The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-11-27

Mr.. Bernard Fairfax, OF the Deal
Old Billy" company, which played her,
recently and who was here last season
| with kyrle Bellew, in Rallies" in {
conversation gave some interesting
psychological or physiological data
acting has on the actor.
Strangely enough many actors are
after a fashion, mere automatons-
that Is, so far as the play itself is con
cerned. They know nothing Of the
text save that of their own particular
role.
The public vaguely knows that one
actor gives another his "cue," but just
in what that cue consists is not ex
actly known to the uninitiated.
The actor listens for this cue like
a telegraph operator listens for his
particular call. In the mass of sound
it is plainly distinguishable. 1t rings
out like a bell.
That is, in it's perfect working.
But, not infrequently, cues 60 amiss
with consequent confusion. The last
word Of the preceding speech, so far
as the conversational end of it is con
cerned, is the usual handle with which
the following speech is welded.
These end words, so to speak, are
the accents of the play. They recur
with as regular a beat as the musical
motif in an orchestral presentation.
They are a sort of linguistic ladder
upon which the various roles mount to
a climatic summit.
The printed page of an actors part,
shows nothing but paragraphs contain
ing the former, alternated with these
end words, so that, until rehearsal,
the actor may have no possible com
prehension of the thing as whole.
The continuous and absorbing study
OF this page, says Mr.. Fairfax, produc-
es a sort of replica of the page on the
brain which floats almost visibly be-
fore the eyes so that, under the stress
obession. and the actor might be said
to visualize his break into the CONVEX
sational action.
Stage fright is, too, as Incompetent
sible in it's manifestations, as it is
seemingly easy to explain. Great act
ors often are affected as badly with
stage fright, especially on the opening
night Of a new play, as the veriest
amateur.
One celebrity, it is stated, had to
have himself locked into his dressing
room to keep from running away.
Another was violently affected with
nausea.
The physical effects Of stage fright
are one of it's most serious phases,
for the. reaction naturally causes a
mental relaxation that is inimical to
artistic conference.
There are many things about the
presentation of play from the other
side of the footlights not understood
by the audience. especially as the lat
ter affects the former.
In farce, in instance, it is very hard
to play to small audience pushed
back under the balcony on the first
upper house. The actor does not like
to project his missiles into space, to
fire at random. The more intimate the
actor becomes with his audience, with
out seeming to do so-for that intima-
cy which is forced and familiar and
made obvious, is as obnoxious as 1t
is unrelated to legitimate theatrical
presentation-the more stimulus is in
jected into the action, SO that the psy-
Geological effect the audience has on
the actor is quite as evident as that
the latter has upon the audience.
Very dear to the heart of the thespi-
an is some slight dramatic effect
achieved through a theatric subtlety
not recognized as such by those "out
in front" Not recognized in its ma
technical working.
In Dear Old Billy" in instance,
where the latter upon being told that
his wards father is dead, having been
killed by a taxicab and his response,
so. dear old Blank is dead" the pa
thos is merely for the purpose of
achieving a farcical effect by the re-
ply of the ward to the following ques-
ton:
when did it happen?"
Just an hour after the taxi.cab hit
him."
On both occasions Of the plays pre-
sentation here, the theatrical ruse
worked" for the audience, instantly
stilled by the pathetic manner in
which the old man received the news
Of his friends death, bursts into
laughter over the incongruousness of
the reply.