The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-06-17

NOW study YOU part until you have
made up your mind what business
belongs with it that is, what motions
you should make to the
various speeches. When you should
cross the stage and in what direction,
ETC., and write all these directions into
the part you have copied.
With that done you have a complete
part for the act you have selected. and
are ready to begin where the stock ac-
tor begins. For mind-he does not
determine for himself when he shall
cross the stage, move forward or back,
sit down., stand up, stroke his face or
put MS hand in his pocket. That is
all determined for him by the stage di-
rector, and it all goes into the sbusi-
ness" OF his part. It Is as stereo-
typed in form as the speeches and
situations themselves and the actor
must learn 1t as he learns his lines.
He can not leave it to chance; he can
not even exercise his own free will in
the matter.
And another thing that might as
Well pc spoken Of here-the actor does
not choose his own part. 1t is chosen
by somebody else with arbitrary pow
er, and given him, and if he doesn't
like it--that's too bad. 1t is his, and
ne must take it in just the form that
you AVE arranged if you have follow
ed the directions given above.
Now suppose that you have your
part prepared and are ready to go to
work On it. Very well, learn your
lines, study the situations in which
they occur and learn the Business
SO h a Q can put it in naturally
where 1T belongs. When you have ac-
complished that, choose some particu-
lar time of day and at that time act
the a Just as you have 1t written
down, getting someone to read the
cues for you il you wish. This is to
be for you what the opening performs
ance of a play is to the actor SO Of
course you will ave no chance to stop
and go back and correct yourself. If
you make a mistake you must cover
it up as best you can and go on, re-
membering above all things to save the
situation. s8S
Well, the next day, at the same time,
give another performance The
following day do it again, but by this
time you will have been assigned some
other character in some other play,
which Q are to present the following
week, and you will have begun to work
on it Just as you did on the first ne.
For the rest of the week 60 regularly
through the first part you had, mean
while studying and ~rehearsing the
second one in your spare moments, be-
At5 Sul 2, HOHSSCIs W lIdNG II h IHUT-
oughly learned by the end of the week.
At the end Of the week drop abso-
lutely the first part your studied and
begin regular performances of the sec
onl, meanwhile learning yet al thirl
one. M SO on for a dozen weeks in
succession.
Now imagine that the page or two
that constitutes each part that you
have had for the different plays is
multiplied into from five to 125 pages,
or sides as they call them on the
stage, and you will begin to- have some
conception of 81 very small part OF the
kind Of real work the actors do In the
summer stock companies.
And oh, how small d part Of the
work that Isl! Do Won doubt III? Think
lof this: Every one OF the people with
whom you are playing and on whom
q are to depend to- give your cues
for your speeches is working ait least
as hard as you are. But they are hui
man, their memories are liable to play
them false. and lit may he a-up to- YOU
to save an entire situation BY ii Of d
thousand expedients. nome q which
can be prepared for beforehand, and
two of which could be made to fill
t~flesplace equally we'll. DO you know.
what that Tnears2 Tt means thatyon
must be able tt i~maprovise lines if