New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-03-19


~ on the stage
This il answer No. ~ submitted by
eighty-three actresses out Of eighty
four as one of the interesting facts
of their careers. often you will find
AN actress who does not like 20 read,
VINO abhors outdoor sports and VINO
does not possess a lap dog. But II
rarer TAR than day m June TO ma
ono with an encouraging papa.
Then lend an attentive ear II you
have an extra ear 70 lendl while Lottie
Meaney, the ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Co
author of Payday" tells how her
rice old father helped her to such early
success.
Miss Meaney was born in Boston, and
has been stagestruck ever since she
was a baby. When she was IN her
teens her extremely youthful appear
ance handicapped her IN securing
parts. SO she wrote a vaudeville
sketch for herself, which was a sue
cess. After that she wrote dozen
or so more. Payday" Is her first
attempt at whole play.
81 felt myself slated for a stage
career ever since ] could thlnk, sara
Miss Meaney. when | was tot /
used 20 wear out all my mothers fancy
clothes standing before mirrors watch
ing myself act. When I'd go TO see
Mrs. Leslie Carter I'd come home and
tell my dad that she didn't portray
certain emotions correctly.
"Then he would ask me in his gentle
way TO show him how they should be
done. So I'd fall down on the floor
and tear my hair, and he'd clap MS
hands and say Fine Then he'd make
suggestions, and I'd try again. lie took
il all so seriously.
"He insisted that take dancing les
sons-for great actress ought to know
how TO dance. he said He even want
ed me to learn how to fence. was
to be the greatest actress that ever
lived, you know.
My sister and used to give regu-
lar performances in our parlors when
we were ten years old. We had two
big rooms. and father would have cur
tains put up i'm them, and camp chairs
brought in for the orchestra. He was
so interested that he had real pro-
grammes printed, although we were
only tiny kids. But he'd never print our
names on them-they weren't suffi-
GENTLY known. He'd print Ada Rehan
pleased his fancy that some day we'd
be as great as they were.
"When | was fourteen, and still at
boarding school. | did my first acting
in boy and girl parts. Ny first real
engagement was with Neil Twomey. We
had two plays, The Parting of the
Ways and The Postmaster's Daugh-
ter I guess we played all the one
~ 90, l.. IL, IoI "a
little dime savings bank, and Twomey
used to pay me in dimes, so could
put my money right in the bank.
THE next year spent twenty weeks
in New York trying to find a job as
leading woman. | told the managers
all kinds of stories, but TO no avail.
girl parts.' I'm not little grill |
would cry in anger, I've looked like
this the last ten years.
AT seventeen was still without
regular work, but my father kept en-
couraging me, so, more in desperation
than anything. | wrote my first vaude-
vile sketch, The Bud I finished it
in two weeks. 1t was tried out on
Sunday night. and on Tuesday ! was
booked for forty-one weeks out TO the
Coast and back.
eve opened at Milford, Mass. and
my father came down from Boston TO
see the first performance. He saw the
afternoon performance and the evening
performance, and after the show he
asked the manager if We couldn't play
it again. So, for the third time that
day, played to my father in the dark
empty theatre. while he sat there as
oh To l.,
swears there are only two acts in
vaudeville that are classics. One il
Belasco's production of The Drums Of
Dude and the other is The Bud"
Miss Meaney played "The Bud" for
three years. meanwhile writing other
vaudeville sketches. Last summer a
friend introduced her TO Oliver d.
Bailey, and he became interested in her
talents. He drew up contract which
was acceptable, and since then they
have worked in unison.
Bailey got the idea for "Pay-Day"-
it was then called "Her Price'-and it
was the mellowest of melodramas Miss
Meaney did the writing. Bailey would
make out dope sheets saying Have the
leading woman give the villain hell"
etc, and then would give them to Miss
Meaney. She would lock herself in her
room and write like fury"
when we finally got through" said
Miss Meaney, 1--WE showed the play to
/ Al Woods. lie liked ii. but wanted the
1 leprosy idea changed. But we could
never submit TO that. We both wanted
the leprosy. SO Mr.. Bailey produced it
himself and lost lot of money.
zone night, after the show closed,
| Mr.. Bailey suggested to me that we
make over Her Price into movie
satire. | was aghast at first. Our seri-
Gus play satirel | cried myself 20
sleep that night. | never wanted TO do
anything comic. Il always pleased my
father that my plays were the kind that
brought tears, and | kept thinking,
Would father be pleased%
But Mr.. Bailey thought it best, so
we changed things around bit, ac-
centuating the dramatic moments. and
now we have a regular burlesque."
When payday" made its appear
ance Miss Meaney decided that she
would become full-hedged producer