El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-05-13
q Grace DarliDg's Talks to Girls q
No 11.-Playng Your Role
By Grace Darling,
CWhO Has Attained a High Place In
the Motion Picture World BY Her
Ability and Charm.b


Ability and Charm.)
"HE second lesson that the stage
has to teach you. girls, is to
4 study your own role. That in
dividual who said, Know myself" was
wise man-especiaIly if he was deal
ing out advice to women
If you will notice. you will see that
actors and actresses are most success
full when they stick TO the parts for
which their talents design them You
couldn't imagine Sarah Bernhardt max
ing you laugh in May irwin parts or
May Irwin curdling your blood as Id
Tosca.
Maude Adams will go down to fame
as Baby and Peter Pan, not as l. AlB
lon. Charlie Chaplin gets fortune
for the way his funny legs DenaNt,
but he wouldn't get bread and butter
money if he moved about the stdse
with the elegant stride of John Drew
This should teach you glIls u 5 49,
YOUR own personality and 10 ueCiuc
what is most attractive IN IT, anu "
develop that. instead of valnly Trying
to be something that is entirely Lorelsi
to your nature. ia
For instance. nothing in the world
is more charming than vivaclty Wnen
it is spontaneous, and nothing is suCil
a hideOus bore as ViVacity Wneh II
is artificial. Yet because some glri
who has quicksilver in her VEINS, anu
A bubbIing fountain Of laughterg III he I
heart. is admired for her galety' you
will see other girls who are serious
minded and sober in all their tnouBhts
try to steal the vivacious ones cum
edv business" as they say on the stage
The Wrong Idea
But her idea of being VlVaclous Is
to giggle perpetually, and scream anu
saw rude things, and be loud and noisy
and the result is that she disgusts IN
stead OF enchants.
Yet that very girl. If she had only
PLAYED her own role, and developed her
own charms to the highest degree
if she had always been Just a hvlns
picture of a calm. dignifed' lnteili-
gent Young woman. with no Illghtl-
ness or nonsense about her-Woulo
have been attractive to everybody, anu
irristibIe to many men who admire
that type Of girl and who can I aDlue
the vivaciOus sort. 49,,
In the same way, because some Httle,
tiny. vest pocket Venus sort OF a Blrl
is attra ctive when she swings IN
hammock OF climbs up in tree or
does some other sort OF gymnastics
and which she can only get away with
by reason Of her diminutiVe size, you
will see big women trying the same
stunts They think they are being
cute. but they are grotesQue. They
don Z look ike pldgLul hlANfA9r NiiS9
look like performing elephants.
Girls. you can safely say that no
one who weighs over a hundred pounds
should ever sit in a hammock in pub
lie, or chew gum. or talk baby talk,
or try to be cunning After that
weight dignity should increase with
every pound and year. Especially with
the years. because, while sophistl-
Gated, worldly wise middle-aged wOm-
an is fascinating. there is nothing so
1udfcrous a 8 fair. fat and forty acting
IN like fourteen and casting herself
for the ingenue role
Just nm Example.
Once upon q time ] was al sum
iner resort: at which there was de-
mure little girl, a quiet mousey little
thing. who was simply lost In the
shuttle among the more brilliant and
striking looking girls at the place
One day she was bemoanlng ner
fate to me and ] said to her; gu
can't compete with these girls on their
own ground. Don't try it. Be diff
ferent Play your own role. You are
the sweetly domestic type. Put on the
frilliest dress you've got, and get out
a fancy sewing outfit and camp on
shady corner Of the veranda and darn
stockings"
She took my advice. and when the
other girls would come in hot ana
sunburnt and dishevelled from golf or
tennis, there was always little MISS
Domesticity sitting cool and calm and