Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-10-03
DO ACTRESSES WEEP REAL
TEARSp

Many actors succeed by laughing, as
witness George Monroe. Others succeed
by weeping. This Is true especially Of
some of the great emotional artistes.
Sarah Bernhardt has literally turned tears
to gold on the stage. olga Nethersole dis
seminated a salty ozone .odor through
theatres by the prodigious flow of her
iachrymal glands. The latest great sue
cess as a weeper on the stage is Florence
Reed, who will appear at the Garrick
Theatre October 1S in "The yellow
Ticket"
Miss Reed weeps copiously. She can
shed genuine tears at will
"a really great actress" declares Miss
Reed fought to be able to throw herself
into a spasmodic emotional state at a
given cue. She should be able TO burst
into sobs at the sight of a plate of
strawberry ice cream If necessary"
During the run of "The Yellow Ticket
in New York, Miss Reed received many
letters each week inquiring whether her
tears were real. or whether they were
part of her makeup" One correspond
ent asked the actress If che would set
tie bet by informing the writer whether
she used small pieces of mica which were
held In her handkerchief and attached to
her face by means OF paste whom occa-
sion required! Now, Miss Reeds role as
prosecuted Jewish maiden actually
called for considerably weeping.
To the letters received Miss Reed inva-
rlably replled
They are real tears. Your very truly,
FLORENCE REED"
II can cry whenever l want to; in fact,
can turn on tears as an ordinary person
turns on q hot-water faucet" continued
Miss Reed.
1T is only a trick, you know-just a
physical trick-a simple contraction of
the muscles of the eyes. l have prac-
ticed the art of crying at will and l can
weep at a given cue.
II arrange cues in my speeches upon
which to begin crying, and then. well
then, cry! My cue for tears in the first
act Is the line, L am respectable girl
in reply to Mr.. Seatons How dare you
come into my family pretending to be
respectable?' From this time cry con-
tinuously throughout my scene. In the
second act / have two cues for tears and
] assure you that they respond to my
bidding.
The queer fact is that real tears are
effective as a rule only when produced
as the result of a mechanical trick. The
actor who weeps because he is overcome
by his part does not produce the effect
desired. In his case the physical facul-
him to be able to project his emotion
across the footlghts with sufficient force
to make the emotional outburst seem
convincing.
ITO be successful in effecting your au-
dience you cannot really feel sad. Your
tears must he false. See? But real, in
deed. I'm quite happy when l weep sue
cessfully."
Miss Reed is the daughter of the late
Roland Reed. She has been lucky in
her professional career and is one of the
few actresses who have never had >to
appear In a minor role Her profess
sional debut was made as the ingenue
lead in a sketch written for her use in
vaudeville. After that she became a reg
ular member of the Proctor Stock Com
pany, playing ingenues and later becom-
Ing leading woman of that organization.
Later she acted in that capacity for sew
eral seasons for r. H. Sothern.
Miss Reeds most notable recent ap-
pearances antedating "The Yellow
Ticket" We're in THE Typhoon" and
THE Painted Lady" She was specially
engaged by Selwyn e Co. to appear in
"Fair Play" the comedy which Christy
Mathewson wrote in collaboration with
Rida Johnson Young.