Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-03-12
THE PLAYGOER'S
WEEKLY TALK

0ATt ever since, however, anu WIN ap-
pear in Philadelphia. Mr.. welch man
ages TO do so without giving any indiGa.
tion of his afiliction. He lost his sight
when he left the train upon his arrival
In Washington, and eye specialists tell
MIN that his optic nerves are dead.
A Special rug has been provided foI
him to work upon, the edges of which
warn him when he approaches too close
to the ootlights. He IL led from ms
crossing room to the stage but. from the
time he leaves the wings needs no as.
sistance. except that OF the voices or
those about him on the stage. Nothir&
that he did In the show previously has
had to he omitted. and he sings. Jokes
and dances just as he always has done.
without Its being In the least apparent
that he cannot sec
ORANGES STARR told the Playgoer
she ia frequently asked what the in
fuence upon her nature may he of the
various parts she assumes in the plays
In which Mr.. Belasco has presented her
Miss Stars answer is that It has been
suggested that a woman OF the stage
endangcrs her moral nature by inter
preting moments OF moral crisis In
women of the stage. There are always
questionable women, glorihed in some
artistic guise but no matter how oecon'
ing this masquerade, the woman OF this
type is rather an ugly. useless, undesir-
able association.
An actress can depict with perfect un-
derstandlng n woman's charn cor. WIN,
out being impressed favorably by It
herself Miss Starr holds. She may give
q very fine performance OF most un.
desirable character, but that does not
mean that she herself is in sympathy
with IT, on course there enters enters 'n,% n}
aba andon which Is so important in
drama But II Is an abandon always Kept
In perfect control. just as the painter
controls the brush with which he colors
I,t mt tk,sf TO- ha hn l.
ing
Acting is something like that There
Ia a subconscious duality of percep-
tion. for while the actress IS playing
q part, she Is never unconscious or the
fact that she is acting There is not
such n thing as complete abandonment
OF ones mind, ones soul. ones morals
in the theatre. The women OF the
theatre. like other women OF the world,
have their own moral responsibilities.
their own obligations. their private
standards. which they do not surrender
because they are temporarily cast in
stormy emotional roles.
There is course, In acting. great
deal to be said about personality. Many
OF our favorite actors and actresses have
enjoyed their fame through this appeal
THE art OF stage direction and pro-
= ducing is one that can only be PC
uuired through lcnR years of practical
experience. The majority OF stage direc-
tors are not actors. but they have the
gift OF visualizIng scene and can also
show tho actor or actress how to read
a line 40 az TO give the audience the
impression desired. One OF the most
important factors in stage direction Is
10 arrange the movement Of the play
ers 80 that their various exits and en-
frances shall be natural and. above all.
TO put into a play those various bits
Of business" that give it a human
touch.
rh-.. -. , S.,, , .,o., l,o,,o,.,r ,,.bo
have this ability. One who Is really
noted as a stage director. as welt as a
leading comedy star. Is william Col
lier. Not only can he direct but lie is
plays in which Mr. Collier has starred
that his creative work has not played an
important part.
In The Hottentot" the star has In;
which arouse roars OF Laughter. Mr..
Collier personally staged and directed
The Hottentot' as co-author OF the
piece with Victor Mapes During the
several OF the scenes. studied his own
role and worked out the situations for
the other players.
TN VERY few enterprises does the ele-
ment of chance prevail to such cX-
tent as IN the vocation of theatrical
manager or play-producer.
On the other hand. the cmolum"nts
from really successful play are so
great that managers never lose ambi-
tion to play for the winning stake.
An instance in point Is the remarkable
success Of "Ermtnie." believed bv Ja-
kobowski, the composer. and Harry
Paulton. the lIbrettist, TO be positive
Sanger purchased the American rights
after the first London performance. and
Rudolph AronSon. director OF the New
York Casino. ventured all he possessed
an tta fOrpHnrtinn Tba 10
matter u history, Profits ran into tho
millions
The running expenses OF the Casino
were considered heavy for thos" days,
and weekly average OF $4,000 was
Necessary to make ends meet. while at
least $1,000 weekly had to be reached to
assure a substantial profit all around.
An inspection OF the figures of TODAY
affords a startling contrast. George c.
Tyler in association with William Far
mum, the screen star, has spent or
rather invested. approximately $50. 900
in the current production OF ''E;rmInie."
as against probable s2?. 800 for its
first showing The salary and expense
sheet OF the present production. headed
by Francis Wilson and De Wolf Hop
per. totals trihe over Sl2.5o0 weekly
SO taking all tho figures Of today into
consideration It is necessary to convert
the $4,000 OF the first "Erminie" into
some $4,000 n week for the present
"Erminie," II just and due profit Is
TO be made
EANcY an exceedingly attractive
young woman arraying herself in
super -modish gowns every night. and
then posing as "horrlble' example
The horrible example" in question
10 Miss Teresa Maxwell Conover. who
plays the part OF r very much sophls-
ticated mother-in-law in Ztmbalists
musical comedy. "Honeydew." roe
that calls for her TO act tipsy scene.
which she enaCtS with so much clever
ness that she conveys the spirit ~
illumination" with Uaturalness, minus
offsnElvenesS.
Realism in her acting is made all tho
more real IN the cocktails provided by
Joe Weber for her. They look so much
like the real article they seem 10 have
been but recently caressed By the patron
saint OF gin, who not so very long UgO
stood behind a shrine Of shining ma
hogany attired IN the most Immaculate
OF white coats.
With all this atmosphere attending the
scene Il seems almost Ike taking m"
romance out Of life 20 be told by Miss
Conover that what she really drinks Is
nothing more than cold tea:
Il tried almost everything" says Miss
Conover, everything from ginger ale,
which made me III. 10 sarsapariIla which
too much resembled grenadIne TO sug-
gest a martini. Then finally came the
happy compromise II cold tea. Genius
and memory Of English customs fur
nlshed the clue
NEW brides of the spring season, here
@N is wedding veil hint for you See
that your bridal draperies are arranged
as Miss COwl wears hers in "Smiln'
Through" at the Lyric. and II you are
as pleasing 20 the eye as this bride OF
the sixties you'll have nothing TO regret
modlshly,
Wide widths Of tulle are placed over
Miss COWls head. perfeCtly smooth I'm