The Washington times., 1916-06-10
Theda Bara Tells Readers Of
The Times How She Creates
Her Characters.
IS HARDEST KIND OF WORK
Actress Declares She Dresses
Like a Snake and Her Audi
ences Hate Her.
BY THEDA BARA.

Would you like to be called a Love
Pirate. the Ishmaelite of Fominlnity.
q vampire-in short. the woman with
the most beautifully wicked face In
all the world7
When my name was displayed on
the billboards for the first time. the
American people did not know
whether It was a a new toothpaste,
soap. or a malady. Now when they
see II. they invariably say THE hui
man vampire"
1t Is not pleasant to be so describ-
ed. I can assure the public of that.
When / first heard myself referred
to as 1.-The vampire woman" ! was
heartbroken. l went to my apart
ment and was ia tears the greater
part Of the night. All my ideals
had received could not console me.
] felt that was that against which
every woman's hand Is raised. l
was held up as one who delighted
In the lure of destruction and evil
doing.
People asked what manner OF wom-
an I could be who portrayed In so
lifelike a manner the sirens OF the
drama. One woman wrote this de-
scription of me:
How She Is Described.
Her hair Is like The serpent locks
Of Medusa. her eyes have the cruel
cunning Of Lucretia Borgia, till now
held up as the wickedest woman OF
the world: her mouth is the mouth
Of the sinister. scheming Delilah, and
her hands are those of the blood
bathing Elizabeth Bathory, who
slaughtered young girls that she
might battle In their warm life blood
and SO retain her beauty. Can 1t be
that Fate has reincarnated In Theda
Bara the souls OF these monsters or
medieval times?"
Those are pretty harsh things to
saw even about those ancient vam-
pires, but hardly a day passes that
the postman does not bring me, let
tiers written along similar lines. Many
of them attack me most unmerci-
fully.
Some intimate that no woman could
portray such characters without hav-
Ing had the actual experience. They
ask me whether II is possible for
woman Of normal disposition ana
temperament to portray such villain
Gus Characters? I insist tina. she
can. It Is all in getting yourself In
accord with your subject.
Teaches q Lesson.
While some of my best parts show
me as a soulless creature, I think
they are susceptible to defense and
I believe the vampire woman" can
be justified as a type. think there
Is a great moral lesson taught In
most of the plays In which l have
appeared. Anyway l am going to
file a brief In an attempt to snow
this.
AS matter OF fact the Aim vam-
pire Is largely a matter OF gowns,
I dress like a shake, am sure the
greater part OF my audiences do not
realize that choice of clothes IL one
of the most difficult tasks j have.
In motion pictures the tremendous
influence of the human voice Is lack
ing. Therefore. everything we have
to work with must be made to exert
its greatest value.
Clothes must convey--or tend to
convey-the character one Is play
ing.
Dress a woman in a long-trained
gown that suggests every line OF
her figure and uncovers more or her
back than convention allows. and she
10 Immediately stamped as person
to be Stunned.
Departs From Tradition.
lTdultiOH 10 u po"ciiui oty' AhSiS
fore that type of gown must be in
every stage vampires wardrobe.
II should tell you how many
have, think you might doubt the
number.
/ have tried to depart, radically.
from the tradition that the favorite
breakfast costume for a vampire Is
the decollete chiffon. rose .budded tea
gown. Vampires couldn't exist in
that sort OF garment. Only the fiorid.
rather mature blonde, WHOSE dim
pies have begun to lengthen Into sug-
gested wrinkles, can MUNICH toast and
sip tea In costume like that.
I have made specially OF the
gown that covers the neck. Ultra
high collars that approach the lobes
of the ears. Collars of that sort sug-
gest the calyx, with the face and
head as the blossom. have also
used the very long sleeve that trails
over my hand. I will tell you why.