New-York tribune., 1922-11-19
Sidney Blackner
Tells About First
Night Reactions

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| The night that has been anticipated
for months arrives. The thester ia
full; rich furs spill over the seats;
white shoulders CLEAN, and from the
orchestra pit come the discordancies Of
| instruments being tuned for the over
turr. Behind the curtain the actors pat
their costumes resssuringly, sip drop
of water or repeat a few of their most
troublesome lines. They smile ner-
vously to each other, and with more
courage than they feel they bid the
other be cheerful.
| "The Love Child" was no exception
| to the general rule Of first nights, and
| Sidney Blackmer, it's principal actor,
has not yet recovered from the strain
OF submitting his performance for the
approval Of New York. On the morn
ing after the opening Of his play he
paced the floor Of his apartment a hun.
dred times. not daring to read the press
notices of the critics.
I'm still worrying about that third
aet," he said, "the part where Rrander
tells me that am child without g
name. Perhaps should have reacted
differently Should it have been more
Z emotional or more ,subdued? Will the
audience like it? Did the critics pan
it? This is always what Happens ON
the morning after the night before if
1t happens to be q first night"
| The actor Is highly sensitized on the
evening of his first appearance, and the
least whim Of his audience makes itself
keenly felt. A cough may ruin his per-
formance' The sympathy of his audi
ence is the wine Of life TO the actor,
and though the words are Mr. Black
ner's, the sentiment is any artists.
During the second set of THE Love
Child the other night was in the
midst OF one of my best lines. T
paused moment, as the part de-
manded, and then,," Mr.. Blackmer re-
counted, somebody coughed. ONLY
small cough, it is true, but if it had
oeen ten-ton weight dropped upon me
1t could not have disturbed me more. !,
knew that in that brief second had
iost my audience, and could not speak
my next line. had new task before
me, to draw my listeners back to me,
and when I accomplished that was
just swept along by tempest of en-
thusiasm for the character
1T is easy to know when the tbeatar
ID IN sympathy with the actor. Call it
ielepathy If you believe in that. cali
1t magnetism if that's what Won, be-
iieve.- / don't know what to cal, II.
but like flash I can recognize it when
1t happens. There is breathlessness
and an absolute silence, hanging ON
each word, and the thing is done. A
contact is established. The character
takes It's place as personal friend az
the audience"
!, An actual physical pain follows the
mental anguish of the first night. The
throat tightens and chokes the words
that well UP inside. A sinking. sensa-
sion in the pit of the stomach becomes
a real ache. The head throbs, limbs
go limp. The minute after the curtain
rises there is feeling that the aoor
OF the stage is lined with eggs and any
step is nlisstep, but when the con.
tact is established everything but the
part Is forgotten, entrances and exits
become instructive, and the character
taxes on brilliance that is gloriaed.
AT least, that is how Sidney Black,uer
| describes it.
The first time appeared on the
stage had only one line to speak. y
ne recalled. ~ was supposed TO be
out Of breath and the words should
have come IN gasps. OF course, had
! read much about the realism Of true
Art, and TO make my breathlessnsss
seem genuine I ran up and down
stairs for Eve full minutes before my
entrance. AT last heard my cue and
| charged into the room, meaning to ir,-
press the world at large with the fine
realism of my acting. There stood,
breathless enough to please even the
author Of the play. But the words re-
fused TO come. I learned later that 20
| give the effect should have filled my
lungs full Of air and released nv
words jerkily. To me, true art con-
sists not in initiating realism buG in
| suggesting IL to the audience.
When the play becomes older che
actor discovers new trajts In cbar.
acter. as he would in friend. His in
terprstation becomes richer and more
significant. But on the first night
/ with cnis eggs to waiS npcn, why,p--