Los Angeles herald., 1910-05-16

HROM an obscure position as coun-
II try school teacher in her native
Il town, a little community near
Bloomington, ILL.,, Miss Rachel Crothers
has become in a few years one of the
best known of American dramatists.
1t wasn't in school, however, that Miss
Crothers learned to write plays. She
had a better training than that; per-
haps the best possible training, for
she went on the stage and studied the
art of writing plays from the work.
side of the proscenium arch.
Her friends We're surprised and a
little dismayed when Miss Crothers
announced her determination to aban-
don the three RS and to make for her
self a career behind the footllghts. At
first they tried to dissuade her, but
finding she was obdurate, they gave it
up and bade her Godspeed with full
some predictions of certain success
ahead-the kind of predictions people
make when they really believe there
isn't a chance in the world for their
coming true.
They were right, too, in a way; for
Miss Crothers didn't succeed in dim
ming the luster of Maude Adams or Of
Mrs. Carter. She did her best, how
ever, and all the time she was going
to school, although she didn't realize it
then.
one bad part after another fell to
her share until, one day, the little IL
linois schoolma'am made up her mind
the American stage needed a few good
plays much more than 1t needed a
painstaking, but not remarkably, bril-
liant young actress. So she resigned
her place and returned to New York
to begin work along new lines.
Her apprentice plays were one-act
pieces, written for New York dra-
matte school and played by its pupils.
one or two of them were reviewed
with marked favor by the New York
critics. All showed promise" Then
came the first, long play, ''The Three
of U.s." which made fame in night
both for Miss Crothers, who wrote it,
and for Carlotta Nelson, who played
1t.
Since then the little schoolma'am has
written 1.-THE Coming of Mrs. Patrick" :"
Myself, Bettina," in which Maxine
Elliott starred, and "A Mans World"
She has completed two more pieces
which will be produced next season.
She Is a hardworking young woman, Is
Miss Crothers, with genius for tax
ing pains which, as has been frequent
ly pointed out, is the only genius that
ever dillOunlS " any IAiib'
Louise Royce of the Burbank stock
company is a graduate to the legiti-
mate from the comic opera stage. Mrs
Royce began her stage career as a
member OF the chorus with juvenile
"Pinafore" company, so you see sne
isn't as old-well, she isn't as old as
you may have supposed after having
seen her play the role of an old Wo-
11op m tba Burbank stage.
From "Pinafore' she went to school
and from school back to the stage
again. Her advancement was steady
until she became known as one of the
best light opera and musical comedy
prima donnaS in America. Her repu-
tation established, she Joined the Rog-
ers Brothers to sing leading roles and,
in mid-season, was taken Ill. The ILL
ness was serious, too. 1t drove her
into retirement. For a time it was
feared she never could recover, but
she fought, fought, fought and finally
the crisis was passed and the patient
began to mend.
Her voice was gone. too. AT first
she could speak scarcely at all, but
as her strength increased her speaking
voice returned.
Then she set to work to learn to talk.
With infinite pains she trained anew
the muscles of her throat until at last
she had conquered and had developed
speaking voice of power and good
quality. But her singing voice was
gone. Specialists told her 1t was gone
forever, and she made up her mind
she never could return to the stage.
One day in San Francisco it hap
pened that Florence Roberts needed
an actress to play a character role In
new play. Miss Royce was then liv-
ing in the Bay City and common
friend of the two women drew them
together. To Miss Roberts this friend
suggested that Miss Royce was just the
woman she had been looking for. To
Miss Royce he said simply GO in and
win"
And that's Just what the former
prima donna did She took the part,
studied it carefully, needed the instruc-
ton given her by Miss Roberts In re-
hearsal and made good. Then, after
while, she came to Los Angeles as
character woman" of the Burbank
company.
Last summer. when the Burbank
company played '"The Chorus Girl" OIL
yer Morosco asked Louise Royce TO
sing a song in that musical comedy.
She protested that she couldn't sing
The manager insisted that she could.
So she tried, just to prove to him ne
was wrong and that she was right;
but it didn't work that way, for Miss
Royce's singing voice, though far from
strong, had regained it's old-time purity
of tone. and her placement was as
near perfect as may be.
She wouldn't sing in public. though;
said her voice wasn't good enough-not
what it used to be, and added she
never consciously would agree to do
anything that might seem like cheat
ing" the public which had been so
kind to her.
Annie Connor, London, has spent so
much time in Jail that there is no
longer any novelty in it for her Her
case is an illustration of the saving
that it is possible to overdo thing.
Miss Connor who is 70 years old, has
spent forty-one years in jails and
prisons. She has overindulged until
she is blase. She has served fourteen
sentences, having been arrested the
first time when she was fourteen years