New-York tribune., 1912-03-17
LREWE ER4NRL7W AT KEITH
AND PROC TORS @ATE.
'NR. ARL|SS ON ACTING
Graduating Address to Student
Actors Full OF Sage Comment.

At the graduating exercises OF the senior
class OF the American Academy OF Ora
matte Arts held last Friday afternoon at
the Empire Theatre George Arlss. one OF
the most distinguished actors OF the Eng
lish-speaking stage, delivered the ADDRESS
to the graduates. Mr.. Arliss called atten-
tion TO so many things about the stage and
about acting which should have a larger
audience than any one theatre could ac-
commodate at single occasion that his ad-
dress is herewith published:
I'm some ways I envy you who are Just
entering on your career and for other rea-
sons pity you. 1t Is too late to advise you
not 10 10 on the stage. and | wouldn't give
you that advice IN any case, but you have
a hard struggle before you. very hard
struggle You will work for years-four,
five, six, even ten years-work hard. give
the best that IL I'm you and still find your
self unaclnowledged, and you Will look at
, the dozen names OF prominent people who
are playing in New York and you will
say: why IS IL, why can't / arrive there;
what Is Il keeps nse back? and you will
despair and will possibly declare that 1t is
only influence that gets people on in the
sure you that during all those struggling
years nothing will be keeping you back;
you are going forward the whole time, but
you don't realize IT, because OF your very
gradual rate OF progression. You must have
that backbone Of experience gained by
those first years before you can success
fully portray important parts. beginner
may make a success In certain part,
part that perhaps suits his personality; he
may even follow this with another success
in similar part, but sooner or later his
lack Of experience is bound to bring him
down, and that is why I say that you can
not escape the bitter struggle.
Whatever advice or suggestions I offer
you I give as my convictions. as a result
of my experience. This advice may be en-
tirely wrong under certain conditions l
do not offer it as infalllble-you must al
ways use your discretion. But the first
thing ! advise you to do, now that you
have finished your academic training, Is TO
get into a stock company; you have been
here in New York; you have had oppor-
tunltes OF seeing and studying the best
actresses and actors this country holds.
Keep them in your mind and go and do
likewise go and act before an audience:
never mind where or what, so long as you
keep on playing different parts, and never
lower your standard. Ii all the actors
around you are bad stacy actors, never
mind, you can't help that; keep I'm your
mind always the methods OF those actors
whom you wish to emulate. When you get
your part, say to yourself, Who would
play this I'm an ideal cast? Choose your
man or woman and mould your perform
ance on your conception OF the way you
think they would play It. You need not
fear that this will hurt your own person.
ality or your own originality; II you have
either they cannot be stified. In advising
you to adopt this method of study must
warn you not to copy queer and indi-
yldual manperjsms which you may have
observed in your ideal actor or actress, but
10 mould your performance on the memory
Of those methods which have brought
those people into prominence in spite OF
their pechliarlties.
1--WE have arrived at an age when truth
and sincerity govern every other attribute
OF the stage. II is possible that the best
actors Of all ages have ever strlven for
this. but il Is the development OF our
theatre architecturaly that has made II
possible for us to admit sincerity as the
first consideration. II we go back to the
time when the actor wore q mask, for in