New-York tribune., 1918-04-28
Greatness Is
Forced Upon
Certain Ones
Miss Ea,nes Believes
That Circumstances
Decide Ones S Career

TO be niece of great prima donna
may be all very we'll if one is content
to shine by reflected glory, but to set
out to add laures to the family name
and to accomplish it overnight Is
rare achievement. Yet that is what
happened the other day to Glare Eames,
when she awoke the morning after her
debut in "The Big Scene" at the
Greenwich Village Theatre to find her
self famous. Her dramatic experience
has been confined to the American
Academy of Dramatic Arts, yet she held
her own in a difficult and subtle role in
the Schnitzler satire, playing opposite
Frank Conroy, the director Of the
Greenwich Village Theatre, and even
aroused critical approval for her cool
presence of mind during a slight first
night mishap.
Miss Eames IS young woman who
was so bored by society after she had
been "out" three years that she turned
to study of the stage for interest and
diversion.
81 had not the slightest idea of ever
going on the stage ssibnally," de-
clared Miss Eames the other evening.
II was interested in the stage, first,
because I wanted to plunge into some
thing that would hold my entire in
terest, and, secondly, because wanted
to learn the mental processes of the
actor to get the approach of role. I
was keen to know how to tackle certain
situations"
Have you pet theory about
acting?"
Decidedly" Miss Eames flashed back
from the mirror. "I always had-which
is another reason that / took up act
ing. I wanted to carry out my ideas
and see how far they would go. be-
lieve that the greatest mistake an actor
makes is to initiate what other actors
do, instead of drawing from life,
Actors, as a rule, are so bound up by
bagfuls Of tricks that they cannot so
back to fundamental causes. Acting,
just like life itself, should be simple
and natural. At the school l had
chance to try out my theories"
"Did you find that they were ac-
cepted?"
"Oh, decidedly. They found my
theories to be fundamentally sound.
and believed in them absolutely. 1t is
fallacy to believe that a school
crushes persons individuality. 1t is
true that affectations and mannerisms
often come out of a school-that it
sometimes tends to make one dryly
academic. But that is the fault Of the
student and the equipment he brings
to the school, and not the school
itself. 1t was a wonderful help to be
mentally freed, and to get the self
discipline which I needed"
Miss Eames confided that she had had
no idea of ever going on the stage pro-
fessionally. AS a matter of fact, she
did not want to, until the way was
practically forced upon her vision by
Harold Meltzer. the assistant director
OF the theatre, when he saw one of her
performances at the school.
Il believe that circumstances force
things upon you, and that those arc
the things in life that ore must DO
am fatalist from that point Of
view"
"But what is one to do when two
courses of action are opened up, and
one stands at the crossroads, bewil-
dered and perplexed ?" Miss .Eamcs was
asked.
She 'thoughtfully rubbed the cold
cream from her well-bred nose. "Thc
way is always clearly pointed OUT
she replied slowly "The only rule in
life is to DO your darndest' every day
and follow the courses that are laid
out for you.'
Miss Eames declares that She owes
much in her life to her famous aunt.
Nine. Emma Eames de Gogorza. the
great opera singer. "Aunt Emma has
been wonderful help to me-" she
concluded. "Her guidance and leader
ship have ever been a source Of in
spiration"