New-York tribune., 1919-09-07
By Ianct Beecher

81. art of the actor is as elusive,
,.s.sr.hle. intangible q thing as a
..r;fes.stion Of nature, and yet as
raj. He breathes into the atmosphere
xord or s sentence and it goes
,.-th over the footlghts and strikes
-. ears and the intelligence Of his
.,a,,rce and is carried away as an IDEA.
Re gives lie to the written word. He
.o,or. Il: he refsshions 1t; he suits
s., action to il; he seeks the inter-
,,.;ation Of its utmost meaning.
And what are his tools' He uses
81. voice and his body. But any one
,.;ps voice ard gesture ia not an
.,.or. That voice and that body are
r.rslv the manifestations Of 8 spirit
n. guiding force-intellect, under
,,.ndirg. feeling, decision, emotional
balance, rersonality-all Of the psy-
,bo]cg;cal entities tha: make up the
rrs.srious and wonderful power Of the
laasn mind Every one @. his tools lies
III domain which reaches beyond tie
sorsne Of three dimensions. Tney can
10, Be weighed Q. measured HIS art ex-
;... only for his generation and is hand
d down 70 pos:er.:y as memory. And
hIvere to name the source and elabo-
ration O; the actors AIT. Il ! were to
,ut into ore word the myriad OF emo
,o,sl and intellectual phases that con-
tribute to its existence; II we're 10
us. tie talent, the ambition, the work,
tie glory Of achievement tha. are the
foundation stones Of It's particular tenn
pie, and give them a.. common name
that name voali be spirit
The actors art, ;toa. IS tho i1diyid-
"a. essence, flowing from the spirit
with which his soul = peculiarly tab
Cnseled /; IS therefore essentially
Individual, and intcrp.c.ative OF his
separate pcrsoaal;r - witness two
sc.ors playing the same part. The
interpretations arc often widely vary
irg. at tine diametricaily opposed
sAylosk has been played as tragic
and asa comic character. Tho words re-
nan unchanged, the actor gives them
lie in evsr-cnanginG form. His spirit
sad lis content are tie concrete de-
,srmin.ng factors.
In tie realm OF spiritual feeling al
,ha, is destructive. ali tha, "a OF sma.
conception, al that descends 20 violence
tnd abuse has no place. The blatan'
cries and misrepresentation that ar
heard from without. and seek 70 Dr.n;
i!scord into the theatre, are treason t
tie harmony that should pervade II
shrine. The actor, il nc is worthy o
the ambition tha, urged the choice 0
bis career must only listen to sn
hear the inner voice-the truly de
yotional voice--the solitary voice o
the god within, and obey its prompt
ings.
The spirit within says, "Be true :
ne" Bu. spirit IS delicate, and fragile
and shuns violence and quarrel an
discord; and when mortal is torn b.
,empestuous emotions rushing over u
resistaaccs Of reason the inner voic
becomes i1auiible, and for time idea
ana locals are lost in confusion Q
mass act,on. So are error and remors
horn into world where righteous an
reasonable arbitration should prevail.
There is q perilous consistency i
mass action. It cloaks individuality;
is conservative and unprogressive.
never signed a Magma Charta. a Decla
Ya..on o. independence or an Emancipa
ton Proclamation. That was done b.
isdicals. The actor may feel that b.
striking he mas attempted the rad.ca.
,ast he has struck blow for the bet
iermen. o. himself and OF the thea
tIe. But his fallacy lies in this: II
lks not struck as an individual VIII
belongs to the inner domain OF imita
tive art, but has allied himself wit
the artisan who supports it only from
tie outside. AS an artist, he has bee
granted more than he has demanded
ss an artisan, ne has rung down Tn
curtain.
Zach one has his place in the worl
and right 10 the pursuit Of happiness
have always lived in absolute sym
pathy WIKI the more unfortunate wh
struggled for his place in the sur
have myself worked fifteen years an
an still striving for it. have bee
troueh up in the faith that deem
each man worthy OF his hire" 5
said the Nazarene, and so We mus
follow. Be this as IL may. the acto
must remain an actor; he must no
sell his birthrigh,; he must evolve !
s,e mould in which he was conceived
and through the justice OF his IN
cividual demand attain the land 0
nis hearts desire