Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-04-18

Acting Is Not Acting.-E.yen though
he has not yet turned forty. q youth
full producer who in four seasons has
put forth number o. substantial
successes. and in the process I'M
esrthed brilliant new American
playwright, should know whereof he
speaks when he makes clear the diff
ference. as he sees it. between good
and had acting
John d. Williams sponsored Gals
worthys Justice" The Copperhead.
Erstwhile Susan. the rcvivals Of
Wilde's An Ideal Husband aud
pineros The Gay Lord QueS." Maug-
hams Our Betters" and The Letter
OF the Law" of Eugene Rrieux. He
also discovered Eugene G. ONein and
produced his Beyond the Horizon
with results. now an item of theatri
cal history. In these plays he has
presented such able players as Lionel
Barrymore. John Barrymore. Richard
Bennett, Mrs. Fiske. John Drew,
Margaret Ellington, Constance Collier.
Norman Trevor, Martha Hedman. IL.
b. Warner, Irene Bordoni and Lola
Fisher. and. also. he has ideas of his
own as to just what constitutes good
acting.
Most of the artifciality of the old
sSage-and Of the Classical actors
acting" says Mr.. Williams. 1t is
eharacterizing in terms of the theater
and not in terms of life.
Natural acting, duplicating on the
stage the precise way people look,
speak and walk in life, has been de :
veioped to such an extent that the
actors difficulty now is to convince
people of the stage that he is an
actor. The chief equipment he needs
TO make people believe he is an actor.
ON the stage. is naturalness.
ITO succeed on the stage one must
ut act; because the moment the per-
former sets out deliberately to act
ats acting. Merely for him to think
4 must act this part makes him artifi-
ciaE
when actors yield to the old fash
ioDed school. or copy something of
the classical French school. declaim-
ting from one piece Of furniture to
another, poising themselves on one
foot with the elbow 1xed on the man
tefpiece and the like, they are acting,
and that is the worst part OF it. No
man or woman acts that way in real
tbs audience that everything is TAX
ing place In the thsater; whenever a
Playwright or player remiaaesaR
audience OF its presence in the The
Ater, instead OF before something that
, Is actually happenipg. an ilinsion is
kliI0us ouQ lu08kSE u4S uSlCAlSu
its own purpose.
.The best actor 10 he who acts
least"
An ExssDtisesl AefreSs-Thais Ma
Crane, came from the Belasco Theater
Clos Angeles) stock company ten
yaars ago to create the title role in
George Hobarts THE Spendthrift,"
In which she was featured with Ed
mund Breese. She played the part
with success for three years, with the
exception OF the summers when she
starred in stock with Bruce McRae in
Denver and with Robert Warwick in
Columbus, Ohio.
Then she played the Vampire in "A
Fool There Was with Robert Hill
lard. and later played the leading
female role with George Nash in THE
Other Man"
She played the title role in Every
woman" for two seasons with the star
cast which included Patricia Collynge,
H Cooper Cline. Marie wainwright
and Frederic De Bellville.
Miss Magrane's career is unusual in
that she has never been identified
with an unsuccessful production.
Maybe she is lucky. but she says she
In careful