The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-11-02
The Chain Stock
Company Can Do
Much for Drama
win Furnish Actor Proper Training
and give TheatcrgOers the Best
Plays-Suggested Plan for
This City.
(By George A. Benson.)

Recipe for an actors success: One
part natural acting ability, n part
literary comprehension: n ipart self
confidence m part magnetism. and
n part training. q,
If these be the qualities for success.
where can the aspiring actor turn for
quicker results than to the stock
company?
In a recent article. Walter Prichard
Eaton, veteran dramatic critic, dealt
with this important phase of the
drama. in which he said: stock COM
panies are at once the solution of the
play problem In the smaller cities,
and a training school for acting"
The most usual stock company
makes its headquarters in n city.
And there, month after month. 1t pre-
sents each week a different play. Con-
slider then the necessary work of each
n play, he must learn the lines of
the next, and keep the old and the
new play distinct. After committing
the words. he must study his charac-
ter-all the while acting Il different
and often an opposite. role. He can
not trust to frequent rehearsals. He
must do most of his own training, for
the day Is only t~wenty-four hours long
and even the actor must eat and sleep
a little. He must be an untiring, or
at least, an %unceasing worker.
gain: He lives the recipe FOL success.
Native ability is essential to all good
actors. whether in stock or not. An
actor. like a poet, is born and .devel-
oped, not made. His memory Is train
ed to the highest possible speed. He
must learn and learn accurately many
pages of lines each week. Concentra-
ton of mind is here developed to a
marvellous degree. Library cof1prehen-
sion Is developed by a constant study
of the best plays. for stock companies
dience East Lynn. They aspire to
all the proven successes.
If a Scotch play Is presented in New
York. the players must be from bonny
Scotland. II the play be French.
France is invaded for actors. Not SO
In stock. A good American citizen
acting in weekly plsys must surpass
the leopard and If need be change
his spots" He must be a veritable
chameleon, taking his color from his
surroundings. Now he is an English
lord. and then a Swedish servant. The
next week he will be buried in the
pomp of a GedofM
pomp Of a German emperor, only to
emerge again. a peasant of sunny
France. Now he is in, a great Shake
spearean role, and then he is found
trying to make a Charles Klein. hero
see unnatural. Such lightning changes
will in themselves impart self conf
dence.
=. The spectators. practically the same
from week to week, become familiar
with the members of the company, de-
light in their hits" and generously
overlook their mishaps. The company
is a big family, who owe to please an
always appreciattVe audience. The &C.
tors gain a subtle power of feeling the
public pulse and of detecting instantly
the kind of plays hat appeal.
But stock companies are net vet sat.
%isfactory. They are serving their. pur-
Lose, but, as Vet. are far from doin;;
as much for the future of. American
drama as they can. In fact, much #
the hope Of the drama depends on q
greater development Of our sto..h
companies.
Several plans have been tried. Mr..
Eaton touches briefly on two or TIN re
of them in his article. He mentions
particularly the cases of Oliver. Nc
rosco in Los Angeles and of William
Parke in Pittsfield, Mass. The former
has succeeded, more than any other
stock manager, in solving the playa
week problem. Instead of having his
company try a new drama each week,
it is played for three or four weeks at
a time. Mr.. Parke has succeeded iii
giving Pittsfield. a town Of over 3d.
300. the best drama it has ever had.
A. plan Of exchange has lately been
evolved and tried successfully in some
sections. To. explain its working, we
cite a hypothetical. case. A company,
large enough to be divided into three,
is organized in Minneapolis. Several
weeks are given for %rehearsing three
plays. each company working on one.
One organization opens in Minne-
apolis, the second in st. Paul, the third
in Duluth. One week is spent in each
city. and then the Minneapolis com
pany goes to Duluth, the Duluth com
,I,nny to St. Paul and the st. Paul
players to Minneapolis. Great. benefit