The Washington times., 1910-02-04
Actor Tells More of Augustus
Thomas Than of
Himself.
GIVES PLAYWRIGHT
CREDIT OF SUCCESS
Monsieur Vaviu, - of The Har-
vest Moon, Portrayed After
Months of Study.
By ]. R. HILDEBRAND.

Anyone who attempts 70 interview
George Nash viii learn considerably
more about Augustus Thomas than he
Eiu learn about the actor.
Mr.. Nash, who was the district at
to11i&- Of Thomas "WitchinE Hour
and Eho IS the Frenchman, who is dif-
ferent,' in The Harvest Moon is Of
that rather unusual type Of actor who
claims only TO be the interpreter Of
pIaywright's conception, rather than the
creator Of the role he portrays- One
can't imagine Nash saying, I made
this play or Il originated that part"
The one bit of information Nash did
disclose about himself when he was
talking TO newspaper men today was
the method BY which he acquired the
Frsnco-American dialect Of Monsieur
Vsvin and how he formed the Concep-
ton Of a type OF Frerchman new 20
the stage.
7 spent six weeks in Paris the &C
tor said. and 7 tried 10 mingle and 20
talk with representative FrenChmen-
One. won't do that in Paris unless he
hunts for them The Partisan that the
casual observer meets Is no more
French than New YORK ciuhulan and
the French he speaks Is no more French
than Is BOWery slang GOOD r-H-ii=.--
Freuchman would speak EngiiSt, II ne
had not lived much among English
spea king persons BY making natives try
10 talk English - me visited what
corresponds TO the United States Su-
pren1s Court. sitting in the room where
the famous Dreyfus trial was con-
Quoted
-rThere. 7 guess. more than on any
Other occasion conceived an idea OF
the true French gentleman He dla not
shuug~ his shoulders. he hadn't any or
the manneTiSmS that staEedom has CIV
a. him He was easy. natur-a. anu
above all. graceful in every movement
Not In Words
Nir. Nash didn't say all this, in words
He illustrated some Of Il by Sesturing
with that Characteristic trait OF a
born actor for conveying an idea by
motions rather than by the spoken
word OF the stage almost as much
ss in his makeup. Mr. Nash observes
the dictum laid down by Dir. Thomas
in The Harvest Noon that emo
tons are better vizuaIized than spoken
Does Mr. Thomas believe as thor
oughIv in mental telepathy as his plays
Indicate lIr. Nash was asked
+ firmly believe that Mr. Thomas
means everything he writes, vas the
emphatic answer
that he fails 10 realize that theater-
goers want TO be entertained think
his wonderful technique y displayed
20 -besr advantage ia the way ne en-
uersainS his audiences even when ne
IS most serious
There are few American plaJ-vriE hts
according to Mr. Nash whose advice IS
worth much 20 the actor The stellar
exceptions TO that rule he said, are
Mr. BeIasco and Nj Thomas
Thomas has a dummy tHeater at his
w0rkhOuSe, al New Rochelle. said 3lr-
no
TO represent actors. and TO them ne
speaks the lines ne has written To
that believe his plays owe much OF
Their narurslneSS- Many OF the sentences
0o=uot sound vel when read. but -ney
FIT the mouth They were written
not 10 be read. but TO be spolel,-
Methods Are Peculiar
-The methods used by Mr.. Thomas
are somewhat peculiar. He writes or
dictates play first, then speaks II over
end over untiI its speeches stain that
E7dntaneity that have made them nota-
BILE
Once the play is in the hands OF d
producer, it seldom has to be changed
But ore Of the lines in The Harvest
Nom was altered
But the time when the actor finds
MT. Thomas the biggest help is at re
hearsals- IN and down The aisles he
ramps. with mcEaphOne. and the dia-
Logic IS -Un-tUated with 11OnotoneS as
4I-don' II linlZ-tla t-gestCr -e-Dlea DS-mrlCh.
'ra Ese- Observation-Disclosures don't
uk-abcut-Th Onas-nOv-be-y
To- his personal supervision his PLAYS
owe much Of shat finish which makes
them distinctive, and when he makes
Monsieur NaVln say The -CaSUD French
plas-S are so much better given than
those in this country Is because they
Te1ed-Se-aud TPrc3TSe-sDC TenedTSe, ne
strikes the keynote Of his own success
Il vas suggested that this method
might not always be acceptable 20
members Of the profession who had
IDEAS Of their own as TO acting and
might be difficult with some others who
had few ideas on any subject
It Is hard Nh Nash replied. Few
men could do It But he Is wonderfully
firm, and wonderfully kind He tells
the obstinate ones why, and has mar
NeIOus patience win the ones who
cant quite understand