New-York tribune., 1911-12-03
STAGE SIMPLICITY
Lennox Robinson Explains the
Theory of Acting Employed
by Irish Players.

.
| he is seeing there IS general Idea a.
background something special that these
actors are seeking 10 express. ne soon
feels that there r. a predetermined trend %
81 an and that this trend is toward The
expression OF unique personality. Tho per-
sonality IS not that Of an Individual, but u
a country-lt might almost Dc said a race.
Every one knows now that the Irish Play
ors and their directors do. Zoo TACT. repre-.
sent n national movement. that their aim
IS TO discover the genius Of their country,
IT'S moods. it's natural manners. It's poetry,
and that these trings as they see thcm are
expressed not only in their plays UIt in
their stage method. Their method may BE-
az OH as the eternal hills, but 10 is new
TO the stage of to-day. n takes simplicity
for fits theme and develops it into SYM
phony of acting. This choice Of theme was
deliberately made and has been purpose
fully carried out on the theory that it re-
fleets the character of Anglo-SaNou. and
Cclts who however complicated their
lives or their thoughts may be, ar" s'mpl.
Zoo expressing their emotions.
This idea. which we believe to boz % lrIe
criticism Of the race explained LonuoN
Robinson, who is stage manager as well ss
ono Of tho playwrishts OF tho Irish COM
pany, "has dictated our stage notuod The
simplicity Of gesture, the absence %, o0nt'h-
ual movement among tho characters, the
lack Of many properties in the stage room
are an carefully studied feature ~ ths
style wc navc tried 60 Develop. ani arg
meant 10 bo am imptessionisuc study ~ ths
Irish people.
We have been az this principle %. act.
ing eyer since the beginning. Tho 0rsi coTF
pauy with which Yeats started was COM
posed of English actors. one II tn' fist
things ne said % them when ho Iohcdrsed
them was. II you don't stop crossing md
recroSsing and fdgetns around tne stage
IN put YOU an in barrels and have you
wheeled around when : want YOU to Move
According % our theory, movement H3s
value on the stage only when 10 has
meaning 20 express. We DO rot believe .l
it merely as a means OF keeping 200 an.
dicnce watchful or Of diyersifyin2 % talky
/ passage
/ What do you do with talky passage
4 then. so as 20 hold the attention ~ an
audience
| we cut IT," was the brief answer IN
our opinion. ralky' passages are de.rt,
|
acting. The only play in which We 'olr.
ourselves I'm this predicamcut-,h.i BE-. uaI-
| ing to diversity a passage that mie ,"cm
/ too long and perhaps lacking ODD tla-
matte irterest-was I'm The Shelving Jp OF
Blanco Posnet' There is a long sermon at
the end Shaw meant ii 10 Doe sermon,
of course stln we found that ii Barco
delivered all OF it from the sheriff sca1'
4 with the crowd standing below him at at.
! tention for so long, the effect would tuln
/ into one of mere oratory. Some one slg-
gested-it was Lady Gregory, ] believe
that Blanco should jump from the sher-
. iff's seat, run down front ANA leap on 10
B the table: then later on down % the floor
again, among the crowd.
But this is the only instance OF our using
movement TO hide lack of dramatic action
/ in play.
/ I'VE are much more inclined 10 suppress
! movement. even where We could iegu-
mately use it If We wished. In The Shsd.
J ow Of the Glen for instance. there Is
scene In which a man supposed 10 be dead
| comes back to life and orders his wife
! from the house The wife is overcome with
! tragic horror. She might storm and rage
and cry out and claw the walls. But what
she does in the version We give is 10
| shrink back into the dimmest corner Of me
room and crouch there in an awful silence
| for nearly five minutes. II the plays peo-
pie were Latins, or belonged 10 any Of the
more expressive races, this Interpretation
would be wrong But We feel that uhdef
he greatest stress our own people become
awfully still.
| In explaining our method must "'
neglect TO say, though, that We 90 ho'
plan out n play down 20 the ias'-'''''''
detail before rehearsal j. Tor instance
when l am the stage director, do NOT W
! TO make chessmen out Of the actors.
great deal is left to them to DO in the"
own way. Leeway is given them '' eA'
| press their own personalities.
Il was very much Interested I'm goin- ~
| London last season TO watch George De-
nard Shaw and Granville Barker produe".
ulavs. Shaws method is more Ike on,
own. IL is quite simple. He ls iona Oh
giving he actor his own way. il the wa, p"
! a good one. But Barker plahs his pay
/ down TO the blink Of an eyeash, ana '"s
actor must do precisely as he says
"Our plays. however fan into shape
readily enough. The players have ac'o1
| together so long. and IN the kind ". P''!s
we are doing, that they fall instn''N"'
! into the simplest and most natural way "a
expressing themselves.
! The Well Of the saints. we h"''
/ been told. could haze been made I''''
more dramatic by our actors. We i'"''
ize that. The play admits of more ."
tion than the players use in IT, But w.
hazard. We felt that the play was pVe'"
/ I'm character. and so We PRODUCED
what we felt to DE poetic manner,
casionally a play is written that hN'
piece Of music, strikes its keynote "'
/ beginning and maintains this Nv
throughout TN. Well of the s"'D'
seemed to ms such a play. lt opens W.
/ the two blind bcggarS sitting az t'e ~
| roads dreaming OF each others nea"N' a.,
I great deal of stiffness seems lhe''"s
/ with these characters and this idea -
/ to us the play holds the same
/ throughout Inns
/ when I say that the sole aim oi
company in producing plays lS 10 "'' , In
The fun meaning and the spirit 'h"' -
/ the play have explained all the'0 IN
! our method We add nothing th"' ,or
J the play itself We use no stage In,
their own sakes and follow no ti,,sy
/ We are trylng 10 do our way, ana o'' ,,,,h
IS nothing but am effort 90 put tn' si.t,
national life ON the stage lust as nners
| in the nelds-that is. as far as "' - as
| and expression go Tho play "a"
J poetic and unreal as U may . over
/ something that vc are WIZ .,,,rth.
/ lust now is the stage cneerins m ned
right and other plays in when ~ ,hsa
! We make it sound more like N''n''' what
! cheering. This is wrong. OF oo"'' dis.