Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-06-11

magazines, an article by Brander Mat
thews. entitled The Plays the Thing
that familiar phrase from Hamlet. And
take issue with him. The statement
IL not true. taken from its context.
The plays the thing to catch the con-
science of the king was what Shake
speare said. Hamlet did not mean that
the written play. alone. was the thing
He might have given the manuscript or
the book Of the play to the king and
said, Read this.' But what Shake
speare meant, actor that he was as well
~ author, was that the performance
II No play has come to life until 1t
II performed-that Is the thing
mo rehearsals- can tell your much
about q play. for four things must enter
into . performance that cannot enter into
. rehearsal. One is the completed re-
suit of the rehearsals. the readiness of
the play for performance. The second
IL the inspiration of the night itself-
and every separate performance has a
separate inspiration--Th The uplift of q
dtst night audience is indescribable.
The third thing. is what the actor
gives of himself, spiritually, his mag
netism, that unnamable thing that gets
him across the : footlights. And the
fourth thing Is what the audience gives
the actor in return-the understanding.
the response. - VI. F-e
There is a fine, keen joy of a sue
cessfui first night that is like nothing
else in the world. 1t is not chiefly
in the plays success or the personal
triumph 1t 10 in the creative moments
OF the actor, when his role comes
alive. I'd rather be an actor who
loves his art than be q millionaire"
An Extinct Observation-Disclosures
7. Clarke. who plays the role of DR..
Sylvester and expounds the new science
Of instructive therapeutics in Mr.. Lag
arus." turned back a few pages in his
book OF memory the other day at re-
hearsal and told his experience as a
medicine man.
why. yes" he said. II used to travel
with an Indian medicine show. There
was q time. twenty-five years ago,
when the Indian medicine show was
. great institution. especially through
the west and south. There was a town
in Pennsylvania where we stayed for
almost an 'all-season run
Unless you know what these old
time Indian medicine shows were like,
you can't conceive the part they played
IN the show world They were the
and were something between a circus
and the Ministries.
We travelled with q main top. a
dining tent and cook tent. There
was the doctor. who did the spell :
ing and sold the medicine. There was
. couple of Indians-or actors made up
70 look like Indians-sometimes the
real redmen. though. And there were
usually one or two features of the son =
and dance and vaudeville type. Well.
did the song and dance: ] doubled up
A. sharpshooter in crack rifle stunts.
rugged out as a regular Buffalo Bill
! gave them a little oratory. a uttIa
drama. and one night when the doctor
was sick / reeled of his speech and
sold the medicine.
The Indian medicine show has
passed with the wild west, the COW
boy and the bufalo-it 10 about ex-
tinct"
A. II. Van Buren, q P1ayWrieht-
A. II. Van Buren,. leading man of the
Poll Players. has come into the lime.
light as a playwright. and the man
agement Of Polls. It 10 announced, has
decided to give the play its premier In
Washington. Mr.. Van Buren, plans &c
give 1t metropolitan production in
the fall.
As Mr.. Van Buren, has not az yet had
the play copyrighted. its title and
theme cannot be made public. The
fact. however. that Mr.. Poll IL will.
ing to undertake the expense involved
the merit OF the piece.
The Poll leading man In said to have
started on this work about seven
months ago. and as he has been con-
stantly occupied with his stock work
during that time some idea OF Mr
Van Buren's industry and ambition may
Be imagined better than 1t can be de-