development OF
her voice. The interchange OF ideas is
the best training OF all. woman who
minglcs during her leisure hours with
intellectual and cultured persons Will ad
vance to the goal far more quickly than
will her sister who wastes her time with
unworthy associates.
Who Conspicuous Successes Are.
ri, all
graduates OF this informal college OF art.
This argument might be conbated by
the fact that IL Is difficult TO know su-
reaches her level and II she is destined
for great things. she will naturally at
tract the real people of her neighborhood.
a girl often becomes discouraged and
throws up her hands IN despair What
is the USE she saws. "of being truth
ful and splendid and upright, when nine
ont of ten are the reverse She might
as well say, 2Why should ] be the
woman ibn-fen Instead of one OF the
Any woman going on the stage must
understand the obstacles, the relentless
difficulties OF her position. She must
not he prepared for a life OF ease and
Incidence. Her future depends not only
must never forget that the real under
lyiug character which she may develop
will shine across the footlights, and the
public, the iufallible public. will know
her. not as she seems TO be. but as she
really is
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